oil thread

B6 A4
#1

I think about lubricant pretty often, probably way more often than I should.

I’d like to get an idea what everyones motor oil habits, preferences, and results are. I also hope some of the Audi techs can chime in and share their oil-related experiences with this motor.

I will also be compiling a list of common motor oils specced for our cars and their technical specifications so we can compare them.

What brand motor oil do you use?
What grade?
How often do you change your oil?
Do you use any additives?
Does your motor consume or burn oil? (do you have to “top off” between oil changes?)
If you’ve removed your intake manifold, have you had any carbon buildup or deposits?

I’ll start:
Amsoil
5w40
5000 miles
no additives
no oil burning
haven’t removed intake manifold yet, but I will soon

If anyone has used oil analysis reports from ANY oil used in our motors, please post them or the data.

#2

Non-VW Certified Oils
The following oils are not certified by VW to run in our engines. However, they are very high quality lubricants that meet or exceed VW’s specifications. If you have an Audi warranty to worry about, it may not be a good idea to run these since Audi may see it as a reason to void your warranty upon motor failure.

AMSOIL European Car Formula 5W-40
price: ~$10/qt
100% synthetic
Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) 13.7
Kinematic Viscosity @ 40°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) 82.2
Viscosity Index (ASTM D-2270) 171
Viscosity CCS, cP @ °C (ASTM D-5293) 5171 (-30)
Flash Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-92) 230 (446)
Fire Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-92) 248 (478)
Pour Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-97) -43 (-45)
Noack Volatility, % weight loss (g/100g) (ASTM D-5800) 8.9
Four Ball Wear Test (ASTM D-4172B @ 40 kg, 75°C, 1200 rpm, 1 hr), Scar, mm 0.44
Total Base Number 8.0
HTHS (cP) (ASTM D-4683) 3.8
5000 Mile UOA:

http://i.imgur.com/iyxe0.png

Red Line 5W-40
price: ~$10/qt
100% synthetic ester-based
API Service Class SM/SG/CF/CJ-4/CI-4
Viscosity Grade SAE 5W40
Vis @ 100°C, cSt 15.1
Vis @ 40°C, cSt 94
Viscosity Index 170
CCS Viscosity, Poise, @*C 55@-30
Pour Point, °C -45
Pour Point, °F -49
Flash Point, °C 250
Flash Point, °F 480
NOACK Evaporation Loss,1hr @ 482°F (250°C), % 6
HTHS Vis, cP @150°C, ASTM D4741 4.6

Renewal Lubricants Bio-SynXtra 5W-40
price: ~$10-15/qt depending on quantity purchased(1qt, 1gal, 5gal)
100% made with some crazy magic biobased shit(heh), was originally formulated for the 4.2L RS4 motor to help with the fuel dilution and carbon buildup issues
Specific Gravity @ 15.6°C 0.895
Viscosity @ 100°C 15
Viscosity @ 40°C 84.3
Viscosity Index 188
Flash Point (COC) 235°C
Pour Point -40
CCS @ -30°C, cp Max – 6,600
MRV-TP1 @ -35ºC, cP 15,000
Yield Stress, Pa None
HTHS @ 150º C, Apparent Viscosity, cP >3.7
NOACK Volatility % max 1h at 250°C 9

Motul 300V 5W-40
price: ~$15/qt
100% synthetic double ester-based
Viscosity grade SAE J 300 5W-40
Density at 15°C (59°F) ASTM D1298 0.905
Viscosity at100°C (212°F) ASTM D445 13.8 mm²/s
Viscosity at 40°C (104°F) ASTM D445 80.8 mm²/s
Viscosity Index ASTM D2270 176
HTHS viscosity at150°C (302°F) ASTM D4741 4.51 mPa.s
Pour point ASTM D97 -36°C / -33°F
Flash point ASTM D92 216°C / 420°F
TBN ASTM D 2896 10.9 mg KOH/g

#3

I have some of my findings from the S4 but I think they may still be helpful as the 3.0 has the oil driven adjusters. Ill search for more specs to help answer your questions and to go a bit further in-depth.

#4

Castrol 5-40, (german spec,not US bottle)
NO ADDITIVES EVER
3000-5000 miles
I’ve never had oil burn untill last week when my oil light came on and I had to add a little oil a few times, but after it came back from the shop the problem seems to have been fixed.
(recently bought Motul X Clean 8100 after reading about oil and read it would be the next step up from the Castrol, I have yet to try it tho)
I have never removed my intake manifold but I would love to just to see if its dirty.

#5

Does anyone know of any examples of fuel dilution symptoms exhibited by our motors?

#6

0-30 german castrol (its actually a 0-38)

my 2002 states 0-30 in the manual not sure what year they changed to the 5-40.

no oil burn i change it every 10k-15kms.

#7

Motul xCess

#8

great thread, I have also been thinking about what oil to put in my engine that is on its way. I was going to use 5W/40 Shell full synthetic

If cost was not a factor, what would be the best engine oil for our car

#9

Amsoil European Car Formula, Motual 300V, Motual 8100, would be some of the few that are said to be the best.

#10

A good oil will keep this at bay.

oil wise the Motual 300V, Motual 8100 are good ways to go. They have a strong mix

I like
Castrol GTX Magnatec 5/40 works great and its not as expensive as other choices

#11

I would seriously recommend registering at www.bobistheoilguy.com and creating an oil recommendation thread. Give them as many details as you can and you will get some great advice. Let us know what they say :slight_smile:

#12

there is a thread on AZ that gives all the information you want to know about oil. But I was trying to avoid all the AZ links from here to there. Would I be breaking any copyright laws or anything if I just copy and paste what information I want from there over here?

Also, something to keep in mind… There are 5 other fluids that need to be serviced as well. I think people focus too much on oil, and forget to change the other fluids which are equally if not more important, so could we get some information on those fluids as well? or should we start a new thread for each specific fluid?

#13

Will do, I will let you know the out come

EDIT

Created thread, for those who would like to keep updated below is the link.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2405459#Post2405459

I will post the advice here as well

#14

I’ll definitely include some info on diff, trans, and brake fluid. I think engine coolant and power steering fluid are pretty straight forward so I’ll skip those unless someone else wants to contribute. I might end up creating a new more organized thread once all the info is gathered. I’m OCD about this kind of stuff.

Perhaps it would nice to be able to add a post to the FAQ thread or have some posts stickied.

#15

Quicky:

5w-30 synth or 5w-40 synth? What’s better in cold/hot climates?

#16

5-40

#17

It depends on what oil. I ran 5w-40 on my A4 here in Chicago and it was fine. Chnaces are 5w-30 is too thin.

I love Motul 8100 x-cess 5w-40 and I recommend it every chance I get
Next choice would be Mobil 1 0w-40 since it’s good and you can get it cheap and OTC
Then I guess good 'ol German Castrol 0w-30

#18

Is there any noticable difference? I just bought some and have yet to switch over from the OEM.

#19

So I did a little research and it seems you may use certain 5w-30 oils as long as it meets the VW 502.00 standard. I went ahead and bought the same Castrol 5w-40 my dealer uses (@Rusnak Audi, Westlake).

No matter what just make sure it meets or exceeds VW 502.00 standard. Thanks for the tips and advice guys.

#20

When I run out of my current batch of Amsoil I’ll check out a round of Red Line 5w-40. I’ll provide used oil analysis report when it’s done. It would be really cool if one of you guys using the Castrol would get a UOA and post the results here.