Who the f*** is Bob Drake. He probably bodged his work (or wanted to sell the Drake billet to the naive) and needed a scapegoat (enter Castrol). GTX meets VAG standards, my car runs fine on it and I would recommended it to anyone with an older car. And Bob Drake can stick his billets up his arse.
He ran Drake Tuning, a company responsible for producing a 16v head for VW engines before VW did...... and I think he probably knows a little more about oil than you do. I got his name wrong actually, it's Bob Collins.
Head firmly buried in the sand. Keep on using the stuff. Then at 150k you can change to 15w60 to stop the smoking. Eventually you may end up running on bearing grease instead of oil - but hey, if it stops it smoking it must be good stuff!
I've been using Synta in mine for about 3 years, and it blows no smoke and uses no oil at 170k. I wouldn't put Castrol in it, even if it was given to me free of charge.
So does "Formula 1" multigrade, plus it's only 2.76 for 4.5L from Morrisons. Result! I just filled my 1.8T up with it.
Wanna know why I hate Castrol ? I built a Mini engine from scratch in the late 80's, rebored, reground crank, new shells, pistons, rings, cam bearings, oil pump, the works. Filled it with GTX, ran it for 100 miles, changed it and the filter and after another 500 miles it had next to no oil pressure when hot. I stripped the engine and the main and big end bearing shells were through to the steel and there was considerable wear on the rest of the surfaces. I suspected a duff oil pump or a blocked oilway but these were fine. I sent a sample of the oil, plus some unused stuff from the same can to a lab for analysis. I won't bore you with the details but the report said that the engine would have lasted longer if I'd filled it with brake fluid. It turns out that the batch was duff so God knows how many other engines it wrecked. It may meet VAG specs and has probably improved in the last 15 years but that engine cost me the best part of a grand and the whole lot went in the bin. I refuse to put it in any engine and would advise anyone who asks not to either. As for thicker oil in old engines, personal choice but I have also run VAG engines up to 200K with Synta Silver, no smoke and no topping up between oil changes.
castrol GTX not good for me when i used them i needed 700-800ml extra oil every 1000km [:^(] plus smoke [:^(] now i use motul 15-50 and no more smoke,no more extra 700-800ml every 1000km
Whilst oil spec is probably one of the most debated engine issue I know of, I'll chuck in my bit just for fun .... I've used Mobil 1 0w40 or 5w40 (whichever I can get) since my Mk2 had done 90k. I used Castrol GTX before that - i.e. since it was new (in the early 90s). It's now done >190k and doesn't need a top up between changes, and the engine runs like a dream. I change every 5k with a genuine filter. Neither does it smoke whatsoever (since I changed the stem seals). In my understanding the first number in the oil spec is the cold viscosity - i.e. not thicker than - so this has the most effect on cold engine wear. The second number is the hot spec - i.e. not thinner than at a certain temperature. So provided the second number is appropriate, the first number can be as low as you like. It works for me and I'm expecting a lot more mileage from my engine. One more thing I've found - if you happen to be driving in France, you can buy engine oil for about 1/2 the price you get it here - for exactly the same stuff. Don't ask me why....but I could speculate...
One thing I should also add - I never cane it till the oil temp >80C - like wot it says in the instructions
Well I've just flushed my Mk2 16v with some Wilko brand 20w-50(3), done a few hundred miles and it looks black as the ace of spades. Just got some silver synta 10w-40 & a new filter, gonna change it tonight.
Have been doing for the past 100k in the Mk2. Why are you amazed? Is there something I'm overlooking? I use it in my bike (and that gets caned hard on track days) and my wife's MX5 too - which gets a hard time from the INSTANT the engine fires every morning (you try explaining why an engine should warm up - I give up ). Seriously though, what's the problem with 0W40?
OK then, I don't know much about oil so most of the facts and figures quoted don't mean anything to me. However the mk2 needs an oil change, I'm gonna be fitting a genuine filter but which oil should I put in? I've gathered I should stay away from castrol, and Synta Silver seems to be the one emerging as the favourite, would I be correct in thinking this? Edited by: Mk2_Ozz
Ozz - a good friend of mine used to be a test engineer at Esso research (before they closed it down) and has tested more oils under lab conditions than you could shake a stick at. Whenever I ask him what oil I should be using, he just laughs and says you pays ur money - you takes ur choice - i.e. make sure it meets the spec and the more you pay, the better the oil will be (within reason) - so don't use a cheapy. This HAS to be one of the most debated engine subjects ever, with everyone having their own favorites. In my experience, it is more important to change the oil & filter frequently than to worry too much about the exact make of oil. So, make sure it meets the spec and make sure it is a from a quality manufacturer and you won't go too far wrong. One thing to remember is that high temperatures break oil molecules faster that shear (churning) - so if you intend to use the engine hard, a synthetic or semi synthetic will probably protect the engine better. One other thing - 90% of engine wear occurs when the engines cold - so don't cane it till its warm - no oil can protect against that.
