2017 GTI Oil Selection

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Yeah... There are no guiltless.


Well if it's any consolation, Valvoline has never gotten a single drop of crude on a pelican.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Yeah... There are no guiltless.


Well if it's any consolation, Valvoline has never gotten a single drop of crude on a pelican.


Wrong again. Well, maybe no pelicans were harmed. Maybe.

"The Ashland oil spill was an oil spill that occurred on January 2, 1988 into the Monongahela River near the town of Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, approximately 20 miles upstream from the city of Pittsburgh."

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Yeah... There are no guiltless. That's why I run whichever product I want without worrying about any perceived moral shortcomings.


Oh no! Far better to demand that everyone stop using any natural fuels and use only "green" energy.

Of course, never mind the costs which each of us will share while we live in a country with massive reserves of oil and natural gas...

 

[Olas]

Any A3/B4 will be just fine - there are plenty to choose from.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Any A3/B4 will be just fine - there are plenty to choose from.


WRONG. The oil also needs to meet VW 502.00.

 

[Garak]

In fairness to his suggestion, at least in North America, most A3/B4 options are going to have the VW approval, at least if it's one of the choices from the majors. I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Garak
In fairness to his suggestion, at least in North America, most A3/B4 options are going to have the VW approval, at least if it's one of the choices from the majors. I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.


You're right, but that's not what he said. He said ANY A3/B4.

Reccomendeding merely an A3/B4 is not correct... So why even bother posting?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.

In the US, you could: Castrol Edge HM 10w-40, for example.

But yeah, in general, these are not very common.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
You're right, but that's not what he said. He said ANY A3/B4.

Up here, the only A3/B4 lacking the approval I can think of off the top of my head is Royal Purple 0w-40 and 5w-40, and they don't do the A3/B4 thing correctly anyhow. Castrol products all show A3/B4 clearly on the front label, and they all have the approval. So, it would take some effort to flub it up.

Quattro_Pete: I don't know if we'll get it here yet or not. Apparently, M1 HM has made it up here, too, but I haven't seen a bottle in the wild yet.

 

[Olas]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Garak
In fairness to his suggestion, at least in North America, most A3/B4 options are going to have the VW approval, at least if it's one of the choices from the majors. I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.


You're right, but that's not what he said. He said ANY A3/B4.

Reccomendeding merely an A3/B4 is not correct... So why even bother posting?


Ten out of ten for pedantry.
Let's take a look at BITOGs current darling oil, M1 0w40 is certified as A3/B4 & 502 & A40. Now go to your closest shop that sells oil and find me a bottle of 502 that is not A3/B4 - I dare ya..

 

[zeng]

Originally Posted By: Garak
In fairness to his suggestion, at least in North America, most A3/B4 options are going to have the VW approval, at least if it's one of the choices from the majors. I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.

Across the ocean here yes, most 'synthetic' A3B4 has VW 50200 approvals.
However, most if not all blends A3B4 are without VW 50200 though.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Garak
In fairness to his suggestion, at least in North America, most A3/B4 options are going to have the VW approval, at least if it's one of the choices from the majors. I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.


You're right, but that's not what he said. He said ANY A3/B4.

Reccomendeding merely an A3/B4 is not correct... So why even bother posting?


Ten out of ten for pedantry.
Let's take a look at BITOGs current darling oil, M1 0w40 is certified as A3/B4 & 502 & A40. Now go to your closest shop that sells oil and find me a bottle of 502 that is not A3/B4 - I dare ya..


It's not pedantry when you're talking about specifications; they're specifications.

You won't find a bottle of 502 that isn't A3/B4, but you can find A3/B4 that isn't 502. That's the whole point I was attempting to make.

 

[zeng]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Olas
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Garak
In fairness to his suggestion, at least in North America, most A3/B4 options are going to have the VW approval, at least if it's one of the choices from the majors. I don't think we could find a Shell, Mobil, or Castrol A3/B4 option on our shelves without getting the VW approval.


You're right, but that's not what he said. He said ANY A3/B4.

Reccomendeding merely an A3/B4 is not correct... So why even bother posting?


Ten out of ten for pedantry.
Let's take a look at BITOGs current darling oil, M1 0w40 is certified as A3/B4 & 502 & A40. Now go to your closest shop that sells oil and find me a bottle of 502 that is not A3/B4 - I dare ya..


It's not pedantry when you're talking about specifications; they're specifications.

You won't find a bottle of 502 that isn't A3/B4, but you can find A3/B4 that isn't 502. That's the whole point I was attempting to make.

This.
Helix 7 10W40/Magnatec 10W40 and Total 7000 10W40 are A3B4's without VW 50200 approvals.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Apparently, M1 HM has made it up here, too, but I haven't seen a bottle in the wild yet.

M1 HM is ACEA A3/B3 only, IIRC.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: zeng
However, most if not all blends A3B4 are without VW 50200 though.

Yes, other countries get a lot of unique European stuff we don't get. Heck, it's virtually impossible here to get a non-synthetic A3/B4. They're all marketed as synthetics with approvals out the wazoo.

Quattro_Pete: Okay, well, close enough with M1 HM.

You have to cut me a bit of slack on the specs since I've never actually seen a bottle for real. I could go to Canadian Tire and look, but I might be blindsided by the expected $55 to $60 a jug price tag, and never get as far as checking the specs, and just run out of the store screaming. Speaking of which, Canadian Tire now has a Euro house blend that might be a little short on the specifications, too, but I can't see it being a major bargain either when not on special.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Quattro_Pete: Okay, well, close enough with M1 HM.

You have to cut me a bit of slack on the specs

I wasn't trying to be a stickler. Just clarifying for those reading the thread and looking for such oils.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Nobody ever mentions Valvoline 5W-40; I wonder why that is.


Because it's "rare-as-hens-teeth" but it's otherwise a good oil used quite a bit in Europe and Asia. MaxLife has it in Europe...

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Yeah... There are no guiltless. That's why I run whichever product I want without worrying about any perceived moral shortcomings.


Oh no! Far better to demand that everyone stop using any natural fuels and use only "green" energy.

Of course, never mind the costs which each of us will share while we live in a country with massive reserves of oil and natural gas...


While there are no perfect nor guiltless oil companies, the safety record of BP prior to the spill was abysmal and an accident rate that was hundreds of times greater than that of Exxon-Mobil IIRC...

It's a legit complaint when they were reckless a-holes...

 

[Nickdfresh]

That being said, I bought "German" Castrol using the huge rebates they had back then...

 

[jayg]

Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Yeah... There are no guiltless. That's why I run whichever product I want without worrying about any perceived moral shortcomings.


Oh no! Far better to demand that everyone stop using any natural fuels and use only "green" energy.

Of course, never mind the costs which each of us will share while we live in a country with massive reserves of oil and natural gas...


While there are no perfect nor guiltless oil companies, the safety record of BP prior to the spill was abysmal and an accident rate that was hundreds of times greater than that of Exxon-Mobil IIRC...

It's a legit complaint when they were reckless a-holes...


Hundreds? Not quite.

They all have minor incidents nearly daily that we just don't hear about. Ranging from trucks leaking oil on protected lands on the north slope near Prudhoe Bay to spillage from transfer tanks. They clean it, pay fines and move on.