What kind of oil do you guys use?

[jahciple]

I'm up for my 5k mile service and I called my service manager and asked what kind of oil do they use and he said they use castrol 5w-40. I told him I used mobil 1 0w-40 for my other cars (04 gti 1.8t) and he said that's too thin. Living in Socal, what do you guys use?

[agkellyboy]

0W-40 Mobil 1

[3.2some]

0w-40 mobil1 only the best

[jahciple]

i've never had any experience with castrol and i'm kinda not digging it.
i always use 0w40 with all my cars and never had a problem.

[agkellyboy]

I'm going in for my 5k on wednesday, I'm interested to see what they say.

[INTEGRATION]

Your service adviser is right about NOT using 0w40. Especially on "hot" summer days where the oil might be too thin (in terms of viscosity) provide enough lubrication to protect your engine internals.

Sure you might yield a few marginally more hp (think like 1-3) by using a thinner oil, but that subtracts from the life of the engine...unless of course you leased the car and plan on retuning it later on before the long-term damage begins to kick in.......................... I'm not taking sides, just informing you of all the potential effects

[Sly Raskal]

I've heard and seen a european/german blend of Castrol Syntec that is good for our cars.

Do any of you guys use that?

[INTEGRATION]

^ How about screw Castrol, Mobil, Pennzoil, etc.

Motul, Redline = FTW, on the other hand I've been seeing pretty good reports with people using Torco recently also. Some guy recently filled up his Evo X with Torco and it yielded higher tq/hp numbers on an AWD dyno.

[Sly Raskal]

^ How about screw Castrol, Mobil, Pennzoil, etc.

Motul, Redline = FTW

Forgive my ignorance on this topic, but are Motul, Redline certified to be used in our motors? I forgot the numbers that designate if they are or not, but our manuals say which spec numbers to look for on the bottle of oil if they are ok to use on our motor? If a brand of oil doesn't have those numbers is it still ok as long as it has the proper weight.

Although I haven't hit the 5K mark on my car, I'd like to know too which oil I should use when the time comes. I'm currently at a little over 1K on mine.

[JMG]

Audi has a PDF file of VAG approved brands and their viscosity. I cant find the link unfortunately.

[INTEGRATION]

http://www.audiusa.com/etc/medialib/....0023.File.pdf

^ That is the official list, but the stuff I'm thinking of isn't listed on there and definitely out-performs those oils in terms of performance enhancments AND protection.

[Sly Raskal]

http://www.audiusa.com/etc/medialib/....0023.File.pdf

^ That is the official list, but the stuff I'm thinking of isn't listed on there and definitely out-performs those oils in terms of performance enhancments AND protection.

Thanks for the link!

Question about oil weight. Looking at the list, some of the oils listed are 5w-30, some are 5w-40. Which weight is better based on what conditions you live/drive in? I'm a newbie when it comes to knowledge about oil, so be gentle on me if I ask stupid questions.

More generally, what do the different oil weights mean?

[Geoffafa]

i run motul 300v 5w-40 here in hot and humid south fla... love the oil. highly highly reccomend it

[INTEGRATION]

Well your location is a bit on the "hot" side for Socal (I grew up in Diamond Bar actually so I remember how it gets there). As for a recommended weight/viscosity: there are a lot of other factors that can be taken into consideration and I can't read your mind and so I would not be able to give you "good" suggestion based on your wants.

But you may want to read this, it should provide some helpful insight as to what you think is the best for yourself.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question164.htm

i run motul 300v 5w-40 here in hot and humid south fla... love the oil. highly highly reccomend it

YES! YES YES YES!

[gaede]

Elf oil.

[Sly Raskal]

Well your location is a bit on the "hot" side for Socal (I grew up in Diamond Bar actually so I remember how it gets there). As for a recommended weight/viscosity: there are a lot of other factors that can be taken into consideration and I can't read your mind and so I would not be able to give you "good" suggestion based on your wants.

But you may want to read this, it should provide some helpful insight as to what you think is the best for yourself.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question164.htm

Thanks, i'll read up on that and try to find some other info and come back with hopefully something to contribute.

[darren @ SW]

We use Pentosin 5w-40 on all 2.0t's with never an issue at all.