# Living in Florida



## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

Hi, I have been here for one year and this is my first post in this section. I'm living in Florida and yes.. the dummy question is what oil? new beetle 2.0 8v he is consuming 1 quart of oil monthly. which is better? 5w40, 10w40 or mobil European formula. The car has 135,234 miles.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

I think the 10w-40 you mean is the Mobil 1 High Miles 10w-40. It's a fine oil for your application. It's way overkill in visc and service life unless you want to go 10k miles between changes. It's super-overkill for the 2.Slo, which is one of the easiest engines on oil I know of. It will abate your consumption, but you might get a good result on the M1 10w-30 HM as well. It's a thick 30 with a lot of additives that should not kill your mpg and power like a 40 weight will. A HiMi oil is a good idea, and the M1 is pretty cheap, but you could use either a dino Hi-Miles 10w-30, 10w-40 or a diesel-rated 15w-40 if you want to change at 5000-6000 miles.

Any 5w-40 is fine, but is pretty thick, lacks the HiMi additives for your seals. It's synthetic too, so you want to run it a decent amount to get your money's worth. If you want synth, try the M1 10w-30 HiMi. If consumption stays high, you can use the 10w-40 in summer. Dino is more appropriate for that engine, but the M1 HM line is really ideal for VAG engines and is cheap. If you see a special on MaxLife, go for it if you wanna save a few bucks. 

A "piston soak" is a good idea to combat consumption. I posted directions a few times if you search.


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## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

can I use mobil 10w30,castrol10w30 or rotella 10w30, thank you in advance, by the way, can I use these oils all the year around or something specific for winter.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

The 10w-30s that would be best are High-Miles 10w-30s, with Mobil 1 High Miles being the very best. Most 10w-30 are a bit thin for you engine in it's condition and climate. It would be fine during fall in the Northeast now in my Mom's 2.Slo Passat...It burns zero oil and will actually get 5w-20 this winter. It's parked outside and she takes very short trips.

Another type of 10w-30 is Rotella "T5" for diesel and gas engines, as you mentioned. It has always been a "sleeper" oil, but it was just upgraded to semi-synth and now is really one of the best HIGH PERFORMANCE oils for non-turbos. $11/4q at WalMart. In FL it may be hard to find, since it was intended for diesel trucks in cooler weather instead of 15w-40. 

Really any 15w-40 HD will halt consumption, but it may be overkill unless you really hammer the engine for a long time. I say try the 10w-30, Rotella or a High Miles like MaxLife or Mobil 1 this "winter" and see how much consumption you have. Move up to 40 in summer if you burn >1q/1000 miles.

5w-40 synthetic is basically the same thing as 15w-40 except more expensive and better in cold.
Chevron Delo 15w-40 has been on special at some WalMarts for $8/g. Mobil Delvac 1300S 15w-40 is another great product, along with Rotella.


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## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

Thank you! I will use the 10w30 rotella to see what's going on!


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## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

Just curious, when you say overkill what do you mean? it damage my engine because the engine needs to move the oil (piston) with more force in order to circulate it.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

I mean overkill in visc, that is thicker than necessary. No that won't hurt anything. All oil is super-thick when cool, it's just a matter of how far it thins when heated. Too thick is better then too thin, but you want the thinnest possible w/o producing excess wear. Heavy 10w-30 is perfect and it will help consumption. 

I also mean overkill with the quality. Basic oil is for basic engines, some people get carried away with the very best and most expensive oil in a mundane engine that can run on anything- NO BENEFIT! 


Rotella 10w-30 is perfect. Very high quality and ideal visc....not too thick not too thin. Price is right.


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## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

What about gas? If I use the 10w30 I would have the same consumption? which one is to save gas and protecting? If I use 5w40 I could save more gas!!!! based on the answer I will do the change tomorrow...I really appreciate your patience with this topic...I am new in the oil business


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Thicker oil such as 40 weight will consume less oil. Thinner weight like 30 will consume less gas.

You should be able to tell the difference by how "peppy" the engine revs. 40 weight may be a little smoother and quieter. You should try different oils to compare for your own experience, not just use one forever. You should start with a 30 and if you burn oil excessively, then use a 40 next time. I doubt a high-miles 30 weight oil will burn off as much as what you are currently using. See, a lot of cars get lubed by cheap shop oil, not that cheap oil CAN'T work and "protect" well, but the problem arises because it burns off pretty fast in some engines and once you run the oil really low, it does wear the engine excessively and will create a permanent condition of more oil consumption. That cheap shop 30 weight oil would work ok if it was topp-ed off and changed regularly, but that is rare. I quit buying used cars for this reason.

Don't worry about consumption now because you will use either Rotella 10w-30, a robust oil for diesels or a 10w-30 High Miles oil, that itself will minimize consumption. Once you know how bad consumptions is, go from there, up to a 40 weight for summer (5w-40 synth, 10w-40 or 15w-40 dino). The ideal amount to add is 1/2q at a time, so you can get a baseline of how many miles that takes to consume and mark it with the odometer. Say, every 600 miles, it needs a top-off...or whatever you determine, a predictive method. :thumbup:


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## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

thank you for the help, now I understand about viscosity...


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

No problem. I enjoy helping people find an engine/oil combo that works for them. When the poster comes away with a little info, it is a plus. 

It's funny how much basic info you can pick up on the forum in a semi-formal setting, compared to years of hearing just anecdotal stories and commercial advertisements. 

What I get in return is some feedback and confirmation that my theory might be working well "in the wild". :thumbup:


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## Straight Edge (Oct 22, 2010)

I will post very soon!


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