2000 Audi TT 1.8T questions re: Castrol & cleaning

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 18, 2017
Messages
5
Location
Canada
Hello, my first post here, but I've peeked in here and there for last 10 years.

I take possession of a Audi TT next month. It's a 2000, 1.8T with 225hp Quattro. 100,000km, 6 speed manual. I like to push my cars a bit, drive a bit aggressively, but take extremely good care of them. I live in Canada and see a temperature swing from +30 to -30 Celsius. My hope is to run one oil year round, and probably change at about 5000km but would like to push that back a bit if safe to do so.
I spent last couple nights searching posts from others regarding the Audi 1.8T, but they all seem to be pretty old, and the oil on the shelf today has changed a bit over the years. So my questions:

-What oil to run. I currently have 5w-30 and 5w-20 Castrol Edge titanium that I use in my Honda Odyssey. And I recently picked up some castrol edge titanium 0w-40 (made in Germany) on a good sale. My plan was to run the 0w-40 but have read some opinions that it's a bit thin and increases valvetrain noise. The 0w-40 is VW502, which my research suggest is good as long as I dont try to do long change intervals? Or do you think this oil is a mistake and I should go with something completely different?

-second question, I don't know what kind of oil was used previously, and want to play it safe/get a fresh start. Any recommendations on cleaning out the oil system. I don't like those flush type products, too aggressive on old seals I think. So my limited knowledge would be either change oil with something cheaper, only run a few hundred Km, change again with the synthetic oil. Or what about adding a different oil with high cleaning properties, like a Diesel engine oil or something along those lines?

-third question, oil filter. In the past I've used wix gold, but I've read some people recommending Mahle or Mann filters for the Audi?

Thanks a ton for any help, I am new to this so please try not to lose me with a bunch of abbreviations and slang words!
 
Edge 0w-40 will be a good choice, IMO. And this oil has a very robust add pack so it's good for longer OCI as well, if that's what you'd like to do.

As for filters, you can't go wrong with OEM (Mann/Mahle), and when you buy it on line, it's typically no more expensive than filters from other companies.
 
I think the edge 0w 40 is a good choice for a year round oil for that car. Others will probably agree. Some may even suggest different oils for winter/summer months. Not an unreasonable suggestion, but the practicality of that depends on how many miles are accumulated yearly. You don't want to dump perfectly good oil just because of a season change.

I wouldn't worry about remnants of the old oil at all. Will be all but completely gone by your second oil change.

Mahle or Mann filters in my opinion are the superior filters for that application. Those are the go to brands for Euro cars

Welcome to the forum by the way!
 
Thank you!
Two very helpful answers in under an hour!

I'm guessing I'll only be doing about 5000km or less per year. It's basically just a weekend fun car. Hence the one grade of oil for the whole year.
 
As others have mentioned, Mobil 1 or Castrol Edge in 0w40 formulations would be very good for this car paired with OEM filter. Technically the VW 502 spec doesn't matter in this case due to age; VW/Audi required this during warranty which I'm sure this car is out of. I would change both out at 5k mile increments (whatever that is in metric...). You may also want to make sure the water pump, belts, tensioners and everything else is taken care of as well.
 
Originally Posted By: ZIPO


I take possession of a Audi TT next month. It's a 2000, 1.8T with 225hp Quattro. 100,000km, 6 speed manual. I like to push my cars a bit, drive a bit aggressively, but take extremely good care of them. So my questions:

-What oil to run. And I recently picked up some castrol edge titanium 0w-40 (made in Germany) on a good sale. The 0w-40 is VW502, which my research suggest is good as long as I dont try to do long change intervals?

-second question, I don't know what kind of oil was used previously, and want to play it safe/get a fresh start. Any recommendations on cleaning out the oil system.

-third question, oil filter.


1. That Castrol 0W-40 or any other oil that meets VW502 should work.
2. Cleaning - I have used Amsoil Engine Flush and LiquiMoly version with no bad effects, and it seems to do a very gentle cleaning. Those products are only detergents - no solvents, etc. If you use them per directions, I see no reason that you would have a problem. I found that my 99 MB was varnished pretty good after changing VC gaskets, with mild sludge. Using one of those products and short OCIs have done a good job of cleaning it up.
3. Mahle/Mann/Hengst in FLEECE version or OEM Audi filters

Good luck, and enjoy the car.
 
With so few miles/kilometers on the engine, I don't think you need to worry about cleaning out the engine. Just run shorter oil change intervals if you are concerned. Castrol 0W-40 is a fantastic oil, many UOAs attest to that. As for the filter, I would stick with German made Mann filters. They are the gold standard for Euro filters.
 
Originally Posted By: ZIPO
-What oil to run. I currently have 5w-30 and 5w-20 Castrol Edge titanium that I use in my Honda Odyssey. And I recently picked up some castrol edge titanium 0w-40 (made in Germany) on a good sale. My plan was to run the 0w-40 but have read some opinions that it's a bit thin and increases valvetrain noise. The 0w-40 is VW502, which my research suggest is good as long as I dont try to do long change intervals? Or do you think this oil is a mistake and I should go with something completely different?

As has been mentioned, what you need to run is an oil that carries the required specification for your engine. Oil grade comes second after that, and is dependent on your operating environment. But it won't make much difference no matter where you live.

And how would a 40-grade oil be "too thin"?
 
The manufacturer recommends 5w-30 I think, I read some people felt that going down to the 0w-30 increased valvetrain noise in warner days.

But it sounds like it's settled, everyone's in agreement! I'll use my oil and get Mann filters.

Thanks a bunch to everyone!
 
The manufacturer specifies a specification for your car, that's what you need to follow. Not viscosity/grade, that is entirely secondary. What is the specification for your engine that Audi gives?

If you go buy oil based on viscosity you will likely buy in inappropriate oil and potentially damage your engine in the long run.

Originally Posted By: ZIPO
The manufacturer recommends 5w-30 I think, I read some people felt that going down to the 0w-30 increased valvetrain noise in warner days.

But it sounds like it's settled, everyone's in agreement! I'll use my oil and get Mann filters.

Thanks a bunch to everyone!
 
Originally Posted By: ZIPO
The manufacturer recommends 5w-30 I think, I read some people felt that going down to the 0w-30 increased valvetrain noise in warner days.

But it sounds like it's settled, everyone's in agreement! I'll use my oil and get Mann filters.

Thanks a bunch to everyone!


The manual is written such that the oil has to meet one of the following specs:
- 5w30 or 5w40
- ACEA A3/B4
- VW502.00

Since the oil sludge fiasco on the longitudinal 1.8T's, VW and Audi revised the oil requirement to use only use oils that meet VW502.00 for all gasoline engines. The sludge fiasco did not affect transverse 1.8T's, due to higher sump capacity due to having a larger oil pan due to the pan not interfering with the subframe.

Other good 5w40 choices are Shell Rotella T6 and Chevron Delo 400LE, as well as Petro Canada Duron equivalent
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: steve20
^^^^ it has to meet ALL of the above specs ^^^^

Steve

Not really, M1 0W-40 and Castrol 0W-40 both carry 502.00 as do others (and Castrol 0W-30 if still available). Those would meet the requirements for that engine.
 
Originally Posted By: steve20
^^^^ it has to meet ALL of the above specs ^^^^

Steve


Back in the day, it was written vaguely, that it didn't have to meet all the specs, which lead to the sludge fiasco on the longitudinal 1.8T's, as VW and Audi dealerships took liberties with the requirement and used conventional 5w30 oil, which technically met the requirement as it's worded, and saved the dealership money during the free servicing period. And customers didn't know better, or bought an Audi and thought it was ludicrous to pay extra for a synthetic oil change.

Since the oil sludge fiasco, it made VW state in their owner's manual (and the addendum to the existing manuals), oils have to meet VW502.00, with no ambiguity. VW has updated 502.00 a few times where oil viscosity requirement were more flexible.

At one time it said 5w40 was the requirement, if in an emergency 5w30 was acceptable.
 
Beaut little car. I had a 2001 and I miss it terribly.

I used Mobil 1 0w40 in mine, but that was in Dubai (so ~ 10C - 50C). Never got cold there.

A couple of things worth watching :

Although it has a watercooled turbo with an aux water pump that runs after shutdown, they can suffer from the heat a bit after a thrashing. Let it cool for a minute or two before shutting it down.

Check the service history and if the Haldex hasn't had an oil change, get it done and with the correct fluids.

If it has the Blaupunkt/Bose sound system and the head unit is the original, it *will* at some point die of volume control failure. Stupid design fault in the head where each time you move the volume knob the setting is written to internal eeprom and then read back to set the level. That eeprom wears out and when you move the knob it tries to write a value, reads back random noise and sets the volume to a random level. There are / were a couple of places in Europe that had fixes for it. Third party head units don't have the bizzare EQ curves required by the Bose speakers and you'll never get it to sound right again.

If it's the rag top, the hydraulics are fragile so go easy on the open/close.

Like most VAG cars of that era the display in the middle of the dash starts to fade around the edges in a thermally sensitive manner and it's *expensive* to get fixed. For some reason the early TTs were particularly prone.

Always change your tyres in sets of 4. Un-even front to back wear can cook the Haldex box. Not as sensitive as some Saabs, but still touchy.

Enjoy driving the snot out of it. They are one fun little machine.
 
A neighbor down the street has an early TT, silver coupe, and even after all these years, I think it's a beautiful car. Amazing interior details too. Alas, I have no earthly use for something like that, so I'm content to gaze upon the car down the street.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top