'13 GTI 38K mi/ Castrol Edge OE 5W-40 10K

[dmdx86]

This is a 2013 VW GTI with 38K miles on the clock, CCTA 2.0L TSI engine. Car has an aftermarket K04 turbocharger and the supporting ECU flash (~330 WHP). Car is not used in motorsports but is driven hard.

The oil in question is "Castrol Edge Professional OE 5W-40" which is what all the VW dealers use around here. The car will continue to receive this oil until I exhaust all of the free dealer oil changes (two more left, then I will start doing them myself).

The only thing of concern are elevated iron and silicon readings. The iron isn't terrible based on the number of miles it seems though, but still higher than I'd like it to be.

My intake system incorporates a Unitronic diverter valve relocation kit and a K&N oiled air filter. Long story short, I'm replacing one of the intake fittings that might be leaking (unconfirmed) and will be re-oiling the air filter a little more liberally this time to see if that might help.

Blackstone isn't sure if this is an intake issue or residual silicon from sealing material (gaskets?).

Does the high iron look to be a consequence of more power, silicon issues, or just a mediocre oil?

Could some of the iron be from a relatively new turbo? I'm not sure what sort of materials the turbine and housing are made of. The turbo was installed at 20K, but there has been one oil change since then, so I'm not sure if it would still be shedding metal at this point.

 

[Falken]

The only problem I see is the brand of oil you are using.

I would personally try a Pennzoil or Mobil that meets your specs.

Even with the elevated silicon, I think your Iron could be lower.

 

[BikeWhisperer]

Originally Posted By: Falken
The only problem I see is the brand of oil you are using.



Lots of Castrol Edge UOA's without high iron on BITOG...

 

[addyguy]

Its not bad results for this type of engine.

That said, for a souped up turbo VW; I would go with shorter intervals.

You've poured all this money into the engine, and yet you are stretching a $40-50 oil change to 10k?

 

[slo town]

Originally Posted By: addyguy

You've poured all this money into the engine, and yet you are stretching a $40-50 oil change to 10k?


^^^ Exactly!

 

[dmdx86]

10K is what VW calls for. The purpose of this exercise was to see if 10K is reasonable on this setup.

I'm going to do one more run at 10K on this oil, including replacing one of the intake fittings, and see if wear improves.

At that point I'll know if I should consider shorter OCIs, a better oil, or possibly replacing the oiled K&N filter with a dry filter element.

 

[slo town]

Originally Posted By: dmdx86
10K is what VW calls for. The purpose of this exercise was to see if 10K is reasonable on this setup.

I'm going to do one more run at 10K on this oil, including replacing one of the intake fittings, and see if wear improves.

At that point I'll know if I should consider shorter OCIs, a better oil, or possibly replacing the oiled K&N filter with a dry filter element.


You say a 10K interval is what VW calls for. This makes ZERO sense in your situation. Your stock motor has 200-210 HP at the FLYWHEEL. And then you say you are producing 300+ horsepower at the WHEELS. And you drive the car "hard".

But you still think VW's 10K recommendation is appropriate. I don't get it.

Scott

Also, IMO you have some serious detonation going on because of the far too high iron levels.

 

[dmdx86]

I didn't say it was appropriate, I said the purpose of getting an analysis was to see if the 10K recommendation from VW is reasonable for my setup.

Given that I have something going on with silicon, the elevated iron may have an explanation besides too long of an OCI.

I'm going to run one more 10K OCI and make a decision on OCI length and oil type at that time.

My engine isn't going to wear out after having a 30% higher (on a per mile basis) iron level (versus universal averages) for one more 10K run.

Cheers.

 

[Gasbuggy]

Stock air intake being run?

Iron isn't that bad considering the comparable was a 6k average.

You could try pulling 1 degree of timing out and see if it changes, but if you fix the silicone source and make a tuning adjustment then you will not know which was the problem.

 

[69GTX]

Driven hard enough to shear the oil down from 13.9 to 11.09...or to a typical 30 grade such as Mobil 1 5w-30. What about a 10w-40 assuming you're in the hotter parts of Texas?

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: dmdx86
I didn't say it was appropriate, I said the purpose of getting an analysis was to see if the 10K recommendation from VW is reasonable for my setup.

Given that I have something going on with silicon, the elevated iron may have an explanation besides too long of an OCI.

I'm going to run one more 10K OCI and make a decision on OCI length and oil type at that time.

My engine isn't going to wear out after having a 30% higher (on a per mile basis) iron level (versus universal averages) for one more 10K run.

Cheers.

Are you going to do an UOA for current oil ? If this is the case then you should take a sample at around 5-6k without draining the oil. If the UOA came back good then keep the oil till 10k, if the result isn't as good as you expected then drain the oil as soon as you received the UOA.

 

[kschachn]

What part of that Blackstone report indicates the oil sheared down?

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Driven hard enough to shear the oil down from 13.9 to 11.09...or to a typical 30 grade such as Mobil 1 5w-30. What about a 10w-40 assuming you're in the hotter parts of Texas?

 

[onemig]

Try and replace the air filter if you are using your stock airbox with one from AFE, AEM or just use the OEM filter. Dirt might be getting past the guaze type K&N filter. Get the one that does not need to be oiled. It is reusable just like your K&N is, just needs to be washed. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[ryanm8]

Surprised this oil sheared down so much. I wouldn't get too worked up over the report just yet though. I would do another UOA and see if the iron and silicon drop. If not, then I'd start making some changes.

I would also probably do a bit under 10k OCI since you are modified. While VW calls for 10k, what most people seem to forget is that recommendation is based on normal driving conditions. My VW manual states that you may want to do a shorter OCI if your car is driven under extreme conditions.

I would do 7.5k if I were you, or 5k if you do a lot of short tripping. And I would ditch the K&N filter for something with better filtration (AEM Dryflow?)

 

[69GTX]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
What part of that Blackstone report indicates the oil sheared down?

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Driven hard enough to shear the oil down from 13.9 to 11.09...or to a typical 30 grade such as Mobil 1 5w-30. What about a 10w-40 assuming you're in the hotter parts of Texas?


The cSt viscosity @ 100 deg C. This oil supposedly starts out new at 13.9. "Something" took it down to 11.09.

 

[VeeDubb]

I stopped paying attention to VW's "recommended" intervals after they led to sludging in the early 1.8T engines and premature cam follower wear in the 2.0T FSI/TSI engines. Recommended drains are used as much for manipulating "maintainence cost" numbers as they are for longevity.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
The cSt viscosity @ 100 deg C. This oil supposedly starts out new at 13.9. "Something" took it down to 11.09.


I agree "something" did it, but there is no indication it was due to shear.

 

[CT8]

What kind of air filter are you running? The air filter is so important.

 

[tojo1968]

Originally Posted By: CT8
What kind of air filter are you running? The air filter is so important.

Quote:
a K&N oiled air filter

 

[Nick1994]

K&N air filter?