Oil for a new Ferrari F430?

[alwayson]

Ok, im familiar with the factory fill being shell helix ultra (or now Qhorsepower?).

However, Im going to use this car in cold upstate new york, for daily stop and go city driving. Im NOT going to race it.

I read Dr. Haas's views, and I am leaning towards 0w20, of which only Mobil 1 makes. So Im leaning towards Mobil 0w20.

I only did a few days of research, and I dont want to pick the wrong oil for this dream car.

 

[alpha6164]

I would use any of the following:

Amsoil TSO 2000 series 0w-30
Motul 300V 5w-30
Redline 5w-30

I don't care what anyboy says, that motor needs more than a 20 weight oil.

 

[RI_RS4]

Alwayson, given that this car is a significant investment, and that it is your dream car, I would say that cost is no object. If that is the case, then I would suggest that you have an expert in oil consult for you. I hired Terry Dyson to do just that for me on my Audi RS4, and have been nothing but pleased. I went beyond the normal consumer premium oil analysis service that he provides, and asked him for professional level consulting. I would ask him to quote you on providing his recommendations for oil and additive, maintenance, used oil sampling and change intervals. It will be money very well spent.

 

[Pablo]

If you insist on 0W-20, there are better choices than M1.

Amsoil 0W-20

 

[alwayson]

If you could PM the technical details, why amsoil is better than mobil 1, i would appreciate it.

 

[glenncof]

Are you really going to drive it daily in the winter in Upstate New York ???

The car will rust out before you need to worry about oil & engine life.

 

[RI_RS4]

Alwayson, as you well know, this is an engine that has extremely high power output at high rpm. I think you're a very brave man to risk the engine in a quarter million dollar car by going outside of the manufacturer's recommendations. Self-diagnosis may be the specialty of others on this forum, but it is not mine. There are reasons why Ferrari specifies a 5W-50 oil. You might want to know what they are before you drop to a 0W-20 oil.

 

[Lonnie]

I second RI_RS4. You might want to explore the route taken by RI_RS4, that is go through Terry and through some sampling and testing get an oil tuned to your exact needs. If fuel dilution is a problem you’re better off knowing about it and doing something before it becomes expensive. This could a great learning experience and get you really involved with how your car works.

By the way, if you would like someone to drive your car around in Southern California while is winter time in New Your I’d be glad to help. I’ll even pay for the gas.

 

[Throckmorton]

First off, let me admit to being clueless. All of what follows is idle speculation:

If the car is not driven on the track but in day-to-day driving the engine wouldn't be under a heavy load would it? Perhaps a 5-20 might work better than a higher viscosity oil. On the other hand if this car is to be operated on race track or pulling a trailer full of horses (I know - that's ridiculous)a higher viscosity oil might be a better choice.

 

[Bobert]

Thinnest you should go is an A3 rated 0w-30.. Even Dr. Haas runs GC 0w-30 in his Enzo.

 

[Dominic]

If I owned it, I would do exactly as Ferrari says. They built the car, I only drive it. If they told me it ran on peanut oil I would not second guess it. Dr. Haas is very brave, and while it seems odd to run a 5W-50 in winter, I would ask Ferrari first about it. You DONT want to void a warranty on it do you?

 

[JohnBrowning]

I would consider M1 0W40 or Amsoil S3K 5W30 if the car is going to be a daily driver with little to no track time.I would also consider Redline 5W30 or 5W40. If you want off the shelf most part stores carry M1 0W40 like AutoZone,Advanced Auto Parts,Murrays,O'rilleys,Schucks,Kragen etc.....M1 0W40 is good enough for factory fill in AMG's so I see no problem wit it in your car. If you insist on a 20Wt. I would go with Redline 5W20.

 

[MrCritical]

I'll bet Ferrari has very few engine failures, especially during the warranty period. You can bet they will analyze your oil if you have one and void the warranty if it's the wrong weight.

I thought the dealer had to do the maintenance for the warranty period on a Ferrari?

There's a local guy with one that trucks it to Dallas on a flatbed to get the oil changed if he doesn't feel like driving.

Also, listen to the other guys. There's way better oil than M1 for an exotic car.

 

[nicholas]

"If you could PM the technical details, why amsoil is better than mobil 1, i would appreciate it. "

Maybe you failed to see that he is a Amsoil dealer, AND a BITOG sponsor....??

this is why Amsoil is better ! now stop asking too many questions, you know better around here....

 

[G-MAN]

The factory fill and recommended service fill for this car is Helix Ultra 5w40.* To my knowledge, Shell doesn't even make a Helix in 5w50. They do make it in 10w60, and that was the factory fill for the Enzo.

*Edit: Ali Haas has posted elsewhere that according to Ferrari the current factory fill is in fact Helix Ultra 5w30. The recommended service fill is 5w40.

 

[mfisher1967]

If I owned a car like yours I would only let the dealer perform oil changes on it. Let them sort out what oil to use while you worry about avoiding speeding tickets!

 

[alwayson]

Quote:

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Thinnest you should go is an A3 rated 0w-30.. Even Dr. Haas runs GC 0w-30 in his Enzo.

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Enzo recommends 60 viscosity, whereas my car recommends 40 viscosity. Different cars. Dr. Haas uses 0w20 in his other ferrari.

 

[Nickdfresh]

I'd go (German)Castrol SYNTEC 0W-30 or M1 0W-40 at a minimum, and then only in the very cold months...

But I doubt running Helix/QC Euro 5W-40 should be an issue since I've run 10W-30 or 10W-40 mineral oils in cars while I was living in Buffalo and had little trouble with "cold starts" and the like. And you're really going to drive that thing in "cold" upstate NY.

Oh, the salt...

 

[G-MAN]

Quote:

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"If you could PM the technical details, why amsoil is better than mobil 1, i would appreciate it. "

Maybe you failed to see that he is a Amsoil dealer, AND a BITOG sponsor....??

this is why Amsoil is better ! now stop asking too many questions, you know better around here....

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While your assessment of the situation may be valid for some Amsoil dealers, I assure you it isn't for Pablo.

Play nice.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Quote:

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Quote:

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"If you could PM the technical details, why amsoil is better than mobil 1, i would appreciate it. "

Maybe you failed to see that he is a Amsoil dealer, AND a BITOG sponsor....??

this is why Amsoil is better ! now stop asking too many questions, you know better around here....

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While your assessment of the situation may be valid for some Amsoil dealers, I assure you it isn't for Pablo.

Play nice.

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Very true. I haven't been here much lately, but from what I've seen Pablo's a stand up guy. I'm not sure I can say the same 'bout Exxon-Mobil...