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What is the cheapest place anyone has found to buy your 504 spec 5W30 oil and filters?
Keep an eye on forum sponsor Blauparts when they have their sales. They've got the Ravenol products and had two different 504/507 oils, both compliant, when I purchased a couple years ago. When it was all done, I purchased a fair amount of 504/507 oil @ ~ $5/qt, delivered. ECS Tuning, also a forum sponsor, often has good deals on kits which will include your desired OE grade filter.
Prof, the 504/507 oil, while a much newer spec than the old 502/505 spec, isn't necessarily "better" in the USA when one considers the clear majority of gasoline we buy is tainted with ethanol and has a higher sulfur content than Europe. The old 502.00 spec is simply more robust and is going to be looking better at 10,000 miles. There have been plenty of UOAs on the newer oils that show them fully depleted at 10,000 miles or sooner. The newer spec (504.00) is supposed to keep the engine internals cleaner, specifically the back of the valves, but only time will tell whether that occurs in our driving environment with our gasoline.
The newer spec (504.00) is supposed to keep the engine internals cleaner, specifically the back of the valves, but only time will tell whether that occurs in our driving environment with our gasoline.
Deposits aren't an issue with good 502 oils like Mobil 1 0W-40, Castrol 0W-40, Motul X-Cess 5w-40, etc. The key is to pick a good 502 oil that also carries stricter certifications from other manufacturers like MB 229.5, BMW LL-01, or Porsche A40.
I really don't understand how the notion that 504 is superior to 502 is spreading. You're absolutely correct that a newer spec doesn't automatically mean that it's better. 504 is just a spec for what are known as low-SAPS oils. These oils are primarily meant for diesel engines and their main goal is to protect the particulate filter. There may some minor benefits for catalytic converters in gasoline engines, but catalytic converters are doing just fine on high-SAPS oils as long as oil isn't being burned excessively. The downside of low-SAPS oils is that they start with a significantly lower TBN than their high-SAPS counterparts and can't be used on extended drains. And like you mentioned, they also don't fare well with the higher sulfur gasoline in the USA as opposed to what's generally available in Europe.
Deposits aren't an issue with good 502 oils like Mobil 1 0W-40, Castrol 0W-40, Motul X-Cess 5w-40, etc. The key is to pick a good 502 oil that also carries stricter certifications from other manufacturers like MB 229.5, BMW LL-01, or Porsche A40.
I really don't understand how the notion that 504 is superior to 502 is spreading. You're absolutely correct that a newer spec doesn't automatically mean that it's better. 504 is just a spec for what are known as low-SAPS oils. These oils are primarily meant for diesel engines and their main goal is to protect the particulate filter. There may some minor benefits for catalytic converters in gasoline engines, but catalytic converters are doing just fine on high-SAPS oils as long as oil isn't being burned excessively. The downside of low-SAPS oils is that they start with a significantly lower TBN than their high-SAPS counterparts and can't be used on extended drains. And like you mentioned, they also don't fare well with the higher sulfur gasoline in the USA as opposed to what's generally available in Europe.
Yeah, I can not argue the merits either way as the science is abov my level, but from what I’ve read, the 502 oils are a better product for our cars.
Since our Audi A4 B9 can use either VW504 or VW502 spec. oil you should have no difficulties with either. But there are differences. The figure below illustrates a the levels of protection and characteristics between VW502 (blue shading) and VW504 (gray shading) spec. oils. I use VW504 spec. oil because of the reported reduction in wear, deposits, sludge formation and fuel economy. I change my oil and filter every 5000 miles. I know this may be excessive but when you do it yourself it is inexpensive and you get a chance to look over the engine compartment for leaks etc.
Thanks Prof...I was doing some research on my own too and found similar results and that was my reasoning to go with the 504 versus the 502. Wear has been greatly reduced in the 504 and that is what, I would think, most folks would be concerned with. Great graphical representation that is very easy to comprehend.
Those ratings are based on the minimum tolerances for each of those specs, not an absolute comparison of any given 502 vs any given 504. There are some bottom of the barrel 502 oils out there since it's a fairly lenient specification. The key is to pick a 502 oil that also carries MB 229.5, BMW LL-01, or Porsche A40. By definition a 502 additive pack is going to be more robust than a 504 additive pack seeing as how all 504 oils are low-SAPS. In the US there's no real reason to run a 504 over a high quality 502 unless you have a diesel or you're burning oil and fouling your catalytic converter.
In the US there's no real reason to run a 504 over a high quality 502 unless you have a diesel or you're burning oil and fouling your catalytic converter.
What do you think the dealers are pouring in? Any easy way to tell?
I checked with my dealer last week and they are using 502 Castrol since they have a TON of it on hand. It is also compatible with more vehicles right now than the 504 and, since our cars accept 502, they are using what they have.
Those ratings are based on the minimum tolerances for each of those specs, not an absolute comparison of any given 502 vs any given 504. There are some bottom of the barrel 502 oils out there since it's a fairly lenient specification. The key is to pick a 502 oil that also carries MB 229.5, BMW LL-01, or Porsche A40. By definition a 502 additive pack is going to be more robust than a 504 additive pack seeing as how all 504 oils are low-SAPS. In the US there's no real reason to run a 504 over a high quality 502 unless you have a diesel or you're burning oil and fouling your catalytic converter.
Exactly. there are vw502 oils and then there are oils like Castrol Edge 0w-40 which is VW502 and meets Porsche A40, which is very close to the vw504 for wear protection and sludge, my two main concerns. It can be bought at Walmart way cheaper than many other inferior oils and gives a way better starting TBN than the vw504 oils. Heck Autozone has had the 5qt jugs and a filter for $26.99. Of course i would get my filter elsewhere and just get a filter for one of my other cars.
I also changed my oil on my 2018 Audi A4. It was very easy with a vacuum extractor. This is the first time I used a cartridge oil filter (unlike the sealed metal oil filters). The cost of the filter with O-ring is less than that of a sealed oil filter. I was surprised that no oil leaked when I removed the filter housing. After I screwed open the oil filter housing I let it sit for about a min to ensure all of the oil had drained from the filter. I purchased VW504-rated low friction oil (5W30) from Amazon; VW504 surpasses the VW502 specification and is recommended by Audi. A 5 quart jug of TOTAL oil was $37.00 and this was sufficient to bring my oil level to the full mark using the MMI gauge and a dip stick. After I recycled the oil, I purchased a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner into the gas tank. I changed the oil on my 2009 Audi A4 every 7500 miles but I would still need to add a quart of oil between changes. With the EA888 Gen 3 engine in the Audi A4 B9 I see no oil consumption, the exhaust tips stay clean. So a real improvement. More power, no oil consumption and much better gas mileage. For road trips mainly using federal highways and state roads (as opposed to interstates) and using adaptive cruse control set at 60 mph I have a range of 600 miles per tank of gas. I could not achieve this in my A4 B8 with a manual transmission. Although the A4 B8 was a very good automobile; the A4 B9 is a remarkable improvement. I truly enjoy driving this car.
I have a 2017 A4 with about 4000 miles on it and was thinking of changing the oil. The car is about 7 months old. This is great write-up and it looks very easy to do.
I've never used a fluid extractor before so I assume you just put the tube to the bottom of the oil pan and pump until no more fluid comes out right? Any suggestions on an inexpensive extractor. So glad I found this forum!!!
12-21-2017, 03:26 AM
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