lewis9113.2

Good post Sean from a chap very much in the field.

So tell me if you could thanks, over here in NZ with moderate ambient temps (similar to yours), what oil do you suggest for a 1987 3.2?

I run Castrol Magnatech 10w40; this I believe isn't too thick or too thin....correct?

The car is run on open road, hardly ever in stop-start city conditions. But driven hard when up to temp.

Oil and filter changed every 2000mile or 6-8 months.

Engine has 93,000 mile (I bought it w/ 80,000mile on clock) but just now had a full top end refresh; run in with Castrol GTX (20w40?) for 500 mile. Now on the Magnatech.

Cheers
James

JET951

der mond,
its good to see people take good advise. if it was only to save yet one porsche it was worth posting.

hi lewis.
if the car was at our shop we would run a 25-50. now tell me more about the car. when you drive it hard what oil pressure readings do you get. is it at all below 1.5 bar at idle. as far as brands go i do not reccomend. just so long as its a reputable brand. great to see you change the oil so often, people often overlook oil but they have to remember that its the cheapest part they will buy for their car..and often the most important.

GeorgeM

I tried 0W40 M1 in my 3.2 and it smoked like crazy. Put 15W50 back in and the smoke went away.

When I switched from Castrol 20W50 dino to M1, I didn't get any leaks, but it does burn a little more than it used to. Still within limits though. It does also run 10-15 deg cooler also.

Gordon Attar

Thanks very much Sean,
At last someone that knows what he is talking about making sense as I could'nt see how modern 0W/40 and 5W/40 would do any good as they are so thin and so many 964's that try the Mobil versions end up with leaks after using!!!

JET951

thats exactly what we thought too gordon. as soon as this issue was bought up about thin oils we thought we better check it out. so we did, we started checking cars for excessive wear and the such. i had noticed that this issue had been bought up a lot but we hadnt finished our research. i wanted to check at least all of our 928s that come into our shop for thrust bearing wear before i posted anything. im sure if i just posted my opinion without evedence it would have been discarded or attacked as ive seen happen to other people.

lewis9113.2

Hey Sean

Car sees real strong oil pressure. At least 1.5 at idle and the needle basically pegs under hard accell.

So you consider Castrol or their Magnatech as not being reputable? I think you favour Mobil right?
JZ Mactech in the UK (tech consultants to 911 p/world magazine) swear by Castrol Magnatech...

The thicker grade oils you quote all seem to be the most 'budget' of oils; I'm kinda reluctant to use these.....

Mobil 1 (and equivalent) is off my list for sure; 3.2's and older have engine technology dating back to the year dot (!) so a super thin oil, is to me, the wrong choice...

Cheers
James

JET951

i dont prefer mobil personally, i think castrol is a great brand. what i meant as reputable is just a known brand, just like castrol. we use valvoline in our shop. mainly because porsche used it back when these cars were new and neither porsche or us have had a single problem with it. if it is just on 1.5 bar at idle when the car is hot( good way to tell is when the fan for the oil cooler in the right front side of the car starts working) i personally believe its not enough. does castrol make a 15-50 or 20-50. i would use a 20-50

r911

"super thin" - don't confuse one type of viscosity with lubricity or the other performance parameters involved. P AG recommended Mobil One for the 3.2L specifically...