10W40 oil and the manual recommendations - what is it going on about?
01-03-2004, 03:57 PM
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10W40 oil and the manual recommendations - what is it going on about?
I just bought six quarts of Valvoline DuraBlend 10W40 on the advice of an AW'er I trust (moribundman). I made sure it had the ACEA A3 approval rating as he recommended. As an aside, DuraBlend 10W30 appears to have only an A1 rating, and a single case of DB 10W40 on the shelf listed only an A2 rating on the box; the DB 10W40 I bought, however, clearly listed "Exceeds API Services SL/SJ, CF, ACEA Service A3" on the label.
Unfortunately, the A3 approved oil did not have the "Energy Conserving" text in the API circle. It's "API Service SL/CF" and the weight is SAE 10W40, but the bottom part of the circle is blank (this is the seal I'm referring to, on the right
<img src="http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2002/8/motor_oil/images/tb_starburstsymbol.jpg">
Okay, who cares, I'm not a tree-hugger conserve-the-energy type right? Except, in the 1997 manual on page 130, there are two graphs that show temperature ranges for types of oils. SAE 10W-30/10W-40 "Energy conserving oil" is defined as having a range from -20 to +90 fahrenheit. On the other hand, SAE 10W-40 "Multi-grade oil" is shown as having a range from about +5 to about +55 fahrenheit. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely run above 55 from about March on.
I read John Wilkinson's Oil FAQ, which touches on the bizarre qualification about 5W30 in the manual, but it only confused me further. 40 weight oil should be fine at higher temperatures, and <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/190930.phtml">John replied to one question</a> about the subject by saying that Energy Conserving oils lose that property within 1000 miles. So, why would EC oils have a wider temperature band?
I'm going crazy trying to interpret just what the heck Audi is talking about here...
Unfortunately, the A3 approved oil did not have the "Energy Conserving" text in the API circle. It's "API Service SL/CF" and the weight is SAE 10W40, but the bottom part of the circle is blank (this is the seal I'm referring to, on the right
<img src="http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/2002/8/motor_oil/images/tb_starburstsymbol.jpg">
Okay, who cares, I'm not a tree-hugger conserve-the-energy type right? Except, in the 1997 manual on page 130, there are two graphs that show temperature ranges for types of oils. SAE 10W-30/10W-40 "Energy conserving oil" is defined as having a range from -20 to +90 fahrenheit. On the other hand, SAE 10W-40 "Multi-grade oil" is shown as having a range from about +5 to about +55 fahrenheit. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely run above 55 from about March on.
I read John Wilkinson's Oil FAQ, which touches on the bizarre qualification about 5W30 in the manual, but it only confused me further. 40 weight oil should be fine at higher temperatures, and <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/190930.phtml">John replied to one question</a> about the subject by saying that Energy Conserving oils lose that property within 1000 miles. So, why would EC oils have a wider temperature band?
I'm going crazy trying to interpret just what the heck Audi is talking about here...
01-04-2004, 05:24 AM
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Re: Trying to diagnose the possibility of a leak, don't want to exacerbate any potential existing pr
Sacrificing better lubrication and flow so you don't have to deal with an oil leak seems a bit self defeating, no?
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