"Special" Volkswagen oil for 1.8T's?

[jimpascale]

Hello All,
Newbie here. My wife & I just bought our 1st NB, a '05 1.8T NBC. THe car is currnetly in for its 20K mile service & I'm home reading the owners manual. Question - the owners manual says the 1.8T uses "special" turbo oil, that you can only buy at Volkswagen - is this really true? Do I really need to buy engine oil from Volkswagen? What's so special about thier oil for turbo cars? Other manufacturers use turbos.
What oil do you use?
TY in advance for your comments/suggestions.
Regards,
JIm

[warren]

many oils out there, but not as many that meet the VW oil standard...502 00

I use Mobil 1 0w40.

here's a pdf file from tdiclub on some additional options...

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/529/Aud..._Oil_Chart.pdf

[Mutato]

You use 0-40?
So what is 5-40 Euro blend?
Only the 5-40 I've seen show VW, BMW & Mercedes Certified.
Never on a 0-40?

[cep]

The diesels take a special oil which is hard to find but the 1.8 should be able to use any oil good for turbo applications. The oil change interval for the 1.8 is, IRRC, half that for the 2.0 and 1.9TDI.

[warren]

Originally Posted by Mutato

You use 0-40?
So what is 5-40 Euro blend?
Only the 5-40 I've seen show VW, BMW & Mercedes Certified.
Never on a 0-40?

here's a pic of the back label of the 0-40 Mobil 1 i'm using now...VW standard is listed along with Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes...i've also used the Castrol Syntec 5-40.

not sure what you mean by 5-40 Euro blend...???

[wawalker]

Mobil 1 0W40 is the stuff I used in my TS when I had it--much cheaper than buying oil at the stealership and readily available at Autozone and NAPA in my little town.

[qtbug03]

We just changed the oil in my 03 1.8 Turbo ....
I used what someone on here recommended 0W40 for summer/ 5W30 best for winter synthetic...royal...something, in a purple bottle?!
Could not find Mobil 1 .... and this seems to be fine!!
It was a little more expensive, and I have no idea what previous owner used.... I live in Oklahoma so it's already getting hot here, and that is what weight was suggested to me for summer oil. Good luck!

[Fowvay]

0W40 gives you the benefit of a very thin viscosity at start up *the 0 part* and the thickness required when the engine is at full operating temperature. People forget or don't realize that with modern cooling systems engines reach the identical operating temperature no matter the outside temperature.

So running a 5W30 in the winter means you are actually running a thicker viscosity on those cold mornings and have less protection once the motor is up to operating temperature.

I just use 0W40 year round. I used to use the Pentosin 5W40 in the summer and 0W40 in the winter. This was more a matter of convienece than necessity because it just lined up that in the spring I was ordering stuff from OEM / Performance Parts for Volkswagen, Audi, and BMW - ECS Tuning and I added an oil change kit at that time.

[BigBlackBean]

UNLESS YOUR ENGINE IS BUILT use 5w40 synthetic FOR GAS ENGINES!

TDI motors use a different crankcase vent system and HAVE DIFFERENT INTERNALS for it needs thicker oil

18t gas engines use 5w40, you can go with any company

i use castrol cuz it's by far the best......

castrol is used in porsches

THE FACTORY RECOMMENDED is because the company gets sponsored by mobile 1 to put their name for "RECOMMENDED USE"

anywho, yeah, use thicker oil it'll take a longer time to go through the orifices in your engine to lubricate it

so yeah, there you go


p.s.

viscosity is not what the number before the "w" refers to, it's a POUR POINT. how fast does it pass through the orifice in seconds....so don't confuse THICKNESS with pour point pls

there is a 5w40 mobile 1 diesel blend as well, DON'T USE IT thanks

but of course everyone has their own preference, I PERSONALLY having a built 18t and being a performance mechanic, for daily driving STOCK CONFIGURATION use 5w40 synthetic, regardless of recommended company

in hotter climates the viscosity is reduced, so the pour point doesn't have to be that low? if that makes sense....so in hotter climates you may even go up to 15w40

colder the climate you may use 0w60 and that's what i use in winter chicago


thanks for reading

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

The oil viscosity used should be largely base on the ambient temperatures in your geographical location, synthetic oil is more forgiving here due to it's circulatory superiority (I.E.), a slightly thicker synthetic will typically circulate as fast or faster than a slightly thinner organic.

[PlatinumTurboS]

If you find a good shop in your area that deals with VW/Audi (not the dealership) they will know what oil you need. My local VW shop uses Shell Helix European formula. Good stuff.

[DZLBUG]

Due to the sludging issues that this engine has, oil for the 1.8T MUST be VW 502.00 spec 5w-40. Any 0w-40 oil that is also 502.00 will also work. The larger oil filter should also be used.

Folks using Royal Purple or other 5w-30, 15w-40 oils are asking for trouble. VW spec 502.00 oil only.

[Genifer Teal]

Originally Posted by warren

here's a pic of the back label of the 0-40 Mobil 1 i'm using now...VW standard is listed along with Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes...i've also used the Castrol Syntec 5-40.

not sure what you mean by 5-40 Euro blend...???

I am a little confused by these posts. In the owners manual (3.2 page 38) it specifies API Service SJ for gasoline engines and API CF4 or CG4 for deisels. The photo you show meets none of these requirements.

When I went to Advance Auto for the Mobil 1 special, they concurred that I needed API SJ spec and we discovered Mobil 1 did not meet this requirement. FWIW Castol synthetic did.

For what ever reason, the example image on the same page in the ownwers manual shows API Service SH. Isn't that misleading?

So, whew did you find your information? Where is VW promoting Mobil 1? I think I need to use Castrol with the SJ spec. Am I missing something?

Gen

[warren]

Originally Posted by Genifer Teal

So, whew did you find your information? Where is VW promoting Mobil 1? I think I need to use Castrol with the SJ spec. Am I missing something? Gen

my 2001 owner's manual specifies three standards that are acceptable for Gasoline engines (either singly or in combination):

VW 502 00, or Vw 500 00, or VW 501 00;
ACEA A2 or ACEA A3;
or API Service SJ...

API service ratings are a topic for another thread, i think, but there's more info here: http://www.aa1car.com/library/API_ratings.pdf

the current standard is API Service SM, "for all automotive engines currently in use."

The Mobil 1 oil does, however, meet VW standard 502 00.

don't think vw is promoting any particular oil. i used the info in this link:

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/529/Aud..._Oil_Chart.pdf which is an audi technical bulletin entitled: Engine Oils Which Meet Audi Oil Quality Standards VW 502 00 and VW 505 01...there are a number of brands that meet the standard.

i've used both castrol syntec & mobil 1 in my beetle, and generally run the "big" Mann/Mahle oil filters from ECS, although i've also used the Mobil 1 and purolator filters from time to time. 126K miles.

evaluate all the information you can find here, the vortex, oil websites, etc. then buy the oil you're comfortable using.

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by Genifer Teal

I am a little confused by these posts. In the owners manual (3.2 page 38) it specifies API Service SJ for gasoline engines and API CF4 or CG4 for deisels. The photo you show meets none of these requirements.

When I went to Advance Auto for the Mobil 1 special, they concurred that I needed API SJ spec and we discovered Mobil 1 did not meet this requirement. FWIW Castol synthetic did.

For what ever reason, the example image on the same page in the ownwers manual shows API Service SH. Isn't that misleading?

So, whew did you find your information? Where is VW promoting Mobil 1? I think I need to use Castrol with the SJ spec. Am I missing something?

Gen

VW is not promoting Mobil 1--the manufacturer of Mobil 1 is simply stating that their product meets and or exceeds VW's requirements. Also API service requirements work this way: an SJ meets and exceeds SA, SB, SC,-SI... So an SM meets and exceeds SJ and SH. If a vehicle is manufactured when SJ was the best you could get and it was specified, but now oil technologies have inproved to warrant an SM rating you can be sure it is better than an SJ. Hope that helps.

[Genifer Teal]

Originally Posted by wawalker

Also API service requirements work this way: an SJ meets and exceeds SA, SB, SC,-SI... So an SM meets and exceeds SJ and SH. If a vehicle is manufactured when SJ was the best you could get and it was specified, but now oil technologies have improved to warrant an SM rating you can be sure it is better than an SJ. Hope that helps.

That makes sense. I did not know this. Thanks for explaining.

Gen

[evlwevl]

I was going to buy a case of 5-30 synthetic Valvoline which is on sale and would also be used in another car of mine. Would that oil be ok for my 2000 1.8T with 10,000mi. I live in Bakersfield, CA. Thanks

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by evlwevl

I was going to buy a case of 5-30 synthetic Valvoline which is on sale and would also be used in another car of mine. Would that oil be ok for my 2000 1.8T with 10,000mi. I live in Bakersfield, CA. Thanks

Only if it lists VW 502.00 on the back. There are a lot of Valvoline synthetics out there, but unless it lists VW 502.00 you are asking for sludge and a lot of other problems.

[evlwevl]

excellent, thanks for the info

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Redline is an excellent synthetic oil for this car, I have used it on many cars including my Beetle with no ill effects, I have seen it shelved, sold and used by different VW and Audi dealership parts and service departments.

I am currently using "Total" (Elf) Quartz Energy 9000 as a result of many recommendations from a number of trusted, experienced Motor-sport facilities.

If availability is an issue for you then do what I do, buy/order a case or two at a time and replinish before you run out.