john911sc

Hi all, just got rid of my Subaru Impreza and got myself a 82 911 SC and have a few silly questions to ask as a new owner.

Now I see the prefered oil is Mobile 1, but can any fully sythetic oil be used of the correct grade ? Just wondering if there is other oil options ?

Also what fuel do I need to use ? Do I need to use Lead Replacement Fuel or can I use Super Unleaded ?

Many Thanks John

geo.aigel

Glad you got rid of the subaru. You will like the 911 much better!

I recommend you stay with a quality non synthetic oil. Likely that's all the car has seen so far. 20W50 is what you will need. I recommend staying with non synthetic on higher mileage engines. I have personally experienced high mileage engines starting to leak like a sieve once I put synthetic in there. Don't ask me why, but I think you want to stay with what the engine (and the gaskets and seals) is used to.

I think you must be in Europe, looking at the fuel question you are asking? If you are in the US, you can run unleaded premium, no problem, actually stay away from lead substitute.

In Europe things were different (no converter), so I can't comment on that.

Enjoy your car!

George

Eddie Hotrod

Good choice John, I think the 911 will give you more driving pleasure than the Impreza (although you might miss the 4WD on a rainy day ). I notice you're in the UK, same here. I always use Shell Optimax in my '85 3.2, it's 98RON which is recommended for the car (look at the sticker inside your fuel flap).
But I don't use synthetic oil, although I know many swear by it. I use Swepco 306 mineral oil and I'm pleased with the results. Synthetic runs thinner, so for an older engine it may cause a few leaks. I've never risked it, but maybe it would be fine. My car's has about 90k miles.

pjc

John,

I have a '76 911 with over 100,000 miles and have used Mobile 1 fully synthetic - a friend in the "oil business" tells me that Halfords 5W-40 fully synthetic is just as good at a fraction of the price (£16 for 5 litrs). If the engine is a bit "drippy" then a semi-synthetic 10W-40 is OK. His advice is not to use mineral oils - synthetics fully protect all the parts that will wear with minerals.

Join Porsche Club GB to get more info on running and enjoying your 911.

PJC

Bill Gregory

I converted to Mobil 1 in my 81SC at a little over 100,000 miles, and didn't have any leakage problems. Note all of the Porsche approved oils are either fully synthetic, or part synthetic. If you haven't already, you may want to read the 911SC FAQ on tech.rennlist.com .

Eddie Hotrod

The synthetic vs non-synthetic contest rages on. I'm concerned now, should I be changing to semi at least. I thought the Swepco 306 stuff was recommended (they seem to have the monopoly on gearbox oil for 911's). Can we organise a vote on this? I trust you lot with my Porsche, so I would go with the majority. Can somebody start up an oil election, with all the major brands as candidates

bones

It's not cheap but I highly recommend Castrol GTX 'Magnatec' My '78SC has travelled 144,000 miles the last 12.000 on 'Maganatec' . I swear it performs better with this stuff in . Theidea is the molecules of lubricant are clinging to the moving parts by magnetism I guess . Anyway the inevitable puffof smoke on start up is much reduced , there are no significant leaks and it burns the usual amount of oil .

Bill Gregory

If search is working, I've posted the current Porsche oil recommendations previously.

john911sc

Thanks for all your replys, I have read the FAQ on 911 and now have a better idea of what oil to use.
At the moment the 911 is better than the Subaru, alot more envoving drive!

timlooney

Hello,

There is a guy out there that has published a book that rates oils and oil filters. He addresses the facts and fiction of different types of oils. He has a website at http://www.motor-oil-bible.com/

I would recommend the synthetic. Initially they were prone to causing leaks, but now they have adjusted the chemistry to reduce the leaking issues.

Michael O'Neal

I'm surprised that more Porsche folks don't use Redline products. They are the defacto standard for almost all other high performance applications.