B8 S4 Ownership
Discussion
lemonslap said:
Hol said:
It's built into the front panel. Not the gear stick surround.
Didn't realise they had moved the Dial. Any chance of a picture of the dash? interested to compare the older B8 to this latest model.That makes sense.
My old car had built in satnav, and I think I used it about 10 times over the last two years. If that.
So, we worked out that at £1000" that option would cost me about £400 over the purchase, or £40 a time.
It was a close thing though.
My old car had built in satnav, and I think I used it about 10 times over the last two years. If that.
So, we worked out that at £1000" that option would cost me about £400 over the purchase, or £40 a time.
It was a close thing though.
Edited by Hol on Saturday 28th June 18:45
lemonslap said:
Had my S4 serviced on Wednesday by my local main dealers and thought I had best check the oil level yesterday on the dipstick, it seemed dirty so I drained it out..
40 miles of use:
My thinking is that it has only been topped up and not changed?
If you put new oil in with the sump plug off so it flowed straight into the bucket it would look like that. 40 miles of use:
My thinking is that it has only been topped up and not changed?
I disagree.
I changed the manifold on my ML the other day, and decided to do an oil changed. I was so knackered after 11 hours that I forgot my sump plug was off when I filled it up, so found all 6.5 litres of new oil in the bucket when I raise the ramp to put the tray back on.
It was black, it looked almost as dirty as the 8000 miles oil that had come out before.
I will bet my house that you can't drive a car 40 miles after an oil change and expect to see it looking clean.
I changed the manifold on my ML the other day, and decided to do an oil changed. I was so knackered after 11 hours that I forgot my sump plug was off when I filled it up, so found all 6.5 litres of new oil in the bucket when I raise the ramp to put the tray back on.
It was black, it looked almost as dirty as the 8000 miles oil that had come out before.
I will bet my house that you can't drive a car 40 miles after an oil change and expect to see it looking clean.
gizlaroc said:
If you put new oil in with the sump plug off so it flowed straight into the bucket it would look like that.
I am going to drop the oil again next week and will be interesting to see the difference. All I will say having checked the dipstick the oil on it is completely clean having now covered the same amount of miles as the last apparent oil change.The worrying thing is if I hadn't of installed a dipstick there would be no way of knowing what state the oil was in.
GetCarter said:
gizlaroc said:
The dipstick always looks clean, dip your dipstick in that oil bucket and it will look clean.
1mm of oil on a stick will look clear, 50cm in a bucket will look black.
Dipstick? S4? must be an old one 1mm of oil on a stick will look clear, 50cm in a bucket will look black.
lemonslap said:
The worrying thing is if I hadn't of installed a dipstick there would be no way of knowing what state the oil was in.
gizlaroc said:
GetCarter said:
gizlaroc said:
The dipstick always looks clean, dip your dipstick in that oil bucket and it will look clean.
1mm of oil on a stick will look clear, 50cm in a bucket will look black.
Dipstick? S4? must be an old one 1mm of oil on a stick will look clear, 50cm in a bucket will look black.
lemonslap said:
The worrying thing is if I hadn't of installed a dipstick there would be no way of knowing what state the oil was in.
ETA...haven't read whole thread, so may be off topic. Apols if so.
Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 28th June 20:16
k me!! Post that in the technical section and see what reply they get!! 
gizlaroc said:
The dipstick always looks clean, dip your dipstick in that oil bucket and it will look clean.
1mm of oil on a stick will look clear, 50cm in a bucket will look black.
where do you get this from?1mm of oil on a stick will look clear, 50cm in a bucket will look black.
oil on the stick is just the same as oil out the sump, the only thing you have to be aware of is that it's the oil at the top of the sump.
if you drain the oil properly (and don't leave a litre in the engine) then re-fill, run for a few miles and drop it again, it's pretty obvious which is new and old oil, oil does not turn dark/black in 40 miles (unless you cook the crap out of it!)
quite apart from this, you can tell by feel how good/bad a state the oil is in, just rubbing it between your fingers will tell you have screwed it is (try it with a drop of new oil vs. some off your dipstick), the old oil will be less viscous and feel "thinner".
once oil has actually turned black, it's pretty much screwed, the colour change is more about how contaminated the oil is from combustion gasses (blow-by etc).
back to the OP's point, if that oil had only done 40 miles, then it would clearly look different, yes there may well be some traces of old oil in there, (it's impossible to get 100% of it out) but it will be very obvious.
From Amsoil....
Oil Color vs. Lubrication Ability
We just wanted to give you some information on the color of oil once the engine starts getting mileage on it. It is a common misconception that an oil’s color is an indication of how “dirty” it is. This is not true. It is often a common tactic used at quick lubes and service centers; the technician pulls the dipstick and wipes it on a white shop cloth and shows the customer how “black and dirty” it is. Any oil will turn black after a short period of use. Some oils may stay “clean” looking longer than others, but eventually they all will turn black. This is perfectly normal.
When someone tells us how “clean” their oil is because they have pulled the dipstick and it looks clean we always tell them that it will eventually turn black. They also tell us when they pull the dipstick and it has becomes black and “dirty” it will require changing. That’s about the time we will pull our dipstick in one of our trucks and show them how black and “dirty” the oil is. We will then produce our latest oil analysis test report that provides laboratory chemical and spectrographic test data confirming that the oil perfectly suitable for continued service.
In general, the color of an oil does not have any bearing on its lubrication ability or whether or not the oil is suitable for continued use*. Most oil and especially diesel engine oil will turn black in the first few hours of operation due to contaminates generated by the combustion process and soot particles. It is the job of the filtration system to filter out the larger sized soot particles that can cause engine wear and the additive package of the oil to neutralize and hold in suspension the soot particles that are too small for the filter to trap and hold.
The useful life of an engine oil is dependent on several factors such as the quality of the oil, additive package blended in the oil and the TBN level of the oil (the ability of an oil to neutralize acidic by-products of combustion), type of fuel, equipment condition, type and operating environment of the equipment and the type of filtration.
The filtration system and the oil are vital tools for preserving engine life. A highly efficient oil filter is essential to protect an engine by removing both liquid abrasive contaminants held in suspension by the oil. It must be stated and understood with critical importance that there are wide variances in the quality of motor oils. Certain lower quality oils do not have quality base stock oils and additive packages to support long drain intervals while other higher quality oils can have significantly longer drain intervals. There are two oil manufacturers that I am aware of that make a premium quality synthetic motor oil that has standard recommended drain interval of 25,000 miles/1-year and one oil manufacturer (AMSOIL) has a 35,000 mile/1-year premium quality severe service synthetic oil with standard filtration or no oil changes with by-pass filtration and oil analysis monitoring.
Also keep in mind that the micron rating of an engine oil filter means absolutely nothing unless the efficiency (particle capture percentage) of the filter is stated also. If a filter is stated to be a “10 micron filter” but the efficiency graph shows it only traps 5% of the 10 micron particles then it isn’t doing much good at filtering out 10 micron particles.
To order Amsoil motor oil and filters, be sure to call:
1-800-956-5695 between 7 AM and 5 PM CST.
Oil Color vs. Lubrication Ability
We just wanted to give you some information on the color of oil once the engine starts getting mileage on it. It is a common misconception that an oil’s color is an indication of how “dirty” it is. This is not true. It is often a common tactic used at quick lubes and service centers; the technician pulls the dipstick and wipes it on a white shop cloth and shows the customer how “black and dirty” it is. Any oil will turn black after a short period of use. Some oils may stay “clean” looking longer than others, but eventually they all will turn black. This is perfectly normal.
When someone tells us how “clean” their oil is because they have pulled the dipstick and it looks clean we always tell them that it will eventually turn black. They also tell us when they pull the dipstick and it has becomes black and “dirty” it will require changing. That’s about the time we will pull our dipstick in one of our trucks and show them how black and “dirty” the oil is. We will then produce our latest oil analysis test report that provides laboratory chemical and spectrographic test data confirming that the oil perfectly suitable for continued service.
In general, the color of an oil does not have any bearing on its lubrication ability or whether or not the oil is suitable for continued use*. Most oil and especially diesel engine oil will turn black in the first few hours of operation due to contaminates generated by the combustion process and soot particles. It is the job of the filtration system to filter out the larger sized soot particles that can cause engine wear and the additive package of the oil to neutralize and hold in suspension the soot particles that are too small for the filter to trap and hold.
- Under certain conditions such fuel dilution, water contamination or glycol contamination, for example, the color can provide insight that something is mechanically wrong and in need of repair and/or additional analysis, however under normal operating conditions without mechanical problems present the black color which is commonly referred to as “dirty oil” in the vehicle servicing industry does not have any bearing on its lubrication ability.
The useful life of an engine oil is dependent on several factors such as the quality of the oil, additive package blended in the oil and the TBN level of the oil (the ability of an oil to neutralize acidic by-products of combustion), type of fuel, equipment condition, type and operating environment of the equipment and the type of filtration.
The filtration system and the oil are vital tools for preserving engine life. A highly efficient oil filter is essential to protect an engine by removing both liquid abrasive contaminants held in suspension by the oil. It must be stated and understood with critical importance that there are wide variances in the quality of motor oils. Certain lower quality oils do not have quality base stock oils and additive packages to support long drain intervals while other higher quality oils can have significantly longer drain intervals. There are two oil manufacturers that I am aware of that make a premium quality synthetic motor oil that has standard recommended drain interval of 25,000 miles/1-year and one oil manufacturer (AMSOIL) has a 35,000 mile/1-year premium quality severe service synthetic oil with standard filtration or no oil changes with by-pass filtration and oil analysis monitoring.
Also keep in mind that the micron rating of an engine oil filter means absolutely nothing unless the efficiency (particle capture percentage) of the filter is stated also. If a filter is stated to be a “10 micron filter” but the efficiency graph shows it only traps 5% of the 10 micron particles then it isn’t doing much good at filtering out 10 micron particles.
To order Amsoil motor oil and filters, be sure to call:
1-800-956-5695 between 7 AM and 5 PM CST.
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