What is the best motor oil.

[chasgreyrs6]

Hey Members:
I am having an oil change on Monday, what is the best oil. The mechanic that will work on my car states he uses full synthetic Motul, recommends this brand above all others including Liquid Moly. What are the oils you guys/gals prefer ? Thanks

[hahnmgh63]

I'm a Redline fan but Motul, Liquimoly, Amsoil, are all good brands. You can do better than Mobil 1 but if you lean that way stick to their 0w-40, it has the highest HTHS ratings of the Mobil1 oiis barring the 15w-50 which is way too thick.

[G2]

I use Amsoil 5-40 Euro EFM (there's 2 types, also AFL code which meets (more) Audi/Vw/Euro specs). Great gear lubes too.

Previously used Motul, but it was very used looking by 4K miles. Amsoil is looking much better. It has much higher additives (better for startup protection). Seems the oil temp is a bit lower too.

Mobil 1 seems to have a high burn off rate (NOACK rating) in my experience- not a good trait -- but obviously it's trusted by high end OEM's for factory fill. Not something I'd use (for long) with so many other choices.

[hahnmgh63]

Yea, what he said about Mobil 1 and my opinion for what it's worth, not much really but... Don't be fooled just because many high end Euro manufacturers use Mobil 1 as a factory fill, to include Porsche, Mercedes, even Corvette. Remember many of these manufacturers are also the ones with transmission and differential with "fluid for life" that we know never works. They just need them to get through the Euro standard 4yr/50K warranty, and hopefully a little more. A lot of Audi trannies (ZF) have failed out there, not just in the RS6 but A8, A6, BMW 5 & 7 series, Jag, etc... Porsche originally recommended an outrageous 20K change interval for the Cayenne and also with Mobil 1. Check the Cayenne forums, a lot of engine failures out there, mostly with cylinder scuffing & ring breakdown. Porsche revised there change interval for all Cayenne's a couple of years ago down to a 10K change interval, quite a difference. Look at the High Temp High Shear (HTHS) rating for Mobil 1 0W-40 (3.6 I believe) barely makes the Vag minimum for 505.01 of HTHS of 3.5min. The other light weight Mobil 1's don't hack it, that is why you won't see a VAG recommend on their bottles. Redline 5w-40 has a HTHS of 4.6, enormous increase over the best Mobil 1 has to offer. Just my ramblings.
P.S. Go to the manufacturers website for the oil you want and look at the Product sheet. In the U.S. they are required to make it available. Also make sure they test the oil to the Euro ACEA specifications, if they don't then your just taking a chance. We have some of the best oils available in N. America but we also have some of the worst so shop smartly and don't try to save a few dollars on an oil change.
http://www.oilspecifications.org/volkswagen.php
http://www.oilspecifications.org/articles/vw_motor_oil_specifications_explained.php

[Jimmy]

I don't believe there is a 'best' oil (flame on !).....if you change regularly (5-7K miles) and do it hot...you'll be fine with most those weights spec'd by the VAG . I have 200K+ miles on an 01' allroad with 5K changes with mostly M1 0W40 or 0W30 and sometimes Motul if I have my shop do it. I took off the valve covers recently to do the gaskets and it looked fantastic inside there. Original turbos too with a Stage 1 bump for nearly 150K miles.

[mrdave]

I'll throw BND out there since a lot of people seem to like them on here. I have some fresh BND oil waiting to go in!

http://www.bndautomotive.com/page/page/929427.htm

[rwheelz]

I used to run Amsoil in everything, but have since switched to Brad Penn oil. Perfect for a turbo'd car that runs hot.

[G2]

I used to run Amsoil in everything, but have since switched to Brad Penn oil. Perfect for a turbo'd car that runs hot.

Be nice to see their published specs, if available? Thought BP was only part synthetic?