Oil

[DavidT]

Hey Paul,

Excellent news.

This is actually Castrol Classic Oils, Castrol's sole UK agent for classic oils. www.castrolclassicoils.co.uk

The website does not include modern oils yet, but will soon.

£ 8.50 with free carriage on orders over £ 30 is a fantastic price and a group buy would not get it any cheaper.

'Fill yer boots'

[Dippy]

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[DavidT]

bumped because I see oil being discussed elsewhere.

[DavidT]

Just ordered some, Castrol SLX Longlife 2, item no 1956 conforms to VW 503 00, 506 00 and 506 01.

It is £ 8.50 / litre including VAT and carriage is free on orders over £ 30.

Audi have moved on to Shell Helix Ultra now but the Castrol stuff is still acceptable to them.

Shell Helix is £ 14.18 / litre from the dealers, so £ 99.26 for the 7 litres needed for an oil change

Shell from the above is £ 59.50 for 7 litres, a saving of £ 37.76, not bad!

[Dippy]

David, change your order mate because that's not the right oil.

Shell Helix is not right either because it has a cold weight of 5.

[DavidT]

David, change your order mate because that's not the right oil.

Shell Helix is not right either because it has a cold weight of 5.

Thanks Dippy.

Why are things never simple?

I called Castrol's UK technical helpline before I ordered and they said this was the correct oil for Audi AVS, i.e. exactly the same as the dealer would have supplied.

Which details are wrong?

Let me know and I will check again.

The dealers are now using Shell Helix Ultra, but I don't know what the spec of that is, or the part numbers.

[Dippy]

David,

Castrol are rather unhelpful with the naming of their oils, but then you do need to be very specific about your car.

Castrol Formula SLX meets VAG 503.01 and is suitable for a B5 S4 on AVS
Castrol Formula SLX Longlife II does not meet VAG 503.01 and is only suitable for mundane Audis.

Admittedly I did not give you full information.

OFFICIALLY for a B5 S4 to be on AVS it needs VAG 503.01 oil. But if it is on fixed service intervals it can use any fully synthetic oil (and that includes the one you have ordered).

Personally I think we S4 owners should ignore the official rules if we want to look after our engines. Audi used to insist on VAG 503.01 oil for the RS4, S3 and TT225, but not the S4 because it is not as stressed. However since the S4 is more likely to lose a turbo than those other cars, it makes sense to use the same good oil.

The oil spec for the S4 is 0/30 regardless of service interval. IMHO you can have a higher hot weight (so 0/40 Mobil 1 is OK) but not a higher cold weight (Helix is 5/30 or 5/40 IIRC). The biggest risk of turbo wear is when they are cold because they have oil bearings.

Dealers vary what they use. In my area one uses Castrol Formula SLX and another uses Mobil 1. For reference AmD use VAG Synta Gold.

Now I am NOT an oil expert, but I have read a lot about engine oil and also about turbo wear. The difference between a 0/30 oil and a 5/30 oil may be slight, but the point is that at the same cold temperature the 5/30 oil is slightly thicker. I could imagine that a lot of deals would say it doesn't really matter with the climates in this country, but then it's not their car is it?

[DavidT]

Thanks for confirming this Dippy. I think I finally understand the differences in part number and spec's.

You are correct, the oil does not meet VW 503 01 or VW505 01, it says so clearly on the back.

The parts manager at my local dealership now has some explaining to do!

It is OK for me as I use AVS oil with standard service intervals.

Anyone else please note that the oil from castrol classic oils is NOT suitable AVS, my apologies for posting it up as such.


David

[Julesm]

Gents,

I recently posted in another thread about being disappointed that my local Audi dealership put Castrol GTX Magnatec in my S4 during it's service. I have since changed this oil to fully synthetic. I have contacted my local dealer and expressed my disappointment at them using this oil. At first on questioning them they told me that a suitable synthetic oil would have been used that complies with what's in my handbook, I then told them that they had used GTX and they said yes that's correct, I then told them that it's not a synthetic oil, at which point they rang the workshop who confirmed this, but said that because it meets VW 500 00 then it's fine to use, I can't really argue with this, but as the handbook refers to A4's in general and not S4's specifically then I still think that an S4 should run on synthetic oil.

I have since contacted Audi Technical who also advised me that the oil used should conform to what's stated in the book. But with the S4 the Technical guy stated either the longlife Castrol 0W-30 or a similar rated synthetic if on fixed servicing. I explained that the dealer put in GTX Magnatec and he said that's because Audi get their main oil supply from Castrol and if it conforms to the spec required then they will stick it in the engine!

It's all a bit of a no brainer! I just can't understand why Audi think it's ok to put Magnatec in an S4? Plus have the nerve to charge 92 pounds + vat just for the oil! I can get 6 litres of MAGNATEC FOR 21 POUNDS!

I'll let you know how I get on......

[Dippy]

AFAIK, GTX Magnatic is fully synthetic. If you can get it in 0W-30, then it is suitable for a B5 S4 on fixed interval servicing. Those are the official Audi rules.

It is ONLY with AVS that a certified 503.01 oil is required.

[Julesm]

AFAIK, GTX Magnatic is fully synthetic. If you can get it in 0W-30, then it is suitable for a B5 S4 on fixed interval servicing. Those are the official Audi rules.

It is ONLY with AVS that a certified 503.01 oil is required.

Dippy,

GTX Magnatec is a semi synthetic oil. Castrol RS is their fully synthetic oil which can be bought in 0W-40 weight. Castrol Formula SLX 0W-30 is their other fully synthetic and that as you know is what is used as part of the AVS servicing.

Even when I spoke to Castrols Technical department they recommended either their RS 0W-40 or Formula SLX 0W-30 for fixed servicing the Formula SLX 0W-30 for AVS. They agreed that GTX Magnatec does meet the VW 500 00 standards but recommend the other two as they are fully synthetic and are a much better suited oil for the S4.

At the bottom of the above quote you state about the official Audi rules? Do these exist? If so, can you forward a copy to me as I am having quite a bit of difficulty sourcing officially what is right and wrong for the S4.

[Dippy]

Ah, that's not something that is readily obvious from the Castrol website.

The 'rules' are what are in the service/owners handbooks. What mine state is as follows. However I am aware that there are other books out there that may differ. The bottom line is what does your handbook state?

Audi Service Schedule version 8.00 (English)

"Longlife Service
After a service, your Audi workshop will program the vehicle again for the LongLife Service if oil with the following specifications is used:
VW 503 00 - petrol engines
VW 503 01 turbocharged petrol engines*

* For some specific turbocharged petrol models (154 kW Audi S3; 165 kW Audi TT and 280 kW Audi RS4), oil conforming to VW specification 503 01 must always be used."

Audi A4/S4 Avant Owners manual version 6.00 (English)

"Flexible maintenance intervals (LongLife Service)
Petrol engines
Use ONLY high-lubricity multigrade oils meeting specifications:
- VW 503 00
- VW 503 01

Fixed service intervals
Petrol engines
A - High-lubricity multigrade oils
meeting specifications:
- VW 500 00
- VW 502 00
B - Multigrade oils
meeting specification:
- VW 501 01
If the above grades are not available, you can also use oil meeting specification ACEA A2 or A3."

So that does mean that the GTX Magnatec is suitable for the S4 on fixed interval servicing. It also means that for AVS the oil only needs to meet 503 00 and not necessarily 503 01. However it is the note about the RS4 that makes me use only 503 01 oil.

This also means that I no longer know why I think that 0W-30 synthetic oil must be used.

Anyway, I think we can see that officially you can put in almost any oil into the car if you're on fixed service intervals. However there is a lot of information to suggest that fully synthetic oil which meets 503.01 is best.

BTW I may be wrong in discounting Helix as being off-spec, however it is still true that it's higher cold weight is worse for the turbos at start-up than 0W- oil. How much worse is of course the question.

I will continue to use Mobil 1 for my car, unless Halfords start selling Castrol Formula SLX at a similar price because I prefer Castrol (for no particular definable reason).

[Julesm]

Yes, everything you say is correct Dippy.

My debate with Audi is as follows:

1) On questioning them about which oil to use in the S4, they told me "a good quality fully synthetic", which I was happy with.

2) Then on finding they had put GTX Magnatec in my S4 (and me knowing it's a semi synth) I asked them why? They said because it's the correct oil for the S4 and that it's fully synthetic! I told them that it isn't, they then rang me back to say "yes, it's not a fully synth oil but it complies with VW 500 00, so it's fine for your car!" I have to agree that it does conform with VW 500 00, but it's not fully synth and as far as I am concerned an S4 should use fully synth oil. I have rang various Audi Indies who have all confirmed they use between 0W-30 and 5W-40 fully synth when servicing S4's. Also, most other Audi Dealers offer to put in Shell Helix fully synth or similar!?

3) My final point is that I was charged 92 pounds + vat just for the oil! If it was fully synth I would still be a bit miffed at the cost and will remeber to buy and supply my own in the future. GTX Magnatec can be bought for less than 30 pounds at most motor factors for 6 litres.

I have spoken to Audi Customer Services who both advised a decent grade fully synth, and have also spoken to Castrol Technical, who on initial questioning stated the S4 should use Formula SLX 0W-30, followed by RS 0W-40, I asked if it could use GTX Magnatec and eventually they said yes, but the other two would be "much better suited to the S4" due to their better quality.

My main gripe is that Audi don't seem to have clarity on what is right and wrong for the S4. I don't think I will get anywhere with this but I had to vent my frustration somewhere!

I have since changed my oil to Castrol RS 0W-40 fully synthetic (on offer at Halfords for 31.99 buy one can get one free)

[Dippy]

You're right to be miffed. When I first had my S4 and realised that I had to jack up the front just to change the oil, I checked how much and oil change would cost with my local dealer. Although I can't remember exactly how much it was, it was just over £100 plus VAT for the total cost. The dealer used Castrol Formula SLX 0W-30 as standard (and bought it in bulk).

So certainly your dealer's price is a rip-off.