Mixing OW-40 and 15W-50 in my 1.8T VW. What are your thoughts?

[Thatwouldbegreat]

Why not run Redline 10W-40?

All our German cars ran well on it even when we flogged them constantly.

I thought the Redline performed quite a bit better than the Mobil 1 15W-50...based on feel, sound, and oil temps.

And Redline now has a 5W-40 that should be great, I'm running it now but haven't sent in the UOA ...yet!

I also wouldn't be too concerned about the Mobil 1 0W-40....I bet it's a fantastic oil. Even when driven hard.

 

[VeeDubb]

quote:

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Oil sleeping through the rings when the oil is cold

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This one has to be the mother of all wives tales.
Whoever told you not to use a "0w-xx" oil for this reason, do yourself a favor and never listen to that person again.

M1 0w-40 is perfectly fine for a hard driven 1.8T engine as is any oil with an HTHS > 3.5. You should be more worried about HTHS than the grade. Or to make your life simple, just get an oil that meets ACEA A3 and/or one of the VW50x specs, and don't worry about the grade.

Yes, you can mix 0w-40 and 15w-50 but you don't need to.

 

[rekced]

This 0W-40 does meet ACEA A3/ WV 502.00/505.00/503.01.

The 15W-50 meets ACEA A3/ VW 505.00.

[ June 01, 2004, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: rekced ]

 

[rekced]

Thanks again for your help everyone!

 

[therion]

quote:

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Originally posted by Quattro Pete:
therion, just curious, did you use any fuel additives/injector cleaners during that interval? That may account for the elevated lead. Even if not, I would not be too concerned - it's still a new engine. Wait and see how the GC does.

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No i did not. I'll take a sample of the GC at 5,000 miles next

 

[VeeDubb]

quote:

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Originally posted by rekced:
This 0W-40 does meet ACEA A3/ WV 502.00/505.00/503.01.

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Yep. Which is why you won't need to mix it.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The adds are identical across the M1 range, except SUV oil. Mix away. I would return some 0w-40 M1 and try the SUV oil for comparison. At HT/HS of 4.1, it is a solid oil. Forget adding the 15w-50, it will just take that much longer to use up your 0w-40 stash. The most I'd mix in is 1q anyway. It will screw up your CC, so don't do it in winter. Not worth the aggravation when SUV is there. I've given perfectly good oil away, just because I was moving on to some other formula.

 

[jthorner]

Mobil-1 offers 0W-20, 5W-30, 0W-30 ("Racing") 0W-40, 5W-40 ("Truck/SUV"), 10W-30 and 15W-50 weights off the shelf.

I do not believe that there is a passenger car application on the planet earth which is not as well served by one of those straight up as it is by some magical home brew blending of various one's together. If you think 0W-40 is a touch thin, then use 5W-40.

John

 

[TooSlick]

I'd run the 0w-40 by itself ...you don't need anything thicker than that for this application. The Mobil 1, 10w-30 has been showing good results in the 1.8L turbo engines and I've been running the Amsoil 10w-30 and now 0w-30 in my 2002 Audi TT roadster.

Once the 0w-40 is used up, I'd switch to the Mobil 1, 10w-30, which is completely shear stable. I've seen no advantage to running the 0w-40 over the 10w-30 in any turbo application.

Tooslick
www.lubedealer.com/dixie_synthetics

 

[Eiron]

Hey rekced,

Based on your comment of, "I have an a-load of mobil products around the house, so buying anything else is kinda out of the question. It comes down to 15W-50, OW-40, or a mix", I'd say any of the three options are OK for a turbo in your area. I haven't been following the VAG 1.8T UOAs very closely, so I don't know what they do & don't like for viscosity. I can tell you that Saab turbos love heavier oils, so if I lived in your area with my Saab I'd run 15W-50 year-round. (Take a look at this Saab 15W-50 UOA from MD. It's run all year, except when the temps drop below 20°F.)

If you're not comfortable running M1 15W-50 in the colder months, a 50/50 mix would definitely fill the bill, as would straight 0W-40. Once you've used up your stash, you might consider the new M1 5W-40 as year round fill. I hear it's become quite popular with VAG TDI & 1.8T owners. In fact, I'd be mixing 50/50 0W-40 & 15W-50 right now if the new 5W-40 hadn't been released.