What weight engine oil?
 

what oil weights is every one using in their n/a? i read that you can use 15w-40 in these cars but that sounded pretty thick to me

...20w50

u shouldn't be using 5w30 if that's what you're thinking.

20w50

ya i thought it was crazy heavy at 1st too, but, its what she wants

20w50 here too!

If you drive the car during the Winter, in an Area which see temps close or below zero; you might consider changing to a lighter weight to ensure proper oil flow on startup.

Though it has been said 20w50 will work down to Zero Fahrenheit...

Run 5w30 on the track is great way to spin a rod bearing. Believe me I have seen it happen.


I run 20w50 in my Turbo S street car and 20w50 (now reformulated to 15w50) in my race car.

I,ve use 20w50 in my 944 for 26 yrs still going strong ,now using the same in my 968 hope she last as long.A friend who has a 928S use 15w40 in his, don't seem to be any problems with that weight neither.Cold weather driving I,ll say go with 15w40.

I'm running 15w40 also but I don't plan on driving the car once snow starts to fall.

M1 0w40, year round, both cars.
I used to run 15w50 in the summer, but I don't bother anymore.

i use Castrol high mileage 10W40 all year round. the car has been using it for years.

20w50 Redline oil, absolutely LOVE it, as does my car!

I'd run lightweight oil. A lb. here, a lb. there all adds up to a few lbs. here and there...

Hi Dogberri , stick with what Porsche printed in the owners manual that came with your 944 , on the oil viscosity page within the owners manual there is the shaded look at me section , the first cab off the rank is the ambient temp range of minus 10 deg cel to unlimited high temps , Porsche states that the recommended oil viscosity is either a 20w-50 or a 15w - 50 .

A few items to ponder }

A) The 944 is not from this century in regards to modern engine design and the thinner viscosity engine oils that go with that , in fact the 944 engine design goes well back into last century and has a few small flaws that can be kept in check if you stick with the recommendations to what Porsche printed in the owners manual

Question = What flaws ?

Answer = first of all , no 2 big end journal( con rod big end bearing) has an issue with oil pressure a high RPM , basically it starves due to engine/ crank design and this becomes very apparent when the wrong oil is used in relation to ambient temps( read too thinner oil) , naturally this results in a destroyed crankshaft and no 2 con rod or worse a destroyed crankcase as well .
However if you stick to the recommendation in the owners manual and always stay on the high side of the viscosity then the no 2 big end ( con rod big end bearing ) issue never rears its ugly head , naturally we need a good set of big end ( con rod big end bearings) to start with .

B) ZDDP , the other advantage with 20w-50 and most 15w-50 engine oils is that they are relegated for the use in last century car engines( just like the 944) and they are not subject to the amount of reduction in ZDDP ( anti wear)because of emission protocols ( ACEA etc ) as this century petrol ( gas USA speak) engines are , this is very important to engines like the 944 because of the high loaded flat tappet design of the overhead camshaft design that the 944 has , I have nearly lost count how many cams & lifters we have replaced because of the use of lower viscosity oils that also had the misfortune to have low levels of ZDDP in the last 12 + years or so ( 944 , 944S , 944S2 , 951 , 928 , 928S , 928S4 , 928GT, 928GTS ) & cams and rocker shafts +excessive valve guide wear in 911SC , 930 , 911 3.2, 964 , 993 etc , these were all avoidable if the ZDDP was of decent levels and decent oil viscosity in relation to the last century technology , which works fine if respected for what it is .

But of course its all in the owners manual & put there by the very people who designed these engines all those decades ago

Remember the oil viscosity index has not changed, what was a 20w-50 then is a 20w-50 now and so on .

Regards
Bruce Buchanan

...what has changed is what Porsche now recommends we use for our cars.

depends on where you live. I have a turbo, but would still use my Brad Penn 20w-50 here in Texas where it's pretty much always hot as hell, except maybe about 10 days a year.

thanks guys the reason i ask is when i bought the car years ago it didn't make lifter noise and since iv owned it i've changed the oil once and used 10w-30 i think.... anyway its started making a ticking sound and thought that to thin of an oil might be the reason. seemed to coincidental to start making a noise just after 200 miles of me owning it and one oil change