CT04S4

Couldn't get Audi Cust Relations to care that our owners manual calls for an outdated oil spec, that is the SPI SJ standard. That was the standard from 2000. It was superceded in 2001 by API SL and an even newer one is coming soon. Any oil labeled SL meets/exceeds the SJ standard. Who cares? Well, if you are trying to find an oil like our manual calls for (and haven't been studying oil for a week now!) you might not know this yet. There are more oil choices for non-Audi owners if you can look for an SL rated oil. Why do I say "non-Audi" owners? Because the next line in our manual calls for a ACEA A2 OR A3 (European rating) code. This requirement narrows the choice for us more but what really makes it hard is we then read down to the weight. The book calls for three specific types. 0W-30, 5W-30 and 5W-40, that's it. Now try to find an oil that meets all these requirements. Remember this is an academic exercise. If you are newer to this than me- than this may in fact be news. If you've been around awhile- well, I thought you guys were tired of this oil stuff. I do know the old timers on this site have already figured out their preferences.
So where does this take us? First ACEA A3 is clearly more appropriate for our engine if you look up what A2 vs A3 is. Second we can obviously put in any oil that says SL because it is the "new" standard. I believe there may only be two oils out there that meet ALL the weight and ACEA A3 codes EXACTLY as our book calls for. Valvoline Synpower 5W-40 and Castrol Syntec 0W-30.
This is long already but there is more. Audi customer relations told me that if I had trouble finding an oil that met the manual requirements check with the dealer. Cust. Relations would not give me a list (like we see on the web so many places) of recommended oils. They swear one does not exist for our car. Those 502/503 categories? They say over and over that they are not for ourmodel year. Are they probably good guidance? Sure. But all the lists you see are for other models even when it says S4- they are not a 2004 S4 (so they claim).
What does my dealer say you ask? They now put in M1 0W-30 and some kind of Castrol- they were not able to tell me exactly which one (really, not making this up). Interesting. The M1 0W-30 does not meet the ACEA class A2 or A3. It is A1. Not a good choice at all if you like to comply with your manual. Castrol, well, maybe. Depends what they have.
Point is Cust Relations is fubar. That means waste of time in english. The dealers are wacky. Mine today insisted a 5W oil was far better in the cold wx than a 0W oil. Yup. I drained the car tonight and put in Mobil 1 0W-40. It meets/exceed API SJ- it is SL. It meets ACEA A3 which is real important and certainly better than A1 but maybe only arguably better for the way most of us drive than A2. As far as the weight goes it is good over a broader temp spectrum than the book weight of 0W30 or 0W-40 or 5W30 for that matter. The "0W" is something I definately want in the cold winters.
It seems it does all come down to personal preference and educated decisions in the end- like so many of you told me! You really can not EXACTLY fit the book oils for the best choice in every season.
Two observations for anyone who bothered to read this far. Mobil (and I'm sure all the others) will be responsible if your engine blows due to their oil not working. They warranty their oil. That tells you something about how good all the oils probably are. You only need the Audi warranty for mechanical failure really. If it is oil related Audi will still probably cover it if you put in a reasonable oil etc., but the oil companies are in line too.
Next, just to stir the pot- When I drained M1 out tonight to change the weight, with 3k miles on it, it was black as Navy coffee. Black means only one thing. It is picking up contaminents. Still a good lubricant, they say (at 3k miles I'll give you that for sure) but full of contaminents. I don't want that in my crankcase. I was going to push out my oil changes to 5k but really looking at the stuff I will never go over 3k I can tell you that. $45.00 every 3k miles. Really cheap in my book. Hope I helped someone.

RKA

Believe it or not, that statement makes about as much sense as your statement regarding the color of the oil, and it's suitability for continued use. You can search the internet for details, but suffice it to say, oil analysis shows that M1 and other quality sythetics are good to 7K+ miles on the B5 S4's (that's *2* oil polluting turbos).

5K is a drop in the bucket for a good synthetic. 3K is wasting your $45 (plus filter and time).

donp

Don't go by color for your change interval. Send a sample off and have the oil checked... they will offer reqs on what your interval should be.

CT04S4

Sure it is still a good lubricant until 7k+. The fact of the matter is if it is dark, and in my case BLACK, big time, even at three thousand miles, it has a bunch of contaminants in it. You cannot argue that. I simply do not want those cantaminants in my engine stored in suspension in my oil.
I thought my post made this fact perfectly clear but it was long and you must have missed that part. Two completely different issues. Ability to continue lubricating and suspension of contaminants.
Funny part is I see lots of guys on this forum spend money on a great many things one could argue mean little to someone else. To each their own I say. $45.00 is cheap for me to drop all the dirt out of my engine.

CT04S4

Really good idea. I think I will do that next time. Would be interesting to see.

GrussGott

CT04S4 - Great write up! Very useful as you lay it all out simply. Thanks!

RKA

I'm presenting you with some factual information. I thought I made it perfectly clear that the color of the oil is not indicative of the level of contamination.

I'll refer you to the B5 forum, where you'll see that there has been 4 years worth of oil discussion, including results from oil analysis (which I summarized for a 3 year old in my first post).