VR6 Engine oil recommendations?

[Defaultuser0520]

Hello,

Have a 96 VR6 with approx 280 000kms on it, not sure the exact recent service history, although know the previous owner who was pretty good with his servicing / care of the vehicle etc.

Just curious what type of oil / viscosity to use, dont mind spending up to around $80 for a good bottle of oil?

[The_Hawk]

I used to use the Fully synthetic Fuch's Super Titan 10w-40 but my VR used to drink it. It was then suggested that I use Castrol Magnatec (which is also a 10w-40).

Personally I settled on Castrol GTX2 which was a 20w-50, although they have just renamed and re-released it so it's now called just "GTX" and is in a white bottle. Plenty of people have said this it too thick an oil, but the counter to that is that the VR6 runs damn hot and the specs were written for Germany... where is snows more and doesn't do 40C+ days so often... Meaning it's heats up and runs fine anyway.

I have been running this for years without issue and haven't noticed any adverse effects or anything unusual when doing oil changes (which I do every six months).

[mk3pete]

Hello,

Have a 96 VR6 with approx 280 000kms on it, not sure the exact recent service history, although know the previous owner who was pretty good with his servicing / care of the vehicle etc.

Just curious what type of oil / viscosity to use, dont mind spending up to around $80 for a good bottle of oil?

i personally run penrite 0W40
other choices would be a 5W30 or 10W40
just never run anything too thick say 20W50:facepalm:

being an overhead cam engine with hydro lifters they like a thinner oil
but if your valve guides are shot in the head they tend to burn fair bit of oil:)

remember the first number represents how thick the oil is when cold and the second represents how thick it is when
hot

the thinner the oil is when cold the better:)

[mk3pete]

I used to use the Fully synthetic Fuch's Super Titan 10w-40 but my VR used to drink it. It was then suggested that I use Castrol Magnatec (which is also a 10w-40).

Personally I settled on Castrol GTX2 which was a 20w-50, although they have just renamed and re-released it so it's now called just "GTX" and is in a white bottle. Plenty of people have said this it too thick an oil, but the counter to that is that the VR6 runs damn hot and the specs were written for Germany... where is snows more and doesn't do 40C+ days so often... Meaning it's heats up and runs fine anyway.

I have been running this for years without issue and haven't noticed any adverse effects or anything unusual when doing oil changes (which I do every six months).

fair enough man cant argue with personal experience
but i would be running something a bit thinner than 20W50

even a 10W50 would be a lot friendlier on start up

for reference

a 5W50 is the same thickness as a 20W50 when hot

[Defaultuser0520]

Nice, thanks guys, was considering magnatec but that was with no prior use of the product, so wasnt sure what it was like.

This engine doesnt appear to use any oil for the 2 months I have had it :-)

[The_Hawk]

fair enough man cant argue with personal experience
but i would be running something a bit thinner than 20W50

even a 10W50 would be a lot friendlier on start up

for reference

a 5W50 is the same thickness as a 20W50 when hot

Fair enough, I'm always open to suggestion, for me it was a way to kurb the oil consumption, although I have been thinking about switching and testing out Magnatec at the next oil change, so this is just another gentle nude in that direction ;)

[mk3pete]

i ran magnatec for ages and it was ok mainly cause it was cheap and it didnt burn much
but eventually realised it breaks down faster than what im using now
if that makes sense:)

[The_Hawk]

define "faster"??

I change my oil every 6 months anyway (and don't do lots of km anyway)...

[mk3pete]

after an oil change i noticed it would go black with in a few days or more
using penrite i noticed it took at least 2 weeks for it to go dark

[Transporter]

Fair enough, I'm always open to suggestion, for me it was a way to kurb the oil consumption, although I have been thinking about switching and testing out Magnatec at the next oil change, so this is just another gentle nude in that direction ;)

Penrite HPR15, it is 15W60 semisynthetic and it is one very tough oil. It is ideal oil if you don't drive too often or if you drive too much. :)

It is lighter than the 20W50 so it will flow faster during cold start ups and it will stay longer in the engine (will burn less). It's my favorite oil for the cars that done well over 100k km.

[Diesel_vert]

Hello,

Have a 96 VR6 with approx 280 000kms on it, not sure the exact recent service history, although know the previous owner who was pretty good with his servicing / care of the vehicle etc.

Just curious what type of oil / viscosity to use, dont mind spending up to around $80 for a good bottle of oil?

Hopefully, the engine is in a good enough condition not to warrant the use of extra thick oils.

Any oil that meets "ACEA A3/B4" is suitable - preferably xxW-40 if the engine is in good condition, or alternatively xxW-50 if oil consumption is excessive.

[MattyT]

I have run:
Fuchs Titan Super GTO 10w-40
Penrite SIN 15w-40
Motul Turbolight 10w-40
Castrol Magnatec 10w-40

All were fine, although the engine burnt fuchs at a much higher rate then the others.
SIN was amazing stuff but total overkill.
Motul was very nice but honestly these engines arent hard pressed or in a high state of tune, so i've been running Magnatec for a year or so without problems.

ps. this topic has been covered a million times in the mk3 forum. Do a search!

[Diesel_vert]

Too bad one can't search for terms with less than four characters, such as "oil" (boo!).

[Defaultuser0520]

I have run:
Fuchs Titan Super GTO 10w-40
Penrite SIN 15w-40
Motul Turbolight 10w-40
Castrol Magnatec 10w-40

All were fine, although the engine burnt fuchs at a much higher rate then the others.
SIN was amazing stuff but total overkill.
Motul was very nice but honestly these engines arent hard pressed or in a high state of tune, so i've been running Magnatec for a year or so without problems.

ps. this topic has been covered a million times in the mk3 forum. Do a search!

Aren't forums for people too lazy to search the internet :p

but yes doing a search on oil brings up everything and considering the kms on the engine, thought I would ask...

[Defaultuser0520]

Sorry one more quick related question, having never owned a Euro car before, are your standard Ryco type oil filter ok or do you need to buy manufacturers?

[ryana89]

Sorry one more quick related question, having never owned a Euro car before, are your standard Ryco type oil filter ok or do you need to buy manufacturers?

I may get blasted for saying this, but Ryco filters will do the job (Dont kill me)
People (on this forum) have seen them blow crack/bust the seal, but I truly don't beleive it to be very common.
If you can, try and use OEM Mann/Mahle filters (your in a big city so you may have better luck sourcing them)

[Transporter]

I may get blasted for saying this, but Ryco filters will do the job (Dont kill me)
People (on this forum) have seen them blow crack/bust the seal, but I truly don't beleive it to be very common.
If you can, try and use OEM Mann/Mahle filters (your in a big city so you may have better luck sourcing them)

However, the Ryco filters are more expensive than the OEM filters.
If you can't get OEM filters where you live then I suppose you don't have many options, but you can still order on line and get them delivered. ;)

[mk3pete]

heres a good thread
VWVortex.com - Engine oil suggestions for the VR. (http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5314255-Engine-oil-suggestions-for-the-VR).

[Defaultuser0520]

heres a good thread
VWVortex.com - Engine oil suggestions for the VR. (http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5314255-Engine-oil-suggestions-for-the-VR).

Awesome, thank you, DID search here but couldn't find anything, cheers.

[girls2L]

Black beauty just clicked over 200k the other day so thought I'd better check oil, only to find it just touching the dip stick. Have been racking my brains thinking what oil to use but seems like Castrol Magnatec 10w40 is ideal :)
It's my daily and I'm a advocate oil changer every 5000 (typical for rotaries which in use to)
So lest I won't be forking out to much money every time