[PUG]

I have been in the auto industry for over 17 years now and I can tell you that ANY manufacture is going to try and weasle their way out of any type of engine damage claim and thus the specific oil that they want you to use. As long as you are using a 5-40 or 0-40 fully synthetic and are changing the oil (READ AGAIN) CHANGING THE OIL, you won't have these issues...I dont mean change every 10-12K like most VW shops tell you. EVERY 5K IF you plan on keeping the touareg for any type of time frame...I don't care about all those people that are sending in their oil samples and what not, I see it everyday with my eyes what lack of oil changes do to engines. Oil breaks down, does not lubricate like it is supposed to, parts get hot then wear, tolerances get bigger, change oil, repeat. After so many cycles of this the tolerances are too big and or the oil "cakes" on the oil ring causing that to not work properly..that is where the issues come in...If you have good clean lubrication an engine can take a lot of abuse regardless of 502/504/505/507 as long as it is Good Clean Fully Synthetic Oil with the proper Weight...I have a customer that has 660K on his Honda Accord...Original Engine...Never Rebuilt...Oil still comes out almost looking like new...Changes his oil Every 2000 miles..EVERY..The Proof is in the pudding..There is no Magical oil that will save your engine, but fresh, frequent oil changes will...I have seen it proven time and time again..There is a Manufacture out right now that is having a HUGE Rash of engine failures/Oil Consumption/Ring issues..It is all due to their maintance schedule..They pushed out the oil change intervals too long and now it is going to cost them Billions over the next ten years to rebuild most of their engines! We have 12 in our shop right now in the process...

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[plbxr]

...Oil breaks down, does not lubricate like it is supposed to, parts get hot then wear, tolerances get bigger, change oil, repeat. After so many cycles of this the tolerances are too big and or the oil "cakes" on the oil ring causing that to not work properly...

I absolutely agree 100%. I have seen a diesel engine run for 120,000km with no oil change, just top ups. It required 3 acid baths to clean up the tar and sludge. I have used and seen Castrol Syntec (Edge equivalent) start to sludge after only 20,000km of use. Perhaps that is part of the reason why Aus spec vehicles are on fixed service intervals.
What most people don't know is that biodiesel actually increases oil oxidation and shortens engine oil life. Biodiesel does not evaporate out of engine oil due to low volatility. If you mix that with the retarded injection cycles of DPF regeneration and the resultant unburnt fuel dilution of the engine oil then you are putting a strain on the oils capabilities to remain in-grade. I used to be a fan of biodiesel but not anymore.

From the Lubrizol PDF document: Biodiesel-Performance.pdf

Fuel dilution can stimulate increased oxidative degradation
""“ Increasing fuel dilution with ULSD has little impact on the engine oil
""“ Increasing fuel dilution with biodiesel stimulates oxidative degradation

and...

Summary
""“ Biodiesel usage will increase and will impact all diesel fuelled vehicles
""“ Diesel Particulate Filter usage will increase as we move through Euro 5
""“ DPF regeneration strategies can lead to increased fuel dilution levels
""“ This can impact the durability of engine oils
""¢ Ensuring that engine oil durability is maintained is essential
""“ Not all engine oils provide the same level of durability and performance
""“ Using the correct engine oil, as specified by the OEM, is essential to ensure that the engine is protected throughout the life of the vehicle.






Edited by: plbxr

 

[kypriaki]

I drive a 2003 Honda CRV with 60K miles covered, I am a member of the CRV owners club.Most of the members are based in the USA change and change engine oil every 3k miles, quite a few have vehicles with well over 200k miles on them.
My CRV owners manual recommends 6k miles engine oil change unless I do what is known as Severe Driving, then the oil should be changed every 3k.
Severe driving includes. Driving less than 5miles (8km) per trip, or less than 10miles (16km) in freezing conditions.
Driving in hot conditions above 30 Centigrade.
Extensive idling, long periods ofStop/start city driving,
Towing a trailer, driving with a roof rack or driving in mountainous conditions. Driving on muddy,dusty or de-iced roads.

I was a bit bemused at 3-6k oil changes, but logic tells me that maybe that's why Honda's have such a good reliability record.

 

[The Hood]

I had a Nissan Prairie which I owned from new and then passed to my other half who does not do so many miles. I retired it at 21 years old with 184,000 miles (296,000 km)on the clock. It was retired due to wear and tear on everything other than the engine. It still started first time, every time, and used no oil. I changed the oil every 5000 miles (8,050 km) with good old Castrol GTX. 3000 km which is only 1,864 miles does seem a bit low, unless conditions are pretty awful.

 

[freedie]

RRP £99 for 5L. So about £85 to change the oil. I can drive 621 miles by spending that on diesel. Your methods would add a third to my drivimg costs per mile overnight. No thanks!Or to quote the Hood "only 1,864 miles does seem a bit low"

 

[kypriaki]

I'm not trying to convince any Yeti owner to change their oil at 3k miles that is approximate half of my CRV's recommended oil change under "Severe Driving"I am suggesting that as the Yeti recommended is around 11K miles that under Severe Driving conditions that 5-6k miles would be beneficial.I dont know where you or hood got 1,864 miles from maybe you should re read the post.

 

[The Hood]

I have re read the post and can see what has caused the confusion. Pug uses miles, plxbr uses kilometres and Kypriaki uses miles and kilometres. They also all tend to abbreviate mileage to K rather than use the word thousand or three noughts, hence 3-6 K being confused with 3-6000 kilometres, 3000 kilometres are 1,864 miles.

Anyway now that's out of the way, I have always tended to change oil at lower mileages than recommended, but even 3000 miles (rather than 3000 km converted to 1,864 miles) seems rather low.

 

[Banjobach]

A few years ago one oil company's advert once stated "Oils ain't Oils." However, moving right along. How much do we know about synthetic oils and how is the performance of one oil compared with another? I must admit to an interesting journey of educational discovery during my research, which brings me to suggesting you take a look at the following website.

www.synthetic-oil-technology.info

I am not suggesting you change your habits in respect to oil change periods or recommending one oil in preference to another, but as it is said knowledge = power!

May the well oiled force be with you!

 

[PUG]

Guys if you want to use dinosaur oil go right ahead.How ever after using synthetic oil for twenty years and see engines pulled down with out a mark on them well there is only one way to go in my opinion .I guess if you can turn you car over every three years go right ahead with dinosaur oil.
In Australia a holiday towing a van in forty degree summers five hundred kilometres from no where we prefer to play it safe with full synthetic oils.

Pug