Audi 1.8T

[nomoore]

I'm looking for the best oil readily available to me for my 2000 Audi A4 1.8T. It has 106000 miles. This engine is turbocharged and prone to sludge problems. It requires a VW 502.00 approved oil. I plan on chipping it soon. Needless to say it is very hard on oil. I want to run the best oil I can within reason. I have been running Mobil 1 0w-40 since I got it in February but I've been reading here that the M1 oil gets thinner quickly. I've been looking at these other oils that I can get pretty easily and want to know if they are better than the M1 or if I should just stick with what I'm using.

• GC 0w-30 - Available at local AZ
  
• Motul (not sure which formula would be best) - Available at local performance shop
  
• Amsoil European Car Formula 5w-40 (AFL) - Order over internet

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  I would appreciate comments on these oils and maybe a list of best to worst. I almost wouldn't consider the GC but it's supposed to be thick for a 30 weight, like actually closer to a 40 weight. Is that correct? I get the impression that the Motul is the best. I know it has an ester base unlike the others. How much better is it? Is it worth the price? I would ask if I'm obsessing too much but I think obsessing is perfectly normal on these boards.
  

 

[RI_RS4]

nomoore. First of all, there's nothing special about 502 oils, except the fact that they pay 1/4 million dollars for testing and approval from VW.

Of your choices above, I'd go with Amsoil European Car Formula 5w-40 (AFL). It's a great oil that performs well.

 

[williar]

I'd go with the GC. Like you say, it's a stay-in-grade heavy 30w with an excellent addative package. Great for a 5K OCI on the 1.8t.

 

[VeeDubb]

If you've made it to 106,000 miles with a sludge prone turbo engine, why do you want to change what you are doing? Seems like the M1 has worked for you. But if you must change, I'd go with RS4's suggestion and go with Amsoil.

 

[glxpassat]

Here's a UOA of Maxlife Synthetic that's the best I've seen on your motor. It carries the VW specs as well.

 

[VeeDubb]

Hey, that was my report

I will caution though that the oil had very little left after 3900 miles so it couldn't have gone further. Wear numbers were fantastic but it was on the verge of deposit formation. Had I kept my old Passat I would have (a) cut the interval to 3000 miles in the winter (below freezing temps) and (b) go no more than 5000 miles in the summer.

I'm going to run it in my new 2.0T FSI too for at least a couple intervals and have Terry analyze it. Then we'll go from there.

 

[nomoore]

Quote:

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If you've made it to 106,000 miles with a sludge prone turbo engine, why do you want to change what you are doing? Seems like the M1 has worked for you. But if you must change, I'd go with RS4's suggestion and go with Amsoil.

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I just recently bought the car in February. I don't know what oil was used previously to get it this far.

Thanks for a second vote on the amsoil.

 

[nomoore]

Quote:

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Here's a UOA of Maxlife Synthetic that's the best I've seen on your motor. It carries the VW specs as well.

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That UOA is from a cold environment. I see the Maxlife synthetic is only available in a 30 weight. I'm worried that the 5w-30 isn't going to cut it in Texas heat. Is it a thick 30 weight that doesn't shear back much? That's the reason I was looking at GC.

 

[VeeDubb]

Maxlife synthetic 5w-30 is actually thicker than GC. They both have HTHS>3.5 which is what's really important.

 

[glxpassat]

VeeDubb, I think any oil would be used up by 3900 miles with those conditions. If you could have corrected the fuel, you probably could have at least made it to 5k. I'm currently running the 10w-40 in my v6 to see if it will reduce the lead spikes I was getting with GC, but I'm going to try the 5w-30 full syn next change.

 

[glxpassat]

Whoops, meant to say "using GC with fuel dilution".

 

[nomoore]

Quote:

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Maxlife synthetic 5w-30 is actually thicker than GC. They both have HTHS>3.5 which is what's really important.

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I've been looking for HTHS numbers on the Product Data Sheets but I'm not finding it much. I can't even find a PDS for Maxlife synthetic. Thanks for the info.

 

[VeeDubb]

Maxlife synthetic is ACEA A3 so it must have >3.5 HTHS. Here is the product data:

Maxlife synthetic product data sheet

Note that the 5w-30 is as thick as M1 0w-40.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I ran both M1 0w-40 and GC 0w-30 (SLX LongTec) in my '01 A4 1.8T. Did UOA on both. At 5K OCI, the GC delivered slightly better wear numbers, but it's not like the M1 0w-40 was a bad oil. As long as you stick with reasonable OCI and don't run an extremely aggressive chip program, this engine isn't all that hard on the oil. The only problem with it is a rather small oil sump capacity. Running an oversized oil filter helps a little, but not a whole lot.

 

[nomoore]

Quote:

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Maxlife synthetic is ACEA A3 so it must have >3.5 HTHS. Here is the product data:

Maxlife synthetic product data sheet

Note that the 5w-30 is as thick as M1 0w-40.

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Thanks for the link.

Ok, so ACEA A3 requires at least 3.5 HTHS? So I should probably be looking for that spec too.

It looks like the Maxlife 5w-30 is very similar to GC regarding viscosity at 100c, so probably as good as M1 0w-40 once it shears back. Is that what you're saying?

 

[nomoore]

Quote:

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I ran both M1 0w-40 and GC 0w-30 (SLX LongTec) in my '01 A4 1.8T. Did UOA on both. At 5K OCI, the GC delivered slightly better wear numbers, but it's not like the M1 0w-40 was a bad oil. As long as you stick with reasonable OCI and don't run an extremely aggressive chip program, this engine isn't all that hard on the oil. The only problem with it is a rather small oil sump capacity. Running an oversized oil filter helps a little, but not a whole lot.

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I use the HUGE oil filter on it (Wix 51333) and my oil temps run anywhere between 215 to 230 depending on how hard I run and how hot it is outside. I've currently been using a 3-3.5k OCI but that's probably overkill. I'd like to switch to a 5000 OCI though once I know I'm using the best oil. I'll do a few UOAs to make sure.

 

[VeeDubb]

Quote:

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It looks like the Maxlife 5w-30 is very similar to GC regarding viscosity at 100c, so probably as good as M1 0w-40 once it shears back. Is that what you're saying?

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This virgin analysis of M1 0w-40 showed it to be 74.4@210. Very close to the maxlife syn 5w-30 numbers. That's all I meant.

As for "just as good" or "what is better", I have no clue. Some like M1 because it appears to be "cleaner" and show less varnish and others like alternative choices because they produce lower wear numbers than M1. I personally didn't like GC because my engine felt sluggish with it. Turbo was more responsive with maxlife syn. Never had M1 in my 1.8T, although there are quite a few UOA reports of M1 in 1.8Ts on this site. For hot weather, I prefer lower spreads (e.g. 5w-30 over 0w-40) because there is less potential shearing from VIIs and so I feel better. Whether it will have a real or dramatic impact on your engine over the next 100k miles, I don't know. The bottomline is none of these oils are bad for the 1.8T with reasonable OCIs.

 

[teaelle]

Motul X-lite 0W-30, which is specially designed for 1.8T engines

or Amsoil 5W-40

 

[Auto-Union]

"Widely available" and best might not only be the same oil, it might also be cheap too. Mobil 1 5w-40 TDT should be plenty thick enough for your temps, be shear-resistant and the added bonus of engine cleaning. Forget VW 502, it's an old spec and MaxLife only claims it, it's not actually an approved oil. Also consider Shell Rotella T Synth 5w-40, it does not have the cleaning esters of Mobil 1 TDT, but it's only $4/q and works well with Auto-Rx additive (the next thing to consider). Both these oils are available at WalMart. So, Shell Rotella Synth with Auto-Rx additive followed by Mobil 1 5w-40 TDT, likely the best you could shoot for, and not expensive. For a new engine, shure GC is great. An older engine is a lil different

 

[VeeDubb]

Actually, maxlife synthetic has cleaning agents because it's an HM oil. Plus, although it is not formally improved, it's basically the same chemistry as synpower MST (according to a valv tech), which is formally approved. They just didn't want to get doubled dipped on the OEM approval fees.