Oil consumption delimma

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A friend of mine has a new VW with the 2.8 V6 motor in it. It consumes about 1/2 quart per 1000 miles. His mechanic recommended that he use 10w-40 or 20w-50 to reduce the consumption. But, he also lives in a cold climate that gets down to about 10 degrees F. His delimma is this:

1. He wants to reduce consumption and is considering the heavy oil (10w-40 or 20w-50). But this oil may not flow well in the cold weather and cause some cold start wear.

2. He is concerned about cold starts and wants to go with a 5w-30 or 10w-30 but that means more consumption. He will just top off as needed.

What do the gurus advice he do? Option (1) or option (2)?
 
quote:

Originally posted by rgiles:
I like the idea of the 0w40 Mobil 1 option. Easy to get and trusted as a factory fill by Mercedes.

Thanks for the responses
The engine has less than 10k on it. The factory fill was 5w-40 and it burned almost a quart of that per 1000 miles. Is 10w-40 or 20w-50 a good idea in cold weather?
 
I'd stick with the factory-recommended weight, which is probably 5w30. You can deviate to Mobil1 0W40 if you like. During the first 5-10K miles, the engine is still breaking-in and will consume abnormal amounts of oil. Don't do the first oil change until 5K miles to allow proper break-in. I would NOT use 10W40 or 20W50 in a new engine as they need a light oil to cool and lube close-tolerance parts, as well as aid in startup.
 
quote:

Originally posted by VeeDubb:

quote:

Originally posted by rgiles:
I like the idea of the 0w40 Mobil 1 option. Easy to get and trusted as a factory fill by Mercedes.

Thanks for the responses
The engine has less than 10k on it. The factory fill was 5w-40 and it burned almost a quart of that per 1000 miles. Is 10w-40 or 20w-50 a good idea in cold weather?


A synthetic 10W-40 would be okay. I wouldn't go with any 20W-50 at those temps. Since the engine is still so new, I would think it would be better to replace a quart every now and then than compromise cold start protection.

Both Redline 5W-40 and Mobil 1 0W-40 would probably reduce oil consumption over the factory fill. Amsoil has a great 10W-40 that would be a good buy as well.

Edit: Williar, I believe VW approves a 5W-40 for this engine.

[ December 11, 2002, 08:24 PM: Message edited by: mdv ]
 
I drive a 2001 PT Cruiser, which is notorious for it’s oil consumption (some owners see consumption at a rate of 1qt/1,000 miles). I used Mobil1 10W-30 from 500 miles to 73,000 miles. With Mobil1 I was experiencing oil consumption at a rate of around ½ quart per 1,000 miles. At 73,000 miles, I switched to Schaeffer’s Supreme 7000 10W-30 and much to my surprise the oil level has stayed at the “full” mark for the past 2,500 miles. I’m pretty impressed so far....
cheers.gif
 
VeeDubb,
Since it's still in warranty, I'd use caution in deviating from the manual too much. Does the manual allow for oil grades up to 20W-50? Yes, they'd have to prove that the non-recommended grade caused damage, but does your friend really want to worry about having to go thru that? If the manual says it's OK, I don't see why he couldn't switch after 10k miles.

I'll say it again: I'm running M1 15W-50 in Northern Colorado (in a much older, weaker engine than you're friend's got) & I'm not having any starting problems down to 15*F so far. However, based on the recent discussions of the newest MB spec, I'll probably switch to the 0W-40 when I'm done with this interval.
 
I left M1 15W50(pre trisyn) in a Chevy Truck 350 one winter to push the envelope. With this truck anyway, the envelope ended at -20f. When it warmed back up to -10 she popped right off. On the other hand, with 10W30 it started ok at -30 and -80chill factor. That was something, you could not let the clutch out without killing the motor cause the transmission oil was so stiff!
 
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