What problem could I face for using Valvoline Restore and Protect 0w20 in my Volkswagen golf sportwagen, which calls for 0w20, even though the Valvoline doesn't meet VW 508.00 oil specification? I've been using Mobil 1 since buying the car new, and now at 55,000 miles I thought maybe this Valvoline would be good to clean out any sludge that might have accumulated. Forget about warranty issues. I'm just curious to know what this VW 508.00 specification is all about and what mayhem might occur if I use the Valvoline.
The V. R&P(all grades) is API SP and ILSAC GF-6A, the VW 508.00 is what it is.
That VW spec is higher in (anti)wear, sludge, deposits, soot thickening, aftertreatment compatibility, just a tiny bit better oxidative thickening and the same on fuel economy.
Lets take these one by one.
First off, what i state above is directly the V. R&P 0w-20 vs a good quality oil that actually has that VW 508.00 spec/license.
The sludge and deposit parts are two specific things that the V. R&P are supposed to take care of. Soot and oxidative thickening, if your engine causes these, can be taken care of by not using the V. R&P as an extended drain oil, keep it to 5k miles and not 10k or more and it should not be a problem at all. Does your engine have aftertreatment devices? If so, is it burning 1 qt. (or more) of oil every 500 miles? If not, i wouldn't worry about it.
However, if you use the V. R&P 5w-30, certain, specific things change. You would be increasing the HTHS by about .6, which means your increasing wear protection. Your fuel economy(mpg) would see no change, zilch, zero, nada. You would have to up the HTHS to crazy level to see a difference in mpg. VW508.00 has HTHS of equal to or greater than 2.6. V. R&P 0w-20 has HTHS of equal to or greater than 2.6. Valvoline R&P 5w-30 has HTHS of 3.2. All V. R&P is also API resource conserving oil.
That answers your specific question, just don't use it as an extended oil to eliminate any possible issues and that the 5w-30 version has an advantage.
I also want to state that i couldn't care less if you use Valvoline or not, or any other oil for that matter. I don't have stocks in Valvoline. I don't work for or used to work for Valvoline or any other oil company. I've never worked for any of the additive companies. My retirement doesn't depend on ANY of these. ....AND Valvoline does not sponsor me or any other oil/company.