Helen Goff
No.1 Poster
just bought a 1989 944S2 and am wondering what oil it should have in it? owner didn't have a clue (bit worrying) and i can't find any grades of oil mentioned in any of its service history.
[
]
[
]what oil in 944S2?
- Thread starter Helen Goff
- Start date
Helen Goff
No.1 Poster
Thanks Alasdair, i think to be on the safe side i'll get the oiled changed and start afresh.
944 man
Active member
Later engines seem less able to deal with 5w oils, in my experience. My own car has the same engine and it uses oil like nobodys business with 5w. Conversely, my old series one car doesnt use a drop of synthetic Silkolene 5w... (from Opie, actually)
Id look for a good quality proper PAO synthetic oil; ideally a 15w-50. I wouldnt change it too often either, as a good synthetic will last.
Id look for a good quality proper PAO synthetic oil; ideally a 15w-50. I wouldnt change it too often either, as a good synthetic will last.
sawood12
New member
What Porsche recommend - 5w40 to 15w50. Modern fully synths are far superior. Semi synths are a marketting myth, they have so little content of synthetic in them that they don't really benefit from the advantages that synthetic oils provide - i.e. resistance to chemical breakdown and breakdown due to age and stability across the temp range.
sawood12
New member
Ant, nowt particularly wrong with Mobil 1. It is a good solid oil. It is nothing particularly special, but is a good oil. Don't be fooled by the whole Mobil 1 and Porsche recommended or approved oil thing. There are about 20 oils on the Porsche recommended/approved oils list. I personally prefer Ester oils (which Mobil 1 isn't) which are polarised and so cling to engine components and provides far superior cold start protection. It makes sense to me on the basis that all engine wear takes place in the first 10 mins or so of startup while the oil is getting upto temp.
Super_Marv
New member
Has no-one mentioned ZDDP yet? []
]Helen Goff
No.1 Poster
[] wow hadn't realised i was opening a can of worms. now totally confused but am enjoying learning.
decided to play it safe so have booked the car into have a good service at Zentrum (North Notts) who completly re-built the engine of my last 944S2. transforming it.
] wow hadn't realised i was opening a can of worms. now totally confused but am enjoying learning. decided to play it safe so have booked the car into have a good service at Zentrum (North Notts) who completly re-built the engine of my last 944S2. transforming it.
pauljmcnulty
Active member
Lol, bet you've missed 944 ownership! [
][]What Oilman said is all you need to know. 5W is too thin, semi or fully-synth depends on your budget and preference but change it regularly and you'll be fine.
morris944s2john
New member
That is a good theory! At Uni, a friend did his Industrial trainee year at the research labs of Shell oils UK, and he told me pretty much the same. Expensive oils have additives that make them last longer, but use a cheaper oil and you will be just as well off changing it more regularly.
Hilux
New member
Consider what was around when the cars were new, no synthetics.
Add wear and tear and tolerance increases and it always suggests a thicker oil. Personally I`d use no lower than a 10-40 in a highish mileage engine of the era and 944 man is correct, its hard to spot genuine synthetic as against cracked mineral.
Regarding brand names, I personally look at what other manufacturers use, they are spec`d for very good reason and are often cheaper than `brand` names. The alternative is to ring JZM or other experts and see what they would use as they put their necks on the blocks.[]
Add wear and tear and tolerance increases and it always suggests a thicker oil. Personally I`d use no lower than a 10-40 in a highish mileage engine of the era and 944 man is correct, its hard to spot genuine synthetic as against cracked mineral.
Regarding brand names, I personally look at what other manufacturers use, they are spec`d for very good reason and are often cheaper than `brand` names. The alternative is to ring JZM or other experts and see what they would use as they put their necks on the blocks.[
]
sawood12
New member
ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty
Lol, bet you've missed 944 ownership! [
What Oilman said is all you need to know. 5W is too thin, semi or fully-synth depends on your budget and preference but change it regularly and you'll be fine.
Oilman suggested 5w for me.
Modern fully synths provide real benefits. You'd be foolish not to exploit them.
Also it has nothing to do with tolerances (i.e. the deviation of a physical dimension from its nominal). It has something to do with clearances, but engine clearances are dictated not by oil limitations or manufacturing limitations but by performance limitations. Bearing clearances have not changed over 20yrs or engines will be seizing. Piston rings are an interference fit in the cylinder so there are no clearances.
For the UK climate Porsche spec oils in the range of 5w40 to 15w50 irrespective of mileage. Too thick an oil is bad for your engine - it reduces flow (oil pressure is not a good indicator), and afterall it is oil flow that is important and not oil pressure as oil serves two purposes which are of equal importance - to cool and to lubricate. If you reduce flow by using a thicker oil you reduce both of these properties.
This debate will rage on till the end of time it seems!!
pauljmcnulty
Active member
So 10w40 is slap-bang in the middle of the original Porsche recommendation. Job done.
No. See above. [
][][]
Hilux
New member
Modern engines are almost blueprinted, old Porker engines arent/werent to the same degree.
Clearances grow with wear and age so a lower viscosity oil will lose pressure as the required volume is decreased. As you say the secondary function (almost parallel in importance) of oil is to remove heat and slowing down its flow adds heat (and wear)
The clearances at the bottom end are tiny (consider the mimimum oil warning light pressure) and the pressure therefore required to flow oil to the bottom end is surprisingly low. Much higher at the top end. What is key is volume/quantity passing through so as to remove heat so with a given head pressure if an opening increases you lose pressure at that point and reduce flow.
Equally in an older engine with increased clearances/reduced tolerances, if you use too thin an oil you reduce flow hence I would err on the side of at least 10w
Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members
Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions
