What oil do VW's like? PAO or Ester?

[brianpavlovic]

I was wondering about oil choices and my new 2006 Jetta GLI 2.0T. The car is awesome and the motor is a monster!!!! My top three choices are :

Amsoil 5W-40
Redline 5W-40
Motul E-tech 0W-40

Which one would be the best? By best I mean stay in grade, cleaning properties, etc.

 

[Volvohead]

I don't think you'll notice any significant difference among those three oils in that engine. They're all superior performers. I'd decide on price. But if the prices were equal, I would probably lean towards the RL. I might also experiement with a 30 weight for the RL, which will give you sharper response.

What about GC 0w-30? That would be on my short list as well.

Don't touch the factory fill or go to a full synthetic until 5K.

 

[wavinwayne]

quote:

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Originally posted by Volvohead:
....Don't touch the factory fill or go to a full synthetic until 5K.

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Huh? Don't VW's come from the factory with 5w40 synthetic in them?

brianpavlovic, as for your original question: out of the 3 listed, I'd go with Redline, since it has shown time & time again how clean it will keep an engine. The other two would likely be just as good.

Personally, I'd go with the much less expensive GC.

FWIW, I'm currently running Maxlife Synthetic 10w30 in my '00 GTI 1.8T, & it loves it. Next is PP 10w30, then back to GC.

 

[Volvohead]

quote:

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Originally posted by wavinwayne:

quote:

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Originally posted by Volvohead:
....Don't touch the factory fill or go to a full synthetic until 5K.

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Huh? Don't VW's come from the factory with 5w40 synthetic in them?

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No. My present understanding is that the factory fill, at least for the VWs, is a semi-synthetic blend, and that it captures the assembly lube in solution. Audi may do it differently.

Many of the folks who changed too early and suffered high consumption issues as a result changed out to a full syn. This comes from perusing of numerous VW owners' and enthusiasts' forums.

 

[wavinwayne]

quote:

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Originally posted by Volvohead:

quote:

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Originally posted by wavinwayne:

quote:

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Originally posted by Volvohead:
....Don't touch the factory fill or go to a full synthetic until 5K.

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Huh? Don't VW's come from the factory with 5w40 synthetic in them?

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No. My present understanding is that the factory fill, at least for the VWs, is a semi-synthetic blend, and that it captures the assembly lube in solution. Audi may do it differently.

Many of the folks who changed too early and suffered high consumption issues as a result changed out to a full syn. This comes from perusing of numerous VW owners' and enthusiasts' forums.

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Then I stand corrected. The reason I was under this assumption is because my '00 GTI owners manual states that my GTI came from the factory with 5w40.

 

[brian fix]

Schaeffers 5w-40 will excell in VWs,along with the 7000 15w40. BL

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

Redline 5W-40

 

[carock]

We used Redline for years in all of our VW's and any customer willing to pay the extra price.Redline is great, but so are all the oils you mentioned. You can get redline cheap from "www.myoilshop.com"

 

[bar1]

quote:

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Originally posted by wavinwayne:
Huh? Don't VW's come from the factory with 5w40 synthetic in them?

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It depends. Newer VW/Audi with gasoline engine are supposed to use VW 503 00 or VW 504 00 approved oils. The oil weight is xxW-30. The (new)2.0 FSi Turbo engine is in this category.

 

[brianpavlovic]

Here's my second question, I read on here somewhere that some oil's chemistry reacts negatively with an engine's internal components. I think it was a 2.4 L Camry running Redline oil and something about the chemistry of the oil stripping the metal from the internal...... I just don't want that to happen to me......

 

[TooSlick]

The Amsoil 5w-40 is their preferred product for the newer European diesel engines that have DPF's and/or require a very low "SAPS" (sulphated ash,phosphorus,sulphur) oil like VW 505.01 or BMW LL-04. For European gas engines, the Series 2000 - either 0w30 or 20w-50 - is still going to give you the best performance and the longest service intervals. The 0w30 would be my choice for the latest TDI gas engines.

I"m curious if this engine lists the VW 505.01 and Vw 500.00 specs, along with Vw 502.00???

TS

 

[Cooper]

quote:

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Originally posted by TooSlick:
The 0w30 would be my choice for the latest TDI gas engines.

TS

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TDI is the turbo diesel engine, not gasoline.

 

[Cooper]

My VW really likes German Castrol 0w30. Or, Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5w40. Both are good, depends on climate.

 

[brianpavlovic]

Here's the funny thing, the owner's manual still lists 502 .00 approved oil only and says that nothing of Xw - 30 weights????? If my 2.0T engine is spec'd for 30w, why would they fill it with 40w? I've owned many VW's and always used 5W-40 oil. The only oil that I used that was not listed was GC 0w30 and that made the engine kind of noisy. I am going to do more research on my engine and find out some more info.

 

[Volvohead]

Over in Europe, VW recommends a full syn 5w30 for several of the same engines that get a 40 here. Go figure. Over there, they seem to prefer uber-cutting-edge full synthetics run at very long intervals. That may explain the more conservative 40 weight recommendation here, where we run a wider variety of juices. That, and the 1.8T debacle.

The best way to approach the viscosity issue is to try a 30 and see if consumption goes up. Especially in a turbo, if you can get by with a 30, all the better for spool up.

 

[TooSlick]

Coop0129,

TDI stands for turbocharged direct injection... all the latest VW/Audi gas engines also imploy this design, although I think they actually call them FSI (fuel stratified injection) engines.

Rather than have an injector in the intake manifold upstream from the valve, they have a high pressure injector that screws directly into the combustion chamber, between the two intake valves. This gives you better control of injection timing and allows better atomization of the fuel charge. It also provides better cooling and allows higher compression ratios without detonation.

TS

 

[Cooper]

quote:

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Originally posted by TooSlick:
Coop0129,

TDI stands for turbocharged direct injection... all the latest VW/Audi gas engines also imploy this design, although I think they actually call them FSI (fuel stratified injection) engines.

Rather than have an injector in the intake manifold upstream from the valve, they have a high pressure injector that screws directly into the combustion chamber, between the two intake valves. This gives you better control of injection timing and allows better atomization of the fuel charge. It also provides better cooling and allows higher compression ratios without detonation.

TS

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I did not know that. I thought it stood for Turbo Diesel. All the diesels say TDI on them, so, hence what I said. Sorry for the mis-information.

 

[Gilitar]

Hey Brian I've got an 06 GLI as well. Man do I ever love this car. On the subject of oil I use Syntec 5w40 in the summer and GC fall winter and spring. You should stick with a VW502 approved oil just in case of warranty problems.

As for as break in goes I would recommend that you take it easy for the first 1000 miles but afterwards romp on it some to ensure the rings seat properly. I dumped my factory fill at 3000 miles and have no consumption to speak of. On the subject of consumption GC leaves the crankcase at the rate of half a quart every 4000 miles while with Syntec 5w40 I have had zero consumption.

Later on you should look into flashing the ECU.
http://www.goapr.com/VW/index.html
This will really turn your GLI into a monster!

Also, If you find oil filters for under $17 please let me know.

 

[TooSlick]

The only reason I know is that I looked into buying an Audi wagon to replace my old Audi 100. I ended up getting a Subaru Outback instead....

TS

 

[bar1]

quote:

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Originally posted by brianpavlovic:
Here's the funny thing, the owner's manual still lists 502 .00 approved oil only and says that nothing of Xw - 30 weights????? If my 2.0T engine is spec'd for 30w, why would they fill it with 40w?

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Here we go again.. the oil recommendation is always given as a chart in Europe, where you have several grades to choose from depending on ambient temperature.
5W-40 fits perfect in that chart, so would GC 0W-30.

The VW 502 00 spec. is obsolete here and replaced by the newer VW 504 00 spec.