Shell Helix Ultra ECT 5w30 compatibility & opinions?

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Ves

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Hi,

I am thinking of switching to Shell Helix Ultra ECT 5w30 fro Castrol Edge 5w30 A3/B4 however it says VW 504/507 compatible whereas my manual says to use VW 502.00. (1998 audi 8l 1.8T)

Some forums are saying that 504 is backward compatible and replaced the 503 long life oil.

Can I use this oil on my car?

VW Service used it on my wife's Passat 1.8t and was a huge / noticeable performance improvement!!

Ves
 
Gazwould said:
Oh dear , someone doesn't know how good 504.00 is .
Click to expand...

I'm sure they do but they probably don't care...

Anyway... instead of banging on about how brilliant 504 is how about suggesting a decent 5w40 oil as 5w30 is too thin for higher mileage turbocharged applications regardless of 'spec'...

I now run 5w40 Millers Nanodrive... I still plan to drop this every 12 months regardless as I do less than 5000 miles a year but whatever you decide to change to oil wise you should consider changing it every 12 months or 6000 or so miles (whichever comes first) to get the best out of the engine...

<tuffty/>
 
Very good oil that Millers Nanodrive.

Tuffty it's not a clear case of 30 is too thin and 40 is right, these grades have viscosity ranges within each grade .

So you can have a thick 30 almost a 40 and a thin 40 that is almost a 30 .
 
Gazwould said:
Very good oil that Millers Nanodrive.

Tuffty it's not a clear case of 30 is too thin and 40 is right, these grades have viscosity ranges within each grade .

So you can have a thick 30 almost a 40 and a thin 40 that is almost a 30 .
Click to expand...

I think you are just confusing the matter here... while I have no doubt that company A's 5w30 maybe 'perform better than company B's 5w40 because of chemical make up etc the official viscosity weighting is still relevant... a 5w30 oil will be thinner at a given temp than a 5w40 oil that is why its rated as such... if it exceeds this in some way because its a superior blend then all well and good but its still rated at 5w30...

Turbo engines produce a lot of heat, this heat thins the oil and a decent 5w40 WILL be better at the heat these engines see with the performance they have (and lets not forget that part as the vast majority of cars on this forum are generally producing more power than they left the factory with)...

Now I don't profess to be an expert... I have been using Quantum Platinum 5w40 for years and dropping the oil every 12 months/5000 miles whichever comes first... I am open to a reasoned discussion and oil is a topic that comes up frequently... however... even if 5w30 came with a hand job from Kaley Cuoco (off of The Big Bang Theory for anyone who has been living under a rock) I wouldn't put it in my engine... I use it in the wifes 1.25ltr Fiesta but I wouldn't use it in a 500hp S3...

I have said this before I am sure of it but if you want to write up a decent thread explaining the whys and wherefores of oil and include consideration for the actual use its being put too I would happily stick it in the FAQs and point everyone asking these types of questions at it... you clearly have put some research into this so it would be of benefit to pass it on in some way as currently all it does is provoke rather than inform

<tuffty/>
 
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<tuffty/> said:
I think you are just confusing the matter here... while I have no doubt that company A's 5w30 maybe 'perform better than company B's 5w40 because of chemical make up etc the official viscosity weighting is still relevant... a 5w30 oil will be thinner at a given temp than a 5w40 oil that is why its rated as such... if it exceeds this in some way because its a superior blend then all well and good but its still rated at 5w30...

Turbo engines produce a lot of heat, this heat thins the oil and a decent 5w40 WILL be better at the heat these engines see with the performance they have (and lets not forget that part as the vast majority of cars on this forum are generally producing more power than they left the factory with)...

Now I don't profess to be an expert... I have been using Quantum Platinum 5w40 for years and dropping the oil every 12 months/5000 miles whichever comes first... I am open to a reasoned discussion and oil is a topic that comes up frequently... however... even if 5w30 came with a hand job from Kaley Cuoco (off of The Big Bang Theory for anyone who has been living under a rock) I wouldn't put it in my engine... I use it in the wifes 1.25ltr Fiesta but I wouldn't use it in a 500hp S3...

I have said this before I am sure of it but if you want to write up a decent thread explaining the whys and wherefores of oil and include consideration for the actual use its being put too I would happily stick it in the FAQs and point everyone asking these types of questions at it... you clearly have put some research into this so it would be of benefit to pass it on in some way as currently all it does is provoke rather than inform

<tuffty/>
Click to expand...



I'm sorry tuffty if you feel that way , I apologise .

Viscosity ranges

30 8.30 - 12.49

40 12.50 - 16.29 cSt

cSt- centistokes are = to mm2/s = viscosity of water .

Each grade has nearly 4 units range .

Looking at Quantum oil spec sheets at 100°C

Platinum 5w40 is 13 mm2/s and

LongLife III 5w30 is 12 mm2/s

Considering there is only 1 units difference
( the thickness of water ) and within a grade it can range nearly 4 units and I've seen this viscosity scale at 3000+ I would consider it to be negligible.
 
Last edited:
Gazwould said:
We'll that's where we differ , I like you .

Ignorance is your friend .
Click to expand...

So just to clarify, 504 standard has backward compatibility with 502 and 503 is the long life that has been superseded by 504? Sorry I don't have much knowledge here and not ignoring all your advise which I thank you all for. Just wanted to clarify this as I find contradicting info on the forums.

The only reason I have been using 5w30 is because the local Audi Services Use 5w30 here on these cars.
 
Audi use it most likely because the car is on long life servicing and they have to use it because its spec'ed.

Oil is oil. If you were stuck in the wilderness with only chip pan oil to put in your car it would run with it (for a while).

If your planning on dropping it every 5000miles I wouldn't get too caught up in all the ********, any fully synthetic will do.
 
hendo#1 said:
Audi use it most likely because the car is on long life servicing and they have to use it because its spec'ed.

Oil is oil. If you were stuck in the wilderness with only chip pan oil to put in your car it would run with it (for a while).

If your planning on dropping it every 5000miles I wouldn't get too caught up in all the ********, any fully synthetic will do.
Click to expand...

I normally change it every 15k / normal service intervals. My car is just a stock standard 1.8t / no mods on it.
 
Last edited:
15k is too long... 9k is fine for a stock motor... or every 12 months whichever is soonest

<tuffty/>
 
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