Which Oil - 10w/40, 5w40 or 5w/30

[Neil1]

I have a 1.4 apq engine R Reg. Its coming up to its oil change, i have been using 10w/40. In the winter I sometimes have difficulty in cold weather (runs rough at idle when started, stalls). Would it be a good idea to run 5w/30 or is this not advisable for a car of this age, been told it is thinner and better for cold starts?

 

[Mk2Ibiza]

I used to run 10w40 but since runiing 5w30 the car seems to run a bit better.

 

[phey708]

10w40 fully synthetic is best for the 1.4 60ps engines. The engine could be running rough for other reasons (bad sparking, malfunctioning injectors..).

 

[Neil1]

Ok i,ll get some of the synta stuff from the stealers. I was thinking it could be the injectors but no way to test it really.

 

[phey708]

You can use a wide band to see if the air/fuel ratio is correct, or a compression tester to see if you are loosing compresion.

Failing that you can drop it of at a VAG specialist garage (not stealers!) for them to diagnose. I would however check all spark plugs to see if any have oil or petrol on them, and see if the teeth are not bent. Its cheaper to replace the plugs then take it to a garage.