US Oil Brands being used in 3.2L
 

I will eventually be changing the oil in our Q5. Audi does the first one but I am going to do all subsequent changes myself.

I have an Audi spec for the oil grades which states many different brands.

I am interested to know what brands people have used in the US. Its always helpfule to know what other folks like and have had luck with.
Thanks!

I am staying with my regular Mobil 1 40-0wt that I have been using since I got the 98' A4 and used in my Audi 90 and the RS4.

Reggie.. wouldn't synthetic be better or is that just throwing money down the toilet.

I'm using Mobil 1 0W-40 in mine.

One of my other car's specifies this oil also, so trying to keep it simple.

Mobil 1 is fully synthetic. I think by 'regular' Reggie meant 'typical'. I've been using M1 0w-40 in my Audis for years as well. And no, it is not throwing money down the toilet, it is critical in these engines.

Well I don't want to start an oil war here, but ....

Mobil 1 used to be a great fully synthetic oil, but from what I've read, its not a true synthetic anymore and is not recommended. I'm not sure if it meets Audi's spec anymore either and is not on the approved list of oil's by Audi.

Some of the recommended brands I've seen on other forums that meet audi spec and are considered to be fully synthetic are ELF, MOTUL, German Castrol.

Here's a great link with more info:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...wanted-to-know

Mobil 1 0W40 certainly does meet VAG quality standard 502.00. We use this or the Total/ELF 5W40 502.00 oil.

That is just the BS stuff that goes on in the forums - Mobil 1 is still meets Audi (VW) criteria. Once a brand gets to be popular there is always a move to go to other more exotic stuff that is "better". I think Audi in the US uses Castrol as their oil for service and it is a good one too. I get oil analysis done on the RS and it does not show any difference from the Castrol Oil or the Mobil 1 at each change

Oil war, oil war! :D
One thing in that link that is not accurate is the following: "Group 3 is still conventional oil – but it’s marketed as synthetic in the United States. How is this possible? Well, let’s just keep it simple and say that after a lawsuit many years ago, it was decided that synthetic does not refer to the source of the oil."
There was no lawsuit. This is a common misconception. Mobil brought a complaint against Castrol to the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau.

Another common misconception is to say that all Mobil1 oils are not true synthetics. Yes, they do use Group III base stocks (one called Visom that can be used in a OW-x oil), but they also use Group IV and V base stocks. Mobil will not say which oils are made from which base stocks.

But what matters most is oil performance. Looking at a few used oil analyses or oil company product data sheets will not always tell you the full picture. It's the complete oil package and performance in your engine that matters most. And modern Group III base stocks are certainly closing the performance gap between Group III and IV.

Pennzoil will tell you that they use Group III base stocks in all of their synthetic oils. Pennzoil Ultra is Ferrari N. America approved. It also meets ACEA A3 and VW502.00 etc. specs as does Mobil1 0W-40.

Elf, Motul and German Castrol (Syntec 0W-30) are all very good oils. A lot of Group IV and V oils actually have Group III's blended in. Red Line is predominately Group V, but they blend in some Group IV PAO's.

-Dennis

Guess I wasn't entirely correct.

Mobil 1 0W-40 is the only weight that meets the VW 502.00 spec. Others do not.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...agen_Spec.aspx