[realbeentheredonethat]

I'm certain this topic has been beaten to death on this board. But here goes again:

-My owners manual ('04 1.8T) says the car was filled at the factory with 5W40 oil. It also says you can "top off" with 5W30. But the manual is clear - for oil changes, only use 5W40. It also says you can use a synthetic oil.

If one reads 'between the lines", this suggests that VW does not use synthetic oil for the factory fill. When I purchased the car, I asked the service manager at the dealer what they used. He kind of "mumbled" and said: "synthetic blend".

From other threads on this board (and at bobistheoilguy.com) I've concluded that with this turbo engine, I should use full synthetic.

Do you all concur with this (that factory is "dino" 5W40" and that you should use full synthetic 5W40?

 

[Don Licorish]

Mobil 1 0W-40 works great in the 1.8t. It also meets all of VW's specs.

 

[Altair 4]

I dunno about the factory fill. But the last time that I checked the various US oil retailers, all 5w-40 I found was synthetic (either Group III or Group IV). I found no synth blends in the 5w-40 flavor. And I've never seen 5w-40 available in the US in regular dino. Maybe they have it in Europe - I dunno.

Personally, I'd be suspicious of the dealer's comments. Either they're not using the recommended viscosity (5w-40) or the wervice manager doesn't know what constitutes a synth blend. Personally, I'd guess that they aren't using 5w-40 and that the are using straight dino (just based on what I read here and on the 'Tex).

All the more reason to BYOO (bring your own oil).

 

[YetAnother20V]

Look on your service invoice/receipt. Almost always it will have the letters 5W30 on it and they charge about $7 for nearly 4 quarts of that oil in a 1.8T; full synthetic can't be so cheap!

 

[RL331]

A couple of things, there is a technical pamphlet that came in 2003 that say both 5W-30 AND 5W-40 are ok to use on non-W8 cars while 5W-40 is only for use on W8. So, really, not only does it mean that you top off with 5W-30 but you can use it as well and there are some members here that use it.

As far as factory fill, if it is 5W-40 then it must be synthetic I would think whether it's a Group 3 or 4 it's still some sort of synthetic.

Regardless of what factory fill is there are a lot of oils out there that are great and meet VW specs (that's the thing you should be most concerned about). There's Valvoline Synpower 5W-40 which I have been running, Mobil1 0W-40, Amsoil 5W-40, even German made Castrol 0W-30 which I would like to try (it's a very thick 30 I have heard) - All meet VW specs and there are some others I believe to.

 

[Alfredo]

well i've heard alot of people use the 5-40more than anything, ALTHOUGH i personally use castrol syntech 5w-50. reason being is there was a study back in 1998 in autimotive fluids additives ect., this article is in the sports compact cars 1998 for october issue. the article explains that what the numbers mean(got to know what they mean in order to pick and choose, what you need) since diffrent oils act diffrent ly in cold warm, hot temperatires and on start up.

i use the 5-50 since it has a wide range of multy-viscosity ratings without the use of polymetric viscosity improvers. therefore giving a larger lattitude of engine protection.meaning>> it has a good pour point for start up even under harsh cold conditions, and a high viscosity lever for protection even under the harshest heat conditions wich tubocharged car HAVE.

i live in houston tx and it can get pretty hot around here round the high 90-low100 farenheit.

but ultimately it all depends where you live(weather) driving conditions, driving styles, ect....i'll see if the article on web is still available if so i'll get the web adress, very interesting!! ultumately for non-turbo vehicles sae30 oil will do since the oil doesn't have to undergo superheated turbo, but for our B5 1.8T >do the research, it could extend the life if your car and turbo!!!

MY .02 cents


ALfredo

 

[Alfredo]

sorry guys no luck w/ the article........ :thumbdow:



Alfredo