Shell Helix Ultra or other

[Redboy]

Hi

Does anybody else think that £12 per litre for Shell Helix Ultra is expensive? Or is it worth the extra expense? My VRS is on variable servicing and has used .75 of a litre in 2000 miles in these winter conditions. Halfords 5/30W VW/Audi compliant oil is a fair bit cheaper although you have to buy in 5L bottles. Anybody see any reasons why it isn't as good or had good/bad reports if Shell isn't used?

[theandywaite]

I just buy 5L bottles of Castrol/Quantum SLX from my local VAG TPS counter. I can't remember how much it is, but it's not that pricy .

[Jeeves]

Hi

Does anybody else think that £12 per litre for Shell Helix Ultra is expensive? Or is it worth the extra expense? My VRS is on variable servicing and has used .75 of a litre in 2000 miles in these winter conditions. Halfords 5/30W VW/Audi compliant oil is a fair bit cheaper although you have to buy in 5L bottles. Anybody see any reasons why it isn't as good or had good/bad reports if Shell isn't used?

I've got a case of single litre packs of Helix Ultra-X which I will be selling if I can't utilise it in my 170PD or 140PD (arriving any day).

[furn]

mines guzzling oil, im going to order some off here , its a good price and the dealers sell this for 50+vat

oil

[durhamfisher]

Hi

Does anybody else think that £12 per litre for Shell Helix Ultra is expensive? Or is it worth the extra expense? My VRS is on variable servicing and has used .75 of a litre in 2000 miles in these winter conditions. Halfords 5/30W VW/Audi compliant oil is a fair bit cheaper although you have to buy in 5L bottles. Anybody see any reasons why it isn't as good or had good/bad reports if Shell isn't used?

I use Halfords 5/30w for top ups. It conforms to the VW spec, see no reason why there would be a problem with it.

[wonkydonkey]

Hi

Does anybody else think that £12 per litre for Shell Helix Ultra is expensive? Or is it worth the extra expense? My VRS is on variable servicing and has used .75 of a litre in 2000 miles in these winter conditions. Halfords 5/30W VW/Audi compliant oil is a fair bit cheaper although you have to buy in 5L bottles. Anybody see any reasons why it isn't as good or had good/bad reports if Shell isn't used?

It isn't appoved is one reason not to use it

Shell Helix Ultra Extra is a good longlife oil. It can also be used in place of the 505.01 (fixed interval PD) spec because it is backward compatible (most VW longlife oils are not)

Castrol Edge 5w-30 is another option but is not backward compatible with 505.01

Total Quartz Ineo 504 507 is another good longlife oil and is backward compatible with 505.01

i would stick to the approved oils only bud "meets the specification" is not the same

also beware of Quantum, it is blended by Castrol for VW UK to their specs and is sold by VAG UK dealers and TPS's as "Castrol" but it is not and it is not comparable quality wise, it is also not backwards compatible with 505.01.

hope this helps

Edited 16 September, 2010 by wonkydonkey

[rainbowsend]

Hi

Does anybody else think that £12 per litre for Shell Helix Ultra is expensive? Or is it worth the extra expense? My VRS is on variable servicing and has used .75 of a litre in 2000 miles in these winter conditions. Halfords 5/30W VW/Audi compliant oil is a fair bit cheaper although you have to buy in 5L bottles. Anybody see any reasons why it isn't as good or had good/bad reports if Shell isn't used?

2 litres for £10.99 on e-bay, I got mine from same place...........

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shell-Helix-Ultra-Fully-Synthetic-15w-50-Engine-Oil-2-L-/250666421945?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a5ce20eb9

[hussarman]

For many years I worked for BP and we always called Castrol a "Dirty Oil" I would'nt even think about using it after having seen the problems it can cause.

My local VAG dealer only uses Shell Helix and that suits me fine.

I should also point out that most 'fully-synthetic' oils are not actually 'fully-synthetic' at all, and only need to contain a minimum amount of certain chemicals to be classified as such. If they don't contain that amount (even by less than 1% ) then they are classed as semi-synthetics. Most 'synthetics' are still made from the stuff that comes out of the ground.

Only the really expensive oil ( Mobil and Amsol products for example) 'synthetics' are true 100% synthetics.

Edited 16 September, 2010 by hussarman

[cheezemonkhai]

It isn't appoved is one reason not to use it

Yes it is, says so on the bottle.

IIRC it's made by comma.

also beware of Quantum, it is blended by Castrol for VW UK to their specs and is sold by VAG UK dealers and TPS's as "Castrol" but it is not and it is not comparable quality wise, it is also not backwards compatible with 505.01.

Odd because the longlife III, I have got quite clearly says on the bottle that it can be used in those cases.

The only cases you need special oil is the big W engines that insist on VW506.1 0w-30.

TBH I'll use quantum longlife III, or mobile1 or whatever is cheapest at the time.

It only stays in 10k, so it's not an issue anyway.

I certainly wouldn't pay a penny extra for shell over mobil1 esp.

[countryboy]

My local dealer sold me a litre bottle of Mobil1 esp for £10, as long as it meets the right specs 507.00 or 504.00 then I don't see there being a problem. There have been some posts on here about Asda selling the right oil for a cheaper price but cannot find them at the moment.

Ian

[Gizmo]

ASDA are indeed selling 5 litres of Mobil1 esp (VW507.00) for £32.

[vwcabriolet1971]

ASDA are indeed selling 5 litres of Mobil1 esp (VW507.00) for £32.

And about £8.50 by the Litre.

[vwcabriolet1971]

For many years I worked for BP and we always called Castrol a "Dirty Oil" I would'nt even think about using it after having seen the problems it can cause.

My local VAG dealer only uses Shell Helix and that suits me fine.

I should also point out that most 'fully-synthetic' oils are not actually 'fully-synthetic' at all, and only need to contain a minimum amount of certain chemicals to be classified as such. If they don't contain that amount (even by less than 1% ) then they are classed as semi-synthetics. Most 'synthetics' are still made from the stuff that comes out of the ground.

Only the really expensive oil ( Mobil and Amsol products for example) 'synthetics' are true 100% synthetics.

Nothing wrong with Castrol. Castrol make Quantum for VW . New cars ( e.g. my MK6 TDI Golf) are supplied factory filled with Castrol and manuals have the appropiate Castrol sticker affixed to the service book . Castrol Edge 5W-30 full synthentic is approved by VAG as meeting the highest VAG oil spec 507. ( Same as Mobil #1 "esp" 5W-30 full synthetic ).

Sounds like inter-company rivalry rather than fact to call Castrol a "dirty Oil". Bunkem !

Edited 17 September, 2010 by vwcabriolet1971

[Stoofa]

At my last service they used Shell Helix Ultra - they also gave me a free 1L top-up.

So for that reason I've decided to only use Shell Helix for top-up's.

I'm sure that all VW spec oil does the job, but I just didn't like the idea of mixing oils.

Shell Helix is actually a lot cheaper in France.

We go every 3-4 months so various family members can buy cigarettes.

I buy a 5L bottle of Shell Helix for around the £40 mark and then refill my 1L top-up bottle so I've always got 1L in my car.

[Gizmo]

At my last service they used Shell Helix Ultra - they also gave me a free 1L top-up.

I remember another member on here mentioning the 'free' 1 liter of oil supplied with his service, then he scrutinized the bill and yes you guessed it - he had actually been charged for it.

[hussarman]

[quote Sounds like inter-company rivalry rather than fact to call Castrol a "dirty Oil". Bunkem !

Not bunkem I am sorry to say. Oil manufacturers go to a lot of trouble before marketing a brand name.

At BP research laboratories we stripped down engines to inspect moving parts for crazing and pitting on moving parts caused by other manufacturers oils.

They found that crazing/pitting on camshaft lobes and valve stems was more pronounced on other manufactures oils compared to a BP or Shell oil.

[vwcabriolet1971]

Not bunkem I am sorry to say. Oil manufacturers go to a lot of trouble before marketing a brand name.

At BP research laboratories we stripped down engines to inspect moving parts for crazing and pitting on moving parts caused by other manufacturers oils.

They found that crazing/pitting on camshaft lobes and valve stems was more pronounced on other manufactures oils compared to a BP or Shell oil.

Sounds like " The Volkwagen saloon ( beetle) is noisey and has nothing special to offer and we see no advantage in taking over Volkswagen Werk" - said by chairman of Rootes motors just after the WW2 when they declined to take over when offered VW for free ! ( who made over 20 million of their cars by 1980 ?).

In my experience most companies try to place their business and products as being better than their competitors some times with little foundation. . I would dearly love to see the independant test results to support your statement about crazing/pitting . How long ago was this "objective" test made ? Were the correct grade oils used on the test engines ? Does it have any relevance to today ? I doubt it otherwise BP would have the VW contract to supply the VW lubricating oil. If what you say is true then it would have led to all the major car makers specifying BP oils. In my experience of Castrol oils ( over 200,000 miles) I've never heard of this or indeed experienced any problems with Castrol oils . Also I've seen many VW engines run exclusively on castrol oils without any problems. At least 2 Magazines I know of stripped Castrol lubricated VW engines that had done over 100,000 miles and never found anything like you describe.These were real life mileages not bench tested. Todays Castrol oils meet or exceed the highest VW specs.So I still say Bunkem !.

Edited 17 September, 2010 by vwcabriolet1971

[cheezemonkhai]

Surely that depends on which castrol they used.

Esp as a few years back there was an argument over what was a semi-synthetic and what could be called fully.

I mean lets face it Mobil1 used to advertise their 0w-40 as the engine being like new after 300k and I can confirm that it did an extremely good job of it.

Saying engines were stripped down for damage caused by other oils is a bit random, because you need to fully clarify it, show a sample engine with just dino oil etc in it and run many many engines as each engine will be different.

Lets face it, but just because skoda UK recommends Shell, doesn't mean that's what appears in the car in the factory.

[roman.w]

I think you will find that BP now own Castrol,so it can not be that bad.

[Splooter]

My local ASDA has all Mobil 1 oils reduced to clear tonight - £4 for 1 litre and £15 for 5 litres. They didn't have any 5 litre ESP's left so I bought 5 x 1 litre - still cheap at £20

[Gizmo]

Even better @ £15 - I wont need to buy any oil for quite some time now

[seboni121]

home bargains shell helix oil i think £8.99 for 5 litre semi synthetic

[darrenw]

home bargains shell helix oil i think £8.99 for 5 litre semi synthetic

Is it just me or does that sound way too cheap?

My oil change yesterday resulted in getting Mobil ASP 5-30w

[Gizmo]

home bargains shell helix oil i think £8.99 for 5 litre semi synthetic

But is it suitable for variable servicing? all the VW506.01 & VW507.00 I have used is fully synthetic, for the Shell stuff you will need the Shell Helix Ultra Extra.

[Honkycrash]

Hi

Does anybody else think that £12 per litre for Shell Helix Ultra is expensive? Or is it worth the extra expense? My VRS is on variable servicing and has used .75 of a litre in 2000 miles in these winter conditions. Halfords 5/30W VW/Audi compliant oil is a fair bit cheaper although you have to buy in 5L bottles. Anybody see any reasons why it isn't as good or had good/bad reports if Shell isn't used?

Bigger Asdas are selling Mobil 1 part and full synth for petrol/diesel 4litres for £15.00.... Pretty good oil thats ofter overlooked in favour of Castrol Edge.