VW Recommends 5W-40, Not 5W-30 Synthetic Anymore

http://tech.vw.com/pdf/V99-13TDIsynthsup1.pdf

For those of us in warm climates, we better use a 15W-40 rather than 5W-30.

I'm glad I switched from AMSOIL 5W-30 to AMSOIL 15W-40. IMHO, a 5W-30 is too thin for hot climates, and a 5W-40 is too wide of a range (leading to early oil breakdown).

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Ric Woodruff

Braumeister von Sehr Gutem Bier
Since the Last Millennium

1998 Jetta TDI Sport

Great band at: www.3doorsdown.com

[This message has been edited by Ric Woodruff (edited June 02, 2000).]

Ric,

You are a day late and a dollar short ...we have talked this issue to death on several other threads. VW also recommends a CF rated oil, and everyone seems to have discounted that part of their recommendation out of hand. I don't think you can pick and choose - either you accept VWs recommendation in it's entirely and use the "special" syntec, or make an informed judgement about this issue.

TooSlick

This is originally dated 7/23/99. Is that when the Castrol 5w40 finally became available?

I called Amsoil yesterday and asked them to prove to me that the Series 3000 5w30 could be used in my car (the Web site says it meets or exceeds the VW 505 00 spec). They offered Service Circular V 99-05 saying "5W30 synthetic". Hmmm...

Yawn,,,,,Ho-Hum.....Passing Gas.....Old old news here. What me worry? This subject was beaten to death with a sledgehammer for the last 18 months by TDI'ers on the cahin gaing. They have all repented and found God and reached personal salvation by now, go try to find something else interesting to rachet-jaw about

NOT!

All I've ever heard was 5W-30, 5W-30, 5W-30 on this site. Newbies reading current & even old posts will likely see that rating way more often than 5W-40. There are very few oils that meet that, for good reason.

For those of you on the AMSOIL 5W-30 oil bandwagon, you might be asking for trouble in hot weather...

yes Ric,
I agree with you on this one.

All motor oils regardless of their viscosity get thinner as they get hotter. The thinner they get the less lubrication protection they provide.

Let those Yahoo cowboys experiment all they want with oils thinner than what every diesel engine manufacturer (including Volkswagen) recommends.

I do not know whether it is true that a 15w-40 is better than a 5w-40. However I recall when I lived in Florida that a cold winter morning was above 50 degrees Ferenheit. It was very rare to get colder than 50 degrees. So probably a 15w-40 is fine for Florida's winter weather. I think the concern is not that the oil be thin enough when cold to be able to start the engine, as much as being thin enough to keep the turbo charger happy during engine warmup.

On one hand, I don't think you pay anything extra for a 5w-40 over a 15w-40, and perhaps it protects the turbo better during engine warmup.

On the other hand, people shouldn't be using the turbo during engine warmup, and even in Maryland's winters engines can startup fine with a 15w-40.

Ted: I am all for abandoning Volkswagen's motor oil recommendations when it is obvious that we are IMPROVING upon them. But using a thinner viscosity is not an improvement.

5w-40 full synthetic is a European motor oil specification not commonly available here in North America. Similarly, on my KTM race bikes from Austria, they specify Shell Ultra 10W-60 full synthetic which is totally unobtainable here anywhere under any circumstances.

Does that mean my motorcycles can not and should not ever use any other motor oil that what is specified by the manufacturer? HELL NO! I am using 10W-40 full syn in my bikes instead and it gets up to 100 F. here in Florida routinely. Am I worried about the clutch, transmission, bearings, rings, valves, oil pressure, oil temp? NO WAY....

Ditto with both TDI's, they are running 5W-30 with no hassels now and will be running 10W-40 full syn next change out, then all my machines, irregardless of what the manufacturer specifies will be running Amsoil 10W-40 full synthetic. Gee - life is really quite simple after all!!!!

SkyPup: You aroused my curiousity when you mentioned AMSOIL 10W-40. I compared the specs of that oil with the AMSOIL 15W-40, and it turns out that the 15W-40 has the performance advantage, and costs slightly less too.

They both have a TBN of >12, but the 15W-40 has a .35mm scar, vs. a 40mm scar of the 10W-40 on the "four ball bearing test".

You don't want to scar your TDI, do you?

First thing I did when I got both my TDI's was to BRAND my name and driver's license number all over it, so yes, they do have some scar tissue already.

As for the difference between the 5W-30, 10W-40, and 15W-40, I say they are all damn good and any are good enough for me and my rides, I just happened to throw a dart at the mix and it landed on 10W-40, so that's my choice!

SkyPup, LOL---as long as it wasn't a snaildart . This is another one of Ric's deja vu old timers thread---rather than revive we start all over again.
BTW, Maker's Mark old fashioneds are good for gas---for reels !

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First HowardZ and now Ric! Well, I'm convinced!

-mickey

YES!!!!!---the two great minds of the forum .

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[This message has been edited by dparnell (edited June 02, 2000).]

Yeah, I have to cry uncle as well ...Little Ricky and the "ZMan" on one team, it hardly seems fair

TooSlick

For years MERCEDES has recommended regular dino oil for their turbo diesels with good results. Does the VW turbo operate at a higher temperature?

Well, I've plodded through all the info (and jabs and drivel) for a while now.

My question is, I had Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W 30 put in at 5K miles. It doesn't have a CH rating, just SJ, SH/CF and the European ACEA A1/B1-98. I'm about to head on a 5000 mile round trip across the US and Canada. Is my engine/turbo going to explode on, say, a 700 mile run at 80mph in over 90F ambient temperatures?

This is a serious question. Some have said I'd be fine with this oil, 'til my next scheduled (10K) maintenance. I'm concerned if it will hold up on a banzai run in the summertime.

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Jeff
'00 Golf GL TDI 5 speed

Jeff,

I would take Mobil 1, 5w-30 over a petroleum diesel oil in this vehicle any day of the week. Your oil temps will run much cooler and Mobil 1 provides excellent wear protection. The only caveat is that it is only CF rated and has a lower TBN that Delvac 1, so you should change it at 5000 miles. The European (ACEA) specs are based on the use of petroleum oils - even though the HT/HS viscosity of Mobil 1 is slightly below the spec for the ACEA B2/B3 requirement for passenger car diesels,you'll be just fine. I do believe that Mobil 1 meets the VW 505.00 spec that was an alternate VW recommendation.

I have a customer here in Huntsville running the CF rated, Amsoil 5w-30 synthetic in a Passat TDI and it works just fine. No oil consumption and no change in viscosity after 5000 miles.

You will probably burn some oil on this trip, since this is a new motor - make sure to check it at least every 1000 miles!

TooSlick

[This message has been edited by Ted (edited June 03, 2000).]

Truman,

The TDI has a higher specific output and a much smaller sump (4.5 quarts, vs 7.0-8.0 quarts for some of these MB's). The Mercedes diesels will run much better on a full synthetic oil as well - ask Mickey or Valios.

TooSlick

Howard, kindly give us a break, and Ted one as well... thanks!

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Ric Woodruff

Braumeister von Sehr Gutem Bier
Since the Last Millennium

1998 Jetta TDI Sport

Great band at: www.3doorsdown.com

Z, I SAW Ted on the X-Files---he was abducted as a child by the aliens---his mission---to spread misinformation among the TDIers---the elite of Earth. You must be a member of the 2nd Foundation trying to help us---thank heaven for Hari Seldon!!!

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I have absolutely no colaberation with HowardZ. We are completely independent of each other. The facts speak for themselves.

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Ric Woodruff

Braumeister von Sehr Gutem Bier
Since the Last Millennium

1998 Jetta TDI Sport

Great band at: www.3doorsdown.com

I hope you realize that Ted never owned a diesel engine. He is giving you advise that goes against the recommendations of every diesel manufacturer on the planet. You are all part of his experiment. He's collecting statistics so he can write a book on what not to do to a TDI.

Jeez, HZ, you're irritating RIC!!! That can't feel very good.

-mickey

p.s. Absolutely nothing wrong with Mobil 1 for 5000 miles. And absolutely nothing wrong with 5w30 synthetic, either, unless my next oil analysis proves me wrong. (But it won't. I'm calling my shot! Write it down, mark it on your calender, record it in your diary.)

Doyle, I love the Foundation series, have you read the Prelude to Foundation? I would draw the analogy of the robot.

valois, it's my ALL TIME favorite pure SF triology---I have and started "Prelude" but have lttle time to read these days---that's going to change. Once had a sailboat called "Ebling Mis"---it was TDI powered and used 5-30 wt oil---to stay on topic ---in science fantasy, it's got to be Anne McCaffery's Dragon Riders Of Pern series. I KNEW there were some other Foundationiers out there .

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valois said:

Doyle, I love the Foundation series, have you read the Prelude to Foundation? I would draw the analogy of the robot.

Click to expand...

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