Recent content by John_E

I suspect it would make a difference only on cold start at extremely low temperatures, where the 0W's pour point depression might be helpful.

In a severe climate, a good 0W-40 or 5W-40 synthetic offers cold start and high-temperature protection no dino can match.

I concur that good dino is fine for MOST applications, such as my 2003 Dodge Stratus or my son's girlfriend's 2005 Camry and even my younger son's Audi A4 2.8Q, but I am staying with VW502.00-rated synthetic in my 2001 Passat 1.8T, which will still be under factory powertrain warranty for 4 more...

I am with Rico, viz: Mobil 1 0W-40 in the 2001 VW Passat 1.8T, but Castrol GTX 5W-30 dino in the 2003 Dodge Stratus 2.4L and 2005 Toyota Camry, and Castrol GTX HM 10W-40 in the 1996 Audi A4 2.8Q.

The cost of oil, particularly dino, but even synthetic, has virtually no impact on my OCI. Oil and filters are cheap; engines aren't.

Extended OCIs are great if you rack up the miles out on the open road, but I don't think they are a good idea for city cars.

I am going to keep using Mobil 1 0W-40 and the Mann-made Purolator L40316 filter, which is even bigger than the VW 068-115-561B.

It probably comes back to driving style. If you do lots of severe service short-trip stop-and-go urban driving, you will need a tight OCI, irrespective of what type of oil you use, to minimize sludging. If you cruise the open road and rack up lots of miles per year, you are probably the ideal...

I cannot think of any reason not to mix. $4/qt. is a great price. I'll bet you could use the 0W-40 in a 5W-30 application, because it is pretty light, as 40-weight oils go.

I am just not going to lose sleep over this. Engines and motor oils are better than ever and lasting longer than ever, and I cannot naively accept a self-serving Amsoil technical service bulletin as conclusive evidence that all other oils are #@$%!.

I am still using Mobil 1 0W-40 in my very hot-running, costly-to-repair/replace VW 1.8T, and have no plans to change to anything else, so I guess that constitutes a vote of confidence on my part.

5W-40 would indeed give you both cold start and high temperature protection. For nonturbo and other engines which really don't REQUIRE synthetic, the available viscosity spread is a good argument for using it.

Concur.

6k miles / 10k km OCI for a turbo and severe service driving? I go half that long with Mobil 1 0W-40 in my 1.8T.

I always aim to keep a car 20 years and usually come close to 15. (The inlaws are still driving my 19-year-old K-car, so that one has a shot a 20 years.) I do 3k mi / 5k km OCIs because of urban driving and I change "lifetime" ATF and "lifetime" coolant every few years, against the advice of the...