Need help with dino oil choice for 1985 Porsche

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ezatu

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Hi folks,

Just joined today and I already have a question for those more knowledgable than I. I recently purchased a 1985 Porsche 911 Carerra for my wifes 50th birthday. The manual lists SAE 20W-50 as the oil of choice for my geographical location which is Connecticut. This is an air cooled /oil cooled engine. I know oils have changed quite a lot since this car was born. What type of 20W-50 dino oil would you folks recommend for this type of high revving performance engine? I'm also considering using SAE 15W-50 for the colder winter months would the same brand work as well. I've heard some additives (I think it was zinc) have been removed over the years. Would it be wise to use an oil additive also and if so what kind.
P.S. the car holds just under 3 gallons of oil if that matters......

Thank You
 
Congrats on owning a classic! You're driving a car from my favorite generation of 911!

If I may, I'd like to suggest that you run synthetic oil in this car. The biggest reason this engine has such a high oil capacity is because it's what actually cools the engine, in addition to lubricating it. Porsches, like old VWs run very hot...the only difference is that the Porsche engines were built to last longer than it's flat-4 ancestors. If it were mine, I'd give it the best available protection from heat. Redline would be my pick.
 
I have had three Porsches, all water cooled so not a direct comparison, but I do see what folks in my local PCA chapter run in older 911s. Yes there are lots of people running heavy Dino but its not a rule.

First, Porsche has back specified 40 weight synthetic multigrades (0w40, 5w40) for those cars. My 1988 944 Turbo too. Just becuase some of these oils didn't exist back then is no hard indication of incompatibility. Even so, does your manual not indicate a range of oil grades depending on environment? I mean my 1988 manual definitely says you can run a 20w50, but not recommending it in Winter temps.

Second, just because it has been fed a diet of Dino does not mean it has to continue. Synthetic will not cause your car to leak out of the blue. It may increase oil consumption, and that increase may be temporary. Synthetic tends to clean crud and slip through tight spaces o it can have this effect, but this is not to say that you cannot switch and older car. All of these Pcars use some oil. It is the nature of the beast. But I would not worry about consumption in a Porsche until it got to more than a quart in 2000 miles.

I think that 15w50 is too thick for Connecticut Winters. I know lots of people who do run a 50 weight Dino in the summer but not in winter.

I would run a 0w40 or 5w40 synthetic year round. If you really want to run Dino I would use a high quality HDEO 15w40. But I would then worry a bit about cold temps.

Do a search on some of Doug Hillary's posts or have a look at rennlist.org for a lot of Porsche specific advice. Doug is a 928 guy but knows his stuff. He is also in Australia so does not really have to deal with Christmas in Connecticut. He is a big advocate of 15w40 HDEO in Pcars.

I actually have fresh 15w40 HDEO dino in my car for winter storage. In spring I will run a really short OCI and then put in 0W40 synth.
 
I would agree that synthetic is probably the best way to go. The extra couple of bucks per quart times 12 quarts is really not that much for the extra protection.

If you want to stick with dino, though, I would use Castrol GTX. Over the course of 12 years, I owned three different Porsches - including one turbo (granted, a 944 turbo with the water cooled turbocharger) and the Castrol always held up to the heat well, even in the Texas summers. I put a lot of miles on those cars with zero oil-related problems.

Whatever type of oil you decide on, though, the most important thing is to stick to a regular maintenance schedule - that alone will solve/prevent most problems. Oh, and be sure and drive that car regularly! They really don't like sitting around...

Good luck,
Mike
 
Most of the Porsche Owners I know no longer run traditional PCMO (Passenger Car Motor Oil) because the additive levels have been seriously reduced in these oils in recent years for emissions reasons.

The favorite oils appear to be HDEO (Heavy Duty Engine Oils), MCO (Motor Cycle Oils), and Boutique Oils such as Redline and Amsoil.

In order of price favorites are:
1. HDEO - Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 ($14 gal @ WalMart)
2. Boutique - Amsoil 10W-40 and 20W-50 High Performance Motor Oil
3. Boutique - Redline 10W-40 and 20W-50 High Performance Motor Oil
4. MCO - Mobil MX4-T 10W-40 and V-Twin 20W-50.
 
Give one of the local experts a call - Automobile Associates of Canton (one of country's best Porsche shops), Dan Jacobs' Hairy Dog Grrage in Newtown, Musante Motors in Windsor. All great people who know everything about air cooled 911s. CT truly has a wealth of flat-6 knowledge.

And join PCA, if you haven't yet. The CT Valley Region folks are all great (except for me, of course...) and put on excellent events.
 
That Mobil motorcycle oil in 10w-40 might be the ultimate choices. I'd wait until the engine went through a few oil changes with something cheaper to clean it out good. There are a million choices, but if it were mine, I'd run Mobil Delvac 1300S 15w-40 or Delo. Other choices would be a Hi-Miles 10w-40 or your choice of Euro Synths in 5w-40 or 5w-50 Syntec. Some would say dino oil is a no-go, but I don't think so.
 
I also live in CT and was the proud owner of a 1993 RS America. I always ran a synthetic 20w-50 in it with good results although I stored my car for the winters. Like a previous poster said, Auto-Associates in Canton is extremely knowledgable in all things Porsche and I was always pleased with the service they gave me and the car. Although I never met him, Mr Musante comes highly recommended. By all means join the Porsche Club, there is a wealth of info there. Have fun with the car!
 
Just wanted to thank everyone for the valuable advise that was provided. Based on recommendations here and on the Porsche Club of America site I've decided to abandom my previous 'leaking' fears and make the conversion to Mobil 1 0W-40. I went to a local store last night to price the stuff and all they had was Mobil 1 10W-30 and 10W-40. Excuse my ingorance but does the label actually read 0W-40?
 
Mobil 1 0w-40 is anailable at Mercedes-Benz dealers though at a premium price. I don't know where you are in CT, but the dealer in New London had a "decent" price of about $6 a quart some time ago. There is also a Mobil oil distributor in Waterbury who has all Mobil products. You might also consider Shell Rotella T synthetic 5w-40 at Wal-Mart. It is a fine lubricant and inexpensive.
 
Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't use 0W-40 in a 20 year old Porsche engine. I'd go with at least a 5W-40, maybe with a 10W-40 or 15W-40/50.
 
May be helpful

http://www.landsharkoz.com/techtips.htm

Porsche recommend a 0w-40 lubricant all year round (-30C to 40C+) for all engines produced since 1973 (subject of course to engine condition). Their prime Approval Group 3 synthetic criteria has already been covered here (ACEA A3/B3) and includes their own specific minimum viscosity at 100C - the HTHS minimum is covered by ACEA's "A3". Porsche's Approval also covers a specific anti foaming test protocol which many oils will not meet and may be the cause for rod bearing failures. Tests for volatility and oxidation resistance are also included.

http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html
 
Moribundman,
Thank you for your input. My 1985 Porsche has 50k original miles - would that alleviate your concerns about the 0W-40. If not, please elaborate the basis of your concerns. I was thinking of using the 0W-40 for cold weather months. I've also had recommendations from some independant mechanics to use a synthetic 15W-50 during warmer weather. I'm hoping Mobil 1 is produced in that viscosity.
 
Quote:

I've also had recommendations from some independant mechanics to use a synthetic 15W-50 during warmer weather. I'm hoping Mobil 1 is produced in that viscosity.

Click to expand...

It is.

Another option for summer use would be Mobil 1 5W-40. It can be a bit difficult to find, but it is an excellent oil.
 
Even with a low mileage vintage Porsche I'd expect oil consumption to be higher with 0W-40 than with 5W/10W/15W-40/50. 0W-40 oils are more volatile. I don't think the 0W-40 will hurt the engine, and during the cold months it may even be a good choice. Comparing oil consumption between 0W-40 and, for example, 10W-40 would be interesting. What is this engine's normal operating oil temperature range?
 
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