Which Oil? Best Oil Types & Uses.

Hello!
As the owner of a 96kW PD Golf with extended service intervals, I have so far...
I'm currently using Castrol SLX Longlife II SAE 0W-30 oil. However, I've heard that it's better to use 10W-40 oil, especially for vehicles that have been modified (chipped).
Is that advisable? Does it actually make a difference? With fuels, we've come to the realization that it doesn't really achieve much (see V-Power), or only makes a minimal difference.
Thank you very much, best regards.
Dennis.

Why should a modified engine receive oil with a "worse" viscosity? Do you think the wear is so high that the "inferior" engine oil won't be consumed as quickly?
Okay, there are many opinions about 0W in this forum... but it has never been considered truly bad; it's really a matter of price. I personally have a 130PS TDI and I've stopped using the longlife oil, changing it every 15,000 km. This way, I avoid the more expensive longlife oil, and it doesn't seem to be causing any damage to the engine. Perhaps, in your situation, you should also consider changing the oil more frequently.

Hello,

I may not be very familiar with the different properties of oils, but where do you see a connection between that and the octane rating of Shell gasoline ?

0W30 oil makes sense for PD-TDI engines, for example, due to the high surface pressures between the camshaft/rocker arms and the PD elements, as has been mentioned several times here.

A high-viscosity oil would likely be beneficial for a cold PD-TDI engine in the winter.

I think it's completely wrong to use an oil designed for lower stress levels in an engine that has been modified with tuning and therefore experiences greater stress.

It's not meant to be rude, but try using the search function to get some information on the topic first, instead of asking such strange questions right away.

Greetings, Marcus.

I mentioned the gasoline (V-Power) as an example because it's supposedly 'better' (in some way) due to its higher octane rating, but various tests have not confirmed that it performs to the extent that Shell promises.

My question was essentially simple. Is it advisable/helpful/does it 'extend the lifespan' to use a 10W-40 oil instead of a 0W-30, especially in tuned (or even non-tuned) engines?

If I'm asking about something completely wrong with the 10W-40, please correct me and consider the question as X vs. 0W-30.

Best regards,
Dennis.

ps: @Matthias96
What kind of oil are you using now? Without knowing the exact prices, is an oil change every 15,000 km overall cheaper than using long-life oil with longer intervals?

My question was, in principle, simple. Is it advisable/helpful/does it 'extend the lifespan' to use a 10W-40 instead of a 0W-30, especially in tuned (or, if you prefer, even in non-tuned) engines?

Okay, so it seems you still haven't quite understood. 0W-30 has a better viscosity (it's thinner), and why would you want to put 10W-40 in your tuned engine? That's an oil that's inferior, or not even approved for your engine.


Just do what you're being told to do here.

It's not meant to be rude, but try using the search function to get some information on the topic first, instead of asking such strange questions right away.


he was somehow right

A better oil would be 0W-40!

Regards,

Manuel.

And now my question, from someone who doesn't drive a Porsche.

According to VAG, I need to use fuel type 506 01 for my pump-injector system, right?
And is the 506 01 also the longlife oil? Or am I mistaken? Isn't the 506 00 not approved for PD engines? So, it would always cost the same. Or have I gotten my thoughts mixed up?

Regards, Peter.

Since it seems there are still (or perhaps always were) different opinions on this matter, I'm glad I didn't just rely on the search function.
Best regards,
Dennis.

According to VAG, I need to use fuel type 506 01 for my pump-injector system, right?
And is the 506 01 also the longlife oil? Or am I mistaken? Isn't the 506 00 not approved for PD engines?

Greetings, Peter.

Not correct!

There are also certain PD models that are allowed to be driven with the 50 500 (ANU) and 50 501 (AXR) engines!

It's either in the user manual, or hopefully in the computer system of the competent service technician.

That would be too simple if VW had agreed on a standard for PD engines!

Regards,

Manuel.

A better oil would be 0W-40!


The 10W-40 was already showing some difference, but only when the engine was cold. At a reference temperature of 80°C, both oils are the same.

'PD engines can use at least a 5W-40 oil; anything lower than 0W-30 is not really an improvement. Your longlife assistant system will already react to the increased load caused by the chip tuning (as you're demanding more from the engine), and the oil change interval will likely need to be shortened.'

If I were to stick with longlife oil, it's now available at a relatively low price, so it's worth considering again.

A better oil would be 0W-40!


The 10W-40 was already showing some differences, but only when the engine was cold. At a reference temperature of 80°C, both oils are the same.


Also, even the 0W-30!


'PD engines can use at least a 5W-40 oil; anything lower than 0W-30 is not really an improvement. Your longlife assistant system will already react to the increased load caused by the chip tuning (as you're demanding more from the engine), and the oil change interval will likely need to be shortened.'

If I were to choose, I would stick with longlife oil, as it's quite cheap nowadays, and therefore, longlife oil becomes a more worthwhile option again.

If you choose not to use long-life oil, you can use regular oil! See my post above! For example, 505.00 is available as a 0W-40.

It's impossible to say whether longlife oil is cost-effective until the next inspection, as it depends on how much the chip tuning affects it.

It's important to remember that not only is long-life oil more expensive, but so is the labor cost! A long-life inspection is approximately 50% more expensive than a regular inspection, despite the same amount of work involved!

Regards,

Manuel.

0W40 has the advantage that, when it's hot, it's not as liquid as 0W30. This means higher oil pressure, which in turn means, for example, that the under-piston cooling is more effective. That's why, in motorsports, oils with higher viscosities are used at higher temperatures.

Best regards, WarLord.

@Manuel Thomas:

50500 in the PD?

For 4-cylinder common rail diesel engines, only two standards are permitted:

50501 for service interval of 15,000 km / 1 year.
50601 for WIV up to 50,000 km / 2 years.

A 50500 resistor is generally not allowed to be used in permanent magnet (PM) motors.
For the 3-cylinder PD engines ANY and AYZ in the Lupo, a 50600 filter can be used at a service interval of 15,000 km. However, this is the only exception I am aware of, and it is not compatible with the 50500 filter, but specifically with the 50600 filter.

What kind of engine is the ANU? I couldn't find it listed here.

Hi Warlord,

I have to disagree with you; thick oil cools less effectively.

1. The oil pressure remains constant from approximately 2000 RPM onwards because any excess pressure is released.
2. The thinner the oil is at the same pressure, the greater the amount of oil that can pass through the nozzle opening. This results in better cooling!
The oil flow rate through the entire engine increases, including through the oil cooler, where the oil can then dissipate more heat.

You are right about racing engines, but the limiting factor is the much higher piston temperature, which increases the risk of the oil film rupturing. Furthermore, some racing engines operate at 110-120 degrees Celsius, which means that a 10W40 oil will be significantly thinner than a 0W30 oil in a standard car engine operating at 90 degrees Celsius!

Furthermore, the piston cooling oil not only cools, but also lubricates the cylinders. When it's very cold, very little oil comes out of the spray nozzles due to its high viscosity, and the cold engine is poorly lubricated *even though* the oil pressure is already present. Piston seizure is the main cause of failure for engines damaged by cold starts, precisely for this reason.

Anyone who has once experienced the difference in cold start performance between a 10W40 and a 0W30 oil will no longer consider anything other than 0Wxx.
I recently had a chance to demonstrate this quite impressively. We had a visitor during the very cold days (-15 degrees Celsius), a Golf TDI with 110 horsepower. Despite having a new battery, it took several attempts to start the next morning. I then started my own car for fun, and it started right up on the first compression (with ARAL 0W30 oil). Now, the visitor's car is getting its oil changed.
What I've also noticed is that the 'cold start' problem is hardly present in my car. And for me, that's enough of a sign that it's doing him good.

And for a philosophical consideration regarding whether or not 0W is acceptable: If the manufacturer has approved it, then it is initially considered acceptable, until proven otherwise, just like with RME. However, there is no indication whatsoever to suggest that it is not acceptable.

Regarding extending the lifespan: In my opinion, regularly replacing the full synthetic oil is beneficial for extending the lifespan. It's even cheaper than using long-life oil, so that answers the question. (Someone once posted a calculator that was supposed to determine whether water injection (WIV) was cost-effective, but it wasn't.)

@Garth:

Full acknowledgment!

For exactly this reason, I've been using 0W oils in my Golf since I had the third generation model. In the third generation, I used Mobil1 0W-40, and the starter motor turned much more freely compared to the 10W-40 I had used before. Just the way the oil sounds when it sloshes around in the canister shows how wonderfully thin it is even when cold.

And now, with the VW TDI, there's really no choice if you want to spend as little time as possible in the workshop.

I'm just curious how VW can approve the same (combination) oil for both gasoline and diesel engines. The diesel engine thickens the oil over time due to soot buildup, while the gasoline engine dilutes it with fuel and condensate... All with the same oil?

@ Roger

The change in the oil remains within the expected range.

If you've ever changed the oil in a Golf 2 diesel (after 7,500 km) and a Golf 3 TDI (after 15,000 km), you'll also notice how the engines have changed.

The TDI engine deposits significantly less dirt into the oil, even though it has had twice as long to do so.

m;