Mobi1 1 extended drain oil for my VW turbo?

wavinwayne · Jan 30, 2005

I would like to begin extended drain OCI's after my second-owner VW (if they would even honor it now) warranty expires at 50k. The problem is, the new Mobil 1 extended drain oils are not available in either 5w40 or 0w40, which is what my VW recommends for my car.

I have listed my car's complete engine specs. & maintenance history below. Can you oil experts advise as to which of the new M1 oils, if any, you would use in this car, & the maximum drain interval that you think safe for this car. I'd like to go with the 15k oil......

Car: 2000 VW GTI 1.8L TURBO 4-cyl. ~ 150 HP ~ Engine is 100% stock. I am the second owner; I purchased in 11-03 w/15k miles.
Current vehicle mileage: 43k miles
Prior maintenace history: no records from previous owner; for all I know, it could have been running on factory oil fill @15k.
My maintenace intervals:
1. Dealer put in Castrol GTX 5w30 @15k - oil filter used ??? - I neved looked.
2. serviced at VW dealer @21,500 miles - oil used ??? + OEM VW oil filter
3. serviced at Wal-mart @28,300 miles - Super Tech 5w30 from bulk tank + Fram Extra guard oil filter
4. serviced at Wal-mart @33,100 miles - Super Tech 5w30 from bulk tank + Fram Extra guard oil filter
5. Came to my senses!!! DIY oil change @36k miles - Mobil 1 0w40 + OEM VW oil filter + installed new Fram air filter.
6. DIY oil change @41k miles - Mobil 1 0w40 + Mobil 1 #M1-205 oil filter

If none of the new M1 oils fit the bill for this car, how long do you guys think I could safely run the current M1 0w40....5k, 7.5k, 10k, assuming 95% highway driving @ 70-75 mph, 80 miles round trip per day.

Thanks in advance.

Alan · Jan 30, 2005

M1 0W40 could probably take a 7.5K OCI then run an UOA to see if you could stretch it to 10K.
Nice car BTW.

99 · Jan 30, 2005

I personally wouldn't go past 5K on VWs if you drive it hard. Oil is cheap and these little engines spin some serious rpms on the highway and they work pretty hard moving our relatively fat VWs around......so the oil comes out of my wife's Beetle and Jetta every 5k.

williar · Jan 31, 2005

These engines have a small oil sump. I'd change it out every 5K, too.

wavinwayne · Jan 31, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by williar:
These engines have a small oil sump. I'd change it out every 5K, too.

It takes 4.8 quarts with filter change. Is this considered small?

Bugzii · Jan 31, 2005

Some may say a 4.8 qts sump for a "turbo-charged" 1.8T is insufficient but I don't think so. Heck my '89 2.5 V6 Camry had a 3.5 qts sump and a filter 1/2 the size of the 1.8T's.

I've been doing 7500 mile oil/filter changes the last 55k (82k total) using mostly a mix of M1 10w-30 + 15w-50, but 5w-30 and VW-approved 0w-40 are excellent too. Both 5w-30 and 0w-40 burned off faster than the dino stuff used by the dealer during the free maintenance period. I like 10w-30 and 15w-50 because they have the least amount of VI Improvers and don't burn off as quickly. They also reduce the cold-start valve tap.

There're plenty of UOAs if you do a search. They show very little difference between M1 5w-30 and 0w-40 in terms of wear numbers. In some cases, the 5w-30 did better.

If you're doing a UOA, I would first make sure that the engine is in tip-top working order... air filteration, good plugs, etc... Take the sample on the 2nd batch of the same brand & grade. This way you don't have residual from a different oil. 7500 would be a good base line.

Doug Hillary · Jan 31, 2005

Hi,
wavinwayne - I would consider these products when the vehicle is out of warranty;

M1 SUV 5w-40
Delvac 1 5w-40
Shell Rotella T 5w-40
Esso XD3 0w-40

All of these lubricants would perform very well in your car and with UOAs you could accurately establish the appropriate OC and Filter intervals. I would expect 15k would be easy and up to 20K is possible. I suggest a UOA at 7k and another at 14k. Most OEM filters that are recommended for extended drains do not need to be changed at mid point. IMHE they will easily last for the full extended OCI nominated by the engine's (or filter) maker. This is especially so of MANN, Mahle and Knecht brands

Regards
Doug

MY02 Subaru Outback 2.5 manual (Delvac 1)
MY98 BMW Z3 2.8 manual (Delvac 1)
MY89 Porsche 928 S4 Auto (Delvac 1)

Alan · Jan 31, 2005

BTW,the second owner gets the half of the original powertrain warranty per VW of America.

wavinwayne · Jan 31, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by Alan:
BTW,the second owner gets the half of the original powertrain warranty per VW of America.

You are correct. If I were the original owner, I would have had a 10 yr./100k mile powertrain warranty. That would have been nice, but I won't lose any sleep over it.
At some point after the 2000 model year, VW cut their powertrain warranty back considerably.

wavinwayne · Jan 31, 2005

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. It's interesting that the new M1 extended drain oils got no love from anybody.

ekpolk · Jan 31, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by 99:
I personally wouldn't go past 5K on VWs if you drive it hard. Oil is cheap and these little engines spin some serious rpms on the highway and they work pretty hard moving our relatively fat VWs around......so the oil comes out of my wife's Beetle and Jetta every 5k.

I don't care about the cheapness of the oil, I care about the expensiveness of the car. Thus my recommendation would be to run a UOA or two so that you can base your OCI upon actual knowledge of your car in its unique operating environment. Since I've learned how inexpensive and easy UOAs really are, I can no longer accept the idea of presumptively dumping oil at a fixed point, not knowing if it has 2/3 of its capability left, or if it's already dangerously overtaxed.

==============================================

quote:

Originally posted by Bugzii:
{snip}
There're plenty of UOAs if you do a search. They show very little difference between M1 5w-30 and 0w-40 in terms of wear numbers. In some cases, the 5w-30 did better.
{snip}

The only thing I'd add to this is my recommendation to look at just how "HTHS demanding" your engine is. The comparison here is an interesting one, in that M1 5w-30 has an HT/HS of ~3 (2.99), whereas the the 0w-40 is much higher, at 3.6. The M1 10w-30 is an intermediate choice at 3.16. If you can pull from the data which HT/HS does best in your engine, you can make a better choice. Good luck, enjoy.

newtoncd8 · Jan 31, 2005

I would think in Alabama, the new Mobil 1 10W40 extended performance (ACEA A3) would work nicely year-round. I guess worst case, you could run 0W40 for a few months in the winter.

medic · Jan 31, 2005

What does your owners manual state for OCI's? If you have been running 5w-30, then why are you worried about a 5w-40 or 0w-40 now?

Honestly, Mobil1 Extended Performance, with only ACEA A1/A5, B1/B5 ratings, I would consider running GC or Mobil1 0w-40 first.

wavinwayne · Jan 31, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by medic:
What does your owners manual state for OCI's? If you have been running 5w-30, then why are you worried about a 5w-40 or 0w-40 now?

Honestly, Mobil1 Extended Performance, with only ACEA A1/A5, B1/B5 ratings, I would consider running GC or Mobil1 0w-40 first.

1. My owner's manual calls for 5k OCI's.

2. After researching VW warranty issues on another forum, I began using Mobil 1 0w40 (VW approved) @36k miles, mostly to salvage any hopes of warranty coverage should anything go "POP".

3. Funny you should mention GC; I purchased 10 quarts at AutoZone last week, since it was on sale. Maybe I'll run the current fill of M1 to 7.5k, do a UOA, then run the GC to 7.5k, get a UOA & compare results. Maybe one (or both) of these is capable of 10k intervals in the VW.

Mobi1 1 extended drain oil for my VW turbo?

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