OccyVRS

Mmmmm. IIRC brands like Citroen are following suit. I'm keen to do 0W-30, but want to make sure first they haven't fiddled with the engine to suit.

Errrrrr... depends if you have the central res (I would assume the 2.0 280 is a very different exhaust to your 1.4). It won't do much for performance, however it will change the sound - just maybe not in a significant way. Here is a video of a GPF car with a res delete, compared to the same GPF car, unmodified (starts at 9:20). Not much of a difference, really, and bear in mind these are tuned 2.0 cars with probably the most lairy MQB exhaust systems (tied with a Golf R). From my understanding, generally - Pre-GPF Resonator delete - nice Backbox delete - horrible Full catback exhaust - perfect Post-GPF Resonator delete - doesn't do much Backbox delete - ruins everything Full GPF-back exhaust - does more, but again, not as much as you think My vRS would sound a fair bit better with a £1600 Milltek system. The issue is, without doing the GPF (which is illegal, I may add, and will void your insurance), it just won't sound good enough to warrant the price tag. It's a tricky thing. When a £130,000, 540bhp twin turbo M4 CS with a GPF sounds like this, the rest of us don't have much hope.

That seems a large difference, even if my understanding of centipoise is basic. Do you know what 5W-40 (Think VW 502) is at the hot end?

I still want to know what the kangaroo issue with my MQ250 was. Ultimately, people will service a car as much, or as little, as they desire. In the latter instance, premature breakdowns are often blamed on the car, rather than anything else. That being said, it is a bit depressing that main dealers, let alone the manufacturer, can't be trusted to give defacto maintenance advice.

It certainly does seem to be the best of both worlds - which makes me wonder why they don't retrospectively reccommend it (but do in the EA888.4). The car is going in on Monday for the DSG/VAQ service, plus the annual and some other bits, so I'll have a good chat with the guy then. An oil change is hardly an expensive job and is one that I can do myself in a few months once I've thought about it proplerly. I plan to get the car retuned towards the end of the year, so will likely change the oil then. I read somewhere (I think it was GTI) that the dealers were told to use either 0W-20 or 5W-30, depending on what they felt like.

Ahhh... service advisors. Walking proof that 'a little knowledge can be dangerous'. I rang up seven different dealers (across the country, I should add) when I was trying to find out some info on something and got four different answers. Absolutely no disrespect to them - they are simply working with the (lack of) training they were given. That said, I wouldn't trust a main dealer as far as I could throw the rock jammed in my subframe a master tech called 'age related NVH'. Perhaps I'm not the best person to ask. FWIW, I'll be doing my Mum's Ibiza DQ200 on about 70k, if she still has it then. That'll be a lot of London miles.

@Ootohere Honestly, I think so. 5W-30 is out as I'm not keen on the startups in winter. 0W-30 is a consideration, but I think I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. There's too many opinions, so for now I will just take VW on their word and keep it simple. At least until I've looked properly into the mechanical differences between the PFL EA888.3 and FL/GPF (beyond the oil pump). It's done the last 40k miles on 0W-20 (I presume) so I only need it to do another 40-50k and that'll be that. I highly doubt using xW-20 over xW-30 will grenade the engine in the meantime and despite what I was orignially told, I've seen no real evidence otherwise. If it ain't broke, don't fix it... at least for now.

A backbox delete would more sound horrendous than antisocial. I would assume too that most people, seeing a Skoda Superb making a noise like that, would just assume it was broken!

As @Ootohere says, the insurance won't change in the slighest because someone has whacked a £2.99 badge on the bootlid. We used to have a VW Fox with an ABT badge on the back of it. That being said, the exhaust and wheels are not good... wheels are irrelevant but the exhaust might increase the insurance price. Of course, you could just change the tips and claim not to notice. As @StevesTruck says though, it's likley been mapped and/or ragged. Personally would look elsewhere, especially if the previous owner felt the need to put quad tips on a diesel Scout. MOT history also says a lot about how the car was (not) cared for.

As far as I know, the only real issue with these are the drains filling up and causing leaks. Most of the service work is cleaning, so you'll maybe do a better job than Skoda anyway!

@Aldfort It's not an odd question. He was asking as for the DQ200 gearbox, there is no specified interval - it is a 'sealed for life' box, so having a service plan is largely irrelevant as Skoda won't touch it. You can change the gearbox oil and the MCU (mechatronics) oil, so technically it's not sealed for life. Realistically, if your're bothering to shift into neutral to prolong the life, logical says you would also bother to service it. Skoda say my gearbox should be serviced at 80k, but I don't know anyone that leaves it that long. This is the same company that tells us a certain DSG filter will last 160,000 miles, so sometimes you have to take the reccommended intervals with a pinch of salt.

Here we are with another sweeping statement... Of course, every car should be a silent electric Mini and those that want any sound should be banned. @Carst-2018SKODASuperb is yours a 270/280? @travs was looking at exhaust options for his. As yours is a pre-GPF model a resonator delete is likely all you need to achieve the desired effect. Doing a backbox delete (I think what you're on about) is perhaps going more down the ASBO/noise route!

In response to what I think you're saying in the first part, I would assume they use 0W-20. To the second bit, yes, I would think it would invalidate the warranty (probably hence the green colour as an identifier), as it isn't what they reccommend. So basically, the entire premise of this forum (and most of what you or I have said in it) is therefore irrelevant, if the knowledge and opinions of those on here are invalid as you don't care or don't know? You couldn't care less what others think, especially when they don't know you, but yet you give advice? You aren't making sense! Which is/was the entire premise of me asking the previous posters in this thread...

Brands aside, as long as the oil you use meets the VW specification (I.E. 508 00) then you'll be fine. Apparently there is a difference between specification grade oil and 'suitable for' so do bear that in mind.

FWIW, I've read that the SuperPro version is basically the same as the Whiteline, except people tend to be happier with the coating/finish on the former. I also read that Whiteline are now being a bit cheap with the manufacturing of their stuff, whereas SuperPro are still made Down Under. Nothing wrong with the Whiteline, but if they're the same price you may as well go for the SuperPro - I know they're relatively easy to get ahold of throughout Europe.

As others have said, for all the reasons to leave, the update is certainly a weird one. I find SEATCupra, VWvortex and the rest quite difficult to navigate, in contrast to Briskoda. People here are very active and, with the exception of a few, very friendly, helpful and supportive. Certainly, there is a wealth of information, going back to the mid 00s. All I'll say is, the UP! site has under 100k replies in total. On Briskoda, the Octavia section alone has 1,300,000. People vote with their feet. At least Mr Happy is their problem now - good riddance. FWIW, I think @Dean, @ColinD and the others do a fantastic job.

I agree. As I said, for now, I'm just going to stick with 0W-20 and cross the xW-30 bridge when I come to it. Interestingly, some tuners have suggested sticking with the recommended weight, whilst others (including big names) have suggested going up to 30. That's sort of why this is a question for me. If everyone was saying stick with VW, or saying to stick in something else, then it would be easy (I.E. the consensus on the 80k DQ381 service). My issue is, some places say 0W-20, some say 0W-30, some say 5W-30 and some say stick in whatever. Reputable places vouch for each, so it's difficult to decide who to listen to. I'm not keen on 5W-30, as on winter mornings it might be a lot for the oil pump to cope with. I know they did change it in these engines. Ultimately, it's unlikely to make much difference, at least for now, but it's one of those things I thought would be worth bringing up and keeping on a back burner. After all, there's no point spending money on intakes, tunes, suspension parts, etc, only to not invest the same amount of effort into oils, coolant, etc. As I progress with my usage/plans for the car, as well as mileage, I'd like to know that I'm using the best oil I can offer it. FWIW - I agree wholeheartedly with you on this. Just because I'm helping my bearings by using a thicker oil, doesn't mean I'm helping the cylinders, oil pump, channels or whatever else. Thank you everyone for your comments so far! I'm not sure why some people have to make it so difficult. If you don't agree with a comment/thread/post, there is absolutely no need to make a non-constructive comment - especially when it's not true.

Sorry, how do you know the car isn't doing track days or runway runs? The best I've done is a 13.7 @104mph in the dry at a private event near Oxford. I haven't done any track days in this car, but I fully intend to be at Brands or Cadwell before the year is out. That's in addition to wanting a Ring trip and to chase the 400bhp mark early next year. With the absolute best will in the world, if I wanted someone to simply copy and paste some generic info from VW, with poorly edited syntax, I would have asked. Funnily enough, in searching old forum posts, I seem to recall you insisting you would "I would give the crappy 0w 20 FS IV a miss if i owned a TSI. Any TSI." (19/01/2020), but here you are now suggesting to do it? Hmmmm. I wasn't aware that before posting, I needed to list out my current uses, previous uses and future plans for the car, so that you can properly advise me. Frankly, just because you might have bumbled around in your Octavia, doesn't mean everyone does. You are normally very reliable and full of information in the months that I've been here - I'm not sure why it now seems to have changed. Besides, even if my vRS was used for going to the shops and back, isn't a forum like Briskoda meant to be a judgment free environment, where people can discuss at length their questions/problems/thoughts, without fear of being slapped down by wildly incorrect sweeping statements? @Mickvrs220 My thinking behind it is that if 5W-30 was such a good thing, everyone would suggest it. The fact that I'm getting recommendations of 0W-20, 0W-30 and 5W-30, is what's making me think twice. FWIW I'm not keen on 5W, but 0W-30 is a consideration. I appreciate the input, but I'm perfectly capable of finding out what oil my car is recommended to have, in addition to what old vRS/GTI/R's run on.I wanted some specific, real world information about what oils owners have been using in a vRS 245 (or indeed any similar 2.0 TSI). I thought Briskoda would be the place to do this, but now I'm wondering if that's the case....

If you read my post again, carefully, you might see that I'm not asking for a recommendation - I am asking how the various posters fared running the thinner 0W-20 in their 245s, given it has been a few years since they posted. My car gets driven hard, but is not exactly a high mileage engine. I am interesting in pushing it to near 400bhp in the future and believe that a thicker oil at high temperature will potentially offer more protection. 0W-20 is, as you have put yourself, most likely used over 0W/5W-30 for emissions purposes. I haven't heard anything to suggest that 0W-20 kills engines, so I thought I would see how these people got on. I am well aware of what the 220, 230 and 245 were recommended to use by VW. This is the same company that tell me to service my DQ381 at 80,000 miles and told us they produced some really clean diesels in the last decade. You can understand why I don't take the word of VW as gospel.

Just reviving this thread (and a few others) - those of you that ran 0W-20, how did you fare? My vRS 245 (2020) is due it's first change, and I'm tossing up between 0W-20 and 0W-30. 🙂

Just reviving this thread (and a few others) - those of you that ran 0W-20, how did you fare? My vRS 245 (2020) is due it's first change, and I'm tossing up between 0W-20 and 0W-30. @Phil245 Did either of yours ever blow up? 🙂

Just reviving this thread (and a few others) - those of you that ran 0W-20, how did you fare? My vRS 245 (2020) is due it's first change, and I'm tossing up between 0W-20 and 0W-30. 🙂

I have to disagree. I found the Ibiza FR to handle really nicely. Obviously, this is relative to the type of car it is, but I found it really nippy, responsive and just a really tidy, peppy package. Certainly, I would far rather have it, than any of the newer VAG cars I've driven. Both the Leon and Arona, in particular, were terrible cars - mainly due to the gearbox and steering. I can't comment on the vRS 230, but the handling in my vRS 245 (with the diff) is really not bad at all. Of course, it's not a RWD sports car, but compared to other stuff in the segment, I find the handling to be very satisfactory. Certainly, someone I know has his vRS 230 hatch modded and ran a sub 8 BTG on the Ring - that's pretty damn fast for a FWD sedan. The traction is an issue, but that's just any FWD car - I didn't find the FWD Cupra 290 I test drove to grip any better. I wish these cars came with 235 or 245. The beauty of such cars is that they can be put on sticky tyres, fancy pads and taken onto a track on the weekend, whilst still being able to go around in traffic to the shops during the week. My vRS comes with a manual handbrake. I can't say I really care, but I think an e-brake would suit the gearbox better. I had a Golf with autohold - I loved it for the first few days and then promptly hated it, especially in stop start traffic. S/S is a pretty pointless feature IMO. I seem to either be trying to get the car up to temperature, or wanting it to keep running as it's hot. The Launch Programme really is pointless - even with the LSD and warm PS5s, it seems to do nothing more than leave rubber on the road.

Maybe I'm missing the point here. In order to move the selector out of P in my car, the engine has to be running. I'm sure the engine will start in N, however in order to get there you would need to first start it in P (hence my point about it cutting out if I take it out of P too quickly when starting). It won't even let you take the key out if you aren't in P. Thus, whether it starts in N or not, is a rather moot point. The only time I've started it in N is when it was in neutral in a traffic jam with start/stop and the engine and to be started manually. None of the cars I've driven have allowed the selector to be taken out of P, until the engine was running. This includes a 2014 A3, 2024 Leon, 2024 Arona, 2020 vRS, 2022 Ibiza, 2019 Golf, 2012 Passat, 2020 Passat and a 2017 T130. To the second part - I fear I was misunderstood. In my first reply, I mentioned about VW taking obvious steps to ensure the DSG gearbox would last a while, with the average person behind the wheel. With a DQ381 car, it is likely a bit performance-ish, meaning maintenance and the like is perhaps more likely to be focused on. The DQ200 is fitted to normal cars, for most people that want to just get in and go. In other words, I would assume that VW have thought of this, and taken into consideration that the majority of people in a Scala. Kamiq, Fabia, Polo, Golf, Ibiza, Leon, Arona, Karoq, Ateca, etc etc aren't going to care about whether the car is in D or N, as long as it goes. By contrast, more people that have GTI/R/S3/vRS are more likely to care about that sort of thing. I'm not saying all DQ200 owners don't care, or that all people in a DQ381/250 care, but I would say is it simply more likely. VW aren't going to design a gearbox that has to be treated specially, in an average passenger car. Maybe in an RS6 with a ZF box they will, but for the most part I argue the D/N discussion is a totally moot point in such a widely produced average consumer gearbox.

I'm not doubting that! IIRC the thinner oil was used in the Euro 6 EA888.3 engines - the EA888.4 (EVO) are using 0W-30. My point though, is that if VW have optimised the engines to run on the thinner oil, be it through tolerances, pumps or whatever, then running a clingier, thicker oil, might not be the best thing. I don't trust VWAG, so would welcome any evidence than running a thinner oil causes harm.