Hi everyone,
I recently purchased a new Volkswagen GLI, the requires VW 508 - 0w20 oil. This is the first modern European car that I have ever owned, so the world of "special" oil is all new to me. I come from a Japanese car background (Toyota/Nissan and an air-cooled VW and an Explorer) so for the past twenty-five years or so, I have mostly run Mobil 1 5-30 with great success and much longevity. In Japanese cars oil changes are simple, in that I can buy the oil at Costco or Walmart easily.
So what exactly makes European engine oil different from the run of the mill Mobil 1 5w30 that I have been using for a very long time? In the VW world there are 502, 504, 508, etc spec oils, I assume there are some major differences between them all?
At the moment Costco has Kirkland 0w20 oil on sale, yes the weight is correct for my new GLI, but obviously it doesn't meet the VW 508 spec. I of course will not be using the Kirkland oil in my car, but it makes one wonder why the "correct" spec oil is so different. If someone put the wrong VW spec oil in a car, but the weight of the oil is correct, will the engine self destruct within a few miles? I wonder how many "quick oil change" places don't use the correct spec oil in European cars.......
I figured I would ask the experts here, because this is new territory for me.
Thank you!
I recently purchased a new Volkswagen GLI, the requires VW 508 - 0w20 oil. This is the first modern European car that I have ever owned, so the world of "special" oil is all new to me. I come from a Japanese car background (Toyota/Nissan and an air-cooled VW and an Explorer) so for the past twenty-five years or so, I have mostly run Mobil 1 5-30 with great success and much longevity. In Japanese cars oil changes are simple, in that I can buy the oil at Costco or Walmart easily.
So what exactly makes European engine oil different from the run of the mill Mobil 1 5w30 that I have been using for a very long time? In the VW world there are 502, 504, 508, etc spec oils, I assume there are some major differences between them all?
At the moment Costco has Kirkland 0w20 oil on sale, yes the weight is correct for my new GLI, but obviously it doesn't meet the VW 508 spec. I of course will not be using the Kirkland oil in my car, but it makes one wonder why the "correct" spec oil is so different. If someone put the wrong VW spec oil in a car, but the weight of the oil is correct, will the engine self destruct within a few miles? I wonder how many "quick oil change" places don't use the correct spec oil in European cars.......
I figured I would ask the experts here, because this is new territory for me.
Thank you!