Dino vs synth; 155k on dino, should I switch now?

[brider]

Going thru all the maintenance reciepts from the PO of my '02 6-sp, it is clear that he took it to the shop for every sniffle (good), but he also did not take a stand on what OIL they put in, and sure enough, it was 5W-30 Sunoco something or other... Car runs great, and he replaced ALL the big $$ items you'd expect, EXCEPT the turbos. Anticipating my first oil change like a new father. Do I switch to synth, or stick with what has obviously worked for 155k miles? ALSO: Regarding turbo tender loving care, WHEN does turbo boost happen, and should I let it idle in my driveway for a few seconds(or parking lot) after every 70-mph married-guy easy drive to work?

[rohit13]

Originally Posted by brider

Going thru all the maintenance reciepts from the PO of my '02 6-sp, it is clear that he took it to the shop for every sniffle (good), but he also did not take a stand on what OIL they put in, and sure enough, it was 5W-30 Sunoco something or other...

Car runs great, and he replaced ALL the big $$ items you'd expect, EXCEPT the turbos.

Anticipating my first oil change like a new father. Do I switch to synth, or stick with what has obviously worked for 155k miles?

ALSO: Regarding turbo tender loving care, WHEN does turbo boost happen, and should I let it idle in my driveway for a few seconds(or parking lot) after every 70-mph married-guy easy drive to work?

changed your oil to synthetic. use mobile one 0w-40 or any audi approved oil.

the turbos are making boost constantly just not as much when ur going easy on the gas.

let the engine warm up for about a min or 2 from a cold start and start driving! BUT drive easy! dont do WOTs. drive the car easy until the oil temp reaches 175. if your going straight from your driveway to the freeway drive the car around 55-60 until the oil temp needle starts getting up.

also when you reach your destination drive easy so turbos can cool down from going at 70mph.

[uberwgn]

Originally Posted by rohit13

use Mobil One 0w-40 or any audi approved oil.

+1. You should be using an oil meeting the engine mfr's baseline performance criteria: VAG 502.00

Easy enough to find, even at Walmart or Autozone.

[daof4]

I use "Dino" oil as they say in my allroad and have for the last 100000km, It doesn't use any oil It doesn't loose any oil and it runs great
We also have a BMW X5 (wife's car) we run synthetic in that because I don't want the ear-ach should any thing happen to that engine, It can use (not loose) over 2ltr between oil changes, Both run 10000km between changes

Audi In the operators manual says "Any good quality motor oil"

I work on Diesel engines for a living and they have 250hr oil change intervals and run on dino oil And are running flat out at max HP in some of the worst conditions imaginable, I look after one engine that has over 13000Hrs on it
But as they say ... Its your money Spend it as you see fit

I would take rohit13 advice and let it warm up and let it cool down

[brider]

Originally Posted by daof4

I work on Diesel engines for a living and they have 250hr oil change intervals and run on dino oil And are running flat out at max HP in some of the worst conditions imaginable, I look after one engine that has over 13000Hrs on it

...730,000 miles, if that 13,000 hrs was equated to time on the road @ average speed of 40 mph.

WOW!

My '02 allroad had 153k on it when I bought it, original turbos, and the PO took it to a gas station for Dino 5w-30 oil every 3k miles.

Still, I switched to 0w-40 synthetic because I worry about the turbos.

[CrispWheels]

There is 5w-30 mobil high mileage in my 2.7 with 198,6xx on it. Should I run full 5w-30 syth next or 0w-40. The engine does not leak and the turbos are original. All work was done at a shop that I got it from and all timing belts have been done by me and a friend since.

[daof4]

I had another Audi some years ago and I ran that on Dino oil it had about 600 Km short of 600,000 Km (373,000Miles) before the trans dropped out of it and it still ran good, Apart from timing belts and spark plugs I don't think I did a thing to that engine, I had a Honda and I sold that with 520,00Km (323,000)on the clock

I think your choice in oil and change intervals has a lot to do with your drive and driving
My drive, It starts up and covers a mix of country and a bit of light city and then stops about 1 1/2 hr later and then makes the same trip back home So it has chance to get nice and warm and burn off all the condensation It rarely gets into standing traffic so never gets loaded up with a lot of un-burnt fuel
No I don't have to be first away at the lights (well not every time) But I do like to drive fast when I can
Would I change to Synthetic ..... I doubt it Should you ?? that is a million $ question Just about everybody will have a opinion as to what you should run and why as I said before Its your money Spend it as you see fit If it helps you sleep better at night Its a small price to pay

[rohit13]

Originally Posted by CrispWheels

There is 5w-30 mobil high mileage in my 2.7 with 198,6xx on it. Should I run full 5w-30 syth next or 0w-40. The engine does not leak and the turbos are original. All work was done at a shop that I got it from and all timing belts have been done by me and a friend since.

Changeing it to 0w-40 would be wise. The engine now has high miles and 0w-40 will provide lubrication to the engine faster than 5w30 can and the 40 weight protects from heat better than the 30. Also no other mobile one oil in the USA is Audi approved other than the 0w-40.

If you do want to buy a bit cheaper oil LOTS of people use shell rotella t6 diesel oil. Diesel oil has more additives than gas engines so it cleans the engine better. It comes in a 5w-40 weight and is the cheapest fully synthetic oil I have seen. But it is not Audi approved.

[rohit13]

Originally Posted by daof4

I use "Dino" oil as they say in my allroad and have for the last 100000km, It doesn't use any oil It doesn't loose any oil and it runs great
We also have a BMW X5 (wife's car) we run synthetic in that because I don't want the ear-ach should any thing happen to that engine, It can use (not loose) over 2ltr between oil changes, Both run 10000km between changes

Audi In the operators manual says "Any good quality motor oil"

I work on Diesel engines for a living and they have 250hr oil change intervals and run on dino oil And are running flat out at max HP in some of the worst conditions imaginable, I look after one engine that has over 13000Hrs on it
But as they say ... Its your money Spend it as you see fit

I would take rohit13 advice and let it warm up and let it cool down

Why would you use synthetic oil on a naturally aspirated engine and not in a twin turbo aspirated engine? Those turbos are 4k at Audi and the labor requires the engine to be pulled which you can safely add $1500 to. If you are concerned about saving some dollars I would switch to rotella t6. At least that's fully synthetic. and its only 20 bucks at wally world.


also if you guys want to check up on your turbos health pull of the intercooler hoses at the bottom of the car one on each side and examine it for oil. lots of oil=turbos are on their way out.
little bit of oil couple teaspoons=turbos are doing great. the driver side is easy to oull of but the passenger side can be a bit tricky but not hard.

[Prospeeder]

Originally Posted by rohit13

Why would you use synthetic oil on a naturally aspirated engine and not in a twin turbo aspirated engine? Those turbos are 4k at Audi and the labor requires the engine to be pulled which you can safely add $1500 to. If you are concerned about saving some dollars I would switch to rotella t6. At least that's fully synthetic. and its only 20 bucks at wally world.

I agree, how silly. The BMW cars only specify synthetic because they do 15k mile oil changes (which is completly rediculous) so it makes the sevice intervals seem much shorter. Thus the lifetime trans fluid, 100k mile coolant ect...Its a sales gimick. Audi really doesnt say synthetic is a must for these engine, but everyone knows anything turbo should run synthetic to reduce heat breakdown and coking.