Engine oil confusion/concerned

[Panthera]

A few weeks ago I had my 2007 GTI in for a 90k service (oil, oil filter,) plus cam belt and water pump plus the addition of servo vacuum pump at a VAG specialist I have used for the last 4 years.

When I dropped the car off I saw the invoice of the work to be carried out and upon inspection I noticed that the oil was Castrol Edge 10w-60 Fully Syn.  I question this to the the mechanic as I usually/previouslly have the Edge 5w-30 LL.  They say that 10W-60 is a better oil and its what we put in our modified GTi's for track use and hard driving.  I don't track or drive my car hard nor is mine modified, I replied.  Can I have the 5w-30LL. They replied that what we put in diesel cars (!!!) So I said what do you recommend....5w-40 the mechanic said.  Okay then put that in.  I go away.  Later that day I get a call saying that I need a new servo vacuum pump as it is leaking. Then I question the oil again and the mechanic put in the 10w60 oil when I said put the other oil in - 5w-40. They re-change the oil to the 5w-40.

In the mean time I order some Castrol Edge 5w40 from opie oils.  It finally arrives today (they had supplier issues) and I notice on the bottle it is for "Fur Benziner Und Diesel" which is "For Petrol And Diesel".  That makes me think, so I check on here and read this: http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,5586.0.html

...The consensus is that Castrol Edge 5w-30 Long Life is the oil of choice and recommend my VW (its says so here) http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/owners/recommended-oil

So now I am wondering have I got the wrong oil in my GTI??

[slix]

5w30 for standard car.

5w40 for remapped as won't burn as much oil as will run much hotter temps.  Can use 5w30 in mapped car too but 5w40 is recommended and it's what I use.

[Panthera]

Thank you Slix for that reply.   

[ducman77]

Yes - as per Slix advice - I feel a slightly more viscous oil than the 5W30 is a good choice for these cars. Especially when they have 80 thousand plus miles.

The Castrol Edge is undoubtedly a good oil but the 5W30 is very thin! It's like water when you pour it

Millers Nano Drive is also a popular oil for theses cars.

I will be going with 5W40 or maybe even 10W60 at my next oil change!!!

[Atreah]

My car is stock and I've always been recommended to use Castrol 5W-40 by an indy who I trust a lot, as well as a different mechanic. I've been running with it for as long as I've had the car (4 years) and it's been going just fine, no issues with oil whatsoever :). So, you're fine!

[bonelorry]

5w30 for standard car.

5w40 for remapped as won't burn as much oil as will run much hotter temps.  Can use 5w30 in mapped car too but 5w40 is recommended and it's what I use.

What this man said, 5W30 is perfectly fine for a standard car, However on tuned applications it can burn a little. Niki at R-Tech said to me that 5W40 is preferred on mapped cars but if you ran 5W30 not to worry but just check the level regular and be prepared to top it up more!

[pudding]

5W40 is actually specified by VW on fixed interval services.  5W30 is for the longlife servicing.  It's got extra things in it that make oily things a bit more oily, or some such.

[ROH ECHT]

Here in states 5w-40 is recommended when new/stock. I'm modified to 340bhp w/K04 and still use 5w-40.

VW tech bulletin(http://www.anciravolkswagen.com/blogs/949/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Approved-Oil-List.pdf) states: Attached is a “Worldwide” list of engine oils which currently meet Volkswagen Oil Quality Standard VW 502 00/505
00/505 01 ...if it states diesel or not, just look for VW specific 502.xx and 505.xx...diesel code should differ from gasoline/petrol, but may not vary on some brands. I use Liqui-Moly(Germany: https://www.napaonline.com/p/AORLM2041) 5w-40 and don't go through 0.25lt/5k miles.

The statement of 5w-30 for long interval servicing came from: "due to rapid ‘Acidification’ (premature ageing) of the engine oil, VAG are now specifying that oil change intervals for the VW Golf GTE engines and the Audi A3 e-tron engines are now due at 15,000km and not 30,000km as previously specified.

For this reason, there is no longer an SAE 5W-30 Long-Life oil with VAG 504.00 approval, as they are now specifying and have now superseded the SAE 5W-30 for a SAE 5W-40 engine oil with a VAG specification 502.00 approval.

Motor oils with this specification VAG (VW 502.00) offers better protection against ageing of the motor oil."  

...so for those models VW is suggesting "long interval servicing" for, it is now saying to use VW 502.00 rather than 504.00, and you switch from 5w-30 to the newly recommended 5w-40.

[Lewo]

I did use 5/30 but it needed topping up a lot compared to the Millers 5/40 I use now but it's around £55 a pop.
Shell Helix 5/40 was on offer at Opie and Euro Car parts if you want a  cheaper 5/40. 

[grey golfster]

I did use 5/30 but it needed topping up a lot compared to the Millers 5/40 I use now but it's around £55 a pop.
Shell Helix 5/40 was on offer at Opie and Euro Car parts if you want a  cheaper 5/40. 

My 120k mls stg 2 eddy runs on Helix 5/40, has done for 4 yrs. Very small oil consumption. Half the price of Millers.
When sump was dropped for inspection, both the pan and the all-important oil pick up pipe are as clean as new.
BUT I change oil and filter every 6m or 5/6k miles, and majority of my runs are long ones.