My 2006 Audi A3 2.OT FSI has been getting Mobil 1 0w-40 pretty steady for the past few years, is there anything better that's easy to come by? I know it's supposed to be kind of hard on oil so I was hoping for a recommendation as far as what OCI to follow. Just rolled over 136,000 miles and it sees mostly highway drives with a good 700mi round trip cruise every month or so when I'm at college.
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Oil recommendation for Audi
- Thread starter lawrencerd
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Welcome!
You're on the right track with that Mobil 1. It's hard to beat for availability and cost when buying it in the jugs at Wal-Mart. I'd probably do a UOA at 5,000 miles to get a baseline and then run it to 7,500 if all is well.
There are plenty of other oil choices like Rotella T6 and Castrol Edge 0w30 and 0w-40 that would do just as well in your application, but I'd suggest sticking with what you've got if it's been working for you.
You're on the right track with that Mobil 1. It's hard to beat for availability and cost when buying it in the jugs at Wal-Mart. I'd probably do a UOA at 5,000 miles to get a baseline and then run it to 7,500 if all is well.
There are plenty of other oil choices like Rotella T6 and Castrol Edge 0w30 and 0w-40 that would do just as well in your application, but I'd suggest sticking with what you've got if it's been working for you.
If you are are trying to avoid a cost increase, stick with the Mobil1 preferably the extended service. Your Audi is as you may know a turbocharged car, factory boost may not be all that high but as with nearly all turbochargers, they rely on the engine oil to keep them cool. A normal bearing simply cannot reliably handle the turbine shaft speed without causing extreme drag (avg shaft "red line" in most small turbines is around 110,000rpm+/-20,000...yea yowza). So to keep the shaft spinning that fast with very low drag, nothing beats an oil bearing, the tube the shaft spins in is slightly larger than the shaft, oil is pumped in inform the oil pump, as the shaft starts to spool, it begins to hydroplane on the oil with little to no resistance. As you may figure, the extremely hot exhaust going through the turbo heats it considerably, this small supply of oil running through the center of it(where the turbine is connected to the compressor, the small bridge between the two where you see hoses going to/from) is the only source of cooling it has, the turbo transfers considerable heat to the oil, this is why turbo engines are "hard" on oil. An aftermarket oil cooler can go a long way, just a small 2 row mounted in front of radiator would be more than sufficient. More turbines are starting to come with both oil and water cooling to keep it even cooler and take some load off the oil. Switching to a very good 30wt WILL increase oil flow through your turbo, keeping it cooler, something to consider.
-srv
-srv
Originally Posted By: ChemicallyChargd
If you are are trying to avoid a cost increase, stick with the Mobil1 preferably the extended service. Your Audi is as you may know a turbocharged car, factory boost may not be all that high but as with nearly all turbochargers, they rely on the engine oil to keep them cool. A normal bearing simply cannot reliably handle the turbine shaft speed without causing extreme drag (avg shaft "red line" in most small turbines is around 110,000rpm+/-20,000...yea yowza). So to keep the shaft spinning that fast with very low drag, nothing beats an oil bearing, the tube the shaft spins in is slightly larger than the shaft, oil is pumped in inform the oil pump, as the shaft starts to spool, it begins to hydroplane on the oil with little to no resistance. As you may figure, the extremely hot exhaust going through the turbo heats it considerably, this small supply of oil running through the center of it(where the turbine is connected to the compressor, the small bridge between the two where you see hoses going to/from) is the only source of cooling it has, the turbo transfers considerable heat to the oil, this is why turbo engines are "hard" on oil. An aftermarket oil cooler can go a long way, just a small 2 row mounted in front of radiator would be more than sufficient. More turbines are starting to come with both oil and water cooling to keep it even cooler and take some load off the oil. Switching to a very good 30wt WILL increase oil flow through your turbo, keeping it cooler, something to consider.
-srv
I think your engine requires a certain ht/hs oil. Not all 30 grades meet this spec so don't just grab one off the shelf and call it good.
PU euro,m1 0w-40,German Castrol,all these examples will work.
I'm afraid with that engine cheap oil isn't a real possibility. Iirc you need a euro spec oil and they aren't on the cheap side.
M1 0w-40 is likely your best bet as far as price and availability. It's one of the best oils on earth and made for your car. Stick with it
If you are are trying to avoid a cost increase, stick with the Mobil1 preferably the extended service. Your Audi is as you may know a turbocharged car, factory boost may not be all that high but as with nearly all turbochargers, they rely on the engine oil to keep them cool. A normal bearing simply cannot reliably handle the turbine shaft speed without causing extreme drag (avg shaft "red line" in most small turbines is around 110,000rpm+/-20,000...yea yowza). So to keep the shaft spinning that fast with very low drag, nothing beats an oil bearing, the tube the shaft spins in is slightly larger than the shaft, oil is pumped in inform the oil pump, as the shaft starts to spool, it begins to hydroplane on the oil with little to no resistance. As you may figure, the extremely hot exhaust going through the turbo heats it considerably, this small supply of oil running through the center of it(where the turbine is connected to the compressor, the small bridge between the two where you see hoses going to/from) is the only source of cooling it has, the turbo transfers considerable heat to the oil, this is why turbo engines are "hard" on oil. An aftermarket oil cooler can go a long way, just a small 2 row mounted in front of radiator would be more than sufficient. More turbines are starting to come with both oil and water cooling to keep it even cooler and take some load off the oil. Switching to a very good 30wt WILL increase oil flow through your turbo, keeping it cooler, something to consider.
-srv
I think your engine requires a certain ht/hs oil. Not all 30 grades meet this spec so don't just grab one off the shelf and call it good.
PU euro,m1 0w-40,German Castrol,all these examples will work.
I'm afraid with that engine cheap oil isn't a real possibility. Iirc you need a euro spec oil and they aren't on the cheap side.
M1 0w-40 is likely your best bet as far as price and availability. It's one of the best oils on earth and made for your car. Stick with it
lawrencerd
Thread starter
Thanks guys! I'll keep doing the mobil 1, no need to get creative at this point. As an addendum to the original question, is there a generally accepted best filter for these cars? I've used Mobil 1, Fram, and Mann and just can't tell by that which I prefer at all.
FWIW, Mann, Mahle, and Hengst are the big OEM filter suppliers for European cars.
Mobil 1, Mann, or the Fram Ultra (not the regular orange can) are all fine filters.
As others have noted, you probably can't do better than M1 0W-40 for this application.
Cheap, too, at $22.47/jug from Walmart.
Now, if you want to experiment a little, there was a now-banned member who posted UOAs of ordinary API spec 5w30s from some VAG turbo engines with good results.
You would be moving into the realm of experimentation, though, using an oil not meeting VAG specs.
M1 0W-40 is also currently priced about as low as any name brand synthetic oil, so you wouldn't really save any coin.
Cheap, too, at $22.47/jug from Walmart.
Now, if you want to experiment a little, there was a now-banned member who posted UOAs of ordinary API spec 5w30s from some VAG turbo engines with good results.
You would be moving into the realm of experimentation, though, using an oil not meeting VAG specs.
M1 0W-40 is also currently priced about as low as any name brand synthetic oil, so you wouldn't really save any coin.
lawrencerd
Thread starter
Is there any easy way to find this information? It probably won't sway me away but I am very interested anyway.
Originally Posted By: lawrencerd
Is there any easy way to find this information? It probably won't sway me away but I am very interested anyway.
You could try the search function. I think the title had something to do with a 20 grade
Is there any easy way to find this information? It probably won't sway me away but I am very interested anyway.
You could try the search function. I think the title had something to do with a 20 grade
Originally Posted By: lawrencerd
Is there any easy way to find this information? It probably won't sway me away but I am very interested anyway.
Do a search on former member Audijunkie's posts. But he also wrote in the Audi forums that 40 weight oil are best for turbocharged VW Audi engines. I'd just stick with the M1 you're using now.
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng96.shtml
Is there any easy way to find this information? It probably won't sway me away but I am very interested anyway.
Do a search on former member Audijunkie's posts. But he also wrote in the Audi forums that 40 weight oil are best for turbocharged VW Audi engines. I'd just stick with the M1 you're using now.
http://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng96.shtml
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