Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
You don't need a high HT/HS or a thick oil or synthetic to putt down the road in NH.
5w-40 is kind of thick for your winters, 10w-30 is thinner in cold and not too thin for the engine to wear properly. GTX is exellent at resisting burn-off. In Europe GTX 10w-40 meets the ACEA A1 spec for synth blend oils, basicly equal or within 80% of the synthetic A3 spec people cry out for. Pennzoil and Havoline are also excellent dino oils. I would also consider MaxLife.
For summer, bump it up to a 10w-40. If consumption is extreme, try 15w-40 as long as he is not taking very short trips. Synth oil is a skip in this engine with the exception of some Hi-Miles oils.
Walking out the door to buy, get 10w-30 Hi-Miles and maybe a quart or two of 10w-40 for topping off. If you see far below zero in winter, switch to 5w-30 if consumption on 10w-30 hi-miles is in-check.
I would not rule out synth oil, just no thin 5w-30. Try German Syntec 0w-30, MaxLife synth or maybe Mobil 1 10w-30 Hi-Miles.
There are other service items beyond oil selection, like intake cleaning, piston soak, etc. Is it a manual or automatic?
http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a364/AudiJunkie/bitog/?action=view¤t=blackstone2.jpg
http://www.lubrizol.com/EuropeanEngineOils/RelativePerformanceToolIntro.html
Thanks for the reply,
Car is a '98 A4 Avant Quattro Manual trans.
Justin