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[kevinj @kevinj Participant]

I work for a lubricant manufacturer in a sales/technical role and have done for 22yrs. I’ll offer my 2p worth from the oil side.

My database suggests you need a 5w30 or 5w40 oil meeting the VW specifications you mention. To simplify things you are most likely to find a 5w30. Don’t worry too much about that difference. The 5w30 part refers to the oils viscosity characteristics (it is an SAE 5 oil when cold (Winter – hence the w) and has polymers that make it behave like an SAE 30 when hot) and is not indicative of quality. The small numbers and letters refer to the quality and performance of the oil. There should be a generic API rating for petrol engines, currently at around SL/SM/SN And then brand specific ratings such as the VW 504.00 / 502.00. These indicate the quality and suitability of the oil.

Don’t worry too much about semi/fully synthetic, if it meets the VW spec it will be fine. I always refer to car oil semi/synthetics as Semi-semantics, its word play, it (well, a few exceptions, mostly found in motorsport oils) all comes from crude oil and refers to how refined it is, and what catagory of base stock is used to make the oil. No need for any more on that here…

Don’t get too hung up on the service interval/long life element of the specs especially if you are running ~10k miles per year. Both will be fine. I’m not too familiar with those specs but I’d expect that the difference is primarily in the additive package with a higher level of detergent/dispersant to clean the oil and possibly a higher level of high catagory base stock to resist degradation. Both oils will lap up sub 10k annual mileage with annual changes.

Oils will readily mix. The only oils that don’t mix are Poly Glycol Synthetics, and they typically go no where near a car engine. Some people have a vested interest in perpetuating myths about oils.

Petrol engines are more forgiving of poor oil selection than Diesel engines. DPFs are notorious for sensitivity to the wrong oil.

The point about petrol stations bring overpriced is a good one. Go to a trade motor factor, get an oil filter as well, and if you really want to protect your oil, a new air filter. This is often overlooked. I’d echo those warning against overfilling too.

[kevinj @kevinj Participant]

He’s a dick. End of.

[kevinj @kevinj Participant]

I have to admit, some of the younger members of staff at work really do make me wonder on occasion about the resilience of a certain age group. My personal experience (and it is only that), is that there seems to be an attitude of entitlement without effort. it is definitely a little divisive in the workplace with older members of staff on occasion appearing to resent the lack of desire to make the effort to progress or undertake any work other than the minimum to get through the day which is exhibited by some of the younger staff.

As I write this it feels like a sweeping generalisation, and I caveat this with the comment that it is not everyone from this age group.

I do have to deal with a few special little snowflakes, but there are those who just get on with the job and perform really well.

So, I do wonder if it as much about the upbringing of the individual as opposed to the ‘social media generation’ as a whole.

Nature or nurture??

[kevinj @kevinj Participant]

Again, I was thinking mainly of Engine oils, and that a Comma 5w30 will mix happily with Quantum 5w30 and a dash of Halfords 5w30 won’t do any harm. I should have made that clear, that part of my post was sloppily worded and should be disregarded. If all oils mixed freely and did a good job of it, well, we would sell one product and I’d be out of a job.

Machine lubrication is another pot of fish. Gear boxes in particular. It sounds possible that your mistake was mixing 2 incompatible gear oils, if it needed mineral gear oils or PAO synthetic gear oils (which are miscible), and you used a PG synthetic type (or vice versa) it won’t mix and would cause severe problems. Other things to be mindful of are oils containing Zinc if silver is present, and oils containing Sulphur/Phosphorous if yellow or white metal is present. Compressors are another minefield for the unwary, as is selecting greases.

I’d always recommend checking with the manual before filling, and asking your supplier!

[kevinj @kevinj Participant]

I’m referring to engine oils here, the base stock is classed in 5 groups, the first 3 of which are derived from crude oil. Group 1 is ‘mineral’ oil, Groups 2 & 3 are mineral oils further hydrocracked to remove impurities. There is no real description of what “semi-synthetic” actually means, and can in reality be any blend of base stocks, though “fully-synthetic” would mean 100% group 3 base stock.

So, any seal compatibility with these should be similar as they are essentially the same oil, just cleaner, typically with less sulphur content. ‘Synthetic’ oils tend to be thinner than mineral oils (SAE 0w, 5w, 10w as opposed to SAE 15w, 20w etc) and might find faults in seals that thicker mineral oils don’t). What really does start to confuse things are when groups 4 and 5 start to be included. These are things like PAO synthetics and Esters. These are expensive and are not common in most passenger car oils, but they do find their way into Motorsport and very high performance oils. I’m not really able to offer much information on these without going very far from my comfort zone!

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