I see Halfords now do an oil for our PD engines, with spec. 505.1 and £28.51 for 4.2liters. Could this be a bargain? or should we be wary of its quality?

No! this is not a bargain, i got quantum pd oil for £10.50+vat for 5L, try a dealer for quantum pd oil, bet its not more than £23 quid inc vat

4.2 litres doesn't even fill up a fabia TDI engine.... You need 4.5 at least.

No! this is not a bargain, i got quantum pd oil for £10.50+vat for 5L, try a dealer for quantum pd oil, bet its not more than £23 quid inc vat

If you are talking about VAG dealers it's about £12 per 1ltr. for Quantum/Volkswagen not 5ltrs.

The PD spec oil is a 5ltr bottle. Says it comes to the VW505.01 spec?? I work for Halfords and even i'm wary about it.......

If you are talking about VAG dealers it's about £12 per 1ltr. for Quantum/Volkswagen not 5ltrs.

Please!!! i worked at a vw dealer & a TPS, i do know what im on about!!!!!!! ask for 5l quantum pd oil, not the VAG branded stuff:eek:

The Quantum PD oil is a bit more than £12 +VAT at the local dealer, but it's certainly not £12 a litre.

FWIW the halfords own brand is 5L, as is their VW504/507 and the 505.1 seems pretty expensive when compared to the price of the VW 507 oil.

The Quantum PD oil is a bit more than £12 +VAT at the local dealer, but it's certainly not £12 a litre.

FWIW the halfords own brand is 5L, as is their VW504/507 and the 505.1 seems pretty expensive when compared to the price of the VW 507 oil.

I got my quantum pd oil 5L at 10.50 + vat from a TPS, see link, it was on special, but its still only 17+vat

Trade Parts Specialists

TPS are run by VAG so all genuine bits with a bit of discount!! as long as you a trade! ( but most will sell to anyone trust me!!)

If you are talking about VAG dealers it's about £12 per 1ltr. for Quantum/Volkswagen not 5ltrs.

hardly !.........i got a litre of LLIII a few weeks back for about £8

There's always ebay - that's where I got mine recently.

I got 5L of quantum platinum from TPS a week back and it was £17 inc VAT

Pretty cheap I say, plus its fully synthetic

Im sure they have a deal on. 4 x 5L for £58. haha!

I have just read in an oil post on the Seat forum that Halfords oil is actually made by Coma, so pretty decent stuff. I does not really matter what you put in as long as has VW 505.01 stamped on the bottle, see the sticky thread. This of course is for normal (Fixed) servicing and not long life stuff for variabe changes.

The PD spec oil is a 5ltr bottle. Says it comes to the VW505.01 spec?? I work for Halfords and even i'm wary about it.......

5ltrs. I stand corrected.

If an oil is rated at certain specs. then someone must be testing it so in theory any brand of oil at 505/01 should be safe for our engines.

According to this thread http://briskoda.net/fabia-i/what-engine-oil-must-i-use-my-fabia-vrs/23797/ Quantum and VW PD oil are the same.

I got some of this quantum platinum yesterday from my local TPS. £15.85 + vat, so a smidge over £18. Very happy indeed with that !

I use a Halfords PD oil in my vRS, have done for 30,000 miles. The Halfords one I get is fully synthetic and costs less than the semi-synthetic stuff from the dealers.

Just make sure any oil you use says "Approved to" rather than just surpasses or similar marketing speak.

That way if it's been approved, then if has passed the tests and will be fine.

Just make sure any oil you use says "Approved to" rather than just surpasses or similar marketing speak.

That way if it's been approved, then if has passed the tests and will be fine.

Good advice cheeze

"Meets the specification" is not the same as "Approved"

Comma is own by Mobil but not made by Mobil and is unapproved oil

it doesn't even have API approvals despite what it says on the tin

you have to be careful with what is stamped on the botlles as it is un policed so there is a lot of scope for this type of thing

Just to back up above, be carefull of what is written on the bottle.

Also with home brands such as halfords it may meet the spec but its the rest of it that worries me such as the additive pack, know halfords that bit will be the cheap bit so it is always best to stick to a premium brand.

I believe Quantum is made by Castrol.

Cheers

Guy

The comments about Comma oils - that is a bit of a bummer as I'd used their X-Tech oil for about 90,000 miles as at that time Ford had not worked out exactly what oil this new engine family needed - but it seemed that Comma had seen this hole in the market - and I was too naive to read the cans - on this occasion no harm done as engine lasted well beyond the 90,000 miles I had it.

On to what oilman said about its what they don't say about additives - I agree completely, the same thing goes for non premium fuels and more people should take note of that!

This post should help as a basic guide, for more detailed information contact us and we will be happy to help.

So, to be blunt about the subject, if a bottle of oil does not contain the following basic information then DO NOT buy it look for something that does!

1) The purpose for which it is intended (i.e. Motor oil, Gear oil etc)

2) The viscosity (i.e. 10w-40, 5w-30 etc for Motor oils and 80w-90, 75w-90 etc for Gear oils)

3) The specifications that it meets (should contain both API and ACEA ratings)

4) The OEM Approvals that it carries and the codes (i.e. MB229.3, VW504.00, FORD 913a/b, BMW LL04 etc)

Ignore the marketing blurb on the label it is in many cases meaningless and we will explain later what statements you should treat with skepticism.

So, what does the above information mean and why is it important?

THE BASICS

All oils are intended for an application and in general are not interchangeable. You would not for example put an Automatic Transmission Oil or a Gear Oil in your engine! It is important to know what the oils intended purpose is.

VISCOSITY

Most oils on the shelves today are “Multigrades”, which simply means that the oil falls into 2 viscosity grades (i.e. 10w-40 etc)

Multigrades were first developed some 50 years ago to avoid the old routine of using a thin oil in winter and a thicker oil in the summer.

In a 10w-40 for example the 10w bit (W = winter, not weight or watt or anything else for that matter) simply means that the oil must have a certain maximum viscosity/flow at low temperature.

The lower the “W” number the better the oils cold temperature/cold start performance. I.E. 5w is better than 10w etc

The 40 in a 10w-40 simply means that the oil must fall within certain viscosity limits at 100 degC. This is a fixed limit and all oils that end in 40 must achieve these limits.

Once again the lower the number the thinner the oil, a 30 oil is thinner than a 40 oil at 100 degC etc. Your handbook will specify whether a 30, 40 or 50 etc is required.

SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications are important as these indicate the performance of an oil and whether it has met or passed the latest tests or whether the formulation is effectively obsolete or out of date.

There are two specifications that you should look for on any oil bottle and these are API (American Petroleum Institute) and ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Europeens d’Automobiles) all good oils should contain both of these and an understanding of what they mean is important.

API

This is the more basic of the two specs as it is split (for passenger cars) into two catagories.

S = Petrol and C = Diesel, most oils carry both petrol (S) and diesel © specifications.

The following table shows how up to date the specifications the oil are:

PETROL

SG - Introduced 1989 has much more active dispersant to combat black sludge.

SH - Introduced 1993 has same engine tests as SG, but includes phosphorus limit 0.12%, together with control of foam, volatility and shear stability.

SJ - Introduced 1996 has the same engine tests as SG/SH, but phosphorus limit 0.10% together with variation on volatility limits

SL - Introduced 2001, all new engine tests reflective of modern engine designs meeting current emissions standards

SM - Introduced November 2004, improved oxidation resistance, deposit protection and wear protection, also better low temperature performance over the life of the oil compared to previous categories.

Note:

All specifications prior to SL are now obsolete and although suitable for some older vehicles are more than 10 years old and do not provide the same level of performance or protection as the more up to date SL and SM specifications.

DIESEL

CD - Introduced 1955, international standard for turbo diesel engine oils for many years, uses single cylinder test engine only

CE - Introduced 1984, improved control of oil consumption, oil thickening, piston deposits and wear, uses additional multi cylinder test engines

CF4 - Introduced 1990, further improvements in control of oil consumption and piston deposits, uses low emission test engine

CF - Introduced 1994, modernised version of CD, reverts to single cylinder low emission test engine. Intended for certain indirect injection engines

CF2 - Introduced 1994, defines effective control of cylinder deposits and ring face scuffing, intended for 2 stroke diesel engines

CG4 - Introduced 1994, development of CF4 giving improved control of piston deposits, wear, oxidation stability and soot entrainment. Uses low sulphur diesel fuel in engine tests

CH4 - Introduced 1998, development of CG4, giving further improvements in control of soot related wear and piston deposits, uses more comprehensive engine test program to include low and high sulphur fuels

CI4 Introduced 2002, developed to meet 2004 emission standards, may be used where EGR ( exhaust gas recirculation ) systems are fitted and with fuel containing up to 0.5 % sulphur. May be used where API CD, CE, CF4, CG4 and CH4 oils are specified.

Note:

All specifications prior to CH4 are now obsolete and although suitable for some older vehicles are more than 10 years old and do not provide the same level of performance or protection as the more up to date CH4 & CI4 specifications.

If you want a better more up to date oil specification then look for SL, SM, CH4, CI4

ACEA

This is the European equivalent of API (US) and is more specific in what the performance of the oil actually is. A = Petrol, B = Diesel and C = Catalyst compatible or low SAPS (Sulphated Ash, Phosphorus and Sulphur).

Unlike API the ACEA specs are split into performance/application catagories as follows:

A1 Fuel economy petrol

A2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)

A3 High performance and/or extended drain

A4 Reserved for future use in certain direct injection engines

A5 Combines A1 fuel economy with A3 performance

B1 Fuel economy diesel

B2 Standard performance level (now obsolete)

B3 High performance and/or extended drain

B4 For direct injection car diesel engines

B5 Combines B1 fuel economy with B3/B4 performance

C1-04 Petrol and Light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 low SAPS, two way catalyst compatible.

C2-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 mid SAPS, two way catalyst compatible.

C3-04 Petrol and light duty Diesel engines, based on A5/B5-04 mid SAPS, two way catalyst compatible, Higher performance levels due to higher HTHS.

Note: SAPS = Sulphated Ash, Phosphorous and Sulphur.

Put simply, A3/B3, A5/B5 and C3 oils are the better quality, stay in grade performance oils.

APPROVALS

Many oils mention various Car Manufacturers on the bottle, the most common in the UK being VW, MB, BMW, Ford or Vauxhall but do not be misled into thinking that you are buying top quality oil because of this.

Oil Companies send their oils to OEM’s for approval however some older specs are easily achieved and can be done so with the cheapest of mineral oils. Newer specifications are always more up to date and better quality/performance than the older ones.

Some of the older OEM specifications are listed here and depending on the performance level of your car are best ignored if you are looking for a quality high performance oil:

VW – 500.00, 501.00 and 505.00

Later specs like 504 and 507 are better performing more up to date oils

MB – 229.1

Later specs like 229.3 and 229.5 are better performing more up to date oils.

BMW – LL98

Later specs like LL01 and LL04 are better performing more up to date oils.

FINALLY

Above is the most accurate guidance we can give without going into too much depth however there is one final piece of advice regarding labelling.

Certain statements are made on labels that are meaningless and just marketing hype, here are a few to avoid!

Recommended for use where……………

May be used where the following specifications apply……………

Approved by………………………..(but with no qualification or specification)

Recommended/Approved by (some famous person, these endorsements are paid for)

Racing/Track formula (but with no supporting evidence)

Also be wary of statements like “synthetic blend” if you are looking for a fully synthetic oil as this will merely be a semi-synthetic.

Like everything in life, you get what you pay for. The cheaper the oil the cheaper the ingredients, lower the performance levels and older the specs it meets so beware!

If you would like further advice then please feel free to ask here or contact us via our website or email.

Cheers

Guy

in the style of Janice from Friends - ohhhhh mmmyyy gggooooddd!

Having just had the oil light come on and a nearly dry dip stick (yes i know i should check it more often ) Briskoda then Halfords were my first points of call.

this being the first and most recent thread and reading though it all (ok not all of oilman's post) i think i'll just go to my local VW or Skoda dealer and get what they give me at the price they tell me!

A very comprehensive explanation of oil grades by Oilman, thanks, or everything you wanted to know about oil but were afraid to ask. Should be added to the "Stickies" What oil for your VRS.