What oil to use in 2002 VW Passat V6

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GreggDre

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Ok, so I did a lot of reading before posting, and this is my first post. Sorry if I do something wrong. I did not find anything like my scenario or anything helpful. I just recently bought a gas 2002 VW Passat V6 with 170,000 miles. I live in Michigan and the winter is approaching quickly. It gets anywhere from 0 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter. I am a college student who drives 45 mins total (there and back) to school each day, mainly highway. On the weekends I deliver pizza in a 5 miles radius, all small town roads. I take it as easy as I can on my cars so they last. I bought this car from a friend who I know took care of it and did a lot of work on it. Mainly front end work. I do need to replace the valve cover gasket because there is a small leak. Not a hard job.

My question is, what oil is the best to use during the winter and possibly even summer? The previous owner replaced the oil pump recently with a heavier duty one. The manual calls for is 5W-40 or 5W30. However, the previous owner insists to use 15W-40 or 10W-40 during the winter and 20W-50 during the summer. Should I listen too him? He said he has never had an issue. He always put either a blend or full synthetic. Any advice would be great and greatly appreciated.
 
So why would he suggest that I use a thicker oil? Because it makes sense to me that I use a thinner oil during the winter months. I was thinking 5W-40 for the winter.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Castrol Edge 0w40 meets the spec for this engine and its a good year round oil.


Seconded. Meets all the Euro specs. It's readily available in 5 quart jugs. And it has titanium in it... which is neat I guess.
 
Originally Posted By: GreggDre
Ok, so I did a lot of reading before posting, and this is my first post. Sorry if I do something wrong. I did not find anything like my scenario or anything helpful. I just recently bought a gas 2002 VW Passat V6 with 170,000 miles. I live in Michigan and the winter is approaching quickly. It gets anywhere from 0 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter. I am a college student who drives 45 mins total (there and back) to school each day, mainly highway. On the weekends I deliver pizza in a 5 miles radius, all small town roads. I take it as easy as I can on my cars so they last. I bought this car from a friend who I know took care of it and did a lot of work on it. Mainly front end work. I do need to replace the valve cover gasket because there is a small leak. Not a hard job.

My question is, what oil is the best to use during the winter and possibly even summer? The previous owner replaced the oil pump recently with a heavier duty one. The manual calls for is 5W-40 or 5W30. However, the previous owner insists to use 15W-40 or 10W-40 during the winter and 20W-50 during the summer. Should I listen too him? He said he has never had an issue. He always put either a blend or full synthetic. Any advice would be great and greatly appreciated.


1/ Figure out which major brand oil company you like best.

2/ Look up the engine and car model number, then use the oil finder guide page of their web site to see what is their recommended best oil. Shell might not list Ultra as they don't make much money selling it and Liqui Moly will list all of their oils that are in spec.

3/ Cross out the Xw30 grades, as it's an old block that is a known dripper.

4/ Use an Acea A3/B4 cos it's a German job.

5/ Give up thinking about it and use Mobil 1 0w40 !!

PS: Or use Castrol 0w40 (A3/B4), or Penn Ultra 0 or 5w40 (A3/B4). LM Synthoil High Tech 5w40 (A3/B4) is top dog, BUT a tad too expensive.

Don't use anything thicker like a 15w40 or 20w50 in particular and get a UOA done to see how things are.
If the Fe per mile is more than 2 ppm, think about using half a can of Ceratec every OCI.
 
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All those will be just fine for the cold temperatures of winter? Thanks for all the advice. My gut was along the lines of what you all have said. So I will look into castrol, penn, and mobil. Thanks again.
 
The previous owners suggestions would be great in an air cooled Harley. Dont know what kind of oil pump for that engine would be heavy duty..perhaps high volume?

If it were mine I would 'get to know' the engine for a few thousand miles.. meaning go with a quality oil like Valvoline Maxlife 5w30 to see if you have any consumption issues..if so there is no need in adding high dollar synthetics.

Lets see pics under the valve cover when you do that job to see what the previous owners 20w50 has done.
 
Gregg, your guesstimate of 0 to 25 F for how cold it gets in Michigan is wayyyyy off.
A quick search on google for the coldest temperature ever for Michigan shows that two winters ago, Feb 20, 2015 it got down to almost 40 below in Michigan, with an average temperature for the entire state of -18.5 that day. And the coldest recorded temperature for Michigan was -51 to -53 back in 1933.

With those kind of cold temperature possible you definitely want the first number for the oil to be 0W not (5W, or 10W, or 15W, or 20W). 0W is not thicker it is the cold rating of the oil and it means it will flow better when cold, it means that when comparing oils when they are cold 0W oils will be the thinnest and flow the best.

As for the top number you probably want a 30 or a 40.

So what you want is 0W-30, or 0W-40. Mobil and Castrol both make great 0W-XX oils.
 
Ok, I plan on doing the valve gasket either this weekend or next week. I'll post pictures. What would I be looking for? What would the 20w50 do to the valves?
 
That was a colder then normal winter two years ago. And some of those temps could be at night with the windchill calculated in. Or maybe I just get so use to it that it doesn't feel that cold. Either way I will most likely throw mobil 1 0w40 in for this winter with a mann filter.
 
Originally Posted By: GreggDre
That was a colder then normal winter two years ago. And some of those temps could be at night with the windchill calculated in. Or maybe I just get so use to it that it doesn't feel that cold. Either way I will most likely throw mobil 1 0w40 in for this winter with a mann filter.


That was the temperature, not the wind chill.

If it was only a couple of years ago, if I were you I would chose my oil thinking that it could happen again.
 
Originally Posted By: GreggDre
That was a colder then normal winter two years ago. And some of those temps could be at night with the windchill calculated in. Or maybe I just get so use to it that it doesn't feel that cold. Either way I will most likely throw mobil 1 0w40 in for this winter with a mann filter.


As long as you stay with 0W for the first number you will be OK.
 
Originally Posted By: GreggDre
Ok, I plan on doing the valve gasket either this weekend or next week. I'll post pictures. What would I be looking for? What would the 20w50 do to the valves?


In summer temperatures 20W-50 would work great and protect the engine. In the winter 20W-50 would flow like cement, and the engine would literally blow up.
 
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Jim, I guess thats a good way to look at it. I can just prepare for a harsh winter and go with the 0w40
 
Originally Posted By: GreggDre
Jim, I guess thats a good way to look at it. I can just prepare for a harsh winter and go with the 0w40


You'll be ready for the summer, too.
 
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Originally Posted By: GreggDre
Ok, I plan on doing the valve gasket either this weekend or next week. I'll post pictures. What would I be looking for? What would the 20w50 do to the valves?


In summer temperatures 20W-50 would work great and protect the engine. In the winter 20W-50 would flow like cement, and the engine would literally blow up.



Probably not but it won't be ideal.

M1 0w40 or M1 10w40 High Mileage would be fine for you year round.
 
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