Which Engine Oil

[Numero9]

New to GTi ownership and not sure what the previous owner had used, need to change the cam follower and thought I may as well do an interim service with some good quality oil.

Car is on 107k, last service was 104k. AFAIK it is standard and not been modified.

I've read the previous threads but they were a bit old so thought I would check if there is any new information and see if this oil would be okay?
https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-980-fuchs-titan-gt1-pro-c-3-xtl-5w-30-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx?VariantID=91534

[pudding]

Standard answer on here is Quantum platinum from the dealer or TPS.  It's cheap (£20-£25 for 5 litres), VW approved and easy to get hold of.

[mjmallia]

As pudding mentions.

I use it in 5W40 over the summer and 5W30 in the winter

[rich83]

I use the millers 5w40 NT  stuff... overkill? probably... expensive? yes...

[pudding]

I'd say not given how long your HPFP follower lasted.

Until recently I used to be Mr Mobil1 religiously every 3K, but switched to Quantum since it's now made by Fuchs.....and it's less than half the price 

[Numero9]

Thats interesting as it's what I have been using on my 1.9PD, 10k change and its just ticked over 262k and I have plenty.

Do people recommend using the longlife version or just the normal version? 5W-30 is what I've used so can keep using that.

[pudding]

5W-40.

[Lewo]

I use the millers 5w40 NT  stuff... overkill? probably... expensive? yes...

+1. Alex said its the best oil to been using since then.
Buy it when Opie have one of their rare sales 😂
Worked out to £50-52 for 5 litres last time I looked.

[Shoduchi]

I use the millers 5w40 NT  stuff... overkill? probably... expensive? yes...

+1. Alex said its the best oil to been using since then.
Buy it when Opie have one of their rare sales 😂
Worked out to £50-52 for 5 litres last time I looked.

That oil cost twice that price (at least) in Portugal. It's the oil I'm currently using and will use next oil change...

[breeze]

I use Nanodrive 5w40.

Absolutely essential on a stage 1 K03 car that is used for the nursery run. 

[bobby_fodge]

Quantum user here. I have used Millers a few times and might switch back to it now that my mileage has dropped dramatically.

[Numero9]

Why 5w-40 over 5w-30?

I will start with quantum although the mileage won't be too high right away I think I'll be doing around 10-15k so will just frequently change it.

[pudding]

Because 5W-30 works fine on a new engine with factory bearing tolerances.

Add 100K of wear to an engine and 5W-30 starts to burn off easily and reduce oil pressure.

"What oil?" is about the most common question on most forums.  Just use what ever suits your budget and service interval.

[ROH ECHT]

Why 5w-40 over 5w-30?

Also, and I am not sure what your Owner's Manual there states, mine came with the statement in the manual that it comes from the factory with Full Synthetic 5w40, but if 5w40 is not available...it is OK to use 5w30 so long as it has the VW 502.00 approval. I always suggest just use a full synthetic 5w40 and change it often or no more than 5k miles.

Now this is all stuff I have found recently. So this is the viewpoints and statements of others and not my own: I've seen one test where Miller's Nanodrive becoming super thick and gooey after a heat test and then chilled. I know everyone says it protects well and is Ester based and all, and that's all fine, but this would seem to be a problem once it has been used a bit and it gets cold. I wouldn't have believed it myself without seeing it. The other oil it was tested against performed very well in a cold pour portion at this point in the test (following being heated and used for some time), but Miller's just stuck within its chute and barely moved down it by the time the other oil finished traveling. I have also seen a post on facebook TFSI (R-Tech's page) where someone contacted Miller's and asked if their Nanodrive 5w40 was right for his car, driving style and intended intervals. He reported they told him no. It is more suited for racing where it will changed often.

[pudding]

In Europe there are 2 oil regimes. 1 - Longlife 504.00 which is 5W-30 and is variable service intervals based on oil condition & distance *.  2 - Fixed 10K intervals, 502.00, which is 5W-40.

* - that's what the sensor in the sump is for. It's not just a level sensor, its also reads the opacity of the oil.

The Longlife stuff when it used to be Castrol was horrible. It varnished the internals that familiar goldish dark brown colour, and if not changed regularly, the excessive carbon and acidity wears the chain out and stiffens the valve guide seals into a plastic state.

Yeah that's the thing with oils like NanoDrive and other 'race' spec oils.  They rarely, if ever, come with manufacturer approval because it doesn't meet particular standards which race engines don't need to be concerned with.

If Ester oil is your thing, then I would be using Fuchs Titan Pro-S (formerly known as Silkolene) or Motul Sport 5W-40, or 300V if you're really posh.

Quantum Platinum is plenty good enough these engines though.  The frequency of change is more important than the quality of oil, especially on an engine that only has 1 very small chain and 1 tiny flat tappet, so cheap stuff is fine. There's hardly any friction and its operating temp range does not stress the oil at all. A twin turbo V8 revving to 8500rpm, then yep, I'd be using Motul 300V!