what oil to use ?

[cartoonhead]

Want to know what oil I need to use for my 2001 1.8t 20v 144k miles....heard 5w30 fully synthetic & 10w 40 part synthetic ! baffled.....& which brand, Ffs didn't know it was that difficult to choose oil

[Bandit127]

It absolutely has to be fully synthetic and approved to a VW spec.

A 5w-30 to VW spec 507.00 will probably be the best even if you are on fixed rather than variable service intervals. Other than that a 5w-40 to spec 502.00 will do if you are on fixed intervals.

I am currently running Fuchs Titan Pro C3 5w-30 which is a 507.00 spec oil. I was thinking a 5w-40 would be better for a 135k mile engine but that was what National Tyres suggested. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of valve ticks etc. and I will buy it again. In this instance, they were right and I was wrong

I couldn't find a single 507.00 spec oil in Halfords. The best they had was 4.0 l of Castrol Edge 5w-40 which was 502.00/505.00 spec.

[Wazzzer]

It doesn't have to be fully synthetic.

I think I'm right in saying the 1.8T engine needs oil that conform to VW 501.01 or the newer VW 502 spec which can be part or fully synthetic. The usual oil to use is Quantum Synta in either the 5w40 or 10w40 grade but you can use the 5w30 as well now from looking at the newer spec

More info here

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/c-745-vw-50101-oil.aspx

http://www.blauparts.com/vw-oils/vw-oil-specs-vw-oil-specification.html#vw50200oil

[Wayne]

Fully synth is a better option on a 1.8t

[cartoonhead]

Thanks guys, think I'm going to go with  10w 40 part synthetic don't know what brand tho ha ha asda or wilkos own but have heard Tesco value is ok ?oil is oil isn't it .... Any ideas ?

[Wazzzer]

Use any of the ones I linked you to on Opie oils. I've used semi synthetic for the last seven years with no problems at all

[Jarrold06]

I use 10/40 semi no problems with either for me just i need to use loads my car burns oil hard something in going to have a look at in next few months

[cartoonhead]

What's that b3 thing? nxt to 10w/40 ect ie c2 b3 ? as u can guess I've not got a Danny & the garages are rip off merchants

[itavaltalainen]

I'd only use a 502.00 approved 5w40 or even 0w40 in a 1.8T.
There are no fully synthetic 10w40s out there (very few exceptions but they are more expensive than a good 5w40 or even 0w40).

@Bandit127, why are you running a low SAPS oil (ACEA C3) in a 1.8t that's got no DPF? Oils with A3/B3 are better than oils with A3/B3/B4 & C2/C3 if you don't have a DPF. National Tyres probably make more margin on LL3 oils than 5w40....

[Bandit127]

@Bandit127, why are you running a low SAPS oil (ACEA C3) in a 1.8t that's got no DPF? Oils with A3/B3 are better than oils with A3/B3/B4 & C2/C3 if you don't have a DPF. National Tyres probably make more margin on LL3 oils than 5w40....

Extended drain 507.00 spec, so it will hold on to a lot of crap before it starts dumping suspended contaminants out as sludge. And I have read a lot about the 1.8 engine and sludge. 

High HTHS (4.5%) means it should carry a good safety margin of protection for the stuff under real stress

I didn't know plain A3/B3 were better that C3. I assumed the 507.00 spec meant the best protection you could get. (And by best protection I mean good long term sludging resistance and high HTHS).