Author Topic: Questions about 5w50 oil. Is it detrimental in any way? (Read 5066 times)

jtanguay · « **on:** April 03, 2007, 08:41:29 pm »

I've noticed near zero oil burn on my car... maybe a little tiny bit of topping up (but I've still got a bad dipstick...! :evil:)

what i'm really thinking is that using this thick oil will only affect mileage. it is thinner than the 10 and thicker than the 40 as to control high temp breakdown, and wear under extreme load (which my car only sees once in a while :twisted: )

now that the oil is really good and black though, the performance is starting to go down the toilet again... i just can't wait to get this bypass filter installed!

one factor that might lead to using 5w50 as being bad, would be that i used mobil 1 super syn. i know its some weird synthetic... but it did have the CF rating on it at least! :lol:

clbanman · « **Reply #1 on:** April 05, 2007, 06:24:33 am »

This oil exceeds the minimum range specified for your car. The only detrimental effect would be to your pocketbook for the initial purchase price for the oil. At both the upper and lower limits of viscosity, this oil is superior to the OEM recommendations, so it will protect better than what VW originally recommended.

jtanguay · « **Reply #2 on:** April 05, 2007, 07:23:08 am »

Quote from: "clbanman"

This oil exceeds the minimum range specified for your car. The only detrimental effect would be to your pocketbook for the initial purchase price for the oil. At both the upper and lower limits of viscosity, this oil is superior to the OEM recommendations, so it will protect better than what VW originally recommended.

awesome! thanks!

MacGyver · « **Reply #3 on:** April 06, 2007, 01:30:02 pm »

A 5W50 oil is going to contain a lot of viscosity index improvers to achieve this large number spread.
Depending if you read or care what anal-retentive oil 'experts' say on the subject, that may not make the best oils.

I use Petro-Canada 5W40 Duron synthetic. It's CH/CI-4 rated, way overkill for a VW diesel but priced decent and has done well in analysis testing on the TDI Club.
A pretty good compromise for Ontario climate too I think.

jtanguay · « **Reply #4 on:** April 06, 2007, 07:34:01 pm »

thanks for the info! i was just curious because i dont hear of anyone using a 50 weight oil on a diesel... except maybe in a really hot climate?

bert · « **Reply #5 on:** May 05, 2007, 09:25:13 am »

Ive just gone 5w40 in the aaz TD and it seems ok,oil pressure is still good,im in uk so not cold now :wink: infact sweating right now

Bert

Vincent Waldon · « **Reply #6 on:** May 05, 2007, 10:11:39 am »

I've been running Castrol Syntec 5W-50 for some time now... living at 53 degrees north latitude I need an oil that can handle -30C to +30C... the other CF or better oils on the local market are 10W30 or 15W40... really need the 5W in the winter since the car has to sit outside without the block heater during the day. No oil consumption at all, and I know from doing a (very cold) oil change that there's a big difference between 10W and 5W when starting in the real cold.

Interestingly, I switched my gasser over to the same oil and very soon after the oil consumption changed... the mileage was getting up there so could be unrelated... although the exhaust was clean and I didn't find any engine leaks.

jtanguay · « **Reply #7 on:** May 05, 2007, 11:37:40 am »

hmmm... i notice that i'm losing a bit of oil when i drive it really hard. other than that there seems to be no oil burning...

i would expect less mileage from a 50 weight oil rather than 40... hmmm just better protection.

Vincent Waldon · « **Reply #8 on:** May 05, 2007, 12:58:16 pm »

I'd love to find a diesel-rated 20W50 non-Amsoil oil in Canada.... funny how regional oil availability is.