0w30 vs 0w40

[Avant Fetish]

Most people in here seem to prefer Mobile 1 0w40. Its getting very difficult to find around my area.

The Audi manual recommends 0w30...which I can find Mobile 1 easily.

Is there a big difference between the two? I live in So Cal and the motor is stock.

Thx...

[MacDaddy]

not what i would use in that climate, a 0W oil is what you typically run in very cold climates, like the arctic. I know audi says it OK to run mobil1 0W-40 but thats the only zero weight oil they say is OK, every other brand is 5W40, and if you ask me even that is a bit thin.

If i was you i would stay away from the zero weights, and worry more about the summer time number (the second one) than the winter weight. if you can get mobil1 5W-50 run that, for me i'm going to try out 15W-50 mobil1 next summer.

[jibberjive]

I usually get my Mobil1 from walmart, not sure which weights they stock. I now run rotella T instead though.

[crosenhahn]

Royal Purple - 5w-40 is what I have been running for 60k+ miles.. live in CO so our winters are cold and our summers are 90+

[S4_NE]

year round in CT with 0W/40 no problem sat all an di don't use any oil at all. used it for 35 k so far

[Avant Fetish]

So nobody uses the recommended 0w30?

[Ianxcom]

I went to a jiffy lube and they filled me with 0w-40.

[mholme]

Mobil has a nice locator on their website that shows you stores as well as shops that carry or can get specific weights. Might want to try that if it's the only reason you want to switch.

[a2gtinut]

I use Castrol 0w30 in my VW w/ 1.8T - all year around in NYC area - no problems
In my Audi I use now Motul X-lite 0w30, next oil change will be Total 0w30.
0w30 is not really cold climate oil but energy effiecient oil.

[ThirdStrike]

imo pentosin is the only way to go, since thats the first oil that your crankcase sees. i kinda agree with macdaddy tho. 0w oil is good for winter months. high heat environments and you could go with a 5w..

[1997gtx]

I would suggest 5w30 or 5w40 since you're in socal. You really don't need 0w if you're in a warmer climate. Any of those will be just fine for your car. Get what's readily avail. and stick with it.
--Adam

[Klum00]

I went to a jiffy lube and they filled me with 0w-40.

thats just asking for trouble...

[mholme]

thats just asking for trouble...

Jiffy lube had to buy my mom a new turbo and engine rebuild when they left the oil filter and drain plug loose and the fill cap off..

[Klum00]

i think being a moron is a pre-requisite for working at that place.

[Ianxcom]

Jiffy lube had to buy my mom a new turbo and engine rebuild when they left the oil filter and drain plug loose and the fill cap off..

Yeah my girlfriend took her mitsu eclipse there and they put the wrong oil pan plug back in and the thing leaked. Totally stripped the hell out of it.

I decided to take my chance there though that time.

[S4_NE]

Yeah my girlfriend took her mitsu eclipse there and they put the wrong oil pan plug back in and the thing leaked. Totally stripped the hell out of it.

I decided to take my chance there though that time.

WOW No local indi shop that would have been better? sometims you get what you pay for, I allways change my owen

[infinkc]

So nobody uses the recommended 0w30?

i use 0w30 german castrol in my car all the time from autozone

[CheesmoS4]

i use 0w-30 castrl german (european ) blend all year round. And i am oh ohio

[Avant Fetish]

I would suggest 5w30 or 5w40 since you're in socal. You really don't need 0w if you're in a warmer climate. Any of those will be just fine for your car. Get what's readily avail. and stick with it.
--Adam

I'm going to go to my local Autozone and see if theres a 5w40 available.

Going to check if they have the 0w30 German Castrol too.

I ran Mobile 1 10w40 in my SC'd VR6.

I'd do 5k between oil changes.

[jibberjive]

Interesting that nobody else uses the 5w-40 Rotella T heavy duty synthetic. I've heard nothing but rave reviews and it's like $15 for 4 quarts at walmart. I also use it in my dirtbikes.

[A62TURBO]

I stick with Mobil 1 5w30, a lot of people confuse the first and second numbers with winter and summer but the first number "5w" is the viscosity of the oil at startup and the second number "30" is the viscosity of the oil at normal operating temp.

[Avant Fetish]

Interesting that nobody else uses the 5w-40 Rotella T heavy duty synthetic. I've heard nothing but rave reviews and it's like $15 for 4 quarts at walmart. I also use it in my dirtbikes.

Is this what your using now?

I'm just a bit confused about the Xw40 that people use vs the 30 that the manual recommends...but I guess that might be a bit confusing too...since they said that if you can't find the 0w30...you can run either 5w30 or 5w40.

[1997gtx]

How many of you have gotten your oil tested?

[SLC_S4]

Is this what your using now?

I'm just a bit confused about the Xw40 that people use vs the 30 that the manual recommends...but I guess that might be a bit confusing too...since they said that if you can't find the 0w30...you can run either 5w30 or 5w40.

Not all manuals say the same thing. Mine says 5w40

[1997gtx]

^ Updated oil lines FTW

[MacDaddy]

Interesting that nobody else uses the 5w-40 Rotella T heavy duty synthetic. I've heard nothing but rave reviews and it's like $15 for 4 quarts at walmart. I also use it in my dirtbikes.

I was going to, i ordered the oil from shell and they sent the store some old ass rotella T from the 90's with a rating that was SH or something. Not only is that oil over 10 years out of date and expried (shelf life is only 3 years for oil) it won't meet the requirments of the audi's engine.

and whats with everyone saying "no problems with my brand-X thin engine oil" you really don't know if they are any "problems" unless you pull apart your engine and inspect it for wear or your engine 5 years down the road when your engine is worn out. I'M not saying use a bottle of thick-ass lucas, but if your running an oil which is designed to lubricate upto 100 degrees centigrade and your engine operates at 110-120 degrees centigrade your eventually going to wear out your engine. I've put ATF into crankcases of some really dirty engines to free seized rings, and the engine seemed to run just fine, but if you ask me if i think the engine would be OK running ATF for the rest of its life my answer is no.

[KompMan420]

I use 10w-30 most of the year. Stay away from the 0w in hot times.

[wheel366]

I use Amsoil 5w-40 all year round. It is one of the viscosities that is recommended in my manual and it meets the VW specs. It may not have officially passed the VW spec but it meets it and that is good enough for me. Never had a problem with it and I use their EaO filter and an secondary oil cooler too.

[wheel366]

So nobody uses the recommended 0w30?

I used Mobil 1 0W-30 once then switched to 0w-40 for a little while before changing to Amsoil.

[jibberjive]

I was going to, i ordered the oil from shell and they sent the store some old ass rotella T from the 90's with a rating that was SH or something. Not only is that oil over 10 years out of date and expried (shelf life is only 3 years for oil) it won't meet the requirments of the audi's engine.

Are you saying the bottle in particular that you got was old and expired etc., or that Shell Rotella T in general is an old oil that doesn't meet Audi's requirements?

I've heard nothing but rave things about this Rotella T heavy duty synthetic, though I'm sure it's not on Audi's list of approved oils (though I'm not sure cause I haven't cared to check.) Maybe I'll dig up some of the specs and reviews from when I was doing research.

[Slave IV]

0W30 German Castrol...it seems to be better than 0w40 M1 from the reports I've seen. I've only used it once and so far so good.

[MacDaddy]

Are you saying the bottle in particular that you got was old and expired etc

yeah, old ass bottle with their old logo they don't use anymore. I looked up the new rotella-T synthetic and it meets all current API standards for gas and diesel.

[Avant Fetish]

I checked out the Rotella heavy duty...its for diesels?

Its 19.00 for a gallon (3.78L).

[jibberjive]

I checked out the Rotella heavy duty...its for diesels?

Its 19.00 for a gallon (3.78L).

Yeah, I think it's marketed to diesels or something. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about it though, and I think it's a couple bucks less than that at my local walmart.

[Dimcorner]

Mobil 1 and Valvoline have a line of racing oil that supposedly have more anti-wear chemicals (2x more than normal oil according to Mobile 1). There is a FAQ on it in their site. I was wondering about this oil because I saw a quart at NAPA (Valvoline Racing Oil) but it has "off-road use only" on the label. I might try this out next change.

[Avant Fetish]

Yeah, I think it's marketed to diesels or something. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about it though, and I think it's a couple bucks less than that at my local walmart.

Walmart is where I saw it. I think I'll give it a shot.

Thanks to everyone for their replys.

[Dimcorner]

Motor Oil Bible PDF

Edit:

I just realized this is 170 pages worth of oil information.
Definitely throne material.

[wheel366]

Mobil 1 and Valvoline have a line of racing oil that supposedly have more anti-wear chemicals (2x more than normal oil according to Mobile 1). There is a FAQ on it in their site. I was wondering about this oil because I saw a quart at NAPA (Valvoline Racing Oil) but it has "off-road use only" on the label. I might try this out next change.

I read about the Mobil 1 version of the racing oils. It has more Zinc/Phosphorus that is not supposed to be used everyday do to it affecting the environment. I guess they can affect emmission control equipment.

[jaustin]

I've been using Rotella T synthetic for about 4 oil changes now and it has been working just fine and cost less then mobile one.

[S-Power]

Interesting that nobody else uses the 5w-40 Rotella T heavy duty synthetic. I've heard nothing but rave reviews and it's like $15 for 4 quarts at walmart. I also use it in my dirtbikes.

What dirtbike you ridin ?