First oil change

I did the first oil change on my VS today. First of all I swapped the bottom plate for a new one with a drain plug (I can't picture why VW thought eliminating the drain plug on the newer engines was such a good idea). When I removed the plate that was there I was surprised by the amount of small particles it had (maybe I'm exagerating and it's normal for a new engine) and how black the oil was after only 265 or so miles. I put in Valvoline SAE 40 (recommended weight for a tropical environment such as the one here). I find it weird that in the official VW service manual it says that the first oil change for a new engine should be performed at the 500 mile mark. What are your thoughts on this subject?

Ricardo, are you running an external oil filter? If you are, then you don't need an oil strainer screen. Just use the center bolt to drain your oil. If you are not running some type of oil filter, you should check the oil strainer screen each time you change your oil.
Ron

My engine is bone stock; I'm planning to install a full flow system after the warranty expires. I took out the strainer and cleaned it out; it wasn't bad. I was just surprised at the color of the oil after only 260 something miles.

Ricardo,

One possible reason for the "Black Oil" is your Piston Rings haven't "Seated" and "Blow Bye" has effected the oils color. As for particles in your oil, if you continue to have increasing amounts this could indicate a problem.

As for the Valvoline, I have experienced better heat transfer with Kendel GT-1, 40W. I've tested Valvoline, Castrol and Pennsoil. The next will be Torko 40W.

Its pretty warm (Central San Joaquine Valley California 90-100+) here alot and with my tests so far I try not to drive the on really hot days and I really watch my Oil Temp. This is the results as far as efficency in heat transfer from the top being the best to the bottom being worse:

Kendel
Castrol
Pennsoil
Valvoline

When I used to race a NASCAR Late Model and SCCA GT2 & B Sedan I had best results with Torko. Its been difficult to find locally however.

As for my Speedster, its not very radical - 1776, Duel Dells, Mild Car and Exhaust.

Good Luck,

Jack Blake

Ricardo - Really good info from Jack and Ron, above.

Another reason your first change oil might be a bit dark (along with the carbon deposits from initial blow-by which corrects itself when your rings seat) is the initial wear of all of the bearings. They quickly wear off minute particles which will make the oil "shimmer" a little, kind of like mettalic paint. That and the blow-by deposits will make your first oil change the most important and also make the oil quite dark after the first 300 or so miles. don't forget to change it AGAIN at around 1000 miles.......

I read an earlier post on oil weights (might have been from Jack) and went to a Kendal 40 weight and it does seem to run a bit cooler, but I'm still planning on installing an external oil cooler in addition to the stock cooler already in there. 85 - 90 degree days on a turnpike gets the temp gauge up a little high for my liking.

And Ricardo, until you get a full-flow oil filter clean your straining when you change your oil, and don't go over 3000 miles (less is even better).
Ron

Ricardo,

I have an 96 Plate Oil Cooler & Fan on my CMC as well(Forgot to mention it) and it is thermostatically Contolled to initiate the fan at 200 Degrees. I have a manual switch as well.

As for Oil changes and type of oil, many owners prefer synthetic or fosil oils. With the VW Engine being designed by Dr. Posrche back in the 20's/30's the Oil Pump Impeller design was not designed clearance wise for light oil weight viscosities. They primarly utilized 30W. This is the reason I utilize fosil based oil equil to or over 30W in viscosity. I have not been able to find a synthetic oil equil to or over 30W viscosity. Most Synthetic's are 20W or multi-weith viscisoty.

I recently spoke to a Petrolium Engineer and Infenion Raceway about why most vehicle manufactures mandate 5W or 10W Viscosity Oils on late model engines and earlier/older engines utilized 30W Viscosity Oils.

He indicated most engines are SOHC or DOHC Design Engines and the oil pump impleller clearance had to be closer tolerance's due to upper end ware on cold start. That is the reason for the 5W & 10W Multi Grade Oils. This is what the Pennsoil Petrolium Engineer indicated.

Sorry for the Lecture.

Good Luck,

Jack Blake

Thanks for all the insight guys! It's weird that the VW manual only requires an oil change at the 500 mark and later at every 5,500. For years 3,000 has been the magic number for almost all cars. And yes, I remove and clean up the strainer every time I change the oil. With respect to the weight, it's as recommended by VW for the temperatures here. I've also heard about synthetics not being right for the aircooled VW engine.

Jack,

Great tech post!

I've been aroung aircooled engines for 30 years and still stick with straight 30 weight oil. I've only destroyed one engine. I bumped up a single port 1500 to a 1600 dual port engine and forgot that I would have to rejet the single Solex carb.
Interesting to see the results of a piston top burn through and "burning" all the oil out of the engine in a matter of less than a minute....what a smoke screen!
Alan M