2000 A4 Avant 2.8 tip. Bought it at 42.5k, at 47.5k dealer put 5w30 synth into it.

I live in a moderate climate area (rarely below 20 or above 80 yearly), drive the car hard every once in a while but not always, and with this 5w30 the engine temp never reaches 250 degrees. Is this the oil I should stick with or should I try a different weight? What are other 30v users with my similar situation using?

TIA,

Andrew

nor does it get below 0 where I live. So I should stick w/ 5w30 then probably, right? Why do so many people run 0wXX? Or are those 1.8T 'ers?

The way I see it, it never hurts to have an oil that doesn't freeze up at lower temperatures. The 2.8's never run hard though, so I'm satisfied with the 0W-30; besides, this particular 0W-30 is on the "thick" side anyway.

I myself will be running Motul 8100 E-tech 0W-40 on my B6 for the next few oil changes (read next few years): just got myself a case worth 20L.

By the way, both these oils have the more stringent 503.01 extended drain spec, so they're more than an average synthetic oil :)

The larger the number, the less it thins out, so, at least traditionally, the larger the 2nd number the better the engine is protected at elevated temperatures.

That being said, DTM A4's supposedly run the German Syntec 0W-30; it's supposed to have very good shear strength, from what I've read. So it really comes down to the particular oil...

I'm thinking of getting one for my girlfriends Passat. Does the Audi radio support ID3 tags (meaning can you see the song titles on the radio?). What are your biggest likes/dislikes with that set up? Thanks in advance,

GaryJ

As that feature only works with radios that have CD-TEXT ouput (we can display text from the radio, but not CD-TEXT). I like it because its a full digital connection to my stereo, so it sounds awesome. I also like being able to control it from my stereo (mainly just track fwd / back). You can navigate menus with the head unit but I find its easier to just do it on the iPod itself. Only complaint would be that it doesnt show text on the radio, but you can always look at the iPod itself if you need to. I keep the iPod in the car with my at all times and have got my entire CD collection at my fingertips, doesn't get much better. Oh also people seem to knock the cradle with their knee when they get in, you might want to get the air vent mount instead (see my pic poster).

Good to hear that the sound quality is good. And thanks for the recommendation on the mount - seems like the perfect place.

GaryJ

The audi doesn't need anything, so time to start on the VW. Looking forward to having fun modding the 1.8T.

I found over at vwvortex that the Monsoon does suport ID3 and the icelink plus allows the head unit to display the song/artist. Very excited now.

i live in NC... is it a NO on north carolina? if so website maybe??

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/27563/visc2.jpg"></center><p>
Most 30 weight is on the very thin side of SAE 30 range, 10cSt. V6 needs a thicker 40 weight, 12cSt-14cSt. German Syntec 0w-30 is 12Cst. Mobil 1 5w-30 is 10cSt, far below the requirments of the Euro ACEA A3 spec that VW 502 is based on, most 5w-40 synths met those basic specs. VW 503.01 and MB 229.3 are the newest Long-Life specs. Mobil 1 0w-40 and German Syntec meet *all* those specs. Mobil 1 5w-40 SUV is the all-around best oil for V6, imo. Now in 5q/$20 jugs. aka Delvac-1. There is nothing wrong with dino 15w-40 if climate allows. In fact, it'll do a great job of cleaning out your engine. It protects against wear with a robust basestock and extra-duty additives for diesel engine service, 7500 mile changes is a breeze. I like &lt;$2/q Mobil Delvac 15w-40 and Chevron Delo 15w-40 (A3-rated). The current Audi dealer oil, Belgian Syntec 5w-40 is ok, but has ****ty magnesium-based additives. Boron, Antimony and overbase Calcium are the newest additves. New Mobil 1 EP 10w-40 is worth a shot for true oil junkies. Few will use it out to 15,000 miles. I did a few 11k runs on German Syntec, consumption was a low 1.5q. 10w-40 dino is ok if it is the only choice at Quickie-Lube. Newer versions of the infamously sludgy grade (see link below re: VI improvers) are vastly improved if it's newer SM/GF-4-spec and if it's good quality like GTX or Pennzoil. 10w-40 blends are good too and one even meets A3-spec, DuraBlend. Mobil Clean 7500 is a hit too.
For my service I use time and temp intervals. 2 dino changes in summer at 3 months and 1 change of synth to get through the 6 months of poor winter weather is all the service a clean(ed) V6 engine needs. BTW- Hi-Mi oils are pretty good and extra thick for their stated grades. If you are burning a quart in 2000 miles, you are using the wrong oil and contaminating your cat and clogging the EGR system. Also, lower "w" oils are good at higher ambient temps too. The better cool flow lubes well and generally it takes a good synthetic formaulation to meet the lower W test. 5w-40 is the Classic Euro visc and 0w oils are the newest generation.

If my rant was not enough, this article looks ok except his miss-information about viscosity improvers. Wide-spread oils ARE good.

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article105.html<ul><li><a href="http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005119">Internal pics from a Audi 12v on 5w-50 Syntec, 10k intervals, 110k</a></li></ul>