# 5w/30 oil for VR6 too thin?



## Rado-VR6 (Aug 13, 2010)

is 5w30 too thin for a mildly modified vr6? im doing my first oil change and was wanting some opinions... also, does anybody have any experience with royal purple?


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

How's consumption? A thin 5w-30 might not do too well in that regard. Thin 30s are not likely to produce excess wear, as long as oil temps stay in check. Do you have an oil temp gauge, does it exceed +200f?

You are in a mild climate, with a modded engine. So, you don't need a low winter rating, but do need a slightly thicker oil. imo, Mobil 1 10w-30 HighMiles would be ideal. It's a thick 30 that exceeds the main specs of VW 502 spec of High Temp / High Shear rating over 3.5cP. It's that simple. It's heavily additized, basically like a race oil. Not many thick 30s are on the market. Look over some of the other threads for ideas.


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## Rado-VR6 (Aug 13, 2010)

yea i dont do fahrenheit lol im a celcius guy but yea its usually running about 100 degrees celcius which is just over 200 degrees fahrenheit, consumption on the other hand.. well my oil pan obviously leaks lol any other vr6 smashing on the ground probly does too haha, it goes through oil quite frequently, itll leak out all 6 litres before i have to change the oil again, i dont think it burns much or any oil at all


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## cryption (Mar 28, 2006)

5w-30 was always loud in my Corrado. I liked a 5w-40 in my 12v, simply to quiet the motor. I had good experience with the M1 5w-40 TDT and of course, my staple Valvoline MST 5w-40. You could even do a 10w-40, but I prefer the 5w for better flow on cold starts.

Remember the Corrado, and really the 12v in general, runs oil temps hot. An aftermarket oil cooler might be of benefit - especially if you have mods. Here is what mine looked like:



















You will need to remove the factory heat exchanger in the process. I also recommend an aluminum "crack pipe". The plastic bit is known to crack and cause problems.

Crack pipe:










I put a ball valve where the screw drain valve went to make it easier to drain coolant. It's 1/4" NPT fitting.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Mobil 1 High Miles is pure gold. Should help with leaks. Try the 10w-30 now and 10w-40 next summer.


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## Rado-VR6 (Aug 13, 2010)

ok cuz ive had some 5/30 penzoil oil here i was gonna use cuz thats what i use on my other car, but ill just go out and buy some mobil 1 10/30 now


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Mobil 1 10w-30 HIGH MILES!


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## Bikerboy324 (Jan 12, 2010)

To me 5w-30 was too thin ..switched to 10w-30


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Pennzoil dino 10w-40 would be 100% fine in summer, but it's tough to get a heavy oil that stays thin in cold unless you go for full synth. Did I mention Rotella "T5" 10w-30 SemiSynth? Another heavy 30, but with HD ratings. $11.50 gallon at WalMart. Good for winter an thick enough for all year w/o a mpg hit. I have a few guys running it, one in a 4.2 S4 and he says mpg and consumption are the best ever.


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## Rado-VR6 (Aug 13, 2010)

if i have a high mileage vehicle (which i do: 357000km's) do i HAVE to use a high mileage oil?


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

No, but it really is a plus. You said you have leaks, so it's worth a shot.


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## Bikerboy324 (Jan 12, 2010)

Just fix those leaks ... and just put some synthetic oil.
Get yourself to an Autozone, Pepboys, Kragens and they always have specials like 25 bucks for 5 quarts full synthetic oil and an oil filter what beats that.:thumbup:
Unless your actually not looking into performance just basic maintenance for the rest of your cars life just put on some conventional high mile or semi synthetic and your set.


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## Rado-VR6 (Aug 13, 2010)

the engine is EXTREMELY clean for how many km's it has, there is a leak coming down the passengers side of the head about the size of a drop lol, the oil pan is whats making the mess, think i might just pick up a new oil pan soon


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

HM oil will keep the seals happy. :thumbup:

btw- I became a Pennzoil dino fan after getting some freebate, 10w-40 that I used in a few cars. It really smoothed them out. Very subjective, but along with the UOA results, it's hard not to like PZ.

In dino oils, I like PZ and Havoline. 

http://www.pqiamerica.com/testresults3a.html










There are only a few examples that are outright bad...

ALERT: Test results find three of the six samples of engine oils PQIA purchased in the the Mid-Atlantic States fail to meet their labeled API/ILSAC specifications.

Although PittPenn Quality Motor Oil does meet the SAE requirements for a 10W-30, it does not meet the requirements for an API SM ILSAC GF-4 engine oil. The product's volatility of 22 exceeds the maximum of 15, and the phosphorus content at 161ppm is below the 600 required to meet API SM ILSAC GF-4. In addition, whereas there are no API requirements for some of the other parameters examined, the data shown for TBN, calcium, and zinc are only 10 to 20% of what one would expect to see in an engine oil meant for use in virtually any passenger car currently on the road. Also of concern is the 26ppm of silicon in the sample.


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## Rado-VR6 (Aug 13, 2010)

ive always got the yellow jug, but i never ran anything but 5w30, i went and picked up some PZ 10w30 high mileage, still havent changed oil haha so i dont know the difference yet, but im gettin around to it today or tomorrow


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

I've gotten results by just snugging the oil pan and valve cover bolts down a little. 

A quart per 1000 miles consumption seems excessive, but is within specs. It's hard to know for sure what percent is leaked and what part is consumed. Overall, you should get good results with a 10w-30 HM over a plain 5w-30. The 5w-30 might be part of the problem itself. However, come summertime, I think considering you mods, stepping up to 10w-40 may be advised. 

I use some 2-cycle oil (TCW-3) in my fuel at 500:1. Add a little extra the first time you try it to coat the fuel system parts. It's dirt cheap and has a number of benefits, especially if you have ethanol in your fuel. I also assume you use at least 89 octane.


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## TechMeister (Jan 7, 2008)

Rado-VR6 said:


> is 5w30 too thin for a mildly modified vr6? im doing my first oil change and was wanting some opinions... also, does anybody have any experience with royal purple?


Just use any VW approved VW 505.01 5w-30 or 5w-40 oil and you'll be fine. Skip the hyped, non-approved boutique oils.


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

TechMeister said:


> Just use any VW approved VW 505.01 5w-30 or 5w-40 oil and you'll be fine. Skip the hyped, non-approved boutique oils.


VW 505.01 is a diesel spec, not a gasoline spec.

Unless he has one of these Uber-rare VR6 TDIs :laugh:


Speaking of "boutique" oils, when I was in the paddock with Realtime Racing, they used Redline SAE 40 in their RSX and TSX racers. StasiS used Mobil 1 0w-40 (meh) and APR uses Motul Xcess.










ohai























































Turner uses Motul too...


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## AudiSportA4 (Mar 3, 2002)

Here's the piston soak procedure from the other thread.

Another technique is to try and free the caked piston rings a bit by soaking the tops with a mix of light oils and solvent, 2-3oz poured cleanly into the sparkplug holes. Crank the engine w/o plugs, taking care to not let dirt pour back into cylinder w/rags stuffed in or pre-cleaning the area. Let sit overnight, crank some more and then after replacing the plugs if possible do an intake cleaning, a "Seafoam Cleaning" (but Berryman's B-12 is better, some say water is best!). Soaking the crud with solvents (Berryman's, Seafoam, Gumout) and oil (Marvel Myst or even the 2-cycle) allows it to detach from the metals as the oil soaks in rather than trying to dissolve everything.


You could also add some 2-cycle oil (TCW-3) to the fuel at 500:1, a little extra the first time.


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