All You Wanted to Know About VW/Audi OiL

[brenshlus]

I want to make it very clear that I am by no means an oil expert or tribiologist. On that note, I'd like to add that extended service intervals(5000mi >>) should always be accompanied by used oil analyisis to ensure that the oil is properly protecting your engine.
All of the information I've posted up regarding German Castrol was obtained through www.bobistheoilguy.com and simple searches on Google.com. GC has generated quite a following on BITOG. It even has its own forum section there. Since it carries the neccesary VW approvals and is available through AutoZone, I thought it was worthy of mention here.

[Renegade (2 Point Slow)]

I just picked up some of the Red GC 0W-30 and the goons at AZ had them all mixed in with the non-german 0W-30. The only difference on the bottles was that the other stuff had a yellow stripe where the GC had a red stripe so I had to be careful to pick only the good stuff.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing how this stuff works. Oh, and it was $0.10 cheaper than the Mobil One European car blend, but still expensive at $5.19 a quart!

[brenshlus]

Originally Posted by 2 Point Slow

I just picked up some of the Red GC 0W-30 and the goons at AZ had them all mixed in with the non-german 0W-30. The only difference on the bottles was that the other stuff had a yellow stripe where the GC had a red stripe so I had to be careful to pick only the good stuff.

Yea, you have to be careful when looking for GC. There is still a lot of the older US made stuff(Yellow label) on the shelves.

2 Point Slow, what are the first 3 digits of production code printed on the bottom of each bottle? If you have "M02, M03, or M04" the oil should be green in color. The latest "M05" oil is brown, honey-colored.

Originally Posted by 2 Point Slow

...but still expensive at $5.19 a quart!

Wait until you put it in the car.......worth every penny.

[Renegade (2 Point Slow)]

they all begin with M02.

[brenshlus]

Originally Posted by 2 Point Slow

they all begin with M02.

Good, then you have the original Castrol SLX formula. The early "M02" batches tended to have higher iron levels, but thats nothing to be concerned about. Your 2.0 will seem like it has new life once this oil starts flowing through it.

Good luck,

brenshlus

[Renegade (2 Point Slow)]

Sweet, I can't wait to see how this stuff wurx!

[JJ]

What filter is recommended with the GC 0W30?

[Kaos]

Originally Posted by JJ

What filter is recommended with the GC 0W30?

If you mean oil filter JJ I would get the factory one. No worries there. Plus you have a tranversal mount motor so ther is enough oil so there is no need to increase oil filter size on your car. ++ all the way

[JJ]

Thanks, yeah I meant oil filter. I heard some babble about the sludging of motors and it led me to here when I searched. I'm gussing the 2.0 is safe from that issue. I've got 86k miles now and haven't had an issue. In fact, the car seems to run smoother lately than before, maybe it's the 2 hour commutes that warmed her up.

[Kaos]

The sludge issue was with the a4 and passat 1.8T's It seems the oil pans only hold 4 quarts of oil compaired to thr other cars holding 5 quarts of oil. the turbo would use up this oil very fast and not enought to substain long intervals between il changes. The fix was to use a larger deisle oil filter witch holds 1 quart of oil to make up for the loss in oil. Problem fixed. Unfotunatly not all Passsat owners are aware of this due to they bought the car used. So if you buy a oil filter from VW they give you the right one .But if you go to the auto store the list the old one NOT Good

[JJ]

Gotcha. No Passat or 1.8t in my driveway (yet?). The noise I heard about it was that the sludging occurred on the 4 cyl engines and it was the MKIV Jetta that it was happening to.

Of course if you hear a rumor, search or ask here and someone will set the story straight.

Actually I did get a new Dub today, for $20.00, a 1/32 4 Motion Golf Rallye car bearing the Sony logos, #3.

[sirphaedrus]

funny to be reading this... i just got back from autozone on saturday will a case of castrol syntec 5w30 ($30 bucks for 6! ), this is what the tech in the vw service dept reccommended... good to know they are on top of their game... should i check to see that it is the german made one? thats not a big deal correct?

[db]

I will sticky this topic for now, as I do think this can help some. I would like to annouce that I have been a long term Mobile 1 user but after reading this and Bill flooding me with ear noise I will be trying Castrol Syth in the Passat this week...oh and using the monster "BIG" OEM oil filter of course

[brenshlus]

Originally Posted by sirphaedrus

funny to be reading this... i just got back from autozone on saturday will a case of castrol syntec 5w30 ($30 bucks for 6! ), this is what the tech in the vw service dept reccommended... good to know they are on top of their game... should i check to see that it is the german made one? thats not a big deal correct?

The only grades of Castrol Syntec(avail. in N.America) that carry VW oil approvals are 5W40 and 0W30. No, its really not that big of a deal if you use 5W30 unless you have a future oil related warranty problem. The Syntec 5W30 grade is made in the US. Like most other Syntec grades, its made from group 3 oil basestocks. Under normal driving conditions it should do fine in almost any car.

Originally Posted by db

...and Bill flooding me with ear noise...

Aww, c'mon Dave......I'm not that annoying :P

[sirphaedrus]

Under normal driving conditions it should do fine in almost any car.

brenshlus, thanks for the heads up. i still have not done the oil change yet and have the oil still stiing in the garage, does it make sense to switch it for the 5-40 or the 0-30? i think my car may feel violated if i put in no german oil in the car... hahaha...

i guess i will have to take back my comment about the vw tech being on top of his game, funny that what he said they use at that location to do the chnages...oh boy [/list]