Once out of warranty.....?????

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I am just wondering....once your European Oil Spec Requirement Car runs out of warranty, will you stay with the high priced oils?

For instance, for my son's 2008 VW Rabbit with the 2.5L manual transmission, calls for 502. We are using Castrol 5w40, but he drives it pretty hard and we are staying with 5k OCI's, instead of the manual approved 10k.

Anyway, is anyone else using a $3.75 per quart oil, like Rotella, which isn't 502 rated, once the warranty runs out?

I am insterested in everyone's thoughts.

Thanks,
 
I think Rotella 5w40 every 5K is fine. It's a robust oil and should hold up. Another option would be GC when it goes on sale. I'd run the GC at least 7K.
 
I will stick with 505.01 spec for my VW TDI PD diesel because of the compromised design to fit the PD injectors in with the valve train that over stresses the cam lobes and parts that they operate. There is a history of problems with those engines on the wrong oil.

Other than the TDI PD engines, I wouldn't generally be too concerned about substituting another good oil for the Euro spec stuff.

I don't think the 502 spec is nearly as tough as the 505 but don't have any recommendations for you because I haven't looked into it.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I think Rotella 5w40 every 5K is fine. It's a robust oil and should hold up. Another option would be GC when it goes on sale. I'd run the GC at least 7K.


Plus both of those are going to be much better than the syntec 5w40 if we use the syntec 5w40's UOAs in the VW 2.0 FSI as a guide. GC is on the 502 list as of april 09 so it can be used now.

Regarding cheap oils, why cheap out? -nothing wrong with Rotella or GC and they are not "cheapo" oils in terms of performance. For me I plan on using the best oil possible for my car. What oil that is may change over time as I learn more or we get new UOAs, etc. The difference between a high end Amsoil or Redline for example over a Syntec 5w40 is what, 50 cents to $1 per quart? Why not go for the good stuff? There was a good UOA posted recently of an Amsoil 30 weight in a subi turbo. I don't know the Amsoil names but it was maybe SSO?
 
I too will stick with VW 507.00 in my '09 TDI.

If I can't afford to spend $50 on a oil change, twice per year (approximately 20,000 mile per year) then I don't need to be driving.
 
Originally Posted By: BigJohn
I am just wondering....once your European Oil Spec Requirement Car runs out of warranty, will you stay with the high priced oils?

For instance, for my son's 2008 VW Rabbit with the 2.5L manual transmission, calls for 502. We are using Castrol 5w40, but he drives it pretty hard and we are staying with 5k OCI's, instead of the manual approved 10k.

Anyway, is anyone else using a $3.75 per quart oil, like Rotella, which isn't 502 rated, once the warranty runs out?

I am insterested in everyone's thoughts.


As mentioned earlier in this thread, the VW 502.00 spec is not a particularly stringent spec... IMO, nearly any 5w40 will work pretty well in that engine. Besides, the sump capacity is sufficient to allow up to 10k miles between oil changes, whether you use a $9.00/liter imported oil or an $19/gallon Rotella T syn from Walmart.

About the only thing you should not do is run a conventional oil -- not that this would have any immediate disastrous consequences, but it's best just to stick with synthetic oils for all Volkswagens and not confuse things.
 
Originally Posted By: BigJohn
Anyway, is anyone else using a $3.75 per quart oil, like Rotella, which isn't 502 rated, once the warranty runs out?

I'm using Rotella T 5w-40 in our '01 Jetta 2.0 at 10K OCI or 1 year, whichever comes first. But the best price I've seen on it is $19/gallon. Where did you find it for 3.75/qt? Or are we talking about different Rotella?
 
I am "experimenting" with my '01 TDI. I have run 15W40 HDEO in it this summer, and I'll change it in the fall. I guess the OCI will be around 5K miles. I had been using Lubrimoly 0W-40 for the winter. Mileage is about 1 mpg better, and I think it's because of summer fuel, not the oil. I'll run synthetic for the winter for easier starting. The manual says that 5W-30 or 40 synthetic is preferred, but any oil meeting CF-4, ACEA B3, or VW 505.00 standard in an "appropriate" viscosity for your climate is acceptable. Just "stay between the lines" if you have a PD or are under warranty. FYI, Royal Purple makes a CI-4 oil in 10W-40 @ $8.69/Qt. if you still want to spend lots of money on oil ;-)
 
Originally Posted By: Paul2007
I am "experimenting" with my '01 TDI. I have run 15W40 HDEO in it this summer, and I'll change it in the fall. I guess the OCI will be around 5K miles.... The manual says that 5W-30 or 40 synthetic is preferred, but any oil meeting CF-4, ACEA B3, or VW 505.00 standard in an "appropriate" viscosity for your climate is acceptable.


You have not been keeping up to date with information on your TDI engine. You may be relying on outdated recommendations in your owners manual.

My 2003 owners manual said to use a synthetic oil meeting either:
1) an oil meeting API CH-4 (or better), or
2) an oil meeting VW 505.00 (or better), or
3) an oil meeting ACEA A4/B3

For our purposes, the choices are between #1 or #2 -- there are no oils meeting ACEA A4/B3 except for those meeting one of the other specs as well.

I had 25 gallons of Mobil Delvac 1 5w40 that met CH-4, and I never put ANY of it in my Golf -- I sold it to other folks and only bought newer Mobil 5w40 meeting CI-4 or CI-4+. Now I'm running CJ-4. Just because an owners manual is obsolete, does not mean that you can or should run an obsolete oil.

As for running a conventional 15w40 HDEO... don't do it. It is not good for the turbo or the piston rings, and it does not matter whether you change the oil every 5k miles or every 3k miles or every 1k. Your engine should have a quality synthetic 5w40 like Mobil 1, or if you feel like "experimenting" then experiment with something like Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5w30 or ESP Formula M 5w40 (both now available at Pep Boys).
 
Even though the manual allows for 10k OCI's....I am not going there. My son tends to drive a little aggressive at times so I am going to keep it to 5k or 6 month OCI's.

At this time, I have two OCI's of Castrol 5w40 on the garage shelf....So I am good until the fall of 2010. At that time, I think we will be out of warranty....and I am considering Rotella 5w40 because the price is right and because Wal-Mart is 1/2 mile down the street.

I have high regard for Rotella, as I run it in my motorcycle, which is harder on the oil than a 2.5 Rabbit.
 
Originally Posted By: BigJohn
Even though the manual allows for 10k OCI's....I am not going there. My son tends to drive a little aggressive at times so I am going to keep it to 5k or 6 month OCI's.

At this time, I have two OCI's of Castrol 5w40 on the garage shelf....So I am good until the fall of 2010. At that time, I think we will be out of warranty....and I am considering Rotella 5w40 because the price is right and because Wal-Mart is 1/2 mile down the street.

I have high regard for Rotella, as I run it in my motorcycle, which is harder on the oil than a 2.5 Rabbit.


I am not sure if there are any used-oil analysis (UOA) results with Syntec in the 2.5-liter Rabbit, but everything I have read indicates that that engine is very easy on oil. It's not turbocharged, it does not run super-hot, and it has a relatively large sump capacity -- it is everything that the 1.8T and 2.0T engines are not, and those are engines where the 5k-mile OCI is recommended.

Just because your son drives aggressively at times does not mean the oil change interval (OCI) ought to be shortened. I assume the engine has not been modified, and that you do not live near a quarry or a coal mine.
 
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