OccyVRS

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.

You should be a comedian! FWIW, in case you aren't joking - every DSG I've ever been in only allows the car to start in park. Sometimes, if I'm in a rush, I'll start the car with my left hand and shift into D with the right. If I'm too fast, the action of taking it out of P will kill the engine.

Very true, however might I possibly suggest that far less people care about their DQ200 than a DQ381? As in, IMO the vast majority of people that are overly concerned about their transmissions are those with 'enthusiast' cars, often with the DQ381/250 (GTI, R, vRS, Cupra, etc). The DQ200 comes in more average cars, that most people just get in and go. My mum has a 2022 Ibiza FR - it's the 1.0 3cyl with a DQ200. I doubt she cares what gear it's in, as long as it goes forward. I don't force any issues developing with it. It goes back to the old argument of (old) people moaning about 3 cylinder engines being 'mechanically unbalanced' and prone to failure. Sure, the idle in my 2013 Focus was a little less than perfect, but having driven both a 3cyl 118i and GR Yaris (I love my old neighbours) both were very nice and smooth engines. Often, people are afraid of change. These cars are general passenger cars, even if some of them like the vRS have a bit more power. They aren't heavily tuned M5CS' or LaFerrari's. Proper maintenance aside, I think an approach of 'get in it and go' is perhaps needed. I am guilty of it, of course, but there is a tendency to overthink these things.

Part of me is in the camp of 'it's just for emissions', but the part of me is inclined to just go with what VW suggests. I've no idea what they've done oil pump wise, and I doubt they're going to deliberately grenade a few hundred thousand cars just to get lower emissions - especially after the last few years... My trusted Indie just got back to me, and said they always run 0W-20 in cars, even if they're tuned. He was also unsure about using 30 oils at higher temperatures, given they're more clingy. I think I'll stick with 0W-20 for now and look into 0W-30 if I ever go past a simple ECU tune. It hasn't used any oil in the last year (and only a touch of coolant, actually). I'll see what the condition of the oil is when it's changed and report back. I get the engine oil changed every 6,000-7,000 miles and, with a move to London on the horizon, keeping with the lighter oil for shorter journeys might be advantageous. Ultimately, I'll just stick with what VW suggests. 0W-20 is a thin oil, but if bearings, oil pumps and tolerances are designed to suit, then running a heavier weight might do more harm than good. Certainly, it's hardly a huge difference and I think something else will blow up before the engine does. As this thread discusses, there isn't much evidence that sticking to the recommended oil causes any issues. Frankly, if the car blows up then it's an excuse to get an S4! https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/engine-damage-caused-from-0w20-5w20.183530/

I arrived at the same conclusion. It left the factory with 0W-20 so that's what it'll be getting. I know nothing significant about engine oils (aside from the basics), so who am I to question the mighty VWAG? Certainly, I would be changing to 0W-30/5W-30 based on the advice of, effectively, strangers on the internet. I'll run with what they suggested for now and if it blows up at 100k, it won't affect me. If I get it tuned again, then maybe I'll revisit this, so watch this space. Regarding the filters, I'm going to quote... you! The engine oil is longlife, but AFAIK longlife filters don't really exist. All of the LL fully synthetic oils can apparently keep lubricating well north of 15k miles. Frankly, if you're leaving your oil changes that long, well... What's more interesting is why the DQ381 is the only wet clutch DSG to have an 80,000 mile interval, and why the filter is apparently only to be replaced every second service (I.E. 160,000 miles, 320,000 miles). This is why I'm not overly trusting of the oil recommendation - this is the same company that is telling us a paper filter will last upwards of 160,000 miles. Yeah, right.

The only time I use neutral is when I'll be stopped for a while, as my car has a manual handbrake. I also use it when parking on a hill (to allow the handbrake to take the load, not the parking pawl). Aside from that I leave it in D. When the car is stopped, the clutch is disengaged by the computer. If the computer wants to keep some pressure on there, then that's fine by me. There are hundreds of millions of DSG cars on the road. I would imagine VW have thought about this. Some info here - https://www.vwroc.com/forums/topic/17773-dsg-slight-clutch-drag-when-auto-holdpark-engaged/ And a post from here - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/443750-dsg-in-neutral/

I've ditched the idea of 5W-30. 0W-30 sounds like it might be the best of both worlds. I'm running stock power now (#sad) so I'm tempted to just stick in 0W-20 and cross the 0W-30 bridge if and when I come to it. The car does get driven hard, however it's been on the thinner oil for the last 39,000 miles. Thank you @EnterName for the info on the oil pump - that changes a lot. I wonder what the pump is on the Evo EA888.4 engines - I know they're recommended 0W-30.

Can you not use individual mode, and have everything in eco setting - or does this turn the coasting on too? I just leave mine in normal. When I'm having fun I'll put it in sport and then individual is for motorway use (everything to comfort, steering to sport). I've tried eco mode a few times. The coasting annoys me. Could be worse - the brand new SEAT's I've been in have all done it in every mode!

I wouldn't shy away from rejecting the car. That said, I'm not sure what you paid for it. Within a few months of buying my vRS I had to do discs and pads on all corners, as well as the battery. The drivers door seal was pretty knackered, so it was replaced. My previous Approved Used car needed a new glove box. Both cars had the tyres they came with replaced after five minutes. Heat transfer aside (?) those discs are fairly lipped. You can replace just pads, but with discs really you need to be doing the pads too. What brand are the tyres? My vRS had almost new tyres on it, but they were unbranded. Ultimately, it's not a brand new car, so consumables like tyres, brakes, etc are always candidates for replacement, even when buying approved used. I was sold an approved used car that turned out to have crash damage, so it's by no means a seal of unquestionable approval. Given everything, I'd be tempted to reject it. You've said that you bought it in a rush and that's never a good thing. Maybe take this opportunity to get yourself whole, and then go again?

2020 vRS 245. Ignoring the VW specs and brands (I've heard good things about Millers Nano), what are we thinking? I'm due a change in a week. 0W-20 is quite thin and from what I've seen, it was chosen mainly for emissions/efficiency. A lot of people run 5W-30 or even 40. I run the car fairly hard sometimes and would rather have protection than efficiency. I live on the South Coast and let the car warm up properly when freezing, so I'm not too fussed about cold weather performance. Thoughts?

I know SEAT used Bridgestone for the development of the various Leon models. Depending on the mood of the factory, MQB models seem to come with Bridgestone or Hankook. I'm not a fan of Bridgestone. The only tyre I'd choose them over is Pirelli. I'm a big fan of Continental and Michelin - I've run Pilot Sport 5/4 on my recent cars. I've currently got about 5/6mm left on the fronts of my vRS after 8,000 miles of very mixed driving. That's pretty damn good for a UPH summer tyre. FWIW, PS5 offers the same grip as PS4, but being a firmer compound wears far better. PS4S/PSS5 are totally overkill for anything VAG that isn't a tuned RS6. So many people put PS4S on their Cupra or whatever - the tyre comes stock on a 296 GTB!

I'm looking into some lowering springs - both to stiffen the car up and sort the fitment a little. That might look a little silly fitment wise, but as I'm not keen on spacers, I might look at lower offset wheels. Lowering spring wise, what are we all running? I've been looking at Eibach, etc, however am more keen on the adjustable version from KW or the Bilstein kit. Something like a 30/40mm drop is too much for me, as the car is used in some questionable car parks. I'm keen to do more 10/20mm. Any experiences appreciated!

@netman82 Unless I'm being a fool, the box part (further back) is the back box and the cylinder shape is the resonator. @leolito Haha - I was meaning more a V8 in terms of say an AMG GT or the like! At that point though, it'll be a custom system anyway. I personally wouldn't do a backbox delete on any car. It'll sound horrendous on anything below 3.0, and will be deafening above that, as you say.