Engine oil change - anything specific I need to use?

[tangcla]

So I'm going to get an oil change done on the car, do I need to use any particular engine oil, or is it all similar? As long as it's a good quality oil, then it will be fine?

[Woodhead2k]

[snowdogg]

Get a "name brand" synthetic oil using your owner's manual as a guide as to weight, etc

[dparm]

Any oil meeting VW 502/505 approval. Oils which are approved say so right on the bottle.

Mobil 1 0w40 is approved, readily available ($6/qt at most auto parts stores), and has a proven record. I'd use that and keep things simple.

[dr.evil]

Any oil meeting VW 502/505 approval. Oils which are approved say so right on the bottle.

Mobil 1 0w40 is approved, readily available ($6/qt at most auto parts stores), and has a proven record. I'd use that and keep things simple.

X2 been using that since day one with good results. Start-up rattle is minimal, only when cold, and I'm at 94k miles now.

[patastinky]

I use MOBIL 1 0w-40

[Black3.2]

I recently switched to Total oil and my car seems to like it. I use 5w-40 in my 3.2 and i have not had to do an oil change in the S4 yet.

[dparm]

Total oils are nothing special unless you go for Total Energy 9000 0w30 (aka Elf Excellium Full-Tech 0w30). I would stick with the M1 0w40 unless you have money to blow or are taking the car on the track regularly...and even then, M1 is a race-ready oil used in several spec-racing series straight from the bottle! It is factory fill on the Nissan GT-R, Mercedes SLS AMG, Aston Martin DBS, etc.

[scorpioS4]

Oil has been talked about a lot on this forum. A little searching will give you some answers

[B6JoeS4]

M1 is factory fill in EVERY Mercedes, Porsche, and tons of other high end German cars.

[tangcla]

Oil has been talked about a lot on this forum. A little searching will give you some answers

I'm aware of how search works, I've been on forums for over ten years. However using a three letter keyword search is not very meaningful.

[dparm]

M1 is factory fill in EVERY Mercedes, Porsche, and tons of other high end German cars.

Bingo. But part of that is marketing and which company kissed the most ass.

M1 0w40 is Exxon's "halo product". All of their best engineering and R&D goes into it. The specs are unmatched even by many expensive boutique oils. Viscosity index of 185, HTHS 3.8, TBN over 11...these are all signs of a top-shelf product. Cry all you want about 'true synthetics' but with specs like these it's hard to pass this one up.

[jdmnomore]

I've been using M1 0w40 since I purchased the car 4 yrs ago. The price was aprox $6.50 then 2 days ago I bought 10 qts at $8.47 each. =[

[BeavenX5]

Don't complaint about price please. I just paid $11.50 (1liter) today here in Montreal. The M1 oil is quite expensive in Canada...

[tangcla]

My mechanic tells me 0W40 is top thin to use here.. Recommended me either 5W50 or 15W50 to prevent burning.

[B6JoeS4]

Get a new mechanic. x-50 is wayyyy too thick

[Audi0s]

I wouldnt base my mechanics off of what oil they use. I run the 15/50 in many cars, no problems what so ever. Whats bad about thick oil besides the percieved loss in fuel economy? Even cold flow wouldnt be that bad, unless were talking way below zero. And the if 50 weight is too thick, is a 30 weight too thin?

[dparm]

Xw50s create more drag on the oil pump and cause higher oil temps. Don't you think Audi would have spec'd a 50-weight if the car needed it? Your mechanic doesn't know what he's talking about.

Think of it this way: thicker oils move more slowly and hence cannot carry heat away as fast. The oil pump must work much harder to push the oil around, too.

Mobil 1 5w50 is the ONLY 50-weight on the VW 502.00/505.00 approval list. It is considered to be a very light-50 and is almost a heavy 40 (HTHS=4.22). The only thing it affords you is somewhat better shear resistance and ultra-high temperature protection, but I can tell you for a fact that I have run 5w30s and 5w40s on the track and my oil analyses showed the motor did not shear or break it down.

[B6JoeS4]

Audi knows that the car will be sold in climates that are always very hot and see 115+ temps every day. They design it from the factory to be able to perform in those temperatures and they spec'd the appropriate oil for it.
Some good proof that Audi designed the car to operate in extreme condition is the driver's side auxiliary radiator. It's there to provide extra cooling if the car needs it. I completely removed mine this spring and even on 100 degree summer days, I have yet to overheat the car.
Another good example is the throttle body heater. Audi installed a coolant line flowing around the throttle body to help up the throttle body and break away any ice in sub-zero temps. 95% of cars built will never need this, but it's there

[holywater]

Oh lord, oil threads....I have to use 10w60 on my M5 and it runs a lot cooler with 10w60 then with a lower weight which heats up faster so my real world experience contradicts your statement about thicker oil not carrying heat away fast enough.

I do run 0w40 m1 on all my Audi's from day 1.

Xw50s create more drag on the oil pump and cause higher oil temps. Don't you think Audi would have spec'd a 50-weight if the car needed it? Your mechanic doesn't know what he's talking about.

Think of it this way: thicker oils move more slowly and hence cannot carry heat away as fast. The oil pump must work much harder to push the oil around, too.

Mobil 1 5w50 is the ONLY 50-weight on the VW 502.00/505.00 approval list. It is considered to be a very light-50 and is almost a heavy 40 (HTHS=4.22). The only thing it affords you is somewhat better shear resistance and ultra-high temperature protection, but I can tell you for a fact that I have run 5w30s and 5w40s on the track and my oil analyses showed the motor did not shear or break it down.

[B6JoeS4]

No shit it runs cooler/better on 10w-60. That's what BMW says to use because of the tight main bearing tolerances. The 10w-60 does not carry heat away faster, thus contradicting dparms post; it just keeps things cooler in the first place. Anything thinner is generating extra heat because it's the WRONG oil weight.

[dparm]

Heat is carried away effectively when you run the manufacturer-spec'd oil viscosity. 10w60 is the only thing allowed in those motors.

[tangcla]

So how much oil does the B6 S4 use - I've read about 9 litres?

[dparm]

It uses as much as the dipstick says it needs. :-)

It's approximately 9.6qt = 9.1L. When doing changes I pour in 9qt, let the motor run for a few minutes, turn it off, then check the dipstick and top-off as needed.

[tangcla]

Here's the email response from my mechanic. He knows what he's talking about, and has been tuning and working with cars for the past 20 years. His background is physics/engineering, so he's not just 'any old greasemonkey' as such.

I can use any oil you want me to, VW 502 00 is as far as I can see is not quoted on any of the big manufacturers Castrol/Shell/Mobil packaging for the Australian market, yet it is recommended for use in your car, in the list you sent me and on their Australian online recommendation guides. I know that Motul, FUCHS and Liquimoly do have it on some of their oil packs, but The list you have attached is for the North American market, which not surprisingly quotes oils that are far too thin for our climate, and I assume VW 502 00 is quoted on packaging for the European and American market due to the legal ramifications. The Castrol/Shell/Mobil oils in weights 5w-40, 10w-40, 5w-50, 15w-50, 10w-60 are what we have in stock, none quote VW 502 00 on the packaging, except for the Motul 8100 5w-40 which does (VW 502.00/505.00), but as I mentioned, I can put in whatever you want me to.

Interesting to note that there is no VW502 00 approval marked on the higher grade Motul 300V oil packs or catalogs, however, it is also recommended for use in your car in their recommendation guide. My advice is to stick with the big 3 as they have the higher API ratings (SM and higher as well as a CL rating) which are cleaner burning, and to use a 5w-50/15w-50 or at the very least a 5w-40 (Motul with its VW 502 00 approval, but this is only a SL/CF rated oil). From the massive list of approved oils you've sent me, I assume that the VW 502 00/503 00/ 504 00/505 00/506 00/506 01/507 00 are just the newer low sulphur and phosphorus oils like the SM & CF4 ratings, as VW501 00/500 00 relates to the older and heavier weight SL/SM oils, and the.

Remember our ambient temperature range is between approx. +5 to +45 degrees C, where you guys in North America go from -20 to +40.

[dparm]

Good to see that he's quoting VW 502/505, but frankly, Audi calls for 502/505 for cars all across the world. There is absolutely no reason to run anything thicker than 5w40 unless the idea of decreased fuel economy, extra heat, and decreased oil pump life is appealing to you. Mobil 1 0w40 is a very stout oil that can handle just about anything. I would run that without hesitation, though if you can readily get Fuchs and Motul at a good price those are safe too.

Remember you want as thin as possible but as thick as necessary. Thicker is not always better. Your mechanic needs to stop equating thick/heavy with better. It's a crutch that mechanics often use to hide problems and impress customers.

504/507 is for US diesels, 503/506 is for "rest of the world".