R Robinson

Is there a preferred oil for the 3.2 engine?
I have used Pennzoil 10W - 40 in my (non-Porsche) vehicles and have never had problems. Also what is the real frequency? The mechanic say 3000 miles. The manual says 15,000 and I have heard everything in between. I like every 5000. I realize driving style and conditions will adjust the interval. Ninety percent of my driving is highway a few times a month. Mine is an 84 Targa.

Is there are problem changing from a non-synthetic to a synthetic oil?

I want to get things off on the right foot for the first oil change.

reg

Chris Martin

There have been many posts on this topic in the past, you might want to check the archive for some heated discussion.

I use 20/50 in my SC, and I think 5k is fine, depending on use of course. I havent had a scheduled oil change yet though, as I dont drive it that much and have changed it when adjusting the valves or anything else that comes up. Looking back I think I might have changed it 4-5 times in the < 10k miles I have owned it.

The oil companies love me!

Chris

John D.

I'm going to "steer clear" of the religious mantra's about personal oil brands - However....

In my track car (3.0 engine), I change all 13 quarts of <insert your favorite synthetic oil brand here> after about 15 track hours. That would be under "extreame" driving conditions, though.

On my '87 911 Carrera driver (about 110,000 miles without a rebuild - (!NOW! I've probably jinxed myself!...), I'm at about 4k-5K miles between changes. This is a year-round daily driver (yes, rain, summer, sleet and snow). Probably the longest I've gone without an oil/filter change is 7,000 miles on that car.. In the summer - I run 20-50 and in the winter, I use 10-40. This is non-synthetic oil.

One of my previous SC's (a '78) ran 198,000 miles with the same schedule of 4K-5,000 miles - and I sold it still running strong. And yes, it ran year round. And no, I didn't use synthetic in that car, either..

Anyway - just my $0.000002

R Robinson

Chris,

I did check the backlog however the questions and answers were not direct enough.

Thanks for the info.

reg

Bill Gregory

While side-stepping the dino/synthetic landmine discussion (I, ahem, use Mobil 1 changed around 5K miles), here's what Porsche recommends:

In a March 2000 Porsche Technical Bulletin, summarized in "Porsche Approved Engine Oils" by Allan Caldwell in Porsche Panorama, October 2000, p. 82, the following oils are approved by Porsche for all 4,6, and 8 cylinder Porsche's from 1973 to current models:

Manufacturer/Name Weight

Castrol/Syntec 5W-50
Exxon Superflo Supreme Spec . 15W-40
Mobil 1 5W-30, 10W-30, 15W-50
Sun Oil/Sunoco Synturo Gold 5W-40
Texaco/Havoline Formula 3 Synth 5W-40
Valvoline/High Performance Syn. 5W-30

Porsche approved the use of synthetic oil in it's engines in 1980, but cautioned that normal oil change intervals should be followed. The factory has been filling it's new engines with synthetic oil since August 1992.

JBH

I could spend hours writing about this subject, but I think the best reference can be found HERE

Remember, oils are formulated for different applications (temperature, change intervals, street/track, etc.) You should select the one that best fits your application and remains within the recommendations of the auto manufacturer.

Frequency is strictly a function of application. More severe conditions require more frequent changes.

Read the article - I think it can steer you to the right decisions.

Dial 911

With around 13 litres of oil in it's system, I think it's safe to say, the oil in a 911 is not worked as hard as the 4 litres in your Ford Taurus.

The relatively lengthly change interval as recommended by Porsche, reflects this.

Bill Verburg

Severe use is also a car that sits a lot and/or is driven on lots of short trips. It's amazing the amount of water that condenses inside the engine and oil tank. Oil temps that rarely or never exceed 212F can contribute to oil contamination because the water never boils off. The last recomendation from Porsce that i saw was an absolut minimum of once a year no matter how few miles are actually driven.

R Robinson

To all,

Thanks guys for the invaluable help and information.

reg