Running a full, PAO/Ester synthetic is a no brainer, but I gathered he was looking for a significantly less expensive approach?
I'd run the Delo 400, 15w-40, which you can get for < $6.50/gallon at most places. I see very little difference between a 15w-40, GP II oil and a 5w-40, GP III oil except for price and very cold weather performance. The levels of saturates is the same for both groups, but the GP III has a VI of > 120, instead of 100-120 for the GP II stuff. All you are doing with GP III oils is cooking them a bit longer....
Considering he lives in Alabama, the 15w-40 is fine year round. I run a 20w-50 synthetic year round in my old, 1990 Audi 100 and it starts easily at 15F-20F ....The SAE 5w-40 recommendation is a "one size fits all" compromise, that works okay in cold or hot climates, but common sense tells you it's not needed for places where the temps rarely gets below freezing.
As recently as 1999, VW/Audi were recommending 15w-40/15w-50 oils down to 5F/-15C and 20w-50 oils down to 14F/-10C. The engines haven't changed, but VW is more sensitive to fuel efficiency these days as well as reducing oil inventories of various SAE grades at their dealerships ....
Tooslick
dixie synthetics