Which Oil for S2?

[LOZ944]

Hi guys,
I wonder if you could ease my confusion. I've had my 944S2 now
for about 2 years and most of it's life it's been serviced by Autostrasse
Coggeshall Essex. Autostrasse have been using esso Ultron 5W 40 fully
synthetic oil.

Having recently spoken to another Porsche specialist, they
have said it's a little excessive using fully synthetic and the oil viscosity
is on the thin side so will burn quicker! They suggested Porsche recommends
a standard mineral oil 20/50 or 15/40! Now, I've been on OPIE oils.co.uk website
and they recommend service pack using Mobil Super S 10w40 Semi Synthetic!

Well now I'm completely confused. I don't like the idea of using a standard mineral oil
having had fully synthetic all these years so would Mobil Super 10W40 semi be the
correct choice? and if I changed from full to semi would I require an engine flush?
and is the fully synthetic bad for my engine?

Please help, my brain hurts!

 

[944 man]

5w and 10w are both FAR too thin. Simon (Opie) gave my team three four cartons of Silkolene Pro-S 10w synthetic when I entered a 944 in the Scumball3000, which I appreciated, but it was definitely too thin. Series one 944s and 2,500cc series twos are best run on Castrol GTX High Mileage. The S2 needs a similar oil and I havent seen one on-line 'reference' thats identified the correct oil.

Simon

 

[944 man]

These engines werent ever intended to run a synthetic oil. Most of the worthless online 'references' simply pander to peoples expectations by recommending 5w and 10w synthetic oils. If its any consolation most 'synthetic' oils arent made from PAO synthetic base stocks (even Mobil One has been found to contain mineral oil when examined using a spectrum gas analyser...) either, so youve probably been using whats essentially a mineral oil all along.

 

[944 man]

Ive just looked on Mobils 'reference' site. They recommend Mobil One 0w-40. A less suitable oil I cant think of, apart from cooking oil, perhaps. A good example of a manufacturer recommending a product that suits them best, but which is wholly unsuitable for the car in question.

 

[elvis]

Halfords motorsport 15W-50 in mine, did try the 0W-40 but it used about as much oil as petrol :-(

 

[Diver944]

The chart in the handbook recommends various grades and 10w40 is about mid way in the range, but of course that was when the engines were new and had no wear. My S2 has had 10w40 for the past 90k miles that I have owned it (now approaching 190k) with no appreciable loss between 6 monthly oil changes. Back in October I tried 5w40 for the first time and it gave a noticeably faster cranking speed when cold (because of the lower 5w rating) but it did use a bit more oil than the 10w version.

What I'm trying to say is that every car is different as it ages and what might suit one will not be right for another. I would start off with a good quality 10w40 and maybe move up to 15w50 if you get poor oil consumption. The benefit of a Full synthetic is that it will last longer before degrading, but these cars should get regular 6 monthly changes anyway so long life oil is not really beneficial. Save your money and change it more often

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: Diver944
Save your money and change it more often

Excellent advice, in my book. You do far better using a cheaper oil and changing it often than an expensive oil and getting 15,000 or 20,000 miles between changes.

I use 10W40 semi. (GM-brand stuff, very very cheap with a Vauxhall Trade Card.) I use around half a litre in each 5000 miles between changes. It works fine in my S2.

Oil tech has come on a HUGE way since our cars were made. One school of thought is that you can therefore use any oil on sale now and it will exceed the requirements of the engine. The other school of thought is that you should choose some very fancy modern oil as progress must be a good thing. I'm not sure I subscribe to either way of thinking.

Bear in mind that asking an oil supplier what oil to use in your car is like asking a politician what party to vote for (as Simon has already hinted.) Simon at Opie Oils is a nice chap, but he is in the business of selling oil and therefore will encourage you to buy as expensive a type of oil as he can possibly sell you.


Oli.

 

[944 man]

Simon is a decent bloke certainly. My gripe was with the oil manufacturers who knowingly list unsuitable oils with Mobil being an excellent example. I presume that retailers are guided in the advice that they offer, by their suppliers/manufacturers recommendations...

 

[stevespic]

I always used Castrol Magnatex 10w40...

 

[nick3814]

ORIGINAL: spic01

I always used Castrol Magnatex 10w40...

Me too [] and she runs great.

 

[sawood12]

I've been using Silkolene Pro S 5w 40 and it is fine. It is not too thin, it doesn't burn quickly (or at all as far as I can tell) and doesn't pour from the engine seals and gaskets. There are alot of myths and pub talk about oil but after alot of reading up on the subject and talking to people in the know i've come up with a few guidlines which so far are working fine. As long as you're using the manufacturers recommended grade (which 5w40 - 15w50 is for our cars in the UK climate) and go for the best quality you can then you will be fine.

Two big no-no's in my book are not to use oil grade to fix leaks in your car or regulate oil pressure. If you have a leaky engine or oil pressure issues then fix those issues and continue to use the manufacturers recommended grade of oil or you'll just be hiding potentially more serious issues.

My advice is best not to get too hung up on oil. Just coose a good quality oil of a grade which is within Porsche's recommended range and just get on with it. So many people seem to be paranoid and put themselves through major stress everytime a service is due. Life is too short and as far as i'm aware no specialist has ever looked at a blown engine and told the owner "Well if you'd used a 10W40 instead of a 5W40 then she'd have been fine".

 

[944Turbo]

I use ProR and prior to that Mobil 1 15W50. To be honest I don't think oil technology has changed that much in the last 20 years, I was certainly finding mobil 1 was the best option 22 years ago in my modded minis. A synthetic certainly works best in a hot turbo on track as well in my experience. If you dont work the oil hard and most people dont on the road then a good mineral is probably fine changed often (even when the car is not used).

Tony

 

[Frenchy]

Castrol Magnatec 10W-40 for me also, these engines were designed well over 25 years ago and synthetic oil was not an option back then. As someone else stated regular oil changes are a good thing.

 

[944Turbo]

forgot to add I welded the rods to the crank with castrol mineral in the mini and it got almost as bad with duckhams, no noticeable wear over a longer period with mobil 1,
Tony

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Bear in mind that asking an oil supplier what oil to use in your car is like asking a politician what party to vote for (as Simon has already hinted.) Simon at Opie Oils is a nice chap, but he is in the business of selling oil and therefore will encourage you to buy as expensive a type of oil as he can possibly sell you.

I'd add a caveat here. If you're being really cynical he will try to sell you what has the biggest profit margin, not the highest cost? [8|]

I'd suggest that, if changing the oil more frequently is better, then changing it more frequently for better oil is also going to do no harm. Oil technology has moved on in the last 30 years, since the 944 engine was designed, and there's no real argument that the modern oils don't bring benefits to older engines.

 

[sawood12]

I'd say go for fully synthetic. They offer so many benefits / advantages over mineral and semi synthetic oils especially if your car is not a daily runner. I see no reason why the use of a good quality modern fully synthetic oil should be detrimental in any way shape or form over other types of oil in our cars. Yes you can change more regularly but why bother? 12kmile/annual change as recommended by Porsche is perfectly adequate especially if a good fully synth oil is used. Yes, changing more frequently wont do any harm, but it wont necessarily provide you with any better protection and can you really be bothered? I'd much rather be driving my car than lying under it catching oil in a drip tray.

 

[Neil Haughey]

I have gradually gone up in grade, currently running 15w-50 Mobil 1 but TBH after reading up on all the various oils I think I will be going for Valvoline race oil next after I use up my remaining stock of Mobil 1. I will be fitting an oil drain valve to make everything easier, especially dropping warm oil/hot oil, and of course it makes it viable to take oil samples from the bottom of the sump.

 

[333pg333]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

Ive just looked on Mobils 'reference' site. They recommend Mobil One 0w-40. A less suitable oil I cant think of, apart from cooking oil, perhaps. A good example of a manufacturer recommending a product that suits them best, but which is wholly unsuitable for the car in question.

Couldn't have said it better!!!
We use a 25w/60 for the track and a 20w/50 during winter. Of course our climates are different but the Porsche manual shows a 20w/50 mineral for sub freezing temps as recommended. Even right up to some 996s which surprised me.
If you drive around the village like Miss Daisy, then use M1. Otherwise use a mineral oil with ZDDP content. This will save you a lot of heartache and money in the future.

 

[Neil Haughey]

ORIGINAL: 333pg333
Otherwise use a mineral oil with ZDDP content. This will save you a lot of heartache and money in the future.

ISTR just like Valvoline race oil.

 

[sawood12]

Strange Pat that your manual apparently shows something different to ours. For sub freezing temps my manual says 0w40/ow50. Whilst there is nothing wrong with Mobil 1 it isn't a particularly good oil either. There are plenty out there that are better and have more technology packed into them.