Engine oil. What are you all using?

[vespa]

Just recently I have been bombarded with ads from Euro Car Parts and oil offers. They are offering Petronas oil and their Triple X all at discounted prices. I also noticed that Tesco are offering 5 ltrs of high quality own brand oil with VW 507.00 spec at £25 ish. I only use Castrol at present as per VW recommendations. (It seems many VW dealers use Quantum oil) What do you guys think and use?

Bear in mind that Tesco have major financial input into fuel distribution at present so may actually be able to have a top brand doing in house oils for them

[Guest 2]

Quantum LL3 5W30 507.00, castrol edge in a different label and cheaper.

[DMitch16]

The big supermarkets now have contracts with major oil manufacturers instead of 2nd tier producers which means they get car manufacturer spec oils in their own packaging. If the oil meets the stringent car manufacturer specifications then it's suitable for your car...period. The same applies to other fluids such as antifreeze as brands like TripleQX supplied by ECP are rated G12 (red) and G13 (purple) and are half the price or less of that supplied by the car manufacturer. It can only be a good thing for the DIY mechanic who doesn't have to worry that the Asda/Tesco/Sainsbury etc. oil that he's put in on a budget will cause problems later on.

[vespa]

Thank you for that. When my current stock of Castrol is used I will just go along with the dealer oil then. Service due this week with My supplied oil.

[RichardSEL]

The use of a fully synthetic meeting VW 504/507 (and saying so on the can) reduces but doesn't eliminate the need for intake manifold and valve tops / rocker gear cleaning on the direct injection 2.0L tFSI (BWA, BPY, AXX series)
Ever since my second year of ownership (end of warranty) have used Quantum ProLife 5W30. Now by direct delivery Hermes from eBait at £35 delivered. Item # 271937433578

@Vespa Is this "Tesco are offering 5 ltrs of high quality own brand oil with VW 507.00 spec at £25 ish" a fully synthetic?

[vespa]

The use of a fully synthetic meeting VW 504/507 (and saying so on the can) reduces but doesn't eliminate the need for intake manifold and valve tops / rocker gear cleaning on the direct injection 2.0L tFSI (BWA, BPY, AXX series)
Ever since my second year of ownership (end of warranty) have used Quantum ProLife 5W30. Now by direct delivery Hermes from eBait at £35 delivered. Item # 271937433578

@Vespa Is this "Tesco are offering 5 ltrs of high quality own brand oil with VW 507.00 spec at £25 ish" a fully synthetic?

Yes, it is fully synthetic with the 507 rating and VW approved written on the packaging. Suitable for DPF fitted cars. Here is a link. It does not show the 507 in the spec on the page or photo but does on the bottle. Tesco 5W30 Fully Synthetic Oil Vw/Audi 4L - Groceries - Tesco Groceries

[skomedal]

Nothing wrong with own brand oils.biltema.jpgas long as they meet vw specs.

Sorry norwegian text

Helsyntetisk motorolje 5W–30, Longlife

spesifikasjon VW 504.00 og 507.00

[Gazwould]

There are two types of marketing for 504.00 507.00 oil .

1. Approved , sample submitted for analysis to VW for a massive fee and if successful approval is given for mass production with quality control sample analysis at certain intervals , usually the oil is marketed at a premium .

Approved , VW's own Quantum LongLife III , Shell Helix Ultra , Mobil 1 ESP , Castrol Edge etc will all state the magic word ,"appoved."

2. Non approved - " meets or exceeds the requirements of..."

Usually marketing is cheaper but some will pull the wool over your eyes like Halfords 5L £42.99 .

Non approved , Halfords , highly likely Tesco , Comline , Asda etc .

How and who qualifies the oil I don't know , but I'm happy to use it as I change every 6 months regardless.

[DMitch16]

It is widely suggested Castrol supply both Asda and Tesco with engine oils currently (Asda used to be supplied by Texaco according to several sources out there) which means the oil in the bottle is likely to be very good, meets the appropriate standards but not the approval of the manufacturer (would anyone with a business approve the same product they use as being as good as theirs but at a fraction of their price? Not likely). Then there is the dealer markup - do you really think a dealer pays £10 or more a litre even for the best stuff? Not a chance - you do as a customer plus the labour to take old out and put new in but as the dealer orders in such large quantities they certainly pay a fraction of the retail cost per litre. Take the trade price and slash some more off it as economies of scale win every time.

[vwcabriolet1971]

Check oils proclaiming they meet the VW504/507 specs. Some oil companies say that their oil "meets" the VW specs . There is a world of difference between a makers claim that their oil "meets" VW specs and an oil which is approved (tested) by VW. Who verifies that that the oil "meets" the VW spec.? why the oil company of course ! If some oils are remarkably cheap - beware !

It takes a lot of money to pay VW to test oils - paid for by the oil companies. If it doesn't say "VW approved" on the tin/container then it isn't !