Penguinracer

I'm interested to hear oil recommendations for a tuned 951 used mainly on the track with occasional road use - most of which will be driving to & from the track!
I gather we should be using 20-50W but will a 20-60W be too thick?
I also understand that an Ester-based synthetic with a high ZDDP is kinder to our motors?
As my car isn't a daily driver & will usually be warmed up thoroughly before a longer drive I'm not so concerned with daily cold starting properties at low temperatures.
Tim

chrenan

Sounds exactly like my usage. I use Castrol 20W-50. Let me know when you find the correct answer for what oil to use Tim - I'll file the information along with the answer to what the one true religion is.

86 951 Driver

Brad Penn Racing Oil 20w-50. If you can't get it in the UK then I would see if there is another oil that is locally available with high levels of ZDDP.

cjbcpa

Valvoline VR-1 20w50 for me, 99% track use.

rlm328

In your climate I wouldn't run a vicosity higher than 20w-50 (Porsche recommendation). If your engine has not been rebuilt recently I would stick stick with dyno oil, if it has been rebuilt then you can expand your usage into the synthetics. I do not know what the cat requirements are for the UK but here in the US we had to have them and the zinc (ZDDP) in the oils just killed the cat converters so the oil here is low in ZDDP which is hard on our lifter / cam interface.

The 20w-60 will decrease your overall power as it takes more energy to pump it around and splash through.

There have been numerous discussions on this board regarding oil, i.e. what type, brand, additives. They get quite divergent on their view points. Hopefully, it will not go off on various tangents and you can glean some useful information.

My engine was recently rebuilt, and I am using Deep Purple 20w-50

jc in rb

"My engine was recently rebuilt, and I am using Deep Purple 20w-50"

does the deep purple have enough zddtop or do you just ad that in ??

chrenan

Is that like Royal Purple oil but more funky and experimental?

User 52121

I use Joe Gibbs DT50 (15w50). Prior to this, I used Motul 300V, which I used to run in my old racebikes and is damned good stuff. In bikes, gearbox and crankcase share the same oil - it was obvious when I switched to the 300V. Gearbox became smooth like butter. I switched to Joe Gibbs at the recommendation of Charles Navarro from LN Engineering (who also likes the 300V but likes the Joe Gibbs better).

https://www.lnengineering.com/joegibbsracingoils.html

ausgeflippt951

Recommend you do a search. Seriously, this topic has been debated more than Communism.

JustinL

LOL.

I'm using Mobil 1 V-twin 20w50. It's getting hard to find though.

dmcampbell

Joe Gibbs XP-5. Lots of track days, so it is changed frequently (+/- 1500 miles). Was using VR-1 and with the JG, I have nearly zero consumption and about 15 deg F lower oil temps on track. Strictly for street, then Joe Gibbs DT-50 and change every 3000 miles.

67King

Millers NT 10W50. I've discussed it a bit in the Racing forum - https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...sor-intro.html. Uses nanotechnology, is priced pretty close to Motul 200V and Joe Gibbs, so it isn't cheap, but it does a superior job protecting your engine to just about everything else out there, and along with that, it also frees up power. Like Motul 300V, it is designed to actually last, so you don't have to change it every 500-750 miles like you do some of the other race oils out there: http://performanceracingoils.com/PDF...case_study.pdf on Karl's World Challenge 996 - 1700 race miles over 5 weekends, and the oil was still good. Good for 125degC continuous, up to 150 for periods of time. Obviously, the higher temperatures will increaes your need to change it more frequently.

Here are some links from some engineering publications that review it:
http://performanceracingoils.com/PDF...P_nominees.pdf
http://performanceracingoils.com/PDF...port_Award.pdf
http://performanceracingoils.com/PDF...w_Friction.pdf
http://performanceracingoils.com/PDF...eakthrough.pdf

There are more, as well. There's a dyno section on our site where you can look at charts where power was gained, too (http://performanceracingoils.com/dyn...ion-ezp-9.html).

Anyway, since you are in the UK, you are probably familiat wtih Millers. Tuthill Porsche uses it, now. You can pick up up through EB Motorsports, http://www.eb-motorsport.co.uk/. Mark will be happy to talk to you about it if you call.

As for the other stuff - beware of "more is better" with both ester and ZDDP. This thread is a pretty good read on it, https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...synthetic.html. Basically, too much ZDDP will build up in your engine, and cause drag and increase parasitic losses. Too much ester will impeded ZDDP's ability to do its job. There are some oils out there with twice as much ZDDP as most engine builders recommend, as well as too much ester, but it is marketable, so it sells.

Other factors. I killed my bottom end using a well known racing conventional oil in 3 weekends unfortunatley (this was before I started using Motul 300V, which was before I used Millers). Don't do that. Obviously, YMMV. I run in Atlanta Summers, where it is 40degC on the tarmac. But the conventional oils (nor off the shelf synthetics) don't have the PAO base stocks that good racing synthetics will have, and they don't protect as well at elevated temperatures. The only other factor you may consider is that since you are turbocharged, you will potentiallly encouter fuel dilution. Racer's Edge has switched over to MIllers in all of its customer cars, and one guy wiht a Turbo S runs 10W60. Turbos will run more rich, and as such put more fuel into the oil. You might not experience that since you drive to and from the track, giving you time to run in closed loop and hopefully burn off the fuel from the oil. But do be careful.

I'd also highly encourage you do have oil samples tested until you get a good feel for your oil's health over time.

odb812

Whatever oil you choose, I'd suggest getting oil analysis with each oil change on a track car. It's $19ea if you buy 6 or more at a time, which isn't much when you consider the cost difference between the low end and high end oils that we each use on track. That way you can make an informed decision for yourself about what's best for your engine and driving. These are also great for detecting other issues in your engine as well. These are the guy I use:
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

URG8RB8

At $20 a quart/liter the Millers better be best oil out there, since I don't track any of my cars, think I will stick to my full synthetic 20-50W VR1. Never had a single issue with it, change every 3K, but according to test results, could have left it in twice that.

LuigiVampa

Understatement of the year.

The search function is your friend. Use it and you will find a ton of threads with great info on this subject. Some threads get very technical.

That being said I use Brad Penn 20w50 for my track/light street use car.