Audi 1.8t Redline Questions

[turbodevil]

Hi all, lurker turned poster. I am the owner of a 1.8t w/118k miles on the engine and around 60k miles on the turbo (k03 w/ updated oil return lines). I am modestly modified running around 17 psi boost. W/ Shell Rotella T 5w40 I have near zero oil consumption, but w/ mobil 1 5w30 I had about "normal" consumption. I am about to finish my second arx cycle and therefore interested in what to do next.

I plan on running Redline 5w40 for various reasons: I can buy it locally, I run the car hard sometimes

, and I can afford to use it with my tiny little 4.5q capacity.

Questions:
Should I use a product like LC or ARX in maintenance doses w/ Redline?

What kind of OCI should I use? Manual says 5k with synthetic (I believe). Any ideas?

Keep in mind this is a notorious sludge engine. I use the big filters (oem Mahle's), and am currently on my third timing belt (for those who care). Oh yeah, I also live in Phoenix and the car gets a mix of driving: 8-10 mile trips with some infrequent trips to the mountains.

TIA,

Mark

 

[Dad2leia]

Nothing at all wrong with that choice.

 

[moribundman]

I would expect Red Line 5W-40 to do well in that Audi engine.

The 1.8T does generally fare well with Mobil 1 0W-40. I'd also consider Mobil 1 5W-40 as a less expensive alternative to Red Line 5W-40.

Based on my experience with LC, I can recommend it at least in case of my Audi 2.8 V6 engine. LC seems to actually clean something, as suggested by relative quickly darkening oil (When compared to the same oil and over the same distance without LC).

 

[satterfi]

"Questions:
Should I use a product like LC or ARX in maintenance doses w/ Redline?"

I wouldn't bother.

Redline cleans due to it's own chemistry.

I've done an LC flush with Redline oil. It only made the oil smell funny.

You can try Arx, but why mess with it?

 

[turbodevil]

Thanks for the quick responses. Any ideas on oci? I know, I know, analysis. But is 7k a safe place to start? Stay at 5k?

 

[Palut]

Get a used oil analysis done at the factory's "normal" OCI, and go from there.

 

[buster]

No I would just run the oil. I wouldn't get so wrapped up in adding anything to high end synthetic oils. Just run it naked and be done with it.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

I agree with buster. While auto-rx is an excellent product it is not needed in something as good as Redline at least not in maintenance doses. Run it necked is the way to go.

 

[satterfi]

"Any ideas on oci? I know, I know, analysis. But is 7k a safe place to start? Stay at 5k?"

Don't go past 7k unless you have evidence to indicate otherwise.

Redline is good, but not that good.

 

[wavinwayne]

Fellow VW owner here.

I also agree with Buster; just run the RL

"naked"

& don't mess around with the additives. As far as OCI is concerned, I'd change RL every 7500 miles if you drive mostly highway, & no more than 5000 miles if you do a lot of city driving.

A little

but, I wonder if there is any documented case of a VW/Audi 1.8T that sludged up while running RedLine oil. For that matter, I've never seen, or heard of, a single documented case of sludge in ANY engine in which RedLine was used exclusively, regardless of OCI.

 

[JohnBrowning]

I doubt that you will need to run LC or ARX with Redline. If you already have the LC I would not use more then 4 onces and it would be on the back side of the OCI not the front side. Better yet simply do a yearly flush with 16 onces of LC.

 

[Pushslice]

Turbodevil:

If the car is a DD I wouldn't hesitate to go 7K miles, w/ the large-size filter. I've only had RL (5W30)in my Audi 1.8T once, and left it in for 5.5K miles no problem. In my case though, time is as much a factor though, since I only put ~8K miles on this car. I also Auto-X and track it regularly. aftermarket ECU is set for 15 psi nominal, spiking up to 17 psi.
Other than Mobil 1 5W30, I've been running mostly Havoline Synthetic 5W39 in this car, w/intervals between 5-7K.

 

[Audi Junkie]

 

[Nautilus]

I'm also an Audi 1.8T owner who started checking this board recently

I have a somewhat more modified 1.8T pushing about 300 hp (OK, 270 at the wheels on the dyno with race fuel) and I run Mobil 1 Truck and SUV these days. I used to run Mobil 1 10w30 up until last year when this stuff became more readily available. I have 90K miles and was chipped since ~2K and have been running a bigger turbo for the last 55K.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend anything more exotic than easy to find Mobil 1. However, I would caution you that since you have a modified turbo car that is known to run extremely hot, you should change your oil at about 5K miles. Yes, this is with good synthetic since conventional oil or thin oils are a definite no-no in this application. I consider slightly more frequent oil changes with better oil part of the price of running a modified car. If for no other reason than running higher boost means more blow by and more fuel dilution in your oil.

Oh, and if you haven't guessed, my engine is still rock solid with spot on compression. I also do a lot of short trips and high stress driving, with track days sprinkled in here and there. Also, my wife drives a VW Passat with the same engine and has 160K miles on it with no problems running Rotella T 5w-40 for ~7500 mile OCIs. These engines are rock solid if you use good oil and change it at appropriate intervals. Any problems that have been reported are because the owner has not done so. Period.

 

[Pushslice]

Nautilus:
300 hp @ the crank? nice, that's some mad powa, brother! is it a Garrett turbo?

the one curious thing about my 1.8T is that except for maybe one occasion, I've never had to add oil; it just doesn't consume *any*. have you 1.8T folks found the same thing?

 

[JeffPGH]

My 1.8T doesn't consume any, either.

 

[wavinwayne]

Same here; zero oil consumption on my 1.8T

 

[Nautilus]

Yeah, pretty much zero oil consumption for me as well, although I have to admit that in my wife's car it's hard to tell because of the leaks. The valve cover gasket leaks like crazy, which usually means the cam chain tensioner seal is leaking, and the oil supply line to the turbo weeps fiercly. Pretty standard stuff on these cars, unfortunately.

I actually have no idea how much crank hp my car has, so 300 is a pure guess. My Audi has done 270 whp on a dyno running race fuel, figure about 25 hp less on pump as a conservative estimate. I've also run a couple high 12 second ETs, although low 13s are more common unless the weather cooperates.

 

[JAG]

Zero consumption in 53k miles in my 1.8T. Diet has been Mobil 1 0W-40, Valvoline 5W-40, Amsoil 5W-40, and now GC.

 

[turbodevil]

I am the second owner of the car, first "owner" was leasing the car and didn't follow scheduled maintenance, he77 she even lost the manual! From what I gather, she must have gone extended ocis w/ conventional, blew the turbo and got the car repo'd. I have fed the car nothing but mobil 1, although in 5w30 or 10w30. I saw a link to this site on AW while I was looking for the proper viscosity of oil to use (little late?). Because of the previous neglect and general age of the engine, I decided a double cycle of ARX would be a good idea. ( I would have done it the minute I bought the car if I had known about it!) I have followed the directions religiously and am eager to cut open my filters, I just haven't had the time/tools.

So after all that ^^, I definitely agree w/ Nautilus. The only problems the engine had were due to neglect. I haven't had any trouble running the wrong weight of m1, but now I'm interested in feeding my baby the best.

Why Redline? Like I said, it's only mildly more expensive than m1. I'm interested in experimenting with a high end oil. Also, for reasons I don't want to get into I'm ready to make a break from the ExxonMobil corp.