5W40 oil types

[realbeentheredonethat]

My '04 VW Passat (1.8 Turbo engine) calls for 5W40 oil. I've asked the VW dealer what is the "factory fill" and they don't seem to know.

I wondered if it "must be" full synthetic (which is what the VW dealer uses) as I've never seen a 5W40 non-full synthetic oil sold in retail stores.

Is this what the rest of you think as well?

 

[Flash]

I've been using 5W-30 in my Jetta since I got it, but was recently made aware that the VW spec is for 5W-40. Personally, I'll be changing over to Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 at my next OC. To my knowledge there aren't any other 'affordable' alternatives other than the Shell product. Rumour has it that Wal-Mart won't be re-stocking their Rotella T stock once its gone. I'll be buying the last three bottles they have in the next day or so..........

Ashley

 

[DEWFPO]

M1 5w-40 (truck/suv) oil is available at some Wal-marts now.

DEWFPO

 

[sxg6]

speaking of which, does anyone know whats special about 502, 503, 505 vw specs? ive been using syntec 5w-40 in my sisters car but dont know if its safe to try rotella 5w-40 or delvac. last time i used mobil 1 5w-30 i dont think it liked it.. the oil smelled terrible, it consumed a lot of it, and just seemed like it was in bad shape. so i switched back to syntec and everything was better

 

[goldfinger]

If my vehcile called for 5w-40 my first choice would be Rotella T Syn..... If money were no object I would bo with M1 Truck/Suv.

 

[n8wvi]

Why not the Mobil1 0w-40? The 5w-40 is on the thick edge of the 5 region when cold. Between the two, I'd prefer the 0w for cold starts.

Dave

 

[VeeDubb]

I believe the factory fill is Pentosin synthetic although I am not sure whether it is 0w-30 or 5w-40. I have heard that the Audi 1.8T's come with 0w-30 as factory fill (same engine as the Passat's). I know my gas mileage was pretty high on the factory fill (around 33-34 on highway) so I have a suspicion it was 0w-30. When I switched to 5w-40, mpg dropped to about 32.

Personally, I don't believe the 1.8T was designed to run anyting but synthetic. It has sludging issues with the factory drain intervals and dino oil. This is a pretty common problem reported on vwvortex and clubb5.com. I'd go with a good synthetic. Mobil 1 0w-40 and Valvoline Synpower 5w-40 will probably work just fine and you can get them at Napa (the valvoline) and walmart (the Mobil). There's also the new Amsoil Euro 5w-40 which is probably better than the other two.

 

[Ken2]

I've heard of a lot of sludging problems with the older VW 1.8 turbos. Use a top quality 5W-40. I'd also use Auto-Rx periodically.

I think my preference would be Mobil 1 5W-40, Redline 5W-40, Amsoil 5W-40, or one of the European imports.


Ken

 

[sxg6]

the uoa's for mobil 1 0w-40 are terrible in my uneducated opinion, so i stick with the syntec

 

[KW]

quote:

---

Originally posted by sxg6:
the uoa's for mobil 1 0w-40 are terrible in my uneducated opinion, so i stick with the syntec

---

I ran M1 0W40 for one 5K OCI and the stuff seemed to hold up very well. Iron was a little high but the iron is always high in my car with any oil I use.

 

[Eric Peterman]

Rotella-T Synth, per Shell, has not been tested to meet VW's 5xx specs. As far as I know neither has Amsoil. That doesn't meen they won't work just fine, but it does mean that warranty might be a question.

 

[Gerret]

On another thread someone with a 1.8T said that they called Redline and they told him to run Redline 5W30. I believe this, based off of RL 5W30's HTHS and VI.

In the Motul rep. interview on another thread, he says that esters burn with almost no residue and, hence, do not contribute to turbo oil-line coking (a frequent cause of premature turbo death). He also states that the polar nature of the ester molacule makes it stick to metal better than other types of oils. This provides better start-up protection to your turbo than Group I-IV synthetics.

Combine this with the post of a Dodge turbo-truck engineer (on another board) who says that it is critical that oil reach your turbo bearings in 2-5 seconds after startup, and the idea of using an ester-based motor oil in a turbo engine starts to sound like a very good idea indeed.

How do you like that for a synthetic post?

 

[Dan4510]

Another alternative is delo 400 synethetic 5w-40. I am using it in one of my cars right now. You can get it at otr parts houses.

mine cost 17.58 a gallon. Seems to be very good oil and stays clean in my old slant.

The slant loves this oil, very quiet running. on m1 10w-30 sounded like marbles banging around in the oil pan.

Dan

 

[Motorbike]

Here is a nice 5w-40 Synthetic Blend with a big additive pack I am using in my bike .

Sure shifts good with it compared to some other oils I've used .

Citgo 5w-40 Syndurance

 

[Eric Peterman]

Garret said,

quote:

---

On another thread someone with a 1.8T said that they called Redline and they told him to run Redline 5W30. I believe this, based off of RL 5W30's HTHS and VI.

---

Ya, that was me.

 

[Audi Junkie]

quote:

---

warranty might be a question

---

as per the recent "sludge letter" all that IS required to maintain warranty is API SL oil at mfg change intervals, plus reciepts.

I guess that leaves Redline out.