I seriously think Europe is pulling our chain.

[Popinski]

European cars have got to be the pickiest when it comes versions and types of oils.... do you guys thinks they're pulling our American chains? For example from several of my friends and acquaintances:

1997 Jetta TDI, 290,000 miles: Used non-diesel valvoline 5w30 conventional on most of its life

2003 SAAB 9-3: 70,000 miles using the cheapest conventional oil and filter since new.

2002 Audi TT, 90,000 miles.. used Valovline 5w30 conventional or whatever jiffy lube use.

200? BMW E46: Used the cheapest oil and filter

2001 VW Jetta 1.8t 119,000 miles: Used whatever Jiffy lube use.

Many/Most European car owners don't know what type of oil to use, so they rely on jiffy lube or other lube places. All but one(the TDI) are female and they dont' know what to do. However, all of their cars run perfectly normal with these "inferior" oils. I seriously think that the Europeans are overdoing it when it comes to Oil specs.

what do you gusy think?

 

[Herz]

I think specialty oils and synthetics are over rated.

 

[cjhepburn]

Except for the diesel Jetta, that's not really spectacular mile accumulation. If you said 470k miles on the cheapest oil and filters, that would be something.

 

[mechanicx]

Naybe the Europeans don't fully understand N American climate and driving conditions and don't know what they're talking about lol?

 

[JSRT4]

I'm not sure about those specific examples that you list, but I do agree with the premise of the post. We now have many vehicles running up to 200,000 miles on 5w20 oil without any increase in failures or longevitiy. So I do think the Europeans are over-doing it with their oils, and perhaps for once North Americans are ahead of the curve. I think their lack of adopting 5w20 oils makes the Europeans look like they may be behind the times. This is just an opinion I have, so no need to go out of your way to prove me wrong.

 

[mcrn]

Plus I think it would be different if those cars were driven over 120mph for hours on hours.

 

[timish]

I know of a bunch of Volvo's over at the swedespeed forum that are over 300,000 miles. Stock I-5 blocks, turbos, everything.

 

[d00df00d]

"I've never had a problem in x miles" is an absolutely meaningless statement. Maybe there is no problem, maybe the owner has an odd definition of "problem", or maybe the owner is totally oblivious.

I do think a lot of European cars in America don't need the oil they specify, though. It's not that Europe is pulling our chain; it's that we drive like ninnies.

 

[Johnny]

I think they might be the ones that drive like ninnies. A cross country trip for them might be 200 miles, while a cross country trip for some of us might be 3,000 miles. Completely different driving styles.

 

[hate2work]

The distance of the trip determines the driving style?

 

[Johnny]

It does mine. Get on the interstate system, set the cruise and run it until the tank is empty. I can do all that without having to go through any small towns or dodge some farmer in his tractor.

But I'm talking about the wide open spaces we have. I guess if I lived in a large city like New York or Chicago I would drive more like they do over there. Also if I live over there I would not be driving a Grand Marquis. I would be driving a Fiat 500.

 

[mpvue]

I think its more of a testament to how good modern cars and oils are. lots of cars will still run fine when 2 qts low or its as black as tar.

 

[AuthorEditor]

In my limited driving experience in Europe I would say that they drive their cars much harder than we do, but they also baby their cars with better maintenance then we (excluding the BITOG folks) do. Many of the cars have little 4-bangers with or without turbos, and to get anywhere it's pretty much pedal-to-the-metal driving for a short distance, than a rapid decrease in speed as you go through a roundabout, than back up to speed, etc. Plus, they a do a lot more very short trips--not so many people commute long distances or drive for hours at a time with the cruise control on--the distances are much shorter, generally. When there is a highway, it is not uncommon to be going close to 100 mph or more. I once made the mistake of asking a taxi driver in Amsterdam how fast he could get me from the airport to the center city. On our way in I observed speeds of over 100 mph in heavy traffic. I believe we hit 120 at one point (yes, I was converting into mph from kph). Of course, the taxi was a super-comfy and safe brand new Mercedes with GPS display that told him where the traffic was slowing up. In any case, my point is that despite all this it is relatively rare, at least in Western Europe, to see a car that is not spotless and purring like a kitten. Even the taxis are near new luxury cars. I suspect they use great oils, long drains, and have high-quality mechanics. Of course their average income is generally higher than in the U.S. too.

 

[AuthorEditor]

I meant to say "median household income" in the above post, though it is irrelevant to the OP's question. Actually, I'm wrong in dollar terms, but the U.S. and Europe are very close in terms of median household income, with the U.S. in the lead. Of course, they work something like 300 hours less per year than we do, which is worth something! Maybe that's why their cars are so well taken care of--they've got lots of leisure time to do it.

 

[Gary Allan]

I think all of the cited examples are lucky. If they had been normal consumers and treated them like normal American cars ..they would have been bitten by them. Those owners probably weren't negligent.

Sludge didn't come back into being at the turn of the century out of someone's imagination. It was from having too long of a drain interval and too limited distribution oil for too small a dealer network over too broad of a market that couldn't be bothered to go through the hassle ..oil is oil, right? VW/Audi dealers aren't everywhere. When they were (just about) the only place to get a spec'd oil ..

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
I think they might be the ones that drive like ninnies. A cross country trip for them might be 200 miles, while a cross country trip for some of us might be 3,000 miles. Completely different driving styles.

Americans may drive longer distances, but they seem deathly afraid of the gas pedal and the upper half of the tach. Europeans are not.

That's what I was talking about.

 

[bigjohn]

Well, this is my two cents and it is based on nothing but opinion....

My son's Rabbit calls for 10k OCI's and 502 rated oil. I think if he drives his car very aggressively (like I would)....and goes 10K miles....then the oil choice is a really big deal.

On the other hand, we aren't doing 10k OCI's.....but 5K OCI's. Since we are doing the lower mileage, I think we could use several non-502 oils and be just fine. Especially with the VW 2.5L engine, which is not a turbo.

My choice would be Rotella 5w40....and we will go to it shortly.....just after the warranty ends, but until then we will go with GC.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: Johnny
I think they might be the ones that drive like ninnies. A cross country trip for them might be 200 miles, while a cross country trip for some of us might be 3,000 miles. Completely different driving styles.

Americans may drive longer distances, but they seem deathly afraid of the gas pedal and the upper half of the tach. Europeans are not.

That's what I was talking about.


I think most of us are just afraid of a ticket lol.

Then there's gas consumption at high speeds and long distance, but of course Europeans pay out the wazoo for gasoline.

 

[Gary Allan]

So do we. We just don't think about it beyond the price on the pump

 

[JSRT4]

I think the idea of Eurpeans driving over 100 mph for several hours is a myth. Congestion on their highways often prevents that from happening, and at least on the German Autobahn you go from a high speed zone to low speed zone on a regular basis. Flat out driving for hours isn't realistic, I mean it could happen but it isn't the norm.