Eschewing VW Spec'd Oil in Favor of...

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buickman50401

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... what is practical.

I've decided to heck with spending time (and money) finding VW 502 oils for my wife's 06 Golf. M1 0w40 is the only thing available around here and a is running about $8.50/qt. No GC at all and when I went to get some M1 yesterday because of Advanced $32 oil change special, the shelves were bare.

Her car has 27k mi on it and has the 2.slow which from my understanding is fairly easy on the oil. The owners manual is also pretty non-specific as to what can be put in it saying 5w40 or 5w30 with any of the following designations appearing singly or in combination:
-VW502
-SL
-A3

There is no wording that specifically states you must use a 502 spec oil.

In light of that, I've taken to running Rotella T6 5w40 from May to October and have decided to go with a quality 5w30 synthetic for the colder months. The Rotella has done fine this summer with only a minor impact on fuel economy in town.

Having read up on the matter here on BITOG and other places, the 502/A3 requirements for this car seem to be aimed at providing protection for the 10k/12mo maintenance schedule specified by VW. I never let it go more than 6k/6mo since about 2/3rds of the wife's driving is short trips and I am concerned about fuel dilution. The car sees highway trips of under about 200mi round trip once a month.

So for the winter fill this year I've decided to go with Pennz Plat. 5w30. Its rated A5 which means it can do extended drain intervals and the HT/HS has to be at least 2.9. I would have went with Ultra but there is no mention of A1/A5 specs on the bottles. I'm also going to use Purolator Classic filters rather than spend time tracking down a Bosch or paying through the nose for an M1 filter.

I figure there are plenty of these cars on the road, many being served by quick lube joints getting whatever bulk 5w30 they carry and an Fram or Purolator clone for a filter, and they're not grenading left and right so...

Am I nuts? Do I just not "care" about my vehicles with the same level of concern of others here on BITOG? Or is this a sensible route?
 
You won't hurt anything by doing it, but I do not see any benefits either. Both the 5w30 and 5w40 are the same viscosity on start up.
 
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Originally Posted By: outoforder
You won't hurt anything by doing it, but I do not see any benefits either. Both the 5w30 and 5w40 are the same viscosity on start up.

Not necessarily. Depends on the temperature. A 5w-40 will usually be thicker than a 5w-30 at most temperatures.
 
Originally Posted By: buickman50401
Having read up on the matter here on BITOG and other places, the 502/A3 requirements for this car seem to be aimed at providing protection for the 10k/12mo maintenance schedule specified by VW. I never let it go more than 6k/6mo since about 2/3rds of the wife's driving is short trips and I am concerned about fuel dilution. The car sees highway trips of under about 200mi round trip once a month.

So for the winter fill this year I've decided to go with Pennz Plat. 5w30. Its rated A5 which means it can do extended drain intervals and the HT/HS has to be at least 2.9.

ACEA A3 also requires a HTHS viscosity of 3.5 or higher. ACEA A5 and A1 require HTHS to be LOWER than 3.5.

Also, the "extended drain intervals" thing needs to be qualified. ACEA A3 and A5 involve certain tests related to extended drain intervals, but that doesn't necessarily mean they both have the same extended-drain capability in all engines. It's entirely possible that a car could do extended drains with one spec but not the other.

Don't take this to mean that you did the wrong thing. The key here, IMO, is that your owner's manual seems to say that API SL on its own is okay, as long as you're not pushing your oil change intervals. SL has been superseded twice by tougher specs, so that gives you quite a lot of latitude.
wink.gif



I have only two suggestions:

1. If you're concerned about the price of oil, you should be looking to extend your OCIs, not buy cheaper oil. You could get much better cost savings that way.

2. If you're really worried about fuel dilution, spend the $20 or so to get a basic UOA. All you need are the fuel, viscosity @ 100º C, and flash point numbers. If the results are good, you can recover that money pretty quickly by extending your OCIs.
 
Originally Posted By: BobFout
M1 HM 10w30 or 10w40, both are ACEA A3.

And both are a 10w instead of the 5w currently in there. Valvoline Maxlife Syn 5w30 is A3 too, but I don't like the idea of putting HM oils with seal swelling/conditioning agents in an engine with less than 30k mi on it.

We're talking Iowa winters here with long stretches of days below 15 degrees and average temps of 20 in the dead of winter.

Also regarding that pdf you posted, that's older than the owners manual(c2005 vs c2006 on the manual) and appears to be aimed at owners of the 1.8T (as in Turbo) not the 2.slow NA 8 valve.
 
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Just find any quality 5w30 or 5w40 synthetic that has HTHS of 3.5 or higher. Some 5w30s are between 2.9 and 3.5 so just do your research in advance.

There are Internet retailers that stock GC for a reasonable price.
 
I just did an oil change on my friend's '10 Audi S4. We used GC, which I told him to buy, but he came back with 1 of 7L being Syntec 5w-40. It luckily met the vw 502.00 spec as well so we put it in. So that one's available to you as well.

Notably, Syntec 5w-40 no longer says "made in Belgium", so we're going to have to stop calling it "BC" here on BITOG.
 
Do you have an Autozone near you? Get the Castrol 5W40, it is VW502 approved and (at least at our stores), plenty of stock available. Watch for the 5 quarts and a filter sale .... it is usually around $29.95.
 
Wal-Mart stocks the correct M1 Euroblend for your car. @ 6.50 a quart which isnt to bad a price.
 
I always wonder why VW and other German auto makers gives such specific oil specs.
It is so much more than a simple viscosity and SL,SM or SN designation.
I can understand if there is a turbo involved.

But is their metal that different? Lousy skinny bearings? Ultra long oil change intervals?

Like Buickman is pondering, what is the mystery? What is the reason?
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
I always wonder why VW and other German auto makers gives such specific oil specs.
It is so much more than a simple viscosity and SL,SM or SN designation.


As opposed to GM's Dexos1 or GM4718 or whatever else they have there; or Ford's 934B or MC2913 spec?
wink.gif
 
I suspect long drains, along with the ability to survive hard running over those long drains.
Not so much that the car in typical US service needs to meet typical German specs, but the engine will live through long drains even when run hard if the correct oil is used.
 
Originally Posted By: outoforder
Both the 5w30 and 5w40 are the same viscosity on start up.


No. 5w-40 can be almost twice as thick as 5w-30 during cold starts.
 
VW 502 in a 2.Slo is a joke. Mom's 1996 Passat specs no such oil and will run on ANYTHING. All 502 offers is extended drains.

If you want a good HD oil, Rotella 10w-30. If you want a HiMiles oil, either MaxLife or Mobil 1 High Miles 5w-30. I don't see the point of synth in that engine, other than M1 HM since it's HiMiles and it's cheap.

Forget 40 weight.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
VW 502 in a 2.Slo is a joke. Mom's 1996 Passat specs no such oil and will run on ANYTHING. All 502 offers is extended drains.

If you want a good HD oil, Rotella 10w-30. If you want a HiMiles oil, either MaxLife or Mobil 1 High Miles 5w-30. I don't see the point of synth in that engine, other than M1 HM since it's HiMiles and it's cheap.

Forget 40 weight.


But didn't "Mom's" Passat spec for SL? Didn't SL generally have a lot higher level of ZDDP?

I have a 2009 Passat and as much as I want to try some fun oils....I will stick with 502 ratings.......maybe deviating to T6 some day. GC will be my winter fill in a couple of weeks.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
VW 502 in a 2.Slo is a joke.


I agree, PP 5W30 has showed great results in any engine by the way.
 
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