rosco28

I keep reading conflicting reports as to which oil i shoul be using in my SC, regular or synthetic...
I bought the car recently, after a full top-end rebuild. the seller told me that in another 400 miles i should change the oil to synthetic, 15w50 Mobil-1.
Now it is running on Castrol 20w-50. I'm bringing the car to florida for a few months, then shipping her over here to Israel.

Please let me know what is the best for my baby.

Thanks all,

rosco28

Amber Gramps

I've done all 16,000 miles on Castrol 20w-50 and taken some flack from friends here and will probebly switch to "oil of the day" next go round.

Peter Zimmermann

Rosco: Do you have history for your car that shows long term Castrol use? If yes, you might create a consumption problem by switching to a product with a better detergent (by knocking built-up crud off of oil rings, etc.). This is one of those subjects that have many answers and opinions, unfortunately they can differ greatly concerning the same product. One thing to consider is which oils that are available to us are also available in Israel...

dshepp806

Stock up on your Brad Penn, my friend.

"oil for your car"...

Best,

rosco28

Peter - I can try to find out the past oil usage, try... In any case, this car has recently had a complete top-end-rebuild-reseal, ALL new dilavar head-studs, rings, oil return-tubes and the like. With this being the case, what do you recoment for a '79sc, not for the track, but as a daily driver?

I've read that synthetic can create leaks where before there weren't leaks. What 's this about?

dshepp806

It's about the seals and their reactions to the new (synthetic) oil. Certainly not a seal's fault (hehehe). Whatever you decide,..deal with the leaks as they come...as to the engine's internals, that's where the focus should be (flat tappet, spring pressures,..oil that has the right ingredients to deal with these.

Mobil One 15W50? Current API/SM? I don't think so.......


See if Navarro ships to your location.

Best,

Peter Zimmermann

I actually have made a decision, that to my way of thinking, is a good one. Let me say first that (1) I understand the worries attached to cam/lifter wear, and (2) I know what Porsche always used to recommend for use in '89 and earlier cars. I'm an almost life-long fan of Kendall products, and I know that Kendall was sold in the late '90s and is now produced by Conoco-Phillips. In Los Angeles ambient temps ranged between 45 degrees F to 95 degrees F. For the almost 25 years that I ran my shop we filled 911 engines with Kendall GT-1 20W/50, and the success of that was obvious many times over. The engines we maintained, in large part, went sailing past 200K miles without breathing hard. Recently I Googled Kendall Motor Oil.com, worked my way through their site until I found their "ingredients" list for "their" Kendall GT-1 20W/50, and was quite happy to see that a number of categories, including ZDDP, fill a need, in my opinion, to properly lubricate 1989 and older 911 engines. Their lighter weight oils might not, but 20W/50 GT-1 is fine. My decision, made last month when I serviced my '82 SC, was to fill my engine with Kendall GT-1 20W/50, not some synthetic or semi-synthetic oil. I feel secure that my recommendation to use Kendall GT-1 20W/50 is a good one. If a need exists for a lighter weight oil, all bets are off.

Brads911sc

Thanks Pete. Ill switch from my SL rated Exxon (old stock) to Kendall GT1 at the end of the season. I had decided along time ago not to use BP because I only want a non-synthetic oil... Just my preference since it is bone dry and has 95k miles and has never seen syn oil.. Glad to hear there are some experts who dont buy all the hype... Consequently, Rosco, 10 shops here in Houston, including several that are well thought of and recommended on here and pelican had never even heard of BP. So I was looking for an expert who saw other options as valid... My shop for anything I dont have the skill to handle, Eurocarwerk, never heard of BP but had Kendal GT1 on the shelf... just another opinion... Thanks...

rosco28

Pete- that was a very confidant conclusion, and i loved it!! having you as a resource is invaluable. Thank you.

Amber Gramps

...did I say "oil of the day"? That was harsh. I think I'll go put some miles on her and check around for the Kendall. Pete's recomendation of Kendall for my tranny totally changed my oppionion of the G50. I'd take his word on anything at this point.

Hester

There is a really comprehensive thread on the subject of oil on the Pelican site:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...ate+oil+thread

That thread has input from some guys that really seem to have studied the question thorughly if not completely. It gets very technical and is way over my head.

When I was much younger, Kendall oil was produced from wells in Pennsylania. The rumor is that Kendall sold the brand name to one oil company and the wells and refinery in Penslvania to another.

I bought a case of Brad Penn for Hester on the recommendations that I found in that oil thread. The address of Brad Penn on the side of the bottle was "77 North Kendall Avenue, Bradford PA." The oil that came out of the bottle was green. Those two facts lend creedence to the rumors.

You should read through that thread and come to your own conclusions. What I ended up with is that, when it comes to these cars, we are at the mercy of what industry makes available to us. The best we can do is make the best choices that we can make from the information that we have available. Sometimes consensus helps. Sometimes following the lead of someone that does not have any obvious biases works. All you can do is the best you can do. Good luck and let us know what oil you eventually decide to go with.

Peter Zimmermann

...anything... ?

Please remember that mine is only one opinion, and that GT-1 20W/50 doesn't work in all climates. Also, switching to Kendall from an oil of lesser detergent ability may create a temporary high-consumption condition due to internal cleaning of the piston oil rings and other parts. If an engine has been run exclusively with Castrol or Pennzoil, for more than 75K miles, it might not be a good idea to switch until after internal repairs are done.

I've been doing some work trying to get my head around this oil issue, and what it comes down to is that there are plenty of P-car owners who don't want to switch to a synthetic/semi-synthetic. Kendall GT-1 20W/50 has a satisfactory TBN, (Total Base Number) that is a rating for an oil's ability to neutralize acids (acidic byproducts) in the oil. Porsche prefers a TBN of 10, Kendall is 7.8, and I feel that Porsche wants the higher number because of longer drain intervals - compared with 3-5K miles, the recommended average for '89 and older 911s. Kendall is not ILSAC GF-4 compliant, which is good because it's been found that oils that are can become to thin for older engines. Kendall has a satisfactory level of ZDDP, and a low SA (Sulfated Ash) level, both of which are good - seemingly ideal for our older cars.

I'm not a chemist (I actually got a C- in high school chem and swore that I'd never take another chemistry course), nor do I talk with any chemists about this. I have been trying to read as much as I can on the subject, and can only pass along what I interpret as helpful. Again, only one person's opinion, for a specific oil, and the conditions in which that specific oil can be safely used.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

FWIW,..Thats no rumor.

Witco, the former owner/producer of Kendall oils from the early 40's to 1997, produced their products at the Bradford, Pennsylvania refinery made from local crude stocks. Those crudes are world-renowned for making superb lubricating oils. Witco sold the Kendall name to ConocoPhillips in 1997 and they moved refining/production operations down to Texas.

American Refining Group owns and operates the old Kendall refinery staffed by most of the same folks who worked there when Witco owned and operated it and still uses local crude base stocks which are unique to that area. ARG markets their products calling them Brad-Penn, named for the location. BTW, Bradford, PA was founded as Kendall Creek, PA in 1881,...

Read this:http://www.amref.com/refinery/refhist.htm

The current Kendall product isn't the same oil as the very ones that Kendall built their name and reputation on and that needs some clarity and distinction since ConocoPhillips apparently isn't doing so,....

While the "new" Kendall products may be just fine, I think its important for people to be informed about this to make an educated decision about what to use. Charles Navarro did test the current Kendall-labeled products against Brad-Penn and an unopened container of the original Kendall GT-1 for comparison in his exhaustive oil tests that underscored the differences.

Given whats at stake, I think its important for folks to perform their due diligence on this critical subject.

dshepp806

+1

Best,

Peter Zimmermann

Yep, Steve's points are excellent. I should mention that one of the factors that weighed heavily in my recent decision was my camshafts. At approximately 192K miles I replaced the original cams on my '82 SC. I used new, o.e. units, with a mix of reconditioned (refinished by an expert machinist) and new rocker arms, and assembly was done using the same assembly lube that I've used for more than 25 years. Since, and before, that repair the engine was run on GT-1 20W/50, and I just did the third oil change, following cam replacement, at 202,450 miles. I also did a valve adjustment, which proved to me that although the "new" Kendall isn't the "old" Kendall, its still a satisfactory product. The cam lobes in my engine look like they've been polished with jewelers rouge by a precious metal specialist. That is the vision that I couldn't shake when it was time to re-fill the engine. I had a case of Kendall, and a case of Brad-Penn, in my garage cabinet. I sat on a stool and thought about every aspect of my car's situation and history. I used the Kendall...