# after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused?



## mctavish11 (Oct 16, 2008)

So, i read the FAQ's, i've read my owners manual, and i am still confused. 
after i bought my 2001 audi allroad 2.7t i changed my oil for the first time with the recommended viscocity of 0w30, I used castrol syntec 0w30 European Blend. i burnt through that stuff SO fast, was on the freeway one day and my oil min light came on, pulled over, checked the dipstick, completely dry.
i have been doing research all over online and still am having difficulties chosing the right, or the safe, oil for my car. 
last oil change i used castol syntec 5w30 and that seemed to be working out just fine. i currently have 93,500 miles on the car and just bought a 5 qt jug of Valvoline Synpower 5w30 (neither mst or mxt are on the bottle tho, just SAE) and am going to purchase additional quart to top it off when i change my oil this weekend. 
one thing i have been concerned about is the ACEA A2/A3 that my manual says has to be on the bottle. well, neither valvoline, mobil, castrol meet that specification, atleast with their 5w30's. they are either a variation of ACEA A1 or A5. 
I did notice that valvoline synpower 5w40 was ACEA A3, would it be safe to switch to that instead of 5w30? My manual specifies either 0w30, 5w30, or 5w40 last. 
just wondering if someone can give me their input on the matter.
i also looked at the list of 502 00 and 502 01 where the following were listed:
Valvoline Valvoline SynPower MXL SAE 5W-30
Valvoline Valvoline DuraBlend MXLSAE 5W-40
Valvoline Synpower MST SAE 5W-30
Also, where i live it hardly ever gets below 20 degrees or above 80 degrees. 

_Modified by mctavish11 at 5:44 PM 10/22/2008_


_Modified by mctavish11 at 5:48 PM 10/22/2008_


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## tjl (Mar 24, 2001)

*Re: after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused? (mctavish11)*

Most 5W-30 oils in the US are on the thin side of SAE 30, so they might meet ACEA A1 or A5, which specify a HTHS range that is met by thin 5W-30 oils. ACEA A2 and A3 specify a higher HTHS range that is met by thick 5W-30 oils (those whose viscosity is at the thick side of SAE 30). 5W-40 oils would also be in the viscosity range that could meet ACEA A2 or A3.
If your manual specifies VW 502.00 or ACEA A3, then look for an oil with those ratings. In the US, most of these will be 5W-40 or 0W-40, but some may be 5W-30 or 0W-30.


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## mctavish11 (Oct 16, 2008)

*Re: after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused? (tjl)*


_Quote, originally posted by *tjl* »_If your manual specifies VW 502.00 or ACEA A3, then look for an oil with those ratings. In the US, most of these will be 5W-40 or 0W-40, but some may be 5W-30 or 0W-30.

Ok, thanks for the input. I was kinda thinking that 5w40 was where the ACEA would be found at, because like i stated the SYNpower 5w40 was ACEA A3, i even saw an amsoil 5w40 that was ACEA A3 but amsoil's 5w30 was not (also, amsoil where i saw it was close to $9/qt.) 
i will probably just return the jug of 30 i got and get the 5w40 since it does meet that criteria, and im sure it will run just fine in the engine since the manual does say that i can be used as a substitute??? 
as fas as my manual specifying 502.00, it doenst say? it just says oil has to be API service SJ and/or ACEA A2/A3. Which is why the first time i changed the oil i bought the European blend 0w30 cuz thats what it said to use, but that was so thin it just disappeared pretty much once i turned the engine haha. 


_Modified by mctavish11 at 9:14 PM 10/22/2008_


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## tjl (Mar 24, 2001)

*Re: after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused? (mctavish11)*

There seems to be an updated oil specification on Audi's web site:
http://www.audiusa.com/etc/med...e.pdf
Be aware, though, that some oil brands may have multiple oils of the same grade, only some of which are VW 502.00 and/or VW 505.01 rated. For example, there exists a Castrol 5W-30 (SLX Professional OE) that is VW 502.00 rated, but it is not the same as the common Castrol 5W-30 (Syntec) found in most auto stores in the US.
Also, some oils sold overseas with the VW ratings may have similar or the same name as oils sold in the US that do not have the VW ratings. For example, there are some Valvoline Synpower 5W-30 products (MST and MXL) that meet the VW 502.00 rating, but the common Valvoline Synpower 5W-30 sold in most auto stores in the US does not.


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## mctavish11 (Oct 16, 2008)

*Re: after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused? (tjl)*

^ thanks for the link the that list, ill just print that off and go look around and see what there is where i go to college, maybe ill find something that matches. otherwise, ill prolly look into just ordering something online. 
with ordering an oil online, plus either ordering a MANN filter (or a 5-pack from ecs tuning) or buying it from an indy shop here that sells them for $14 a piece can get expensive rather fast with shipping costs included. So... i understand that synthetic oil is capable of exceeding the 3000 mile mark, but the filters can become littered after 3000 miles and not function properly, is that correct, is it even safe to go, say, 5000 miles between oil changes since the oil can possibly handle it, but the filter can not?


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## shipo (Jan 3, 2006)

*Re: after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused? (mctavish11)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mctavish11* »_^ thanks for the link the that list, ill just print that off and go look around and see what there is where i go to college, maybe ill find something that matches. otherwise, ill prolly look into just ordering something online. 
with ordering an oil online, plus either ordering a MANN filter (or a 5-pack from ecs tuning) or buying it from an indy shop here that sells them for $14 a piece can get expensive rather fast with shipping costs included. So... i understand that synthetic oil is capable of exceeding the 3000 mile mark, but the filters can become littered after 3000 miles and not function properly, is that correct, is it even safe to go, say, 5000 miles between oil changes since the oil can possibly handle it, but the filter can not?

Nope, not correct. Modern filters fitted to modern engines can easily last fifteen to twenty thousand miles.


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## mctavish11 (Oct 16, 2008)

*Re: after reading FAQ's and Manual, still confused? (shipo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *shipo* »_
Nope, not correct. Modern filters fitted to modern engines can easily last fifteen to twenty thousand miles.

ok cool, i wasn't sure how that all worked, i had thought i read somewhere that filters will eventually become useless after so many miles (ie 3000( but i guess that was wrong, o well. yea, i just picked up a mann filter for my car for when i change the oil soon, the only other fitment the shop told me was a Bosch filter, which i used the last 2 times i changed the oil, but someone in audiforums.com told me not to use Bosch as they did not filter the same.


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