Sadly, no update. Just racking the miles on it. Nearing 4,000 miles. Will need to order oil change parts and the filter housing socket next week. Planning on oil changes every 5,000 miles. Factory calls for 10k changes, but I just can't bring myself to do that with any turbo car.

I sent a sample of the full synthetic oil from my Lincoln to Blackstone after 6,000 miles and it showed fairly significant viscosity degradation. Switched back to 5k changes for it after. Cheap insurance when changing yourself.

Still need to schedule tint for the VW. May have found a quality shop finally. Got to check them out. Once again not thrilled with their film choice though. Appears they use Johnson Window Films. Will give them a call to check options.

 

sounds good on the 5k miles changes. i only do it when the obc tells me its time since they use real synthetic oil, not the half arsed one like Mobil1 from wat i hear.

i run liquimoly (sp?) in the GTI right now and will do the same on the R next yr.

hope u get that tint done soon. :) i decided not to do my R to keep the sleeper look.

 

My go to oil these days is Catrol Syntec Titanium European. It's one of the few PAO based synthetics left that doesn't break the bank. Mobil1 was the best deal in the world in the '90's. Quality oil at cheap prices. Sadly, they changed their formula.

I hadn't seen LiquiMoly before delving into the VW world. I see it's popular, but don't know a lot about it. Need to research.

Amsoil Signature is a fantastic oil, but I don't like the way it's sold/marketed.

 

yah, castrol and amsoil have a big fan base indeed.

yep, liquimoly is new to me too.. but seems to be doing real well. considering dap offers it as one of their recommended oils, im pretty much convinced they are good.

 

Finally found someone that uses good tint within an hour drive.

Have an appointment to get the Golf tinted with Llumar CTX 30 on Oct 17. Woohoo!

Also, ordered an oil filter socket and magnetic drain plug. Unbelievable to me that the car has a one time use oil plug. So German and so stupid! Thankfully DAP sells a re-usable Nylon plug with magnet. Win/win! Don't have to keep buying plugs and has a magnet for a bit of extra protection.

Have Spoon magnetic oil and tranny plugs on the Fit since new. I get a bit off of each with fluid changes. Not much, but doesn't hurt.

 

GAFIT- Could be the one time use drain-plug is due to the plastic oil pan. Now that there is crazy, what were they thinking? If I buy a MK7 I'll be putting a steel oil pan on asap.

I've run Mobil 1 for many years, still a good oil, but they have much more competition than they used to.

Ken I know it's your car, but as far as oil change intervals go VW does not care if your car spins a bearing at 61,000 miles. You are out of warranty & it's not their problem. I figure me changing oil at 5,000 is cheaper than having the dealer do it every 10,000.

Oil change threads, there is never agreement. ;)

 

Funny you say that about the pan. I'm in a battle with the wife because she wants me to change it. LOL. She's not quite as bad as I am, but she's a car gal (long lineage) and was not happy to see a plastic oil pan.

I see DAP has a complete retrofit kit. May happen if I get less lazy or the wife orders the metal pan and makes me change it.

Plastic doesn't not mean it has to be one time use in my mind. Just put a darn replaceable o-ring on it like the DAP drain plug uses and problem solved. Darn Germans overthinking everything!

Totally with you on the oil change intervals. That's exactly the way I feel. Oil is fairly cheap and my time...we'll it's cheap if I'm in the garage. Office hours get billed at a significantly higher rate.

kenchan doesn't keep a car long enough to have mechanical failures so his method makes sense for him.

 

My GTI isn't lowered, & I will drive on a gravel road if the need arises. I have a nice mark with a shallow dent across the oil pan front to back. I don't remember hitting anything, yet the mark is there. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but if my car had a plastic oil pan I'm figuring it would have been very bad.

When I tracked my MINI Cooper S I installed a nice skid plate. I saw a picture of a guys MINI cast aluminium oil pan cracked open like an eggshell. Seems he hung a wheel off the backside of the curbing.

I'd buy a skid plate for my GTI, but the ones available don't look very you good to me.

 

milage wise, this is true. i usually keep a dd for 4-5yrs at best, hobby cars 7-8 yrs if i like them. but since i drive 4 different cars + i travel for work often, i only put like 9k miles on my dd, 2-3k miles on each of my hobby cars a year..

my GTI will probably be sold in 2yrs (max 30k miles) and will be traded up to a RS3 unless i really like the Tiguan-R. :D
as for the plastic oil pan and plug, it's okay by me. i like that DAP gives u a new plug in their oil change kits.

my GTI is lowered on VWR springs, but ive yet to scrape anything.

 

I want one of your used cars :) Lets see...8 x 3 = 24k. I put that on my Lincoln. THIS YEAR!

We live in the country so no worries of manhole covers or pedestrians that may end up under the car. Just thinking of the way the wife drives. LOL

But, even our driveway is a challenge for the Fit. Lots of gravel bumpy roads around.
Golf seems to do really well so far. Probably roll the dice on the plastic pan unless wife makes me change it.

DAP is a great source for VW stuff!

 

by all means if u have sent out your used oil to be tested and showing major degradation you should change it more frequently.

but chances are, for most street cars that are driven healthily (180F or higher oil temps, good 10miles+ each drive) no need to change early. just a waste of oil, some cash, and polluting the environment.

i know some folks have a hard time letting go of old habits..

 

I agree on the analysis need.

My Lincoln had a pretty bad analysis at 6,000 miles, but it puts a hurting on oil. 3.5L putting out over 400whp through a AWD system means it's likely making 500ish at the crank.

Every other analysis' I've sent in for multiple other vehicles came back that I could have run the oil longer.

 

how many quarts of oil does your 500hp machine take?

 

It takes 6 quarts.

Much cheaper than the 15 quarts my previous Superduty took. Those got expensive running full synthetic.

 

I'll be doing the 5,000 Mile engine oil change too, but will likely take it to the Dealer. With a Dealer coupon, their price is only $5 more than my cost would be.

I'll eventually do the intermediate (not required, i.e. the 15K, 25K, etc.) changes myself and will use VW 502.00 Spec oil.. My Dealer sells the Castrol for $8 QT.

Is it hard to remove and insert the oil filter media? On another forum I read where an Owner had trouble inserting it, but then figured it out with some uncertainty. It seems that a special tool isn't required to work the drain plug -- a wide flat screwdriver works?

Doing a little math, I find that my 1-1/4 In Socket is slightly smaller in size to the 32mm Socket for the Oil Filter Housing. I'll see if it'll fit and properly grip.

 

Your dealer must be a lot more reasonable than mine. 10,000 mile oil change service at our VW dealer is $150. Plus, if they are like VW was back in the early 2000's, plan on add on fees.

I was always amazed at what they found to bill for. Shop supplies, disposal fees, etc. Unless they've changed, oil changes are handled by the service department and are billed as such.

With Ford, Honda, etc oil changes are done through the service department, but by a different team with flat billing amounts for basic services.

Let me know how it goes with yours. I am hesitant to find out since my last VW soured me on the service centers at VW dealers.

Good idea on the 1 1/4" socket. I didn't try mine. I ordered a Lisle 32mm shallow socket from Amazon Prime for $8 and have it ready.

I'm really tempted to run 0w40 Castrol Syntec or Mobil 1 in ours. They both meet the VW 502 spec and Walmart carries them. Considerably less expensive than other options.

 

huh, my GTI and R both take 6 liters.. a tad over 6 quarts.. thought that was a lot considering my old 3.5L and 3.7L V6 cars took only 5 quarts.

 

no, very easy. inserting it, just push it in until it pops in. no brainer, super easy honestly doing the GTI was THE EASIEST car ive done oil changes on. :)

 

I completely forgot about that aspect. Hmmm, that'll add another $8+ to the coupon's cost probably, eliminating any savings. Now you have me thinking that I'll just do it myself. I'm always nervous working any vehicle's oil change the first time through. Thanks kenchan for affirming that the filter media is easy to replace.

Plus, I'd avoid oil drippings in the engine bay doing it myself. The first time we took our TDI in for a fuel filter change, the VW Tech somehow dripped diesel fuel all over the topside of the engine when the filter was extracted. :-(

 

My old habit was 3,000 mile oil changes. Now I do it every 5,000 miles so I'm slowly changing with the times. A DIY oil change only costs me $35 & sometimes less when I catch a good sale so for me it's cheap insurance. Doesn't seem like a lot of cash too me, plus I can afford it. My oil is recycled so there is no environmental damage from my oil changes. I generally keep my cars 10 years & put 150,000+ on them. When I sell a car having a service log showing 5,000 mile changes always helps me get a good price. Now that I'm retired my yearly mileage is down from what it was. I'm most likely to move into a MK7 in the next year so this GTI won't have high miles when I sell it.