Correct oil for 98 1.8T?

From my experience it depends on the mileage i tried 5w40 synthetic and i had bad oil consumption and the engine was noisier iv swapped back to 10w40 semi which the handbook states and the engine is alot quieter and oil consumption has reduced but its not been in that long so not sure of the difference in consumption yet. Mines an a3 1.8t with 160000 miles but all the 1.8ts are very simalar so i would say the same applies i also think that good quality oil is important ie castrol , mobil1 etc.
 
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.
 
aragorn said:
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.
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I do see the point you are making but my engine is quieter on the 10w40 than the 5w40 especially on cold starts. As for the consumption i have done roughly 600 miles on the 10w40 and it hasnt used any oil where as on the 5w40 it would have had to have a 1/2 litre top up by now which is apparently still acceptable by vag not by me though ;). I am using a very good quality 10w40 where as i was using a medium quality 5w40. On paper it should not make any difference but in the real world it has also i started another thread about my cam chain tensioner rattling all the comments basically said that the tensioner would not quieten down with the 10w40 i would need a new one and guess what it quietened down after the oil change so what does that tell you.
 
Was it a different brand of oil? I suspect thats probably made more of a difference than anything else. More expensive oils tend to have better additive packs with more cleaning agents etc.

Quantum Platinum from Audi or VW seems to come recommended by lots of people, and is pretty reasonably priced.
 
yeah i used carlube triple r and tbh im more inclined to put it down to a better quality oil myself than the grade but its surprised me at how much difference it has made. I was going to use quantum but i thought id give this one a try and so far so good.
 
the reason the 1.8t is meant to use synth is the engine oil is circulated thru the hot turbo as coolant same as the water does, but the turbo temps can cook dino (mineral / semi) oil into black tar, it hasnt got the high temp resistance that synth has.

google "audi sludge issue" for some eye watering stories....
 
My car's done about 98k and I'm going to do an oil change next week. Seems to be using oil at the moment, whether this is just an oil consumption issue or some sort of problem I'm not sure, but I'll see what happens after the change.

So you guys would recommend a good brand 10w40?
 
You cant buy 10w40 fully synth oil that i've ever seen.

I'd recommend a 5w40 or 0w40 fully synth.

VW/Audi Quantum Platinum 5w 40 seems reasonable oil for sensible money.
 
As above as long as its a decent brand it should be ok but if you have problems like i said then swap it back for 10w40 semi unless it says different in the handbook.
 
If you do choose to run semi, i'd be changing it VERY often, 5k or less.

Dont **** around with oil in these engines, because they're known for sludging up at the best of times, and crappy oil is a quick route to a scrapped engine.
 
Aye, Aragorn is spot on there - I got the T shirt, read the book and bought the pie ;)

The only thing i'd add is, a high miler / worn engine thats always had dino mineral oil in it, can burn oil badly if switched to thinner synth. Thicker oil will burn off more slowly as it resists being sucked past the scraper rings and improves compression. the engine will also have a pressure requirement per rpm like say 7.5psi per 1k rpm, which should match up to what you use in an ideal world.

If pressure increases, flow has been reduced and vice versa...so over-heavy oil will show good pressure on a gauge but flow round the galleries will be less. Thinner oil obviously has the opposite effect, you want a good compromise, especially to match the existing wear levels. Synth will be contaminated and become sludge with even a small amount of mineral left in an engine that is swapped over, and flushes just compound the problem by loosening lumps of crud that block oilways. I like using turbo diesel blend oil with detergent for a few changes then it should be clean as a whistle (new filter every time, never skimp on the filter, its your only saviour) and then you can change to synth (if the car has had mineral all its life, or you arent sure what it had) instead of using flush.

Engine Flush is the work of Satan.
 
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I've flushed a few engines, using both the off the shelf flush-in-a-can and running it on a 50:50 mix of oil and diesel.

The old FWD had quite a few flushes thru it, as it had ropey oil pressure, but that turned out to be nothing more than a worn oil pump due to it having covered interstellar mileage. Even with the knackered oil pump, it still ran like that for 40k with regular oil changes!
 
audi upgrades
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.
 
NineNails said:
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.
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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.
 
I will put this for a laugh when i first had mine i went to a motor factors where i live and asked for a good quality branded oil and they said dont bother as you are only paying for the name buy cheaper oil instead :wacko:
 
I use 5w30 Shell Helix fully synthetic that i get from work (VW dealership) Its been fine since using it. Doesnt drink oil, no problems. Its what is in our pumps so we put that in everything these days really. Unless something else is really needing to use another grade but more commonly used is 5w30 FS.
 
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.
 
ok, my own experience was, I bought a B6 1.8T with only 50k on it, 5 years old. Owned previously by merseyside police (inspector's staff car) and meticulously maintained from new, full and I do mean full, audi-only service history. He didnt even get it done by the police workshop...and it was bang on every service interval (under slightly in fact) right thru the book, but some dealers put synth in, some put semi, some put mineral - and when I got it the engine lasted a year and went bang, the oil when drained was like jelly and wouldnt pour out the drain can after it cooled - it set like gelatin.

I did 3 flushes and oil changes in a couple of months cos it kept turning black and gelling as the synth I was using was being contaminated by the mix of other oils used as you never get it all out. The engine never survived long enough to purge the other crap out and its now in the scrapyard in the sky.

Audi USA have extended the engine warranty to 8 years and have issued an edict to the dealerships to use only synth from new. In the UK they said sorry we hear of your problems, but no warranty exists here so tough lol
 
My car has had 0w30 Castrol SLX II in it for the past 7 years as I got loads off a mate who worked at VW, cost me about £60 for twenty litres.

I did a change every 5k. Run my stock down now and if my mate can't get me any more I think the Castrol Edge 0w40 looks a good oil spec.
 
Just another question I see Castrol do a 10w60 is that for racing cars or something? Would that be even better protection or would it never get hot enough in normal cars?
 
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.
 
aragorn said:
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.
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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.
 
and I wouldnt use flush mate, I think that accelerated the demise of mine by loosening crap that blocked the oilways.

Repeated oil and filter changes at often intervals should clean it right up since most good synths will have detergents of some kind in them as well.
 
aragorn said:
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.
Click to expand...

Im convinced so when i next change my oil i will be going synthetic again but i will use quantum 5w40. I take youve had alot of experience with vag cars then?
 
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.
 
aragorn said:
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.
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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.
 
So what is the correct oil 5 40 Fully Synth? Isn't there a spec?
 
Fuchs titan race pro s 5w40

MannW949/66 filter.

You'll get more oil in engine with larger filter, with 1.8l tq you need all you can get...
 
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