orthojoe

Anyone read the .2 GT3 'driving on the race circuit' manual yet? I browsed through it quickly and noticed that is says to change the oil and filter every 3000 TRACK MILES at the latest.

3000 track miles is roughly 30 track days! There is a lot of paranoia and pseudoscience when it comes to oil changes, just like 'break in' periods. I changed the oil on my .1 GT3 after every 10 track days. I always thought 10 days was still being a bit paranoid, but it it was my 'feel good' point. I don't think my mental comfort level will let me drag it out for 30 track days. Maybe I'll change it to 15 track days, though? I know people who think it should be changed after every event, which is totally insane and a waste of money and time.

Before the paranoid people start chiming in about how I'm going to damage and kill the engine, keep in mind my .1 GT3 engine WOULD NOT DIE. I tried because I wanted a new engine. 80 track days. 9k rpm shifts every single time. Still ran just as strong as the first day and continued to get faster as I gained more experience on the track. It is the same engine that went though 2 tanks of gas for break in and headed to the track after 600 miles.

spiller

"At the latest" are the key words here...

No matter what the car, I always apply the theory that 1 track mile equates to 5 street miles. For the street, I like to change the oil every 5000 miles/12 months (whichever comes sooner - usually the 12 months) Based on this theory, change the oil every 1000 track miles. This is what you were doing with your .1. There was a method to your madness .

10 track days, 30 track days, either one may be right, but oil is cheap so if changing it more frequently gives you peace of mind, I always take that option.

GT971

I only got two brochures with mine, guarantee and maintenance and the drivers manual. Strange !

69911s

I change my oil before every event. I figure oil is cheaper than engines...

orthojoe

Why not after? Why not before AND after? Why not after each session? Cheaper than an engine! Why not throw some holy water on the car too, while we're at it since it's cheaper than an engine? Heck, there are lots of things out there that are cheaper than an engine. Let's just do it all!!

Your line of thinking makes absolutely no sense. Can you tell me of a single instance where a late model Porsche engine blew up because someone didn't change the oil frequently enough? Care to explain why my .1 GT3 engine didn't blow up when many others did? Jeezus, it's no different than the anti-vaccers. No real evidence. No real data. Just a gut feel and belief based on what another clueless person told them.

You don't have to change the oil before or after each and every single event, people. Be my guest if you want to, it's your time and money, but don't perpetuate the myth that you have to.

NVRANUF

All good and valid points.... Mr Grumpy-Pants!

orthojoe

Sorry, in a bad mood because I've been waiting around all day to do a case then just got bumped again.

I guess if you only track once a year or once in a blue moon I could see why someone might feel they have to, but really, it's not necessary.

NVRANUF

Whichever side of OCD you fall on, it still beats the factory stipulated Radical SR3 service intervals.... change oil and filter every 6hrs and gear box lub every 12hrs of run time.
Essentially before every race weekend for oil and filter and every 2nd race weekend for gear box lub... based on a 3 day race weekend.

Always a shiny side.

69911s

Wow! FWIW, I didn't say that all of you are hereby ordered to change yours every event. I only shared what I do. But I'll tell you this: my worthless "gut feeling" gets corroborated by the nasty black oil that comes out of the engine and the "gut feeling" that having that running over wear parts like chain tensioner pads is more impactful than new oil in extreme use. Also, I enjoy folks surprise at how well my cars run and their marveling at how few mechanical issues I have.

How often do you think professional race teams change oil? Once a year?

orthojoe

Sorry, my lashing out doesn't help. I'll try to discuss this in a more calm manner.

Oil is supposed to be dark. It turns dark as soon as you run it. You can't gauge the need for an oil change based on the color.

As far as how well your car runs, I think we can agree that there is no proof that your oil change before every event is the cause of that. Just like we have no proof that my oil changes every 10 track days is the reason my .1 engine continues to run perfectly after 80 track days.

Let's talk about race teams changing oil. The misconception is that a track day is equivalent to a professional race. The engines are run for a longer and harder period of time. However, let's indulge and say that it is. If you look at the track manual in the .1, it states to change the wheel hubs and the oil after 6000 track miles. It sounds crazy, but the manual also makes it a point to mention that 6000 Miles is the equivalent of two 24 hour Nurburgring races. In the .2, that number is now 3000 Miles instead of 6000, which is equivalent to one 24 race. So, yes, one change per race is what they want you to do. Changing per track day is like changing the oil every time you pit in the car for fuel.

orthojoe

Good to know! That is painful! Lol

69911s

So let's be clear. I understand my approach is overkill, but in the scheme of things it isn't that big of a deal. I put the car up for inspection every time I track it so dropping the plug and spinning off a filter isn't much extra effort. Now this will probably really unsettle you: I let the oil drain usually for a week. What I have learned is that after the initial drain I get as much as an extra quart of old oil out in that time and that last quart isn't just dark. It can be downright goopy (unscientific term meant to send some folks over the edge). Anyway, oil and filter for any of my cars costs no more than $150 (I buy Mobil1 in 55 gallon drums) and as a percentage of the cost of a track weekend it's pretty insignificant. The benefit? As an example, last summer one of our tow vehicles became unavailable so my son drove his '89 944S2 with 170K on the clock from Virginia to Watkins Glen, ran hot laps for three days and then drove it home and got surprising gas mileage doing so. And BTW I tell folks that story as an evidence of Porsche's superior engineering and reliability but the oil changes certainly don't hurt it.

Now if you really want to give me a bad time, I'll let you know that I change brake fluid twice a year...

kyrocks

robmypro

Spyerx

3k track use? on 0w40? :-) At 80mph average speeds that is 35+ hrs of track time.
OIL WAR THREAD!
This would be an interesting experiment:
pull an oil sample every other track weekend until Porsches recommended interval and send the sample set out to Blackstone and see when the oil has broken down.
I know that for my car (an antique) I start to see the oil additives break down after about 6 track days. they are still good, but from then on the oil is degrading. I change every 6 days.
And if you've ever seen cam lobe wear on an air-cooled car from running oil with broken down additives... you know what oil ugliness looks like
But I also keep my car out of warranty :-)