ACEA A3 5w-30 oils?

[VeeDubb]

Do we know of any ACEA A3 5w-30 oils? I ask because I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the large spread oils like 5w-40 or 0w-40 that seem to shear down after only about 5k miles. VW recommends 5w-40 or 5w-30 and I'd be much more comfortable with the lower VI improver oil. However, I would like to meet at least one of the ACEA A3 or VW50X specs as per the owner's manual.

[ September 26, 2003, 08:14 AM: Message edited by: VeeDubb ]

 

[pinoy99]

I don't recall ever seeing OTC one; only the Castrol German 0W30 has the least spread with those specs.

 

[Steve_RI]

Amsoil 5W-30 is A3 rated now and I think the Schaeffer 5W-30 is A3 rated as well.

 

[Dr. T]

VeeDubb, don't be....5-30's...even the A3 rated ones are MickeyMouse oils...my recommendation would be to use a 5-40 in your VW as these oils will always start off with a higher HT/HS and not some bare minimum.

 

[joatmon]

FWIW, BMW syn 5W30 is ACEA A3/B3.

 

[VeeDubb]

My local BMW dealer sells that 5w-30 A3 for $5 a quart. Not bad. Only problem is some BMW folks claim that they see yellowish residue under their oil caps after using it.

Steve: Is the Amsoil ACEA A3 or just "recommended" for ACEA A3 applications?

I also noticed that the Formula Shell 10w-30 is ACEA A3 rated. Problem is, I can't seem to find this oil anywhere. Anybody know what retailers sell it?

P.S. For about a month now, my local autozone has not stocked the German Castrol. Looks like that option is out.

 

[TSoA]

All Syntec products are ACEA A5 now. HT/HS> 3.2, maybe what you are looking for.

 

[TooSlick]

Veedub,

To claim ACEA A3/B3 performance, you simply have to have the documentation on file that shows your formulation meets the spec. In other words, there are no formal licensing requirements.

The Amsoil 0w-30/5w-30/10w-30 and Series 3000, 5w-30 are all ACEA A3/B3 rated, as is their 10w-40. These oils also meet the VW 502/505 rating, which requires testing the additive chemistry in the 2.0L VW gas engine and 1.6L, IDI VW diesel engine.

To be fair I should add that the Mobil 1, 5w-30 and 10w-30 also work very well in these 1.8L turbos, even though they technically don't meet ACEA A3 or VW 502....

Tooslick

 

[vettenuts]

I brought a bottle of the Amsoil 5E-30 to my BMW dealer. After inspecting the bottle, the service manager told me I can use it. It also specifies the MB and BMW requirements on the bottle as well as A3.

 

[buster]

Good choice Vettnuts. I think Amsoil ASL/ATM are great oils for the money.

 

[TooSlick]

Vettnuts,

Since the BMW engines have a 7.5 quart sump, I believe the Amsoil 5w-30 or 10w-30 would easily last the full 15k drain interval. If you are going to change every 7500 miles, that should be very conservative. I would expect the Amsoil 5w-30 to be in excellent shape after that much time. I ran some in my 1995 Tacoma for 12,000 miles/1 year with low wear and the TBN was still 7.2.

The BMW engines burn pretty clean and have that large sump - it's really not that demanding an application.

TS