From what I've read, several GDI engines (eg the ones from Ford & Hyundai) seem to be relatively problem free. However the horrendously bad problems Audi ran into with their 2.0L TFSI engines point to what can happen if things go wrong with GDI engines. One shouldn't dismiss this lightly. Regardless of what you think of The Germans, the TFSI was an advanced design, well engineered bit of kit and the Audi engine oils were state-of-the-art, highly specified synthetics. That the engines were prone to awful deposit formation (both IVD & CCD) and excessive oil consumption says to me that with GDI, you need to be particularly wary of The Law Of Unintended Consequences.
If you ask me what three things to look out for in buying a GDI engine oil, I would say Noack, Noack & Noack. You want it to always be as low as possible because you fundamentally want to keep the oil in the crankcase and out of the combustion chamber. You should IMO, compromise every other aspect of your oil's performance (eg fuel economy & cold start) in pursuit low volatility. A full PAO 10W30 would be my first choice oil.
To me, the focus on Calcium/SAPS is somewhat misplaced. If you look at murder victims, they are often covered in blood. We all know that blood should be on the inside, not the outside and that having too much on the outside and not enough on the inside will kill you. However we generally don't blame 'the blood' as the cause death. Rather we look for the person who made the stab wound or fired the bullets! In GDI engines, calcium is like blood. The question is why is it where it shouldn't be and what's causing oil to cycle round your engine in dastardly ways...
PS - Forget TEOST. It's won prestigious awards for being The Most Stupidest Lubricant Test Ever Developed. Just remember, no-one was ever stuck on the side of the road because their TEOST broke down...
If you ask me what three things to look out for in buying a GDI engine oil, I would say Noack, Noack & Noack. You want it to always be as low as possible because you fundamentally want to keep the oil in the crankcase and out of the combustion chamber. You should IMO, compromise every other aspect of your oil's performance (eg fuel economy & cold start) in pursuit low volatility. A full PAO 10W30 would be my first choice oil.
To me, the focus on Calcium/SAPS is somewhat misplaced. If you look at murder victims, they are often covered in blood. We all know that blood should be on the inside, not the outside and that having too much on the outside and not enough on the inside will kill you. However we generally don't blame 'the blood' as the cause death. Rather we look for the person who made the stab wound or fired the bullets! In GDI engines, calcium is like blood. The question is why is it where it shouldn't be and what's causing oil to cycle round your engine in dastardly ways...
PS - Forget TEOST. It's won prestigious awards for being The Most Stupidest Lubricant Test Ever Developed. Just remember, no-one was ever stuck on the side of the road because their TEOST broke down...
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