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Originally Posted by karansm4u Thanks for quick response. I went through the whole thread on VW/SKODA engine oil and "Mobil1 ESP Formula 5W30" stand out a little.
- There are some folks who do not recommend 5W30 for Indian hot condition.
- There are some folks who are already using it.
- It is considered better spec
So i am little confused should i use this going forward or not. Can you please also give me some feedback on this. |
For mainstream VW diesel engines (i.e TDI PD and TDI CR) since early 2000's, there are primarily two VW specifications for engine oil: VW 505 01 and VW 507 00.
VW 507 00 is mandatory for VAG diesel engines equipped with DPF. VW 507 00 is the newer better standard, and is backwards compatible with VW 505 01 spec. Mobil1 ESP Formula 5W30 conforms to VW 507 00.
Now the catch regarding backward compatibility: 1) Sulphur in fuel and SAPS content in engine oil:
VW 507 00 was specified by the OEM particularly for Low-SAPS (sulphated ash, phosphorus and sulphur) engine oil and for being used in conjunction with extended drain intervals (i.e upto 2years/30,000km etc).
Low-SAPS content in oil is intended to protect sensitive diesel-after treatment systems employed in Euro-5 and Euro-6 engines (i.e with DPF, SCR etc). Some part of the oil vapour in positive crank case ventilation system gets absorbed into the intake, minor amounts through the turbo shafts also and hence SAPS content in engine oil is critical to durability of the EU5/EU6 diesel after-treatment systems. The efficiency and life of these components in the exhaust is sensitive to sulphur levels in fuel as well. The ultra-low sulphur diesel ( <10 ppm) is also part of the EU5/EU6 norms.
Furthermore VW 507 00 engine oils in general have lower TBN (alkalinity) value, as lesser acidic contents are expected in combustion blow-by gases (since ultra low sulphur fuel). Lower TBN is also related to lower ash content, which is preferable when DPFs are equipped.
Coming to the Indian scenario: More than higher average ambient temperatures, I would be particularly concerned with the fuel quality in India. BS4 is still upto 50ppm sulphur levels in diesel and we would be getting ultra low sulphur fuel only with BS6 (2020). Deterioration of engine oil over it's service life is primarily related to the fuel quality and thereby by combustion blow-by constituents. Higher sulphur in fuel means higher acidic content that needs to be neutralized. VW 507 00 spec oil, with its low-SAPS and relatively lower TBN values, which is ideally expected to be used in conjunction with <10ppm sulphur fuel could thus deteriorate faster over the 15,000km period than a VW 505 01 spec oil, when used with our fuel quality (more sulphur, more acidic content).
Additionally VAG cars made in India don't have DPF. I believe they are deleted for CKD 2.0TDI engines also, though some claim that few variants of Yeti/Passat have it.
2) Fixed vs Flexible Service Intervals:
VAG cars in other markets can be opted with a flexible service interval, by which the oil change interval can be extended upto 2 years / 30,000km based on driving conditions. Such cars are also equipped with an additional Oil quality sensor, and not just the oil level/temperature sensors. When such a flexible & extended oil drain interval is specified, VW recommends use of diesel engine oil conforming to VW 507 00 and not VW 505 01.
VAG cars in India (at least the CKD and made in India ones) are not equipped with the particular oil quality sensor. The cars thus have fixed service intervals of 1 year/15,000km and thus no benefit from using VW 507 00 spec oils. VW 505 01 is sufficient.
3) Viscosity considerations for backward compatibility:
VW 505 01 engine was available in 10W40, 5W40 and the thinner 5W30 viscosities in various markets. In India we have only the 5W40 viscosity variant of VW 505 01.
VW 507 00 was never available in 5W40 grade, anywhere. It was always specified in 5W30 and recently in 0W30 also (for better cold start lubrication).
So in some markets, going from VW 505 01 to newer VW 507 00 also meant maintaining the same viscosity like 5W30 itself. For a engine with significant mileage on it I am not sure of going from 5W40 to a thinner oil like 5W30, and thus I would be apprehensive about shifting to Mobil ESP 5W30.
Switching to a thinner 5W30 oil would of course give perceivable increase in smoothness levels during cold start and engine warming up phase (this is not a VW 507 00 benefit). How the oil holds up at operating temperature and whether it performs its lubricating, cleansing and cooling properties effectively over the entire drain interval is more critical, and this is not a 'perceivable' effect.
In short, for the VAG diesel engines without DPF which are being used in conjunction with fuel containing higher sulphur content than EU markets, I would prefer to use to VW 505 01 spec oil over VW 507 00. Go for Liquimoly Top Tec 4100 5W-40 or Motul 8100 "X-Clean" 5W40, both are generally accepted to be better than Castrol Magnatec Professional OE 5W40.
Some extra reading: