After buying an 01 A4 1.8T with 167K, I have been reading forums.
I have no idea what oil is in the car and want to change it. How do I decide if it's synthetic or conventional and/or what should I use?
It sounds like there have been oil problems with the 1.8T in general
and that there is a best oil/weight/oil filter to use?

 

Notice: This is the OPINION of the original poster and in no way reflects Audi service bulletins. The factory updated oil change specs are given in Posts #9 and #10 of this thread. Considering the problems 1.8t's have had with oil sludge, I would heavily advise against the information in this post.




I use either the Mobil 1, or the Castrol Edge Extended Performance 5w20 Full Synthetics. They both have a 15,000 mile guarantee.

I begin with a fresh oil change and filter, then I replace the oil filter every 5,000 mi until I hit the 15,000 mi mark. At 15,000 mi. I repeat the process from the beginning. Mind you, when I replace the oil filter, I'm naturally having to add fresh oil to the engine, so it's not as if I'm using all of the same oil with each oil filter change. I usually end up having to replace half of the oil with each new oil filter change. It works really well for me and saves me quite a bit of money, while still giving ne superior protection (I know this because I DRIVE my car and haven't had a single issue with my oil changing method.....and I'm pushing 17+ psi of boost.).

People have knocked my way of doing things and people will try to scare you with horror stories, saying that if you do it my way, you'll end up with a sludge problem, but my car has 285,000 miles on it (that's more than a hundred thousand more than yours - on the same car, with the same engine) and I've specifically asked my Audi tech to check to see if I have any sludge problems and he told me "No. Everything looks good in there."

You can do it however you want but the recommended specs are: (edited out, because I was wrong about the specs. No other edits have been made to this post).

That's regular oil, or synthetic. Change it as often as you think you should, but before you do any oil change, I would Seafoam the car first, to clean out any existing sludge, clogs, etc.

G/L

 

Thank you for your reply, sounds good to me. The only conflict I have is not knowing what has been in it for the past 166K, what would you use then, conventional or synthetic? Thoughts?
Thank you.

 

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That's why I said you should Seafoam it first. Seafoam (when used as directed) will clean the entire fuel system, the entire PCV system/top end of the engine and also the crankcase/bottom end of the engine. It basically runs through everything and cleans it up real good.

Once you're done with that, I (personally) would do exactly what I do, but I'm obviously biased. Whatever oil you choose, I recommend synthetic. (Edited to remove error in viscosity ranges. No other edits have been made to this post.)

LMK if I can help further.

 

I am a test driver for prototype cars and knew a guy that independently tests these products that claim various things; the Seafoam does very little cleaning in the engine itself, crankcase might be a different result.
His advice on engines over 150K is NOT to use it, and particularly on a turbo, just sayin....

 

Well, everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

Did you ask him what oil you should use? It sounds like he must know more than I do.

Ask him what he thinks you should use,

 

He does tests that produce results the same day, oil is a different subject and takes much longer to verify, but I am taking your advice about the oil. Some people have certain "gifts", for example; I am good at telling someone what needs to happen with the handling of a car, but don't like doing mechanical work.

 

I put my ego away and am always willing to learn or consider others' findings, when I stop listening, I'll hang it up.

 

These are absolutely terrible recommendations.

4k interval with a big filter on synthetic 0w-40 or 5w40 oil is NECESSARY. Have you not read any of the service bulletins regarding oil and sludge?



This is NOT Audi spec oil! There is no approved VAG spec oil with that viscosity.

Misinformation from you has become a common thing!

 

Here is the link to all VW 502 00 approved oils. https://www.audiusa.com/content/dam/...e-Bulletin.pdf



Here is a copy of the 1.8t service bulletin.