Pfaff Racing’s Porsche 911 Tests Oil Samples from Rolex 24
How do modern oils stand up to the rigors of endurance racing? Pfaff Racing tells us how Motul oil stood up in Pfaff’s 911 race car.
In endurance racing, nothing can squash a race result like time behind the wall making repairs. In this battlefield of motorsport, you quite literally need a well-oiled machine. Pfaff Motorsports recently partnered with Motul oil. In January, they completed the Rolex 24 at Daytona with their No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R. The car had a competitive race (minus a hiccup) and so they wanted to see just how well their Motul oil held up.
We recently were sent the results of these tests, so here’s how to break it down.
After completing the 24-hour race, the Motul oil used in the 911 GT3 R reportedly showed no problems presently associated with this sample. Pfaff utilized Motul 0W-40 weight oil, specifically their motorsport oriented 300V oil. In fact, the results tested so well, that they need more than a 24-hour sample to conclude what is actually normal wear for the oil.
Wear, of course, isn’t just about finding things in the oil, but how it breaks down over time. The 0W-40 weight is meant for the rigors of motorsport in which oils experience regular hot environments. Hot oils break down fast, but the polymers in Motul oil resist thermal breakdown and oxidation.
While the oil held up, Daytona was a bittersweet race for the team. Pfaff announced that a driveshaft failure put the car behind the wall in hour 16 of the 24-hour race. The car ran flawlessly once the driveshaft was replaced, completing 716 laps in total.
IMSA will visit Sebring International Raceway March 18-21 for their next endurance race. The race will be 12 hours, and Pfaff Motorsport can be comfortable in knowing their Motul oil will last the duration of the event. Sebring is a very unique track due to how incredibly harsh the surface is. Its a track that has a history of truly testing a car to its absolute limits.
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