Castrol Professional LL03

[swedesteed]

Employed at a VW-Audi dealership I see they offer a Castrol 5w-30 lube labeled "SLX Professional LL03" in a gold bottle, made in Austria, imported to Canada VW 504 & 507 ACEA C3 specd.

For almost all late model Audis and VW the factory OCI is 10k miles or 365 days, almost regardless of motor size, excepting the Lambo engined R8 and such.

For the majority of customers oil changes, they get the bulk oil of which brand is unknown to me or the parts guys but is supposed to be 100% synthetic.

The gold bottled Austrian Castrol SLX is by customer request and for the more higher performance vehicles.

How good -or not- is this stuff?

 

[Volvohead]

We've used it in our '09 TDI since day one. No problems at all. We do change at 5k OCIs though, as there were a couple reports on the TDI boards of elevated wear when ran at 10k OCIs.

To my knowledge, this is what the VW dealer's MUST use in all the 507.00 models, NOT the non-507.00 bulk stuff. But nothing surprises me with VW dealers. They pumped the bulk juice in our '09 on the first change -- that required a flatbed trip right back to them.

It's not that expensive compared to the other 507.00 oils. Buying at the dealer also maintains a automatic paper trail for the DIY if a warranty claim is needed down the road.

 

[FowVay]

The Castrol SLX Professional LL-03 is for use in the VW/Audi TDI engines with the DPF exhaust. It is rated VW 504.00/507.00 with the 507.00 being the diesel specification.

For the gasoline powered cars VW still recommends using a 502.00 rated oil.

What kind of price are you guys paying for the Castrol? I have four liters of it on my shelf but I have been using Mobil's Mobil-1 Formula ESP 5W-30. I think the last time I bought oil at the dealership it was in the $8.49/liter range.

 

[Volvohead]

We buy the dealer Castrol by the case, so don't buy it too often. Last time in, it came out to just about $8/liter. Don't know what the street price is today.

But right now, Pep Boys is having a coupon special on M1: 5 "qts" and M1 filter for $30. They honored it on the 5w-30 ESP. So at that price we may stock up on the M1 for the next few changes. We'll use the free filters on the tractor.

 

[swedesteed]

Thanks for the clarifications...any harm using SLX in gas engines? To my thinking most oils formulated for diesels would be "extra heavy duty" protection for gas motors

This particular dealer charges around $10 ltr/bottle range for this Castrol product.

 

[FowVay]

Swedesteed, it's not recommended for use in the gasoline engines because it has doesn't have a very strong additive package. Yes, it's for diesel engines but in the past four years, diesel fuel has become a cleaner burning fuel than gasoline (15ppm of sulfur vs 30ppm of sulfur for gasoline).

VW/Audi doesn't recommended the low-SAPS oils for their gasoline engines.

BMW doesn't recommend their low-SAPS LL-04 oil for gasoline cars in North America.

I personally wouldn't use a low-SAPS oil (504/504;LL-04) rated oil in a vehicle that doesn't specifically require it.

 

[Volvohead]

FWIW, there may have been a meaningful formula change with SLX-LL03 over the past several years.

The early version (from '08) possessed ACEA A3/B4 approvals. The newest version does not.

Otherwise, I agree with FowWay. There are more robust oils to choose from for the VAG gassers. This LL03 juice is specifically targeted at the low-SAPS clean diesel crowd.

 

[dbrowne1]

There are good reasons that one might actually want to use a 504.00 oil (like this one) in a direct injection VAG engine.

Note page 19 on Lubrizol paper in particular.

I have two Audi 2.0 TFSI engines (a 2011 and 2012) and use this oil on a 5K mile change interval. I have posted one UOA and there is another one from someone else out there. Basically, this oil is fine on a 5K interval but I wouldn't run it for 10K. The advantage is that it should keep the intake valves cleaner.

There have been other threads on this topic, and one user has even said he spoke to AoA and they told him it was OK to use a 504.00 oil in his gasoline engine. My suspicion is that if you run the 10K OCI and the stars align with bad fuel and operational conditions, it could be bad (though not catastrophic).

 

[Teutonic_Texan]

Here are my VOA's for the Castrol & Pennzoil 507.00 spec oils.

www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2824211#Post2824211