Oil for Volkswagen VR6 12 valve

[VgRt6]

I've used 5w-30, 0w-40 and 5w-40 in my 99.5 VR over the past 175k miles and it works fine on all of them. The oil that it seems to like best IMO is what I'm currently using - Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40. It's an excellent quality synthetic oil designed for diesels, but is dual rated for gasoline engines.

Check out my latest oil analysis from the Rotella - 170k Oil analysis. Based on the results, the oil can easily go 10k+ miles with very little wear to the engine.

Gary

 

[Patman]

This engine would do well with something like Amsoil 5w40, Castrol Syntec 5w40 or even German Syntec 0w30 (which is almost a 40wt)

 

[Alan]

I had the same question when I got my 00 GTI 3 months ago.I intially ran M1 5W30(ran fine)then switched over to German Castrol 0W30 for it's A3 rating.

I think the engine ran actually quieter with the M1 vs GC,also seemed to rev more freely but the GC is no slouch in that regard too.It's really to close call to be honest as the differences are probably in my head.

Might run M1 0W40 next.

 

[John_E]

I use Mobil 1 0W-40 in my 1.8T, because it's widely available and meets VW 502. So far, I have no complaints with it.

 

[Tony1]

I have been lurking for a while and really enjoy the site so I decided to post. I have been running Mobil 1 10-30 synthetic from about 20k miles using Volkswagen filters. I now have around 53K. The car is a 1999.5 Jetta. I wasn't sure if the 10-30 met Volkswagen specs or not and I have been thinking about running Mobil 1 0-40 or Amsoil 5-40 European formula. I live in Houston,TX. The car is my wifes at the moment but I plan on taking it over and I probably drive the car a little harder than her. Someone on VW Vortex mentioned that VR6's tend to run hot and Mobil 0-40 might shear with this engine? I did a search but have not come across any discussions on this engine. Any suggestions are much appreciated.