i went to the store today to pick up some oil for my first oil change on my new motor, and some kid that worked there and owned an audi said i should run 20w-50 instead of 10w-40...anyone else hear about this?? he said 20-50 is better for 'performance' engines and i think it was penzoil that even marketed it as racing oil. im not gunna use synthetic in this motor cause im not sure if the seals have been change and i dont wanna start leaks on my brand new motor.

soo...whats the verdict on this?

 

Well, almost everyone on here runs 5w-30 and some 0w-40. Ive never heard of anyone running 20w-50 or 10w-40. You might want to reconsider not using synthetic if its a 1.8T you will almost for sure get sludge since the turbo cooks regular dino oil, just search oil sludge on here.

 

Use 5w-30 or 0w-40. 20w-50 is too heavy for regular use in a 1.8T. You can use 10w-40 if you're in a hotter climate, but why risk using the wrong oil when we all know about potential sludge issues? Forget "racing" oils, you own a lightly modded street car. Stick with Mobil1, Elf, or Castrol full synthetics.

And if your seals leak after you change your oil, it has nothing to do with using synthetic. Use a dino oil for 5-10K miles changed every 3K miles or so so the rings can seat (provided your cylinders aren't re-sleeved with Lokasil sleeves). Then, switch to full synth. Switching to synthetic causing oil leaks is a myth.

 

so your sayin regular oil for the first 5-10k and then sythetic?? i used to use synthetic on my old motor, i was just told i should play it safe and use regular oil on this motor.

also i used to uses 10w-40 synthetic on my old motor and it was almost sludge free when i took it apart. the guy that helped me has been doing this for 20 years and said its one of the cleanest engines hes ever seen.

so for a car pushing 20psi and a fully built internal motor...what would u guys suggest 0-40 or 5-30??

 

and its not sleeved if that makes a difference.

 

mobil1 0w40

however if you live in the south where it never gets colder then mid 40s in the winter you might not need 0 weight oil... though it never hurt.

 

I used to run 20W-50 Mobil1 in my 2.8 when I was in SC. My owners manual had that rated higher for the hotter weather.

For your car though (turbo), use the 0W or 5w as suggested. And go with synthetic, it will be much better for your engine. Don't worry about leaking seals.

 

So you have first-hand evidence that synthetic oil is the way to go.

The only reason I suggested dino oil for the first 5k miles or so is to allow the rings to seat. If the cylinders have been bored or honed, the new rings need to seat to prevent excess blow-by. Synthetic oil allows virtually no wear, so the rings may never seat properly and you may consume a little more oil than you'd like. In some engines, however, such as Porsche engines, use funky coatings or sleeves in their cylinders which do not require seating.

So if your engine was simply rebuilt or bored, you'll probably need to allow the rings to seat. Then switch to full synth after about 5k miles.

 

Bently told me the same thing. It's hot like Africa during the summer where I live so I've been running 20W-50 synthetic in my 1.8T since my last oil change about a month ago. It seems to be doing just fine.

Whatever you decide on, go synthetic man. "Playing it safe" would mean using synthetic every time instead of cheaping out once in a while and getting regular oil. It doesn't cost much extra and it's well worth not having to worrying about it.

If you have been running reuglar oil, you might want to run some seafoam through your engine and get some fuel system cleaner to clear out any sludge that might have built up. It's better to take care of this stuff sooner than later man.

 

this is a technical bullitian that I recieved from Audi about the sludge problem we are having but here is the list of recomended oils in North America

Castrol, Castrol Syntec 5W-40
Chevron, Chevron Supreme Synthetic 5W-40
Elf, Elf Excellium LDX 5W-40
Kendall, Kendall GT-1 Full Synthetic Motor Oil 5W-40
Mobil, Mobil 1 0W-40
Pennzoil-Quaker State, Pennzoil Synthetic European Formula 5W-40
Pennzoil-Quaker State, Pennzoil Synthetic European Formula Ultra 5W-30
Pennzoil-Quaker State, Quaker State Full Synthetic European Formula 5W-40
Pennzoil Quaker State, Quaker State Full Synthetic European Formula Ultra 5W-30
Seventysix Lubricants, 76 Pure Synthetic Motor Oil 5W-40
Texaco, Havoline Synthetic 5W-40
Total, Total Quartz 9000 5W-40
Valvoline, Valvoline Synpower 5W-30
Valvoline, Valvoline synpower 5W-30