What oil weight is best for the Wasserbox engine?

[FP1201]

On the next change I'm going with synthetic oil. What weigh is best?
I'm not planning on driving the van over the winter because up here the roads are heavily salted and we have LOTS of snow....might as well be driving in the ocean.
5w30, 10w30, 15w40, ???

[Vespagetti]

I was wondering the same. My mechanic told me to use 10-40W Valvoline but the VW manual says otherwise (can't remember what now) for driving in 45 - 70F temperatures.....

[r39o]

Use 20-50 (especially in this hot weather) and use a German filter.

"That is all."

[Big B]

r39o has "got it right", Mann or Mahle and Castrol or Valvoline 20/50,
if i'm feeling wealthy I buy Kendall oil.
I change my oil as soon as it begins to change color, around 2000 mi. Remember, when oil changes color (assuming your motor isn't full of garbage) it means that your filter is blocked and is beginning to pass dirty oil through your bypass valve. Dirty oil is liquid sandpaper.
oil is cheap, do it often.
I used to have a sign in my shop that read, "Change your oil or change your engine.
Big B

[Tram]

I'm a HUGE Castrol Syntec 5W50 fan, and have been since I first used it in 1989. I run it in all my air and water cooleds, as well as my Benz diesels, including the Benz Diesel Bus.
When I had my shop, it was all I carried. The customers loved it.
Go ahead and flame me, but it's the best, bar NONE.
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Немає виправдання для війни! Я з Україною.

[Buckly]

Another trick I've recently heard is to use one quart of synthetic mixed in with the rest of the oil. I can see the reasoning , getting the benefits of synthetic at start up without the overall price of it. any one have comments on this. Its just something I've heard lately.
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Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[r39o]

Oh ya, the brand....Castrol, Kendall, Valvoline are all good. The Castrol Syntec is a synthetic blend. I change that stuff around 5K miles. The reguolar Dino oils at 3K.

You can run SJ oils like Delo 400 too. They are great. I am not a huge fan of SL oils for cars that manually operate the valves like say an air cooled VW or an older Mercedes. It is the additive package that is differeent in SJ and SL. This is the first time they slacked off the additive package, btw. I prefer SJ for the older engines.

Now the full synthetics are another religous debate I do not wish to bring up for fear of being branded a Heritic.

BTW: If your oil turns black it means a few diffferent things. The only true way to know is to test it. Test it can be as simple as it smelling like gas meaning it is getting fuel diluted. But, to simply state that it is black and hence the filter is bypassing, I am not sure that is what is happening.

[Big B]

r39o
Assuming that your motor is clean inside.
What turns your oil dark is ash that blows by the piston rings.
It's the same stuff that coats your tailpipe. The filter will pull all of this from your oil. When the filter begins to plug up, instead of stopping the flow of oil, it will begin to open the bypass valve in the oil filter (they all have bypass valves) to maintain oil to needed parts. When the color begins to change rapidly, it means that your filter paper is full or beginning to plug up. This is the time to change your filter and oil.
If you look at the ash (carbon) that blows by the rings under a microscope, it looks like lava rock, very sharp and abrasive.
This ash will turn your oil into liquid sandpaper, and wear out your rings and bearings quickly.
"IF" the motor is not clean or rebuilt, then there may be other reasons for the black oil. Raw gas will loosen the sludge and turn the oil dark, any good oil is detergent, and will break loose the gunk in a motor. But remember, the gunk, is the ash I am talking about, and it will wear out your motor parts quickly.
I have always changed my oil between 2500 to 3000 miles and no longer.
oil is cheap, motor rebuilds are expensive.

[r39o]

I too change my oil at right about 3k miles. My cars run and run. No issues other than a wear item or two needing replacement. I keep the temps down with lower thermostats and oil coolers. Less effiecent but they go and go.

My oils never really turn black. Brown but translucant.

The TDIs get full synthetic and changes at 5K. They go for hundreds of thousands of miles too. No big deal.

But, to just change the oil when it gets dark is not right either. It is load based as to when you change it. Lotsa load, frequent changes.

As stated, to really know requires testing. The kind done in labs. They will really tell you the true story. But, if you keep your engine in order and serviced, it rarely is a real issue.

[H-four]

Well, back to the original question. Or part of it anyway. One mechanic said 10-40, another 20-50 (unless in very cold climates) and the owners manual pretty much says 20-50 - its not very definitive as the ranges overlap quite a bit. I think my engine runs better, quieter and smoother, especially at freeway speeds on 20-50 (I use castrol, and also never go more than 3k between changes). So that's what I am sticking with. Haven't done the synthetic yet, but maybe go with 15-50?

And to echo most of the previous, the old adage I go by is "you can never change your oil too often."

[r39o]

20-50 15-50 synthetic.

All OK in the hot weather. If you live in cold areas, you 10-40 for the cold.

[Big B]

r39o
Doesn't Amsoil reccomend oil filter changes, before the oil is changed???

Reguardless od synthetic or regular oil, the rings blow carbon by the rings and it fowls the oil Right?

I have never used synthetic so this is a good question.

My motor is new and the oil just turns a golden caramel color and is still clear also, at 3000 miles, it must be the filter beginning to bypass.
B

[jtroll333]

MOBIL 1 that is the best 10-30 w good oil filter I use an K&N and have had no problems with running that!!!