Hi gang. I have a question for VW 1.8T owners. Her Beetle is due for an oil change. It's a 99, coming up on 40K miles. We've owned it since 23K. I've been using full synthetic at 5K intervals. After reading the owner's manual, I find it recommends 10K intervals. I know these motors are tough on oil, and am aware of the sludge related issues. I used to have a 2000 Passat. I think the concern was with that car, with the 3.7 quart sump. VW's website says 5K intervals. Anyway, do any 1.8T owners go 10K between changes? Any input from Beetle owners would be welcome too. Thanks.
Calling VW 1.8T owners
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Because of city driving, I do 6 month or 5k KM (3k mi) OCIs with Mobil 1, but I am going to get a used oil analysis done on my next oil change, to see if I can stretch this a bit. It also helps to use the largest oil filter you can; I recently switched to the Purolator L40316, which increases my total capacity to about 4.2 qts.
If your first owner used conventional oil, as I strongly suspect he/she did, your Mobil 1 may be working hard to desludge your engine. Following the switch from Castrol GTX to Mobil 1, my first three oil changes came out looking pretty black. The most recent drain looked MUCH clearer/cleaner.
The only way I would go to a 10k mi or even 15k km OCI would be if I did mostly open road cruising, which I don't. Even the VW owner's manual admits that cars driven under "severe conditions" need more frequent service. Oil, even synthetic, is VERY cheap compared to a 1.8T engine.
If your first owner used conventional oil, as I strongly suspect he/she did, your Mobil 1 may be working hard to desludge your engine. Following the switch from Castrol GTX to Mobil 1, my first three oil changes came out looking pretty black. The most recent drain looked MUCH clearer/cleaner.
The only way I would go to a 10k mi or even 15k km OCI would be if I did mostly open road cruising, which I don't. Even the VW owner's manual admits that cars driven under "severe conditions" need more frequent service. Oil, even synthetic, is VERY cheap compared to a 1.8T engine.
Good advice, John. I actually enjoy changing oil, although the filter on the Beetle is kind of a PITA. Just wondering if I'm wasting good oil. The Beetle generally takes 4.5 quarts with a filter change.
The best advice I can give you is to use a VW 502 rated oil and continue with 5k regimen. If you wish to extend beyond that interval, say to 10k or beyond, you should really consider sending off an oil sample to the lab to make sure the longer oil change interval is ok. 4.5 quarts is really not a lot of oil, especially with a turbo beating up the oil as well.
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I've never gone 10k in my 1.8T. The longest I've gone, with used oil analysis, is 6350 miles. That was with API SL Mobil 1 0w40, & 90% highway driving @80 miles per day. IMO, from reading between the lines on the used oil analysis report, the oil could have made it to 10k without much fuss.
With that said, I wouldn't recommend that you go 10k; but with a quality VW approved synthetic & a quality oil filter, I don't think 10k miles would be too much to ask. If you're not going to do used oil analysis, just change it at 5k mile intervals, to be safe.
[ May 15, 2006, 09:43 PM: Message edited by: wavinwayne ]
With that said, I wouldn't recommend that you go 10k; but with a quality VW approved synthetic & a quality oil filter, I don't think 10k miles would be too much to ask. If you're not going to do used oil analysis, just change it at 5k mile intervals, to be safe.
[ May 15, 2006, 09:43 PM: Message edited by: wavinwayne ]
Thanks for the input, guys. Do any of you run 5w30, or are you 5W-40 or 0W-40 users? I usually run 5W-40, but I got in on that free after rebate Maxlife Synthetic, and will try 5w30. It's 502 approved.
My wife had the cutest Beetle
Just as buggy as could be
To keep its turbo happy
I ALWAYS filled it with GC
"Now...how far before I change it?"
I would always ask myself
3K, 5K, 10K...hey, why not ask an Elf?
So I went into the forest and spied one quite quickly
Quite easily he answered, "It's 5K for a 1.8T"
Just as buggy as could be
To keep its turbo happy
I ALWAYS filled it with GC
"Now...how far before I change it?"
I would always ask myself
3K, 5K, 10K...hey, why not ask an Elf?
So I went into the forest and spied one quite quickly
Quite easily he answered, "It's 5K for a 1.8T"
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Brilliant!
Kestas
Staff member
The 1.8T is only a sludging issue for certain models that have a small sump, not for the Beetle.
I take care of an 02 Beetle 1.8T for a friend. I use 5W-40 with 6K OCI. I'm not a synthetic user, but for her car with a turbo I insist on using synthetic.
I take care of an 02 Beetle 1.8T for a friend. I use 5W-40 with 6K OCI. I'm not a synthetic user, but for her car with a turbo I insist on using synthetic.
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We think alike. I also have some Maxlife synthetic that will be going in my '00 GTI 1.8T on it's next oil change.
As far as the other viscositites are concerned, here's what I've run in my GTI 1.8T since I bought it used with 15k miles in 2003, in order:
Castrol GTX 5w30 - 6k+ miles once
Whatever VW used once - 6k+ miles
SuperTech 5w30 conventional - once 6k+ miles, once 3k miles
Mobil 1 0w40 - multiple 6k+ mile runs
GC - 7k+ miles once
Mobil 1 0w40 - in the GTI now; oil has 5500 miles on it & is pitch black as it always is in my engine at this mileage point.
I could not tell any difference in the way the engine ran, regardless of the type of oil used. I never should have run the dino as far as I did those two times.
No sludge issues except in the Pas/A4 where the smaller sump was used.
However, if it is a big deal doing a 5k OCI then UOA your oil around 4.5k and then make the decision. I do a 5k in mine.
I agree.
The longitudinal 1.8T was known for sludge, I don't think the transverse (sideways) motors have the issue.
Since these are turbos, I'd run 502-spec synthetic (I think all 502-spec oils are synthetic...?)
I currently run Pentosyn 5w40 in my GTI. 5K intervals.
So no 10K interval owners? How about you Audi guys with 1.8T motors?
I go 10k between changes on my 1.8L, 225 Audi TT Quattro with Amsoil. I've tested several different Amsoil formulations and all show a good margin of safety after 10k. I'm seeing very low wear rates and TBN's in the 5-6 range. Several of my used oil analysis have been posted in the Oil Analysis section.
I don't see an issue running 10k in the 1.8L motors with the larger sumps....
TS
I don't see an issue running 10k in the 1.8L motors with the larger sumps....
TS
I can see why TooSlick can run the higher OCI's with success, but no way I would run over 4500-5K OCI's on our '02 A4 1.8T (same longitudinal engine setup as the VW). It is cheap insurance to use the 502 rated oil and the "big" Mann/Mahle filter combined with the lower OCI on the small sump engine.
I use Mobil 1 0w-40, Syntec 5w-40, and have recently gone with Rotella T 5w-40 (not approved as 502, but has held up just fine). Car is at 74K miles now with no evidence of nasty sludge issues.
I recently replaced the valve cover gasket and when I removed the cover, I was happy to see a clean set of cams under there. Of course, that is just looking at the perimeter - I can't honestly say that I know for sure all oil passages, pump, etc are 100% clean. But the car runs great and has no strange oil pressure issues, etc.
This is our daughter's car - personally I would never buy a small displacement with turbo (1.8T) when a V6 is also offered in the same model. I am her personal mechanic so I can see why she loves the car. She drives - I maintain!
I use Mobil 1 0w-40, Syntec 5w-40, and have recently gone with Rotella T 5w-40 (not approved as 502, but has held up just fine). Car is at 74K miles now with no evidence of nasty sludge issues.
I recently replaced the valve cover gasket and when I removed the cover, I was happy to see a clean set of cams under there. Of course, that is just looking at the perimeter - I can't honestly say that I know for sure all oil passages, pump, etc are 100% clean. But the car runs great and has no strange oil pressure issues, etc.
This is our daughter's car - personally I would never buy a small displacement with turbo (1.8T) when a V6 is also offered in the same model. I am her personal mechanic so I can see why she loves the car. She drives - I maintain!
Thanks TooSlick and Mud. TooSlick, how much oil do you replace with a filter change in your TT? Claims like yours are why I'm considering going 10K. I'm certainly not opposed to cheap insurance, but I'm just weighing my options.
I use the standard sized Audi LongLife oil filter and run it for 10k also. Oil capacity w/ a filter change is approx 4.5 qts. Oil consumption has been running about 1/4 qt every 3000-3500 miles. This has stayed the same whether I run 0w30 or 10w-40. So far I've used:
0w-30/TSO
10w-30/ATM
0w-40/AFF - in there now w/ 8500 miles on it
5w-40/AFL
10w-40/AMO
If I was to run something else in this application for 10k intervals it would be Redline
0w-30/TSO
10w-30/ATM
0w-40/AFF - in there now w/ 8500 miles on it
5w-40/AFL
10w-40/AMO
If I was to run something else in this application for 10k intervals it would be Redline
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