Mobil 1 0W40 2004 Audi A4 1.8T

Status
Not open for further replies.
Funny that you would say not to use M1 0W40. It is one of the few VW/Audi approved oils available in the US. Of course it shears. Everyone knows it shears, I am sure that Mobil knows it shears too. So what, it meets many german mfgs specs, so it must be a pretty good oil.

While the wear numbers are high, they are not scary high. This car was serviced by the dealer, and I bet they probably skipped an oil change or two, or maybe put dino in it a few times. Plus, it has gone 10k between oil changes for its entire life. Im just going to change it in 5k and get another UOA then.

It has M1 0W40 in it now.
 
Last edited:
Quote:
Funny that you would say not to use M1 0W40. It is one of the few VW/Audi approved oils available in the US. Of course it shears. Everyone knows it shears, I am sure that Mobil knows it shears too. So what, it meets many german mfgs specs, so it must be a pretty good oil.


It's an excellent oil. I have no doubt. It's just requires an alteration for us "unrefined" to wrap around the idea of "robust" in the midst of shearing. It performs very well from what I've seen. It just kinda reminds me of that one movie "Tales From The Hood" where there was one line about refried beans. The young man wondered why they just didn't fry them proper the first time around.

The same oddity was encountered by Dr. Haas with his Helix Ultra 10w-50 factory fill. It' sheared to a 30 weight in a relatively short mileage. There was nothing considered wrong with that ..but it does get one to ask why even put 50 on the label ..when it isn't going to be that except in the bottle? No one buys a 15w-40 without expecting it to stay in grade. in fact no one I can think of would approach an oil with the idea .."yeah, this should be good and seasoned after a few miles of "breaking it in" to its real viscosity". It's sorta like buying a 70's-80's Jaguar ..."Oh, it's new. You should have it right after a year or two".

Quote:
While the wear numbers are high, they are not scary high.


Yeah, there's nothing there to lose sleep over. It can give to something to tweak/tinker in reducing/controlling.
 
I like 0W-40, but not as an endurance oil. Especially in "higher performance" engines (like compared to a conventional import 4-cyl).

I would think the turbo would be a good candidate for Mobil TDT or Delvac 5W-40.
 
Originally Posted By: 98dakarM3

I would think the turbo would be a good candidate for Mobil TDT or Delvac 5W-40.


That would be considered "rude". Donning heavy duty work clothes where a finely tailored suit would be normal attire.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Originally Posted By: 98dakarM3

I would think the turbo would be a good candidate for Mobil TDT or Delvac 5W-40.


That would be considered "rude". Donning heavy duty work clothes where a finely tailored suit would be normal attire.


That's right Gary!

Porsche has no problem subjecting the 0w40 to the punishment of multiple turbo's!
 
I went back and examined my UOA's for my 1.8T Passat (they are on this site). The 2 UOAs using M1 0w40 showed iron at around 16 and 17ppm on OCIs of 3560 and 3332 miles, respectively. Assuming a "linear" relationship (which may or may not be fair), if my OCI was 10k miles I'd be around 50ppm iron too.

The most recent two UOAs on this vehicle were with Castrol Syntec 5w40. Iron was 13 and 10ppm on 3338 and 3394 miles, respectively.

My conclusion, with 2 UOA's on each oil, with roughly the same OCI interval, was that the Syntec pulled lower iron numbers.

Another interesting observation is that the lowest iron number (10ppm) occurred during the OCI where coilpack number 4 failed and I drove the car an additional 4 or 5 miles. This would seem to dispell the idea that a coilpack failure might cause additional iron wear - at least in my case it was exactly the opposite.
 
Im done with defining the "best" oil as the one with the lowest iron numbers. Mobil always has higher iron that other oils, but Im not convinced it is not as good as other oils.

Thanks for the info on the coil pack failure.

We'll see what happens on the next oil analysis. Im thinking of trying some european oils. I can get them from the place I recently purchased some parts for the Audi. They have Eneos oil as well as Pentosyn, lubromoly, total, etc.
 
Coolant trace in the oil from turbo housing? I see the deadly combo of K and Si sneaking in. Also ADD pack element list doesnt look like a "vintage" SL add, looks much weaker.
 
Originally Posted By: glxpassat
Your car requires an oil that meets the Audi 503.01 spec. The older SL version did, but the US SM version of M1 0w-40 does not.


503.01 was never employed in North America, to my knowledge.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
503.01 was never employed in North America, to my knowledge.


You are right, the variable service interval was never implemented, but in this motor, considering it's sump size and higher horsepower, a VW 502 oil is really only good for 5k miles, and that may be stretching it. The 5k interval was used in the Passat with a VW 502 oil and it has a lower horsepower rating than the Audi. The only way I would go over 5k miles in this motor is with a VW 503.01 or the newer replacement VW 504 oil. It's too bad the "European Formula" Mobil-1 doesn't meet them!
 
Originally Posted By: glxpassat
It's too bad the "European Formula" Mobil-1 doesn't meet them!

GC still lists 503.1 on the label though, probably because it's still SL-rated.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
GC still lists 503.1 on the label though, probably because it's still SL-rated.


I believe the sole reason GC is imported into the US is for Audi dealers here to have access to it. They started importing it in 2002 after realizing what a mess they had running these motors for 10k miles using mineral oil.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
Mobil 1 FS 0W40, 20266 km, 439316 km, Honda Civic 1.8 R18A2
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
Bjornviken
V
New to me car. 2010 Porsche Cayman S, 6500 interval, Mobil 1 0W40
Replies
16
Views
2K
Indyxc
The Critic
2016 MB E350, Mobil 1 0W40, 18,092 miles
Replies
11
Views
3K
vinu_neuro
C
Mobil 1 ESP X3 0W40, 282km oil / 22882km Engine, Honda Civic Type R k20c1
2
Replies
34
Views
1K
CivicFK2TypeR
P
Mobil 1 FS 0W-40, 4,000 miles, 2020 Kia Soul
Replies
18
Views
4K
Johnny248
Back
Top