My stupid owner's manual...

[Audi Junkie]

My manual has so many different visc recommendations it's confusing even me. As in many manuals, the visc chart is superimposed on a temp graph. I ranted on this before, but was just reviewing my 1994 Audi manual (a projekt car) and here are some of the oil points made.

Ok:
API SF/SG is acceptable
20w-20 is indicated below +50f
15w-40 is mentioned, yay
Permissible to mix viscosities
With 5w30, long-distance high speed driving should be avoided.
10w oil is indicated below +20f
5w-40, the classic Euro Synth, is not even mentioned
Just seems a bit strange.

 

[srivett]

Well, you aren't going to find a 20w20 or a 10w so you can rule them out. What's left?

Cheers, Steve

 

[moribundman]

Can you scan the chart? VW changed their chart a few times during the past. Going by what you are telling us, I surmise that your oil chart is similar to my '89 Scirocco's:

Column A: VW 501.01, multi-grade oil -- proper viscosity ambient temperature-dependent!

Column B: VW 500.00 AND VW 505.00, friction-modified oil (usually full synthetic or HC) -- no temperature limits!!!

Column C: single grade oil -- proper vicosity highly dependent on ambient oil temperature


A few years later, column A showed VW 500.00 (friction-modified), column B showed VW 501.00 oil (multi-grade). Single grade oils are not listed at all anymore.

 

[moribundman]

In short, pick any oil that meets VW 502.00, but I'd stay away from any 0W-X sauce. Use 5W-40 and up. Oh come on, you know what to use! M1 5W-40 will work well, and even Delo 15w40 will work just fine, you penny pincher!

 

[jthorner]

Sounds like the chart in the manual of my '96 Volvo. Not really hard to use or read.

15W-40 recommended for temps above freezing up to as hot as you like. 10W-30 for typical winter conditions and moderate summers. 5w30 and thinner for winter only.

It really is not hard to read one of those charts.

The simple answer is to run a 15w40 in the summer and 10W-30 in the winter.

John

 

[Shannow]

Those charts usually make sense to Australians.

20W-50, or if it's cold, somethingW-40.

I'd pick somethingW-40, something being a smaller number if it's colder than none celsius.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Those are all good ideas, but I'm just looking at the manual, not trying to pick out an oil, thankfully. No mfg specs are given. No 5w-40 is indicated, definately not 5w-50. If they are staying with dino oils, 10w-40 should be featured for this V6 in summer/normal temps and 5w30 in colder ones. Instead, there are a bunch of wierd multi-grades and the utterly retarded single weights. The only bright spot is 15w40 specificly mentioned. To be even more specific, the Multis are in a bunch under "Energy Conserving" Another catagory IS "Multigrade" oils, which is a single blank arrow across all the temps. The final catagory has no name and contains the single grades, 20w-20 and 10w. No wonder people are clueless.

BTW- I can get PZ 20w-20 and all single grades of a few brands, inc Valv 60 and single weight VR1 Racing PLUS synthetic VR1 single weights.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Also, I know the chart *can* be read, but it is unnecessiarly cluttered and confused. It's one thing to include possible oil choices, but another to think adv Joe is going to spend more than 30 sec looking at it and NOT know conclusively which grade to use.

It should say, seperately:

5w30 and 10w-40 are the most versatile grades based on anticipated ambient temps. 10w-40 should be used normally (to control oil consumption) unless cold-start conditions dictate a 5w30 for cold service.

 

[Al]

Who cares..use what you want. Its out of warranty anyway.

 

[williar]

About the only thing that's meaningful is the VW spec that the oil should meet, and if those aren't spelled out then all bets are off. Likely good oils for '94 are what is used in the new Audis: M1 0w40 & GC, IMHO.