Puzzeled about oil

[gaffer]

Okay, I have a 03 Jetta with the 1.8T, and it is getting near time for its first oil change. I want to run synth oil, but I am unsure what to go with. The manual specs 5w40, but I have read alot of guys are running mobil 1 5w30 or 0w40, or Delvac 5w40 for deisel engines. I would prefer to stay with the the 5w40 reccomended by VW.

Based on conditions in Calgary, should I go with Castrol Synth 5w40 available at the dealer or NAPA, or Mobil 1 5w30 or 0w40, or Delvac, or the Lubrimoly 5w40 (i think thats it) from C1?

Also, has anyone taken their own oil to their dealership for them to put in, instead of charging you through the nose for their synth, and if so what dealership? I want them to do the first oils change, and from then on I will likely do my own.

Gaf

[R_Ethug]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

i went through this earlier this year.. i use the castrol syntec 5/40 from the dealer. it works great.. although everyone on vortex runs mobil 1 0/40.. all the dealers here said i will kill my engine with it being that light of a weight.. also the only place that sells the mobil 1 0/40 is SSFC and its 15/litre!!!!

[Kor]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

You can get a jug of Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w40 at Walmart for about $30

[R_Ethug]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

what! since when kris?? from my understanding the mobil 1 5/40 was only available in europe.. hrmm.. i have to do my own 24k change since the interval is 16k after 16k haha

[MrHeavyFoot]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

Yeah, I can't find the Mobil 1 5W40 anywhere around here. I've been going with 5W30.

[Kor]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

what! since when kris?? from my understanding the mobil 1 5/40 was only available in europe.. hrmm.. i have to do my own 24k change since the interval is 16k after 16k haha

I really am not one of the participants in the oil debate, its all oil in my books. I don't have any idea what oil is available in Europe or the US or Iraq.

All I know is, I walked into the Walmart by my place, strolled on over to the oil rack, hefted a black 4L jug of Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w40 (on sale), paid the depressed looking fellow at the checkout, and as I write this the oil is sitting at home beside my door. If you don't believe me, I can post a picture later.

There is a small chance that I am wrong, but I am fairly confident.

[R_Ethug]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

maybe its the mobil1 delvac or whatever.. i'm pretty sure mobil is always in the silver jugs.. but i'll check out a walzmart this weekend when i'm shopping..

[Khyron]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

maybe its the mobil1 delvac or whatever.. i'm pretty sure mobil is always in the silver jugs.. but i'll check out a walzmart this weekend when i'm shopping..

Pretty sure Walmart has the 5/40 delvac - I was thinking of running it but I'm a lazy ass and the "For DIESEL CARS" part scared me. So I get the 5/40 from the dealer. 5/30 is "in a pinch" oil - doesn't perform as well at high temps as a 40.

Khyron

[Kor]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

Yeah now that you mention it I think it is the Delvac, which would make sense since I did not read the label very well. However I am pretty sure that you can run this oil on a 1.8T anyhow?

[Flanders]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

i went through this earlier this year.. i use the castrol syntec 5/40 from the dealer. it works great.. although everyone on vortex runs mobil 1 0/40.. all the dealers here said i will kill my engine with it being that light of a weight.. also the only place that sells the mobil 1 0/40 is SSFC and its 15/litre!!!!

your dealer is on crack.
0w is NOT too "light".

The first set of numbers is only for "start up" viscosity. A 0w is going to be less runny than a 5w oil. In the winter time (especially calgary) this is great! A 5w will also be just fine, but there is definitely no harm done in running a 0w.

The -40 part is always a nice to have, but ultimately not entirely necessary. I do not believe the 1.8T will have any issues with the -30 unless you're running it hot hot hot (ie turbo glowing) all the time The turbo has some tight clearances which will get pretty toasty, which I'm guessing is why the VW engineers specified a 40w. My user guide actually says that a 5w-30 is acceptable if a -40 can't be found.

I didn't think walmart sold a Mobil 1 5w-40 jug of oil. The walmart's out here (ottawa) only sell 5w30. Petro-Canada's synthetic "arctic oil" is a great 0w-30 oil (petro canada's synthetics are commonly found in some new GM vehicles from the factory). You could go get some of the lubro-moly stuff, and I'm sure the die-hard moly fans would shoot me for saying this, but it's damn expensive for a synthetic oil. Considering how we change our oil every 8000km's, there's no need on buying the lubro stuff (heck I wouldn't buy it anyway, when the difference between this oil and...say...mobil 1 is pretty marginal).

Are there any Esso warehouses in Calgary? (I'm sure there are ) -- the one out here sells 0w-40 Mobil 1, by the case (6 bottles). This is what's going into my car next oil change. Currently I've got petro-canada's synthetic 5w-30.

My experiences have shown that dealership lackey's know nothing about oil. I actually had the service guy behind the desk tell me that the 10w-30 weight oil (non synthetic) that they just put in my car (the bastards didn't listen to me when I said DONT CHANGE MY OIL) was the ideal weight for my car. This was FEBUARY last year (yep, it gets as cold in Ottawa as it does in Calgary in feb). Moron. I just about slapped him silly. Then I had another service lackey tell me that if I use synthetic, my engine is going to start leaking oil. Unbelievable.

I'm actually a bit shocked that the dealerships in Calgary use 5w40 oil for their changes. The Nimrods out here told me that they were putting this in during my first oil change, and yet my invoice said castrol 10w30...

[bart]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

Pretty sure Walmart has the 5/40 delvac - I was thinking of running it but I'm a lazy ass and the "For DIESEL CARS" part scared me. So I get the 5/40 from the dealer. 5/30 is "in a pinch" oil - doesn't perform as well at high temps as a 40.

Khyron

ya wtf, are you sure 1.8t's are supposed to use 5/40 oil? i run that delvac stuff as its the best oil money can buy, used it from day one, but again, says its for a diesel. i will only use stuff the manual says, vw engineers know better than "message board" people. just like in europe you can now buy turbo diesel oil by mobil 1, but thats 0/40, so i wont bother trying it.

[Khyron]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

Oh the weight is definately right - 5/40 is recommended by factory, 5/30 if 5/40 is not available. I just wasn't sure of the grading standards. You'll note the delvac jugs have tons of certifications (JLI, whatever I forget) anyways the ones for gasses are different and I didn't feel like researching it. The delvac does say it "can be run in turbo gas cars" but "can" doesn't always mean "is best for".

And Flanders - I'm pretty sure the lower the first number the "thinner" it is. Hence why running 15/50 (very thick) in Canada (where it gets cold making the oil even thicker) is not recommended. I do agree that 0 oil would be fine - the problem would be how fast it breaks down. 0 oil would also perform better than 5 in really cold weather - the question is how thin does it get when it's hot out.

Khyron

[R_Ethug]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

flanders also i ain't paying frickin 15 bucks a litre when i can get 5 of the dealer 5/40 for like 35 bucks or whatever they charge.. i dunno my car loves the castrol never burns a drop and runs butturrry smooth

[gaffer]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

FYI I have seen Castrol Syntec 5w40 at a Napa store in the NE, but it was only sold in 1L containers and was about $10 a litre. It said "specifically designed for VW & BMW" blah blah blah on the label. I also thought I had seen Mobil 1 0w40, and the Delvac 5w40 (in the black jug) at Sprawl Mart.

As far as I can tell the Delvac oil is pretty good, since it has every certification under the sun, but I am wondering if there are any additives for the deisel engines that may negatively impact the turbo gas engine.

Gaf

[Flanders]

Re: Puzzeled about oil

lsc2g -- I didn't say anything about paying 15 bucks a litre...heck I think the mobil 1 stuff is around $8/L.

Khyron -- the 0w isn't "thinner". It's just less viscous (ie. more runny) when it's cold outside than a 5w or 10w. It doesn't mean it's thinner though. And the first number (like 0) is the start-up viscosity, meaning this is the characteristic when it's cold. Once the engine warms up, the 0w doesn't affect anything...now the -30 or -40 part is doing it's job. Just because it's a 0w doesn't mean it's going to run "too thin" once everything is hot...this number is purely for cold starts! It's not going to break down anytime sooner.

In the summer (or when it's hot) there's no harm in running a 0w either. Think of the weights as more of an 'operating range'...

bart -- the vw engineers have to spec one type of oil for every country out there. I'm not a 'message board acclaimed guru' ...I do know a bit about oil A 5w is a very typical cold-start viscosity rating. But as I've said above, a 0w isn't any worse!