Clarification of W530 engine oil: VW504/507 & MB 229.51

Hello,

I’m hoping someone may be able to help me out here.
I have 2 cars and they both take W530 Fully synthetic premium high-performance oil. I don’t understand what the difference is between VW 504/507 and MB 229.5? What would happen if I were to use W530 MB229.51 in a car that supposed to take W530 VW504/507?


Thank you for your help!

As I understand it, the MB 229.5 spec doesn't fall within the low SAPS spec that the 507.00 oil does. There's been some discussion on this, but as far as VW would be concerned, they're not the same oils.

A 5w-30 229.51 oil would work fine. It might have a very slightly higher amount of sulfated ash than a 507 oil. I know some oils like mobil1 ESP 5w-30 carry both 229.51 and 507 ratings. A 229.5 oil would have significantly more ash- not good for dpf's.

I wouldn't worry if I used a 229.51 oil. An oil with that classification is not really a high SAPS oil. It's going to be .08-1.0% One can make the argument that a 1.0% SAPS oil will affect your DPF twice as fast as a 0.5% oil, but I don't think it's a practical difference.

I put 173,000 miles on a 3.0L CATA engine using primarily non 507.00 oils and all was well when I sold it back to VW. I don't know what the ash loading of the DPF was at 173,000, but at that point it did not need to be replaced or cleaned. I had 10,000 miles of heavy towing and I think driving style and condition play a much larger role in determining DPF lifespan that using an oil with 1.0% SAPS.

BMW and MB are a little more lenient in SAPS allowance in their certifications and I could make a tacky quip that neither of them were forced to buy back or re-program their DPF equipped cars.

wensteph said:

I wouldn't worry if I used a 229.51 oil.<snip>

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i wouldn't either. If I somehow got an OC of the stuff, I'd drive it until the next change. My remark was simply that VW would not regard them as equivalent, and I have no doubt that if it were a question of warranty, VW would invalidate the claim.

j0nny said:

Hello,

I’m hoping someone may be able to help me out here.
I have 2 cars and they both take W530 Fully synthetic premium high-performance oil. I don’t understand what the difference is between VW 504/507 and MB 229.5? What would happen if I were to use W530 MB229.51 in a car that supposed to take W530 VW504/507?
Thank you for your help!

Click to expand...

turbobrick240 said:

mobil1 ESP 5w-30 carry both 229.51 and 507 ratings.

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Why not use Molbil1 ESP in both cars as it satisfies both specs?

...also, start calling it 5W30, not W530. Every time I see this thread, I get confused.