Re: V8 oil filters

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On 31 Oct 1995, Michael LaRosa wrote:

> Are they the same as the 5 cylinder 10v normally aspirated cars ?  
>I hope so, I
> just bought
> a case of 10 :-)

no, they are different.  (what do you expect????)

you will need a special sized allen wrench to get the oil plug out
too.  the washer is also different size, different material...
hyeh hyeh hyeh hyeh.  (scared yet?)  :)

the v8 oil filters cost about $18-20 a piece and are about twice
as tall as the regular filters.. they also have a hex nut on
its tip for easy screwing.

i have not tried anything other than what the factory recommends
so i can't say if the cheaper stuff will explode or not.  of course
the dealer will tell you not to use anything but...

the good part is that audi designed the car for easy DIY oil changes...
very very easy if you have the right tools.. there's even a hatch cut out
in the bottom pan so that you can access the plug and filter, which are
right beside one another and directly perpendicular to the ground. 

last thing:  the manual may say that the sump holds 10 quarts (mine does). 
later audi revised it to 8.5 quarts.  i don't think they sent out that
info to owners.  with that kind of oil capacity, using synthetic oil is
going to be quite expensive.  i personally mix 1.5 parts synthetic with 7
parts dinosaur.  

the engine has such extensive provisions for oil (even tranny fluid)
cooling that you'll hardly ever see the oil temp get very high. 
conversely, the large capacity means that the oil (and coolant) takes a
long time to warm up from a cold start, so your gas mileage is really
going to suck if you drive the car with a lot of short distances.

this car is really made for high speed, long distance blasts.


eliot