Engine Oil

[brad]

Putting fully synth oil in a Polo GTi and then changing it every 5000km is just a waste.


that sounds like unsubstantiated rubbish to me

Give that man a bear.

[instigator]

it's not my first language no, i only know the basic stuff, so yes, it's hard to explain what i realy mean.
and i don't say or mean that castrol oil is bad.
don't get me wrong, it's one of the best oil's arround.
but you have to use youre car for driving such oil.
the oil comes better to his right if you use it proper, then you see why it's such good oil.
it's just not the oil for driving nice and slow every day because then you can also keep using the longlife or something else.
the castrol oil lubricates at his best when youre driving on a Cirquit or so.
it can keep his temprature constant.
and other oil can "overheat" thats what that oil is made for.
and it's made for high performance engine's that make higher RPM's, such as BMW M3.
and i only said that youre better off with Mobil 1 oil for daily use as it has the same result as castrol oil, but it's better "useable" on daily bases and specially on cold starts.
so i diddn't say that castrol oil may break down your engine or so.
it's such a small diffenrence that it probably don't even matter

[blackbetty]

thought i'd update you all on my oil choice as its been around 6mths since i changed it.
used nulon 5w-30
done about 6000kms on it so far and i gotta say its still clean like new, and my engine still has a real nice crisp engine rev, like when the oil was new

[break]

Putting fully synth oil in a Polo GTi and then changing it every 5000km is just a waste.

You really are clueless aren't you. Drop the oil in any turbo car after 5,000km on a good full synthetic oil and you'll be shocked at just how black it will be.

Sure, you can go longer then 5,000km on full synth, but I think you're absolutely bonkers to go longer than that if you like to give your car a bit of stick every now and again.

In terms of engine feel, particularly idle, I can notice a BIG improvement straight after changing oil... and that's with only 5,000km on my oil... I'd hate to see what 10-15k on the oil would be like.

[Transporter]

Yeap, it doesn't hurt to change the oil every 5K and you're right on money there that when you drive short trips, drive harder or take your car to track days you need to change engine oil sooner. Not just the engine oil whole maintenance schedule needs to be look at especially if the engine is chipped!

Otherwise the life of the car (engine) will be reduced. Of course it doesn't make a sense to argue about that, since every one has their own opinion and many people keep their car for a short time only.

For these who change the oil once a year I suggest that you change the oil before summer.

I change oil in our cars every 7,500 km

[Buller_Scott]

hey tranny, just on that note.....

ive been chipped since 30,000kms and i stupidly went the normal service interval (15,000km) once, then oil change at 7500km since then.

for chipped diesel, would you reckon i should bring that down to 5000km? i give my car alot of crap btw.....

[Blitzen]

hey tranny, just on that note.....

ive been chipped since 30,000kms and i stupidly went the normal service interval (15,000km) once, then oil change at 7500km since then.

for chipped diesel, would you reckon i should bring that down to 5000km? i give my car alot of crap btw.....

Diesel engines respond to more regular oil changes better than petrol engines, mainly because of the extra particulate build up in diesel engines due to the higher compression. Oil changes every 5000km for diesel engines is a very good thing.

[Buller_Scott]

cheers for confirming that, blitzen.

done and done! 5000kms from now on it is!

[GTI_PAPA]

The right oil???

Hey guys,
Thought I'd change my oil/filter this weekend. Already purchased a filter from VW, but not the oil until I did a little more research. Found some very handy information on a Audi forum, and thought it would be helpful to post it for all to ponder upon:

Below is an article written by John Rowland, Silkolene/Fuchs Chief R & D Chemist for 40 years.

Costs of synthetics vary considerably. The most expensive are the �Ester� types originally only used in jet engines. These cost 6 to 10 times more than high quality mineral oils. The cheapest synthetics are not really synthetic at all, from a chemists point of view. These are in fact specially refined light viscosity mineral oils known as �hydrocracked�. These have some advantages over equivalent mineral oils, particularly in lower viscosity motor oils such as 5w-30 or other oils with a low �W� rating such as 5w-50 etc and they cost about 1.5 times more than good quality mineral fractions.

We use several different grades of this base oil, where appropriate. This is the �synthetic� which is always used in cheap oils that are labelled �synthetic�.

Yes it�s a cruel world, you get what you pay for!

Now, you may ask, why are these special mineral oils called �synthetic�?

Well, it was all sorted in a legal battle that took place in the USA about ten years ago. Sound reasons (including evidence from a Nobel Prize winning chemist) were disregarded and the final ruling was that certain mineral bases that had undergone extra chemical treatments could be called �synthetic�.

Needless to say, the marketing executives wet their knickers with pure delight!
They realised that this meant, and still does, that the critical buzz-word �synthetic� could be printed on a can of cheap oil provided that the contents included a few percent of �hydrocracked� mineral oil, at a cost of quite literally a few pence.

So, the chemistry of �synthetics� is complex and so is the politics!

The economics are very simple. If you like the look of a smart well-marketed can with �synthetic� printed on it, fair enough, it will not cost you a lot; and now you know why this is the case.

But, if you drive a high performance car, and you intend to keep it for several years, and maybe do the odd �track day�, then you need a genuine Ester/PAO (Poly Alpha Olefin) synthetic oil.

This oil costs more money to buy, because it costs us a lot of money to make, very simply, you always get what you pay for!


Mobil 1 = PAO
Motul = Not all are proper but believe V300 is Ester
Silkolene = All Pro S and R are Ester
Castrol RS = 10w-60 Hydrocracked (SLX 0w-30 PAO)
Millers = Hydrocracked as far as I'm aware
Comma - part of Exxon Mobil = AVOID definately hydrocracked
Shell = Most are hydrocracked, there are some PAO's
Carplan Triple R = Hydrocracked
Fuchs Supersyn SL range = PAO
Total = Some PAO, most hydrocracked
Valvoline = Hydrocracked
Redline = Most Ester
Royal Purple = Most Ester

After reading this, I think I'll go for Mobil 1.

[brad]

After reading this, I think I'll go for Mobil 1.

Which one?

More to the point, why not go with the chemist & use Fuchs? It's one of the OEM VW oils.

[noone]

Thanks for the info, although I'm not sure I understood the outcome of that article...

Whilst the 1.8T is a hi compression engine, I don't think its what I would call high performance... I note that Jmac has mentioned using Penrite which is a good oil, considerably cheaper than most other brand name oils and does not appear on the list.

I've been using Castrol for the last 2 changes, not sure what spending an extra $30 on the oil is going to achieve...

I'd be wary about what someone who works for a brand says about the other brands, they are supposed to support their product. Some good independant testing might be the way to go...

[GTI_PAPA]

I think this post was taken out of context. Nothing sinister, no conspiracy, just facts about "synthetic" oils. After reading/posting this, I went to quite a few manufacturers sites, and the good ones (amsoil, royal purple) make a point of stating "ester" or "PAO" for their full synthetics. I have used amsoil in a previous car, pricey but vgood.

[NickZ]

If its under warranty, and arguably even after warranty, compliance with VW 502 / 505 is a must!

I use Mobil 1 0w-40 (complies with VW 502) and have been very happy with its performance, doing oil changes every 6 months or 7500km whichever comes first.

Cheers
Nick