Oil Choice S4 B6

[V8Fletch]

Discussions on Audi-Sport.net seem to suggest that Fuchs 5w-40 is the best oil for the S4.

I just got back from a jaunt to buy oil at GSF Car Parts (German parts specialist) in Leamington and was talked out of buying 5w-40 as the guy had worked for Audi for 8 years and said they would never use it and would recommend against it. The parts Shop have recently moved from Fuchs to Carlube so went with the 5w-30 version of this. My car is about to reach 95k and does have good chain rattle when started cold but I dont want to cure this at the expense of the engine as it seems not to be a problem that doesnt harm anything.

They reckoned that customers had seized their engines by taking the wrong oil as it can affect pumps and all sorts. They even went as far as saying they got a customer to sign something to say that they wouldn't take the recommended oil!!!

Comments welcome?
http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a4-a4-cabr ... il-v8.html

[xyber]

I use 5w/40 and find it a lot better. I use Fuchs Titan Pro S

Sounds like the bloke is on bonus for shifting certain products

[cobraBLACK]

I believe there are 5w-40 oils on the 502 list which is for fixed intervals.

If he's telling you this based on the longlife list perhaps you should go back and tell him anyone who thinks it's a good idea to service a 4.2 V8 once every couple of years shouldn't be working on them.

[DSB]

......

Sounds like the bloke is on bonus for shifting certain products

Thats exactly what I thought when I read this.

[nidfix]

There are for sure many 5-40 oils that respect VW502.00. In addition there are oils that were presented as VW503.01 that claims only VW502.00 now. I had that issue with Castrol Edge Formula RS 0-40 on which all the sudden 503.01 reference disappeared from the bottle. When I called Castrol they told me that they did not charge anything to the formula. That they stopped mentioning VW503.01 because VAG had completely deprecated 503.01 in favour of 504.00...

[V8Fletch]

Hi all
I don’t think the guy was trying to make more money out of me or he would have sold me the Fuchs oil and kept quiet as it was much more expensive eh? So I think his intentions were honourable although possibly misguided. As I intend to change the oil regularly I will go with what I have bought for now.

It’s a real dilemma for someone like me who hasn’t really got the experience to decide. I am taking the car into Audi this week for a free check and I will quiz them about this to see what the official line is. I guess this may not help though

Thanks

[DSB]

Hi all

I don’t think the guy was trying to make more money out of me or he would have sold me the Fuchs oil and kept quiet as it was much more expensive eh? So I think his intentions were honourable although possibly misguided.......

Quick point of note for future reference, just because the product is more expensive doesnt mean the seller is making more profit - its very conceivable he might have higher profit margins in the lower cost product......'high(er)' end products often stay high end due to their price which is (mostly) dictated by the manufactuer and not the seller.

Turnover is Vanity Profit is Sanity

Its a small point though and your probably right about him being honourable - after all it was you who spoke to him.

I would stick with the Fuchs by the way. Best of luck with it.

[sulli]

Isn't 5w30 the recommended viscosity for the B6 S4?

[xyber]

Audi normally use 5w30 and longlife servicing, which you don't want to do, so normally people move to the 5w40 Ester based oils as they have better cold start properties and quietens down start up rattle and makes the it feel really smooth running. Also they seem to consume a lot less oil on 5w40

[V8Fletch]

Xyber
Thanks for that all makes sense

[sulli]

Is this any good: http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-984-fuchs-t ... e-oil.aspx - Fuchs Titan 5w40 Supersynth it's VW 502 00 and 505 00 ....

[BlingBling]

It is OK and currently the oil in my car. At first there was minimal to no start up rattle. But over time it has got louder and more regular. I do few miles, approx. 3-5k pa, which are mainly short journeys and the filler cap is gunk free. A good trait for my type of driving. I will be changing to this next http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-1146-silkol ... gines.aspx based on comments I have read here and abroad regarding esters and their benefits.

[wardy124]

I've just oredered 20l of Gulf competition 5w-40 on the recomendation of Neil and Tim at Opie as I think the long life serviceing is daft!
20l delivered was nearly half the price of 10l of the castrol edge here in France, I know I've made the right choice!

[sulli]

I have spoken to GSF as they're usually the most competitive. They now only do carlube and 5 litres of 5w40 that is VAG 502.00 and 505.00 is £20+VAT. Is Carlube any good?
What's the oil capacity with filter?

[sulli]

After changing from longlife 5w30 to VAG approved fixed interval oil 5w40 I have the following observations:

-Oil use is now reduced. This is good as I was concerned at the relatively high oil use on 5w30.
-Chain rattle starting on cold is increased! In fact I didn't have chain rattle on longlife, I do on 5w40??? I didn't expect this, in fact most people report that change to 5w40 can eliminate chain rattle, no produce it. Bit confused by this.

Anyway, glad I changed the oil as regular changes help - it's been on longlife for the first 100k, and has had 7 changes, so averaged under 15k between changes which whilst not ideal is better than going 20k; and LL oil will still be affective after 15k miles.