MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Modifications & Technical Area => Technical Workshop => Topic started by: rdfcpete on June 18, 2009, 10:03:01 pm
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Guys,
What's the best grade and brand of engine oil for an 06' Gti?
I've no idea what's in there currently as I've recently purchased it and the service notes were less than brief. What's the preferred choice? Haynes didn't really specify from what I could make out.
Thanks,
Pete.
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castrol edge 5w 30 is the one to go for :happy2:
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Anything with VW 504.00 or 507.00 on the label. This is the spec for all VW engines now.
I personally use Fuchs oil as its the OE oil from the factory and its reasonably priced.
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i stick with the Shell Helix Ultra VX 5w30 spec. :happy2:
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After doing a bit of research, I found this post particularly useful :
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=65779.0
I've decided to continue running the Castrol SLX Powerflow Longlife III SAE 5W-30 50400/5070 oil but have now changed from Longlife service interval to fixed Distance&Time @ every 15,000 KMs.
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After doing a bit of research, I found this post particularly useful :
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=65779.0
I've decided to continue running the Castrol SLX Powerflow Longlife III SAE 5W-30 50400/5070 oil but have now changed from Longlife service interval to fixed Distance&Time @ every 15,000 KMs.
Glad my nuggets of info are getting noticed! :happy2:
For the record, I would be happy to strongly recommend Castrol, Fuchs or Motul oils which meet the requried standard. Shell - I would neither recommend nor advise against - simply because whilst they are primarily a European company, they are known to source North American base stocks, which aint Group 5 esters.
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Helpful thread guys as I'm looking to give my mk5 Gti a 20k mile service soon,
Where can I buy this Castrol SLX Powerflow Longlife III oil ?
I have searched for it on OPIE oil but they do not seem to stock it.
Thanks,
Z
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Zub,
Cheapest place I've found locally (Northants) is Wilco CarMaster. Not sure if you have one close to you?
A UK google search should find you some stockists, but prices aren't the best.
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Guys,
On this note, can I use a comma (cheaper) fully synthetic equivalent 5w30 oil, or must I use big brand stuff (Castrol/Mobil1)?
I assume this has to be fully synthetic?
Will I notice substantial performance decreases if I buy Comma stuff?
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Bump if I may :jumpmove:
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You could put olive oil in if you so wish, it will run on it. :smiley:
The oil in your engine is the life blood of your car you really should be putting the best in. A GTI is not exactly a 12 year old vauxhall. :rolleye:
At the end of the day its not going to cost you the earth to put castrol edge in. :happy2: You should treat your engine to the best for you and future owners. :drinking:
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Fair point and also true TC, I'll stick to Castrol :)
I've always composed my own oil changes on my previous vehicles every 6,000.
How often would you recommend I do them on this, with it being on the longlife now at 57,000 on an 06 plate?
Thanks,
P.
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Fair point and true TC, Ill still to Castrol :)
I've always composed my own oil changes on my previous vehicles every 6,000.
How often would you recommend I do them on this, with it being on the longlife now at 57,000 on an 06 plate?
Thanks,
P.
Erm dont know. That is one for TT. :smiley: Its still got a turbo on after all, so i would say its not to late to start on T&D servicing. I have always been led to believe that if your car has a turbo then you should always be looking at a year or 10,000 which ever comes first.
I plan to do mine every 7000 or a year which ever comes first. :laugh:
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every 5000 miles with longlife castrol for me :smiley:
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every 5000 miles with longlife castrol for me :smiley:
x2
:happy2:
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Every 7k-10k seems logical.
You mention ' Castrol LongLife', is this the stuff?
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-713-castrol-edge-5w-30-for-modern-engines.aspx
Do they only do 5L containers when offers are on?
I assume once the oil has settled and added to the small amount of residue, is 4 litres enough as Haynes advises 4.6 Litres?
Cheers lads,
Pete.
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Just a quickie
A May 05 GTI 50K T&D VW services from new...
Do you recommend engine flush at this age? Hear both sides of the coin all the time. Sludge etc can cause blockages when "dissolved"/shifted by the flush or the flush gets rid of the impurities which can't be a bad thing.
Plan on doing oil changes every six months or so spring & autumn. Spring one yo get rid of the moisture etc after cold winter starts and cold running.
Any advice?
Cheers
Lee
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Anything with VW 504.00 or 507.00 on the label.
Hmmmm . . . not really. There some shyte 504 oils, and there are some excellent 504 oils. And then there are oils which lie - ie claim to be 504 approved, but are not!
This is the spec for all VW engines now.
Yup, shame the VW stealers seem to forget this though! :scared:
I personally use Fuchs oil as its the OE oil from the factory and its reasonably priced.
Where do you get the Fuchs from?
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Guys,
On this note, can I use a comma (cheaper) fully synthetic equivalent 5w30 oil, or must I use big brand stuff (Castrol/Mobil1)?
I assume this has to be fully synthetic?
Will I notice substantial performance decreases if I buy Comma stuff?
Do NOT use Comma stuff, EVER. It is shyte oil, it does NOT meet the required VW standard (dispite their website claiming it does), and it is so shyte, they lost one of their major (for them) manufacturer recommendations.
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Every 7k-10k seems logical.
OK, for a GTI, the MINIMUM should be every year or 10k miles - ie Time and Distance regime - but still using the LL oils. However, if the car has been modified, or you drive it hard - then half the above - change the oil every six months or 5k miles.
You mention ' Castrol LongLife', is this the stuff?
But you must make sure it is the 'correct' LongLife oil. A BMW or Vauxhall LongLife oil will be no good in a VW, and vice versa. So the oil must be approved by Volkswagen (and 'approved' is the crucial wording) to meet 504.00 standard.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-713-castrol-edge-5w-30-for-modern-engines.aspx
Do they only do 5L containers when offers are on?
Yeah, that is the correct stuff. The Castrol 'EDGE' branding is for the 'consumer' market, ie, the stuff you can buy at Halfrauds, petrol stations, Tescos etc - whereas the Castrol 'Powerflow SLX' are the 'professional' branding. Both oils are the same.
I assume once the oil has settled and added to the small amount of residue, is 4 litres enough as Haynes advises 4.6 Litres?
I take it that was a typo! Castrol EDGE is only sold in one litre and four litre packs, so for the GTI, you will need either a 4 and a 1, or just get a couple of 4s, and you can use the rest for topping up.
HTH :happy2:
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Just a quickie
A May 05 GTI 50K T&D VW services from new...
Do you know what spec oil was used?
Do you recommend engine flush at this age? Hear both sides of the coin all the time. Sludge etc can cause blockages when "dissolved"/shifted by the flush or the flush gets rid of the impurities which can't be a bad thing.
Flushing oil is generally NOT needed. Modern high quality oils have enough detergents and dispersants in them not to cause any sludging issues. However, if some cheap, non-fully synthetic oil has been used in a turbo engine (as the yanks seem to do), then you will get sludging.
Plan on doing oil changes every six months or so spring & autumn. Spring one yo get rid of the moisture etc after cold winter starts and cold running.
Are you only doing short journeys? :confused:
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Every 7k-10k seems logical.
OK, for a GTI, the MINIMUM should be every year or 10k miles - ie Time and Distance regime - but still using the LL oils. However, if the car has been modified, or you drive it hard - then half the above - change the oil every six months or 5k miles.
You mention ' Castrol LongLife', is this the stuff?
But you must make sure it is the 'correct' LongLife oil. A BMW or Vauxhall LongLife oil will be no good in a VW, and vice versa. So the oil must be approved by Volkswagen (and 'approved' is the crucial wording) to meet 504.00 standard.
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-713-castrol-edge-5w-30-for-modern-engines.aspx
Do they only do 5L containers when offers are on?
Yeah, that is the correct stuff. The Castrol 'EDGE' branding is for the 'consumer' market, ie, the stuff you can buy at Halfrauds, petrol stations, Tescos etc - whereas the Castrol 'Powerflow SLX' are the 'professional' branding. Both oils are the same.
I assume once the oil has settled and added to the small amount of residue, is 4 litres enough as Haynes advises 4.6 Litres?
I take it that was a typo! Castrol EDGE is only sold in one litre and four litre packs, so for the GTI, you will need either a 4 and a 1, or just get a couple of 4s, and you can use the rest for topping up.
HTH :happy2:
It wasn't tbh TT, as I know up to 0.5 litres can often reside in all the pipes and the sump that doesn't drain, but I was being mega optimistic there. Indeed, buying two would make sense.
Thanks for all your answers :smiley:
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Teutonic_Tamer, Maybe you could help me? You seem to know your stuff when it comes to oil :wink:
Do all the Dealers use the same oil? Is it always good stuff? (castrol etc) I just bought a 1lt castrol edge 5-30w today for a top-up, but after reading this i might get an oil-filter change from the dealer ( price dependent ). I had my 1st longlife service last march and the car had 16k miles on it. Its now got 21k. Is it wise to change the oil/filter? The next service seems a long way away? Also should i be changing from longlife servicing to the other type? (i forget what its called) I dont do a great lot of miles and its mainly pottering about! :driver:
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Just a quickie
A May 05 GTI 50K T&D VW services from new...
Do you know what spec oil was used?
Nope - just says OIL or Castrol oil on the service invoices.
Do you recommend engine flush at this age? Hear both sides of the coin all the time. Sludge etc can cause blockages when "dissolved"/shifted by the flush or the flush gets rid of the impurities which can't be a bad thing.
Flushing oil is generally NOT needed. Modern high quality oils have enough detergents and dispersants in them not to cause any sludging issues. However, if some cheap, non-fully synthetic oil has been used in a turbo engine (as the yanks seem to do), then you will get sludging.
So can I use a flushing oil as I don't know that the correct Castrol Powerflow SLX was used? Also the oil after just a thousand miles looks very dirty. Either a proper service has not been done or the engine internals are VERY dirty. I hope a flush would help clean this dirt as much as any sludge.
Still wishing to check the school of thought regarding causing more harm than good with a flush.
Plan on doing oil changes every six months or so spring & autumn. Spring one yo get rid of the moisture etc after cold winter starts and cold running.
Are you only doing short journeys? :confused:
Quite a mixed bag of journeys. Although a lot are short or in traffic. - I am from the old school before the synthetic stuff came on the market. Since then until now I have had company cars, serviced by the company at regular intervals. This is the first car in about 20years that I have rolled my sleeves up and had a go. Quite enjoying the experience too, gets you away from the other half too. :signLOL:
So 6,000 mile services were the norm on old Fords... seems I am a little out of date, but regular services surely can't harm, just a waste of beer tokens?
Thank you for your help and informed opinion.
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Teutonic_Tamer, Maybe you could help me? You seem to know your stuff when it comes to oil :wink:
Lubes are a bit of a passion of mine . . . or should I be admitting that on a public forum? :evilgrin:
Do all the Dealers use the same oil?
No - they are all free to source their bulk oil supplies from any major reputable oil company - so that would mean Castrol, Fuchs, Shell, or sadly Mobil.
However, they categorically should all now only be using LongLife 3 oils - but sadly, there seems to be a shocking and blatant breach of both these requrements by many stealers!
Is it always good stuff? (castrol etc) I just bought a 1lt castrol edge 5-30w today for a top-up, but after reading this i might get an oil-filter change from the dealer ( price dependent ). I had my 1st longlife service last march and the car had 16k miles on it. Its now got 21k. Is it wise to change the oil/filter? The next service seems a long way away? Also should i be changing from longlife servicing to the other type? (i forget what its called) I dont do a great lot of miles and its mainly pottering about! :driver:
If you have a GTI, then you REALLY do need to change it from the LongLife servicing regime to the Time and Distance (T&D) one (but still continue to use the higher spec LongLife 3 oils). So with the T&D regime, the car will next need a service either next March, or 26k miles, whichever occurs first. So just book it in when either of those come up, and ask them to change the cars computer to T&D.
However, if your GTI is modified, or you drive it very hard (or both), then I would also recommend an additional interim oil change every 6 months or 5k miles.
HTH
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Teutonic_Tamer, Maybe you could help me? You seem to know your stuff when it comes to oil :wink:
Lubes are a bit of a passion of mine . . . or should I be admitting that on a public forum? :evilgrin:
Do all the Dealers use the same oil?
No - they are all free to source their bulk oil supplies from any major reputable oil company - so that would mean Castrol, Fuchs, Shell, or sadly Mobil.
However, they categorically should all now only be using LongLife 3 oils - but sadly, there seems to be a shocking and blatant breach of both these requrements by many stealers!
Is it always good stuff? (castrol etc) I just bought a 1lt castrol edge 5-30w today for a top-up, but after reading this i might get an oil-filter change from the dealer ( price dependent ). I had my 1st longlife service last march and the car had 16k miles on it. Its now got 21k. Is it wise to change the oil/filter? The next service seems a long way away? Also should i be changing from longlife servicing to the other type? (i forget what its called) I dont do a great lot of miles and its mainly pottering about! :driver:
If you have a GTI, then you REALLY do need to change it from the LongLife servicing regime to the Time and Distance (T&D) one (but still continue to use the higher spec LongLife 3 oils). So with the T&D regime, the car will next need a service either next March, or 26k miles, whichever occurs first. So just book it in when either of those come up, and ask them to change the cars computer to T&D.
However, if your GTI is modified, or you drive it very hard (or both), then I would also recommend an additional interim oil change every 6 months or 5k miles.
HTH
Thank you for the Great reply T T :happy2: I will get it switched over to T&D and get it booked in this March(2010) or like you say at 26k. I will try and make sure they use Castrol too.
I noticed they had Shell Helix on the shelves a few weeks ago, and when I asked one of the guys in service, He told me they nearly always use Castrol for service, but it seems that the Parts Dept were selling Shell oils in the 1ltr bottles.
Thanks again!
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Mobil 1 forever !! :happy2:
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Just a quickie
A May 05 GTI 50K T&D VW services from new...
Do you know what spec oil was used?
Nope - just says OIL or Castrol oil on the service invoices.
Do you recommend engine flush at this age? Hear both sides of the coin all the time. Sludge etc can cause blockages when "dissolved"/shifted by the flush or the flush gets rid of the impurities which can't be a bad thing.
Flushing oil is generally NOT needed. Modern high quality oils have enough detergents and dispersants in them not to cause any sludging issues. However, if some cheap, non-fully synthetic oil has been used in a turbo engine (as the yanks seem to do), then you will get sludging.
So can I use a flushing oil as I don't know that the correct Castrol Powerflow SLX was used? Also the oil after just a thousand miles looks very dirty. Either a proper service has not been done or the engine internals are VERY dirty. I hope a flush would help clean this dirt as much as any sludge.
Still wishing to check the school of thought regarding causing more harm than good with a flush.
Plan on doing oil changes every six months or so spring & autumn. Spring one yo get rid of the moisture etc after cold winter starts and cold running.
Are you only doing short journeys? :confused:
Quite a mixed bag of journeys. Although a lot are short or in traffic. - I am from the old school before the synthetic stuff came on the market. Since then until now I have had company cars, serviced by the company at regular intervals. This is the first car in about 20years that I have rolled my sleeves up and had a go. Quite enjoying the experience too, gets you away from the other half too. :signLOL:
So 6,000 mile services were the norm on old Fords... seems I am a little out of date, but regular services surely can't harm, just a waste of beer tokens?
Thank you for your help and informed opinion.
I would actually strongly advise against using a flushing oil. In all honesty, flushing oils should only be used in quite specific circumstances. Dark or even black engine oil which has previously been changed on schedule is NOT a requirement for using a flushing oil.
Onto the reasons why new oils go black very quickly (excluding those engines who use the devils fuel - diesel :evilgrin:). LAZY STEALERS - quite simply, incorrect oil change procedures.
Some stealers will use an oil extraction tool, which is basically a vacuum cleaner shoved down the dipstick tube - and these can NEVER extract all the old oil. These oil extraction procedures are categorically NOT permitted by Audi, yet VW seem to tollerate them. Engines have a sump plug for a reason, and any so called 'mechanic' or 'technician', who can't find a 19mm ring spanner to undo the sump plug just doesn't deserve to working on vehicles of any kind. The only acceptable use of oil extraction devices are on marine engines. Period!
Secondly, many stealers fail to actually carry out the correct procedure (even those who do use the sump plug). On ALL engines, the oil filter MUST remain 'removed' during the duration of the drain. Way too often, I see incompetents who first remove the oil filter, and then replace it - BEFORE removing the sump plug. This prevents a total drain of the old oil.
Finally, oil changes really need to be done whilst the oil is hot, ideally at normal operating temperature, and certainly within a max of 30mins since turning off the engine. If not, any 'contaminents' in the oil can fall to the bottom of not only the sump, but also any other point of the engine where oil pools (the cylinder head around the camshaft is a common) - rather than remaining in suspension.
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Mobil 1 forever !! :happy2:
You are clearly swayed by guillible advertising, rather than actual engineering!
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After doing a bit of research, I found this post particularly useful :
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=65779.0
I've decided to continue running the Castrol SLX Powerflow Longlife III SAE 5W-30 50400/5070 oil but have now changed from Longlife service interval to fixed Distance&Time @ every 15,000 KMs.
Glad my nuggets of info are getting noticed! :happy2:
Very interesting read TT, can I ask a simple question which I have never been able to find the answer too? Using VCDS I looked at the servicing and oil quality reading from my car which from memory was "2" but no where can I find on what scale, is it 1-10 or 1-5 and if so does it start at 0 when refreshed or new, and if so do you have a recommendation, or advice on at what value a refresh should be considered (outside of your existing recomendations)???? :smiley:
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After doing a bit of research, I found this post particularly useful :
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=65779.0
I've decided to continue running the Castrol SLX Powerflow Longlife III SAE 5W-30 50400/5070 oil but have now changed from Longlife service interval to fixed Distance&Time @ every 15,000 KMs.
Glad my nuggets of info are getting noticed! :happy2:
Very interesting read TT, can I ask a simple question which I have never been able to find the answer too? Using VCDS I looked at the servicing and oil quality reading from my car which from memory was "2" but no where can I find on what scale, is it 1-10 or 1-5 and if so does it start at 0 when refreshed or new, and if so do you have a recommendation, or advice on at what value a refresh should be considered (outside of your existing recomendations)???? :smiley:
I don't know what the actual readings mean. However, if the car is coded for Time and Distance, these readings from the oil quality sensor are ignored.
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Cheers TT, if you dont know its probably not worth knowing :wink:
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I've just had my Ed30's 2nd service carried out at a local VW MD. The first service oil used was Helix 5W30 (previous owner and different VWMD) and now my local has done the second service using Helix 10W 40.
I asked them about this and they said the 10W40 is better quality oil....is this true?
Can 5W30 and 10W40 be mixed as i still have nearly 1L of 5W30 left as top-up oil?
Car is exactly 2 years old with near 17k on the clock.
Cheers - Phil
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I've just had my Ed30's 2nd service carried out at a local VW MD. The first service oil used was Helix 5W30 (previous owner and different VWMD) and now my local has done the second service using Helix 10W 40.
I asked them about this and they said the 10W40 is better quality oil....is this true?
Nope. The 10w40 is most likey a semi-synthetic - so how can that be better than a fully synthetic (from the same oil company). In a turbo engine - you categorically do NOT want semi-synth - you will coke up your turbo bearings.
This is just another example of main stealers being incompetent. ETKA categorically does NOT authorise anything other than LongLife 3 oil to be used in the GTI, even if it is on T&D servicing - so go back to the stealer and demand they change it for the correct oil.
Can 5W30 and 10W40 be mixed as i still have nearly 1L of 5W30 left as top-up oil?
Yes, they can both be mixed (though ideally no more than half a litre).
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sorry to bring this old thread up again - best is castrol A3 10W-40 a good all to go in the GTI.
is this a semi or full engine oil?
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does no-one use the longlife 3 from tps??
been using this in all vag cars for years..
very well priced approx £25 a gallon
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Anything with VW 504.00 or 507.00 on the label. This is the spec for all VW engines now.
I personally use Fuchs oil as its the OE oil from the factory and its reasonably priced.
It say 504 00, 502 00 in owners manual for non longlife service vehicles
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Is quoting someone from 13 years ago really necessary? :grin: