Oil change intervals - Golf R

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Originally Posted by Zoza

I just spoke to a Land Rover service centre regarding oil top up in my diesel Freelander 2 and the service guy said something that got me thinking...

"You are not supposed to mix different brands of oil"

Now this would apply to all cars.

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You can mix different brands of oil, but it isn't best practice. IMO the chances of automotive lubricants being incompatible with one another are possible, but remote.

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Originally Posted by Zoza

Since VW uses Castrol Longlife III, can I use Penrite Enviro+ as top up?

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You should only use 502 or preferably 504 oils for top-ups - for reasons of performance and warranty, rather than the remote possibility of any chemical incompatibility.

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Originally Posted by Zoza

I mean both are approved by VW... therefore mixing them shouldn't really be an issue?

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Correct (see previous response).

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Originally Posted by Zoza

Also, from service to service, with oil top-ups being required every few thousand k's, wouldn't you engine end up containing most of the top up oil anyways?

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Correct, though if the engine is burning so much oil that ends up being the case, I'd say one has bigger problems to deal with.

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Originally Posted by Diesel_vert

Yep, Liqui Moly is a German manufacturer of automotive lubricants, additives and chemicals. If your car could talk, it'd tell you it's a fairly popular brand back home. Only recently has the company started to sell it's range of motor oils here though.

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I haven't done my change yet but I picked mine up at the local Autobarn. Cost the same as the online place in Sydney but at least you can get it without any trouble. I'm sure if they had a sale you'd be able to save a bit of cash.

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Originally Posted by dave_r

I haven't done my change yet but I picked mine up at the local Autobarn. Cost the same as the online place in Sydney but at least you can get it without any trouble. I'm sure if they had a sale you'd be able to save a bit of cash.

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Nice find. :)

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Originally Posted by Diesel_vert

Nice find. :)

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The bloke in the store said they've carried for a little while now and its been fairly popular so wouldn't be surprised if quite a few of the stores stock it.

Ok so...going all the way back to the first post on the first page.....

...What's the deal with changing oil mid-interval? I too am a believer that the first batch of oil in an engine should be dumped out. Lots of engine parts bedding in...lots of metal rubbing and filing down. Where does that go?....into the oil. Sure the oil filter gets most of it - but then the oil filter would be "clogged" up with this stuff.

Surely it can't hurt and engine to have fresh oil in it. And I don't buy this "we put a special oil in from the factory" nonsense - it's a normal oil. And they just use Castrol beacuse that's probably who they have a contract with. Just like how Ferrari uses Shell. It's not because Shell oil is superior - it's because they're a sponser.

So oil change at 7500km - yes or no? And why DO VW dealers tell you to get lost if you ask for it? Seriously. Like...don't they MAKE money if I take my car in for an $200 oil change?

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Originally Posted by DreamensioN

I too am a believer that the first batch of oil in an engine should be dumped out. Lots of engine parts bedding in...lots of metal rubbing and filing down. Where does that go?....into the oil. Sure the oil filter gets most of it - but then the oil filter would be "clogged" up with this stuff. Surely it can't hurt and engine to have fresh oil in it.

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There's lots of information on the internet on oil changes, wear particles, etc, etc. You can draw lots of conclusions from collective analysis, but the long term benefits of a very early oil change haven't really been made conclusively clear (to me anyway), or such studies are difficult to find in the public domain.

If it was absolutely mission-critical to the engine's operational capability, perhaps they would've mentioned it in the owner's manual (or am I being too hopeful?) Not that there'd be any point mind you, since it appears that 95% of owners don't even read it anyway...

Many people do it, but many more don't. At the moment, I personally think it has a very small impact on the overall life of the engine.


TL;DR - Can't hurt, assumption is that it's beneficial, but actual long term impact is unknown (or data/proof is unavailable) to us plebs.

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Originally Posted by DreamensioN

I don't buy this "we put a special oil in from the factory" nonsense - it's a normal oil.

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No one other than the VW engineers in Germany know for sure. However, given that this is the internet, a lot people have nonetheless made their own conclusion. So here's mine - I personally think the first-fill oil is not too dissimilar to any 504/507 oil that you can buy from the shops.

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Originally Posted by DreamensioN

And they just use Castrol because that's probably who they have a contract with. Just like how Ferrari uses Shell. It's not because Shell oil is superior - it's because they're a sponsor.

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It certainly wouldn't be out of the question that they'd have contracts with numerous suppliers (e.g. Fuchs is a very common OEM supplier to German manufacturers), though not all of them would be advertised as broadly as they have done with Castrol.

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Originally Posted by DreamensioN

So oil change at 7500km - yes or no?

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Depends on what conditions the vehicle is operated in, how it's operated, and the quality of the lubricant.

E.g. Highway usage at legal speeds in mild conditions would favour longer oil change intervals (OCI). On the other hand, constant start-stop or city/suburbia journeys, constant use of full throttle, extreme conditions (hot or cold), or where the majority of trips are done where the oil doesn't get up to temperature, would all favour a shorter OCI. A high quality lubricant could increase the OCI all round, whereas a lower quality lubricant would limit it.

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Originally Posted by DreamensioN

And why DO VW dealers tell you to get lost if you ask for it? Seriously. Like...don't they MAKE money if I take my car in for an $200 oil change?

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Lol, no idea. Just go somewhere else.

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Originally Posted by DreamensioN

Ok so...going all the way back to the first post on the first page.....

...What's the deal with changing oil mid-interval? I too am a believer that the first batch of oil in an engine should be dumped out. Lots of engine parts bedding in...lots of metal rubbing and filing down. Where does that go?....into the oil. Sure the oil filter gets most of it - but then the oil filter would be "clogged" up with this stuff.

Surely it can't hurt and engine to have fresh oil in it. And I don't buy this "we put a special oil in from the factory" nonsense - it's a normal oil. And they just use Castrol beacuse that's probably who they have a contract with. Just like how Ferrari uses Shell. It's not because Shell oil is superior - it's because they're a sponser.

So oil change at 7500km - yes or no? And why DO VW dealers tell you to get lost if you ask for it? Seriously. Like...don't they MAKE money if I take my car in for an $200 oil change?

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LOL, our Tiguan hit 10,000km and got its 3rd oil and filter change today. The first one was at 1000km :grin:
Not all metal filings get trapped at the oil filter, otherwise I wouldn't see them in the oil I've drained.
I have enough prove that frequent oil changes extend the life of the engine and more importantly the engine stays at the peak power for much much longer. :)

Cheers guys - yeah I think I'll just do an intermediate oil change myself. So apart from the obvious oil and oil filter - is there anything else I need? I'm just going to head down to a VW parts today to get a genuine filter. Do I need anything else (sump plug washer etc?).

Just the sump plug and washer. The plug (looks like a bolt to me ;)) and the washer come as one.

DO NOT change the oil before 15,000 kms all volkswagens have run in engine oil for the first 15,000 kms if you change this oil before then your car in the long run will be burning oil no matter what. I work at vw as a tech and pre deliver these cars. The oils that vw use are long life oils as well so you dont need to keep changing, oil intervals are every 15,000 kms or 1 year.