VAG 502 vs 504

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
1,544
Location
South Wales, UK
My wife drives a 2013 VW Polo with a 1.2 12v 3 cylinder engine that she drives reasonably hard (hey, it's got 60hp, it's flat out or nothing).

The car has just shy of 30k on the clock and it does around 5,000miles a year. Her daily commute is appropriately 5 miles to work and 5 miles home again through a mix of 30mph and 60mph roads.

I do 6 month oil changes on it (well, I've done one so far as we've only had the car 8 months) and noticed everything inside the engine seems to have an orange tinge/varnish to it. I changed the oil 2 months ago and it's done about 800 miles since and the new oil has turned to a very dark amber colour very quickly.

Looking at the previous service history it has been serviced every 10k or 1 year as per the manufacturers specification by VW and has had a mix of 502 or 504 oil (unsure of viscosity). I guess they used whatever the mechanic fancied on that day.

I know 504 only seems to come as a 5w30 but 502 comes in 0w30, 5w30, 10w30, 0w40 and 10w40.

Ambient temperatures bottom out about -10°c (14°F) with a maximum of around 30°c (86°F).

So what would you use and why? And what viscosity?

At the moment I'm thinking M1 New Life/Turbo Diesel 0w40 (502/505) or M1 ESP 5w30 (504/507).
 
Originally Posted By: Bailes1992
...and noticed everything inside the engine seems to have an orange tinge/varnish to it. I changed the oil 2 months ago and it's done about 800 miles since and the new oil has turned to a very dark amber colour very quickly.


It sounds like the oil you are using now has more detergents in it than whatever it was filled with earlier.

I wouldn't be alarmed.
 
I would use a 502 just as a guess, but what does the owners manual say?

The grade doesn't matter as long as it's 502 compliant.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: Bailes1992
...and noticed everything inside the engine seems to have an orange tinge/varnish to it. I changed the oil 2 months ago and it's done about 800 miles since and the new oil has turned to a very dark amber colour very quickly.


It sounds like the oil you are using now has more detergents in it than whatever it was filled with earlier.

I wouldn't be alarmed.


I guessed that was the case. I only used a supermarket brand fully syntehtic 5w40 meeting VW 502/505 specification. I have another gallon of the same oil here so maybe I should change it out again? Actually I have a Total Rubia 8900 10w30 HDEO here, maybe it would be worth doing a short interval on it to try clean the varnish up a bit.

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
I would use a 502 just as a guess, but what does the owners manual say?

The grade doesn't matter as long as it's 502 compliant.


VW say 502 for 10k/1 year servicing and 504 for longlife 'variable' servicing.

The car is set to fixed servicing but if 504 is a superior oil and is only marginally more expensive then I might as well use it. But would a *w40 with a 502 specification offer better protection? The 504 is only available as a 5w30 and is a mid-saps/ACEA C3 oil.
 
What do they mean by variable servicing? Will it get changed more frequently than 10k?

That tells me even VW knows a 502 would be better. I don't know much about the whole full and mid SAPS oils, but I've always been under the impression a full SAPS oil would be more robust.
 
Variable servicing is a maximum of 2 year intervals. It monitors the way the car is driven to work out when the oil is to be changed.
 
Originally Posted By: Bailes1992
maybe it would be worth doing a short interval on it to try clean the varnish up a bit.


I honestly don't think that's necessary.

How many miles/KM are driven in a year?
 
Duuude...its 1.2 litre N/A engine...please dont overthink things here
smile.gif


Here in EU (ok you are out of it now...you you infidels
smile.gif
) every 10w40 or 5w40 oil meets vw502 certificate...

If you are concerned because of "severe" usage...just use whatever synthetic oil that is available where you live....in your case that would be anything with 5w40 or 5w30 on a label
smile.gif
 
Actually that's a good point. I have several litres of Chevron Supreme 10w40 Semi-Synth left that I used to use in my Defender 300TDI.
It's fairly cheap to buy at £40 for 20 litres and I'm sure it's 502/505 rated too. maybe for maximum 4k OCIs it's an ideal oil to use.
 
Originally Posted By: Bailes1992
maybe for maximum 4k OCIs it's an ideal oil to use.


It's probably good for longer than that.
 
VW 504 / 507 (low SAPS) is the newer spec that replaces the older 502 / 505 (high SAPS) spec. Both will work fine in your car.

The newer VW 504 oil does set a high standard, I've only seen full synthetic oils meet it and I think it is very similar to the Porsche C30 spec. The older 502 spec can be met by cheaper semi-synthetic oils.

You really have three choices:
- VW 502, cheap version, like a semi-synthetic 10W40
- VW 502, expensive version, full synthetic, like Castrol Edge or M1 0W-40 (also carry other OEM like BMW LL-01 etc)
- VW 504 only expensive as a full synthetic 5W30

Sounds like you have a bit of varnish in the engine, that is not a problem, and the new oil is cleaning it up a bit.

For 6 months oil changes it shouldn't matter, but for 1 year I would get a full synthetic (504 or 502).

If you find a good deal on a 504, jump on it, as it is a very high quality oil spec.
 
If 504 is the better specification and will offer better protection then I'll use it. I may even push the boat out and leave it in there for a whole 12 months!
 
Mobil 1 5W-30 ESP is a very good oil. It is expensive, but worth the money IMHO. My other suggestion would be Petronas Syntium 7000 0W-40, which is a PAO based lubricant.

As far as the internals go, you might want to get a can of MPEX Engine Flush from your local Halford's and use it before your oil change.
 
I can get 5 litres of ESP for £35 so not hugley expensive. New Life 0w40 comes in at £30 for 5 litres.

Sounds like any quality branded synthetic 502 or 504 oil would suffice for 12 months/5k OCIs.

Just want to get rid of this orange varnish inside the motor. It's been serviced every 8-9k at 1 year intervals since new so amazed it's even happened.

I am thinking of trying ESP in my Focus next so maybe it's an opportunity to use the same oil for both.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SR5
VW 504 / 507 (low SAPS) is the newer spec that replaces the older 502 / 505 (high SAPS) spec. Both will work fine in your car.


I don't mean to jump on you, however - while full SAPS VW 502/505 lubes are common, full SAPS is not a requirement, C3 oils can meet 502/505 too.
 
I use Motul X-Clean+ 8100 in 5w30 since it meets VW504. As others have said, VW504 supersedes the 502 spec and will work well in your application. I change mine every 5k miles with good results in my GLI.
 
Originally Posted By: nolesfan
I use Motul X-Clean+ 8100 in 5w30 since it meets VW504. As others have said, VW504 supersedes the 502 spec and will work well in your application. I change mine every 5k miles with good results in my GLI.


That would probably be my go-to oil as well if I had a 502 or 504 spec'd engine (which may not be too far off; the new A3 is a nice car...).
 
I honestly started running it a year or two ago since I've been using and liked Motul oils for several years now in my current and past VW. It was the (or close to) least expensive oil meeting VW504/507. For me it was an easy decision. I like the fact I can get it in 5l jugs for under $50.
 
Originally Posted By: 1JZ_E46
Originally Posted By: nolesfan
I use Motul X-Clean+ 8100 in 5w30 since it meets VW504. As others have said, VW504 supersedes the 502 spec and will work well in your application. I change mine every 5k miles with good results in my GLI.


That would probably be my go-to oil as well if I had a 502 or 504 spec'd engine (which may not be too far off; the new A3 is a nice car...).


I've looked at motul and ravenol. Can't decide
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top