sprint_48
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5w40 and 10w40 are both the same viscosity when hot, so shouldnt really make any difference. 5w30 is imo too thin.
5w is the oils cold rating, and a 5w will give better protection to a cold engine than a 10w.
IMO synthetic oil is a must for these engines, along with regular changes. I do mine every 5k.
From what iv heard and read there is no definitive answer some say use synthetic others say semi synthetic but i must admit im confused as to the reason people are using synthetic for example my handbook and motor factors say 10w40 semi but on the net others are saying only use synthetic. Yeah there can be a sludge problem but most of it has come from irregular oil changes rather than the type of oil used so as long as its changed regulary it will be fine. From my experience my car is better on 10w40 semi as said above and i change the oil at 5k and i have on all my cars but having said the people using synthetic are happy with it so who knows lol.Ok so now I'm a little worried and a bit confused...
I asked a similar question a while back about oil types and was told it is fine to change from semi to fully synth but this thread suggests any remains of semi will contaminate the fully synth and turn it into sludge??? There seems to be sooo much conflicting info regarding oil. Is there a definitive answer?
Si.
Sorry fella, there seemed to be a lack of a definitive answer as there have been several different types mentioned in this thread. Ok, so a good 5w40 Synth it is then. Thanks for everyone's input.wouldnt get hot enough on the road imo.
Sprint: Your not really grasping what were saying here. These engines are hard on their oil, so put the best you can in. Synthetic oil is by definition better than semi. One person on this thread has suggested semi, everyone else has said to use synthetic oil.
5w40 Synthetic is what you want.
Ok, If your car is on long life servicing, the specified oil is 5w30 synthetic. If its on normal servicing, its 10w40 semi for earlier cars.
Unfortunately, being a turbocharged engine thats pretty hard on its oil, using semi-synth just doesnt cut it, and the oil breaks down due to the thermal punishment it gets from the turbo, causing sludge.
Similarly leaving the 5w30 in there for 20k is also asking for trouble, and made even worse when ****** garages use semi-synth oil on a car running long life servicing.
IMO 5w30 is too thin for these engines, especially if they're tuned. Hence a 5w40 synthetic oil with regular changes is what i recommend.
As for changing between the two types, if the engines had regular changes it wont matter either way. If its a bit manked up then it might benefit from a flush, but then a flush might also dislodge ***** and block the pickup. Its a flip of a coin. Ideally, if your concerned then pull the sump and clean the pickup after running a flush thru it.
Thanks thats good info when iv asked others not on here by the way why they use synthetic basically they say cos i do and thats it lol. I always change my oil at 5k anyway i have on all cars like i said il swap to quantum next time and il clean my pickup pipe as thats not been done to my knowledge and get an oil pressure test done for peace of mind.I've had a few myself, worked on a few more and read plenty of other folks experience on here and SRS over the last few years.
1.8T oil sludging is a big issue, and imo its predominantly down to the low spec VAG placed on the original oil, exacerbated by garages getting confused and using the wrong stuff on long-life cars, and tardy owners ignoring or stretching out the service intervals, and i suggest you should do everything you can to try an avoid the issue, meaning synth oil and regular changes are a must imo.
The fact that my old 1.8T had a completely shagged oil pump (making less than 8psi at hot idle, and lucky to see 2.5 bar on the motorway at speed), yet managed to run like that for 40k miles on regular 5k oil changes with fully synth oil says it all to me. When most 1.8T's get to that stage with joe-public behind the wheel and running on crappy oil the engine probably wouldnt have lasted 10k before siezing up or killing the turbo due to oil starvation.