non vw spec oil changes for 2.5 passat?

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
The VW five cylinder is a lot like the older 2.slow in that it doesn't actually need the VAG spec oils called for.
Were it my car, I'd do 6-7K drains on any 5W-30 syn and call it a day.
No, sticking with VW's requirements is the best option.
They specify a minimum HTHS which needs to be an A3/B4 oil, and that is governed by how much surface area and loading the bearings in that specific engine has.
It has very little to do with how "slow" the engine is as you say.

 

[K23Turbo]

On google and yelp, search VW/Euro car service garages near me. These are the local mechanics that fixes cars. Some of them provide great service and fair prices. You’ll have to experiment to find the right one.

You can buy VW filters on eBay, Amazon or Walmart. You’ll have to look up the parts number. You can grab filter and oil at Walmart. And take it to your local garage.

 

[fdcg27]

On the contrary, an engine's specific output has much to do with the loading the mains will see.
In the case of the 2.5 five cylinder as well as the old 2.0 four, VW probably simply recommended their standard oil to avoid confusion among the customer and service base and to allow for long drain intervals as well as for really hard running, since VAG's oil certs are worldwide and not specific to markets like this one where a car cannot be road driven fast enough for long enough to really require a typical Euro spec oil. Shorten those intervals and I can't see any reason that an API 5W-30 syn wouldn't work well.
There are many VAG engines in which an API 5W-30 would be inappropriate, particularly with the drain intervals VW recommends. That said, there was a long-banned member here who ran API 5W-30s in a variety of VAG 1.8T and 2.0T engines which he then UOAed with good results. He did use shorter than OEM recommended drain intervals.