Best Dino Oil for Carrera?

[movin]

I know this topic is well worn, but I would like some opinions about what is the preferred dino oil for a 3.2 Carrera. I know some more experienced folks used to recommend Kendall 20w-50 GT1 but they changed something, it's not the same oil. The new stuff looks (not green anymore) and seems to perform like any average oil, it just seems inferior to what it used to be. So, what's a good oil to use? Please, no synthetics, I already tried Mobil1, result was increased consumption and leaks.
BTW, on the Fil's Auto Corner: Oil Facts site Kendall didn't fare well compaired to other brands, especially in the Viscosity Index and Flash spec, very low ratings.

[Sonic dB]

A few of the cats like myself around this forum are using Shell Rotella T. Priced well...Low consumption, no leaks... stays clean for lots of miles.

[sammyg2]

I'm running shell synthetic in my SC but I've recently converted my other cars to Quaker state. For some reason I really like the stuff and would run it in the 911 if it weren't for the turbo.
In my pick-em-up truck the quaker state oil stays so clean it's hard to see it on the dipstick even after 5000 miles. I realize that's just one indicator and it's much more complicated than that but it is the most obvious one.

[Wil Ferch]

If you focus on dino oils, there are those meant for the mass market and there are those meant for large truck fleets. I too am now using Shell Rotella T ( look at the info available on the Shell website) and this is a fleet type oil of high quality. Mobil makes a product for this market to, "Devlac 1300" ( sp?)....I seem to recall. Should be about the same. Don't forget, dealing with heavy 18 wheeler truck stuff is not a bad thing....the oft cited Swepco for our transaxles was developed for this market too....
---Wil Ferch

[RickM]

Wil,

When and why did you switch from Synthetic?

[walt]

Back in 2001 Jim Pasha in an Excellence article on SC maintenance recommend Valvoline Dura-Blend and Kendall. I have no experience with Dura-Blend.

The formulation for Kendall did change a year or so ago. Among the things that were changed was the green color but, this was only added for identification purposes and had no effect on properties or performance. I guess only time will tell if the old or new formulation is the better.

[Wil Ferch]

RickM:
Don't read too deeply into my decision...
I still believe that Mobil 1 is the best oil..especially for our air-cooled cars where the tops of the cylinders ( top ring /land) take a real beating..look at a cylinder at rebuild time.
I wasn't finding the 5 qt containers at a "good" price anymore ( my local Wallmart stopped carrying it this way..although I can buy individual quarts for $4.70-$5.00)...AND.. I'm starting to get a some oil leaks ( return tubes, most likely) that I need to chase down first....
In the meantime, I'm using Dino because there is still a lot of evidence that modern dino oils are much better than older formulations...and many 911's have gone 200-300K miles on that too.....
---Wil

[Rot 911]

I wonder how many of you have seen the insides of your engine? Mine had 133,000 miles and was always run with dino oil. My oil of choice varies between Valvoline and Castrol depending on who was running the best price at the time. When I tore the engine down to the bare cases, there was zero sludge on the inside. In addition there was no appreciable wear to any of the internal parts. The crank, cams, pistons, cylinders all well withing spec. (The rebuild was due to worn valve guides which is a known weak point on the 3.2) The insides of the cylinders still showed the hone marks. The bottom line is, in my opinion, is that I doubt that any choice of oil brand has less to do with engine longevity as does how often you change it.

[RickM]

Good points. Has anyone here seen lower temps on the track between dino and Synthetic? I don't recall seeing that brought up.

[JP911]

Call me a fence-sitter, but I use the Valvoline Dura Blend mentioned by Walt. It seems to be a good compromise, especially for my hot-running 2.7.

[JeremyD]

Castrol for me - no leaks knock on wood!

[Jim Smolka]

A good quality oil is important, but so is the filter. IMHO, the only filters to use are the Mahle type filters. 'Porsche' fitlers are not what they used to be....

[Shipibo]

Am 70 years of age and have owned 5 Porsches and many other cars. Castrol has been a great oil. Even used it in a Mooney M20E for 20 years against Lycoming recomendation. Would not use any other oil though some of the other oils may be as good-not better.

[911]

I have had good results with Quaker State & Pennzoil (20w50) and I've tried several other types of oil. For some reason my car didn't take too well with the Castrol (although it was very highly recommended) as it seemed to smoke more. The same held true w/ Valvoline.

[RickM]

I used Castrol GTX for many years exclusively. However, I jumped onto the Synthetic band wagon early on.

I think synth is better in many respects. Is it overkill? Perhaps, but I'll take any cheap insurance I can get in an air cooled engine.

The moment of enlightenment for me was many years ago on a windy sub zero night. I was driving a friend's car and the oil light went on. I stopped at a gas station and found the engine to be 2 quarts down. I attempted to use dino oil but the stuff barely came out of the bottle....it was that thick. Did I mention how cold it was. This effect is much much less if not absent with synth oil.......

[911boost]

Castrol GTX and have been happy with it.

[real550A]

I'm in with the Quaker State group on my daily drivers and work trucks.
Their 20/50 has served me well for many years.
My '88 911 has had Mobil 1 for at least the last 15 years, and shows no leaks or unusual traits. I'll be sticking with it, and Mahle filters, for the long haul.

[eyue]

Castrol RS Formula 10w-60 is what I have. It stops leaking and run as well as Mobil ONE, a little cheaper.....

[vash]

i chase coupons, but i stay with the big brands. but i stay away from synthetics. but change often.

[KTL]

Regarding the Kendall oil. when this discussion came up before, I sent a mail to the Kendall people inquiring why the change from green to golden.

His response was that the quality was still there (pretty firm in this statement) and that the green color loss was no indication that the oil formulation had suffered in any way. I somewhat remember him saying that the change to traditional golden color had something to do with how the oil would look when changing it. Obviously a green oil will look more dirty the the golden after use or during an oil change. Makes sense to me. They sure don't want the average Joe thinking their oil doesn't look too good when draining it, leading Joe to switch to a different brand.

Just to add to the confusion, Chevron makes a good HD/fleet oil called Delo 400. I get it at Wal-Mart (when they have it) for cheap in the big jugs. I switch back and forth to all sorts of oils for my daily driver Laser.

Be it Castrol, Kendall, Exxon SuperFlo(this is actually good stuff!), Valvoline,......... i've had good luck. The one oil I have to poo-poo is Mobil 1 for the Laser. After using 10W30 for one winter season (3 months), misc. gaskets began leaking all over the bottom of the motor.

On the 911 i've switched back and forth between dino and syn. for whatever reason- usually cost. Finally decided middle of the road with Valvoline VR1 Racing 20W50