Which brand of Oil do you use

[John Sims]

A discussion with a former mechanic of the french turbo Cup trophy taught me that the thicker the oil in a 951, the better. Castrol RS 10W60 is the best oil that can be used in a 944 turbo.

Thanks for that Thom, I was getting a little concerned that my prefered Castrol RS might be too thick.

I didn't realise that oil got thicker as it got hotter, as per the post previously, I thought it thinned with temperature or at least became more runny. Thinking further, it does thin when it gets hotter, hence it is easier to drain when hot and takes forever on a cold day if you don't run the car first.

 

[John Sims]

Mobil 1's sustained marketing strategy has been so successful over the years that many people believe that it is the best and only oil to use

IIRC Mobil 1 was one of the first available fully sythetic oils and it is this association with being the only fully sythetic that has held them in such high regard. There are many fully synthetic oils available now, including Halfords and the like, so choice is much wider; but the association still remains. It is a bit like the only baked beans to eat are Heinz.

 

[Fen]

Although I said I don't know what is in mine I DO know it is a semi-synth because I did ask once, I just forget the brand.

I'm not going to comment on anything else because I am already well out of my depth on the technical side, but I guess this will all become much more interesting to me when the Turbo gets to the stage where oil is a consideration again.

 

[Guest]

Thom you need to be getting yourself a map.

Canada...lols Toronto is on the same latitude as Paris. Think Scotland think Moscow......

Oil get more viscous when hot, well thats a new one!!

Cheers

 

[944Turbo]

I used mobil1 in a tuned mini it didn't break (previously it did regularly) so I believe it to be good, oil workshard in a mini as it has poor cooling and the engine oil is used in the gearbox.

I think the runny one is slightly too runny so use the 15/50 which should be fine down to -15.

I think the thick oil at low temp has other factors to do with cranking ability and economy. Surely a thicker oil is slower to run back to the sump than a thin oil (though filming ability comes into this) and so may offer better protection.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: slim_boy_fat
Oil get more viscous when hot, well thats a new one!!

Of course it doesn't []
As we all know :
- the first figure in oil grades (e.g. 10 as in 10W60) is the capacity of the oil to make for "safe" or "motor-friendly" start ups in deep sub-0°C environments - see post above with the scan of the 944 owner's manual : A 0 figure is relevant in polar environments only.
- the second figure (e.g. 60 as in 10W60) is the capacity of the oil to keep its properties when it's "hot" - namely when the engine has been running for well over half an hour and is being happily revved on a circuit, for example. This IS what matters on a 944 turbo engine, as when it's hot the turbo needs as much oil as possible to function without being damaged. The thicker the oil, the better for the turbo axle. Oils with a low second figure (Mobl1 0W40) will be less viscous/more fluid than one with a higher one (Castrol RS 10W60), oil consumption will be higher and the turbo is much more likely to get damaged.

Mobil 1 0W40 makes sense in new engines, however the fools at Porsche will still put this in the 10/15+ year old car that they occasionally get to service. That's what was in my S2 when I bought it in Germany and the engine felt terribly harsh on the drive home.
You don't want to use such thin oil on 70,000+ miles old engines whit ageing/drying out gaskets unless you want it to work like a Kärcher filled with oil instead of water.

For what it's worth, here is an article on oil grades and a study on the actual "performance" on oils available (on the french market).

Anyway, with some Mobil 1 0W40 the oil pressure at hot idle must be between 2 and 3.
With Castrol RS 10W60 on a 944 turbo it won't get lower than 3 and a half after a really hard drive, unless the engine has its best days behind it or if the pressure gauge/sensor is shot.

Cheers.

 

[Guest]

Merci beaucoup pour les article but mon French est tres merde j ne understande pas. Mobil 1 est le best il est formidable. Je adore mobil 1.

[]

 

[Rotorhead]

.... and Carlsberg's (probably) the best lager and BA is the world's favourite airline, and Land Rovers are the best 4x4 by far and........

 

[944Turbo]

And maybe more relevantly magnatec hasn't any magnetic properties. My minis didn't like non synthetic castrol (sludge), I melted big ends with duckhams and I broke the crank on a A+ engine with esso oil in it - but that one was probably more to do with the inacurate rev counter than the oil.
Tony

 

[Kevin Welch]

ORIGINAL: 944Turbo

And maybe more relevantly magnatec hasn't any magnetic properties. My minis didn't like non synthetic castrol (sludge), I melted big ends with duckhams and I broke the crank on a A+ engine with esso oil in it - but that one was probably more to do with the inacurate rev counter than the oil.
Tony

With Duckhams oil I didnt have any engine problems revving my Mini (van) to 8500 on a regular basis. The problem I had was with the gearboxes but then these were only rated to 120bhp[8D]

 

[944Turbo]

Sorry a bit off topic.

I had no problem with the smaller engines revving very high, I had an 850 on twin su's set up for a 1275s, no power at all below about 6,000 rpm - not alot after either but thats where it all was so it had to rev. That was a temporary engine whilst rebuilding after melted big ends.
The one with the broken crank was a 1275, I was actually quite shocked when I found it broken it had just stopped with a little clonk i thought probably a partial seizure whipped it out split it from the gearbox undid the mains and suddenly 2, 2 cylinder cranks.

Biggest problem I had was with the drop gears from the engine to the gearbox, especially when running a 1380. With mobil 1 in there (original spec 10W40?) I had them last over 35,000 miles of very hard driving. previous best had been around 10,000. When they went it was overdue an oil change as well.

I also had a complety knackered 1000 estate for a while that loved to rev but was so worn it threw a mist of oil not just smoke out the exhaust. Used to mix gearbox oil in the engine oil on that one which worked quite well - wouldn't reccomend it for the Porsche though [][]

I was always aware of the risk of the flywheel braking up at high revs though its between your feet on a mini. I used to weld in some reinforcement behind the pedals as it could be very nasty.

Tony (legs crossed)

 

[Guest]

Bon Soir, Royal Purple in Autolux, consumption should be 1 ltr per 1000km(how many miles is that?).[8|]

 

[Fen]

620 miles. Consumption is up to 1 litre per 1,000km; it isn't a problem if it doesn't get there. In fact I'd say any non-turbo that uses anything like that much oil is poorly.

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: John Sims

Castrol RS 10w/60 - fully synthetic vast opperating range, but not cheap.

Probably a bit of a waste of time with Beaky as he spits out about 1 ltr per 1000 miles. The oil doesn't have much of a chance to get contaminated though.

How things change! I have gone off Castrol RS 10w/60 having been advised that it may not by fully synthetic in the truest terms and is packed full of viscosity enhancers which break down very quickly resulting in a 10w/50 oil or less.

If I can get Mobil 1 15w/50 at a reasonable price I will use that otherwise I think Beaky had Catrol GTX last change.

Some things still remain the same: 1 year on and Beaky still gets through 1ltr every 1000 miles so the oil remains nice and clean right through to each change.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: Fen

620 miles. Consumption is up to 1 litre per 1,000km; it isn't a problem if it doesn't get there. In fact I'd say any non-turbo that uses anything like that much oil is poorly.

Cheers Fen, no personally dont use anything like that much. Just got figure from handbook.

 

[sawood12]

For cold start protection are you better going for the low cold viscosity or a higher cold viscosity and using an Ester oil (i think it's Ester?). This way the oil sticks to the metallic components so you get better protection from the start.

I don't think Mobil 1 is an Ester oil is it?

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

For cold start protection are you better going for the low cold viscosity or a higher cold viscosity and using an Ester oil (i think it's Ester?). This way the oil sticks to the metallic components so you get better protection from the start.

I don't think Mobil 1 is an Ester oil is it?

Ultimate cold protection 0W oil, i.e. 0W-40 like Mobil 1 or RS

But in reality 5W in this country gives just as good protection, 0W works donw to -30 or something like that. Better people than me will tell you the accurate numbers.

Dont be alarmed by lower oil pressure using 0W oils, thiner oils arer easier to pump hence a reduction in pressure for the same volume of oil to be pumpd round the engine.

Given that my car got oil changes every 5000 miles and always with 0w40 Mobil 1 and its in very rude health then i can only reccomend that.

p.s. use Mobil 1 your engine will give you more usable power at the wheels []

 

[sawood12]

The first number in the oil spec referres to the cold viscosity. Logic dictates that the thinner this grade the more it will lubricate at start up until the engine gets warm. As the engine warms the oils viscosity increases upto the second figure, so once the engine is warm 0W40 is exactly the same as 15W40. I have no feel for the units of viscosity but if your oil pressure is up at 4.5 to 5 bar pressure (which is fairly high) i'm sure the difference between a 40 viscosity oil and a 60 viscosity oil is not so great that one will find a leak path and the other wont. If your engine is burning oil my guess is that it will burn oil no matter what grade of oil you use.

With cold viscosities my guess is that you will get far more protection from an Ester oil no matter what the viscosity as these cling to the internal parts and provide protection immediately from startup.

On the basis that there are as many people out there happily running 0W40 as there are people running 10W60, my humble opinion is that as long as it's a good quality fully synthetic ester oil you can't be too far wrong irrespective of the grade you choose. I'm sure the biggest influence is how many track day's you participate in.

 

[Guest]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

The first number in the oil spec referres to the cold viscosity. Logic dictates that the thinner this grade the more it will lubricate at start up until the engine gets warm. As the engine warms the oils viscosity increases upto the second figure, so once the engine is warm 0W40 is exactly the same as 15W40.

Back to school for you Scott

 

[sawood12]

I've been back to school but still struggling to understand where i've gone wrong? The second number does relate to the viscosity of a warm engine does it not? and the first number relates to cold viscosity?

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=115094