993 Oil Recommendation

[christopher@cam]

Need some advice. I have been using Brad Penn in my older cars. I have a 96 993 with 50K miles/ What oils do you recommend? .. Is Brad Penn necessary?

Thanks for your assistance.

Chris

[Bill Verburg]

This is a hotly debated issue, have you read throught the oil threads, both here and at Rennlist?

here's one

I still have several gallons of the older M1 15w/50 to go through before I have to make a decision.

Some things I've noticed,
15/w50 sometimes takes a minute or so to pump through the lifters on the first start of the year, usually a pretty cool spring day

M1 0w/40 can blow right through and out the exhaust of a car that is perfectly happy w/ 15w/50

ditto for Castrol 5/w 50, i'll never use either in a 911 again

If you aren't driving in New England winters and you oil temps are uder control in traffic or track(say < 220F) then Brad Penn seems to be the choice of many.

Here's Mobil's prduct description Mobil_1_Product_Guide.pdf
M1 Extended Performance 15w/50 & M! racing 4T & M1 V-twin all look good to me

[kang]

Here's a copy of a post I made on another forum about oil in 993's. Some of my comments in this post are out of context for this thread, but I think you'll figure that out.

I have a 993 and I use Mobil 1 0w-40. I’ve used it for ~50,000 miles with no issues. Here’s my opinion on the whole ZDDP thing, especially as it applies to 993’s.

First, it’s claimed that lower zinc levels will wear out the camshaft on motors like the 993. I just had a hydraulic lifter replaced (with ~100,000 miles on the engine, I’m not complaining). I asked the mechanic to take a look at my cam, where the lifter rides on it, and let me know if there was any unusual wear. He said there was none.

As far as hydraulic lifters go, yes, Porsche has said they’ve seen problems with lifters when people use the heavier oil. I think I’ve also seen that on the PCA tech board. The 15W-50 is just too thick at start-up to properly lube the lifters. Remember the claim that 90% of engine wear occurs at startup? Well, that applies here. Over time, the lifters wear out, due to lack of proper lube at startup.

I find it very interesting that those who recommend Brad Penn also happen to sell it. I get suspicious when I see someone say “Mobil 1 will kill your engine, you need Brad Penn, oh, by the way, I happen to sell it.” Some of the people recommending Brad Penn have excellent reputations, but there is definitely a conflict of interest here. Not that there is anything wrong with Brad Penn oil, I’m sure it’s fine, but the 20W-50 stuff is certainly too thick (especially for hydraulic lifter motors). Also, some of the people who recommend it still have the old-school “thicker is better” mentality.

Someone on this thread said 0W-40 in a 993 will burn like crazy. I get between 2,500 and 3,500 miles before I burn a quart. That’s pretty darn good for a 993.

Some people think there is some conspiracy at Porsche recommending 0W-40, like it’s cheaper for dealers to only stock one oil. What do you think would happen if air cooled 911 motors, whether serviced at the dealer or not, started dropping like flys and it turned out that Porsche was aware that M1 0W-40 didn’t provide the needed protection for these motors? Can you say “class action lawsuit?” There are lots and lots of air cooled motors out there, running on 0W-40, without problems. There have probably been millions of miles put on these motors with that oil without problems.

I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors of flat tappet motors failing 300 miles after a rebuild, when using an SM rated oil (less zinc). I call B-S! If a motor fails 300 miles after a rebuild, something else was going on besides the oil used. You could probably run a motor for 300 miles on vegetable oil and it would still run.

Porsche recommends several good oils in the 0W-40 or 5W-40 ranges. Stick with one of those and you’ll be fine. Put in dino 20W-50 or add a zinc additive and you could be asking for trouble.

One more thing, remember your air cooled flat 6 motor does burn some oil. Some gets into the cylinders when the car is parked. You’ve seen that puff of oil smoke at startup, right? Well, the zinc in the oil that’s getting burned off at that time is getting into your cat. Zinc can poison a cat, which is why they are lowering the levels of it in the first place. Think about this when you want to add a zinc additive, or use a high zinc oil.

Zinc is what they used as an anti-wear additive 30 or 40 years ago. Don’t you think they could come up with other, better ways to do this in that amount of time? Like someone said above, M1 0W-40 Euro oil is one of the highest sped’d oil in the world. It has all the anti-wear additives you need and more. Use it and you’ll be fine. You’ll also have less startup wear, more performance and higher mileage (due to the thinner oil) and less zinc to poison your cat.

[DW SD]

Kang,
I hate the thought of poisoning someone's cat, though I don't have my own.

Good info, though and thoughtful. I think the oil debates are hard kind of like the cliche' that if you ask ten informed folks, you'll get ten different answers. It is interesting how little hard data is out there.

There are synthetics (and non synthetics) specifically formulated for air cooled engines. You should be able to use those effectively, too. Based on the cost of the engines and associated intervals it does make sense to use the best quality oil, even if it is a tough nut to swallow. You can have oil tested too to see if it is time for a change. Given $100+ in terms of materials alone for an oil change, it seems worth it to have the oil tested.

Doug

[Eric86Red911]

I love my cats. I love my Porsche. Oh the choices we must make!

[christopher@cam]

GUys thanks for the feedback, i was hoping the answer was simpler. Nothing simple with Porsche's......

[dmwallace]

Christopher,

FWIW - I am using Swepco 15W-40 in my '97 with ~86K miles and changing twice/yr or every 5K miles. You can order the Swepco from our host.

Regards,
David

[Don Plumley]

I'm moving to Redline synthetic.