Don Magee

To liven things up, I thought I'd rekindle the oil viscosity debate. Since Mobil 1 0w-40 is now available in the USA, I sent an email to PCNA regarding oil preference for the 993s, and received a recomendation to use 15w-50; however a few minutes later , the response was revised to recommend 0w-40, generally. Here is the exchange:

<a href="http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.asp?id={D511B82E-9AE1-4564-8F74-724C0847AD24}" target="_blank">http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.asp?id={D511B82E-9AE1-4564-8F74-724C0847AD24}</a>
I am not computer savvy, so I hoped that worked. If not, you can go to the Tech page of the PCA web site and read the latest entry under the 993 engine section. I'd appreciate the group's thoughts on this topic. Perhaps our resident guru, Steve w. , will share his wisdom!

STLPCA

Don
Thanks for the post. Although I've been a Mobil 1 fan, the Porsche approved Castrol/Syntec 5W-50 may be the best of both worlds - cold weather flow & hot protection. Anyone have any thoughts.

Robert Henriksen

Well, I feel better about not chasing down the 0w-40, then. Houston's pretty friggin' warm most of the time, and the oil gets pretty hot at the track even in wintertime. In the summer, it gets QUITE hot; I've been pondering the oil cooler upgrade, but am not there yet.

Jeff 993TT

You can find Mobil 1 0w40 online here for $5.85/quart:

<a href="http://shop.store.yahoo.com/parkplacemotorcars/mob1trismoto.html" target="_blank">Mobil 1 0w40</a>

They only charge $3.50 for shipping regardless of how many quarts you buy. I bought 12 quarts recently in preparation for my DIY oil change tomorrow.

I did a quick search for Castrol 5w50 and that was about $4.59/quart. If you get lucky at WalMart, they sometimes have sales on Mobil 1, down to less than $3.00/quart, but they are only for weights such as 5w30, 15w30, 10w30, etc.


Jeff

Jeff 993TT

[quote]Originally posted by Robert Henriksen:
<strong>I've been pondering the oil cooler upgrade, but am not there yet.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Were you thinking of getting the Turbo S cooler? I've been thinking about that also. Apparently Gert has a sale going on, down to $650 from $795, includes shipping.

There were many debates on this board about whether the S oil cooler was sufficient enough. There are some other alternatives, ie cargraphic, etc, but that might be overkill.

Jeff

Robert Henriksen

[quote]Originally posted by Jeff 993TT:
<strong>

Were you thinking of getting the Turbo S cooler? I've been thinking about that also. Apparently Gert has a sale going on, down to $650 from $795, includes shipping.

There were many debates on this board about whether the S oil cooler was sufficient enough. There are some other alternatives, ie cargraphic, etc, but that might be overkill.

Jeff</strong><hr></blockquote>

I dunno, going on the apparent consensus around here, the Turbo S cooler seemed to get shouted down every time the idea was raised. BUT, I'm not running a turbo motor with 500_ horsepower; mine's a STOCK NA working hard in 95-105 degree heat in the summertime on the track, and I'd rather not see the oil temp in the 10:00 range.

Before I take the plunge, I'll probably just ring up Steve & do whatever he says! $650 does sound really appealing, though. I forget (okay, I know, I could search the archives) -- is the S cooler a supplemental unit, or does it replace the existing one?

Jeff 993TT

It's supplemental.

I believe that there is already an oil cooler on the passengar side of the car and the S cooler is fitted on the driver's side of the car.

I was actually thinking of doing this as a DIY, but I might hold off. I've heard lots of stories about how difficult it is to get the bumper cover on/off.

I think that for even a TT, the S cooler would be sufficient for most purposes and light track days, especially in Kalifornia.

Jeff

Pete Lech

&lt;&lt;I was actually thinking of doing this as a DIY, but I might hold off. I've heard lots of stories about how difficult it is to get the bumper cover on/off.&gt;&gt;

Having done this 3 times recently, I can say that it is not hard. Robin has excellent directions on his site, which become even more clear as you start working. Jack up the car and remove both front wheels. It makes things MUCH easier.

Be sure and check your oil cooler fan resistor before going in. I replaced both the oil cooler and the AC resistors as a precaution. The oil cooler resistor was bad and the fan was not operating at low speed. I only have 24K miles on the car, so they can fail pretty early.

Mike J

I have the bumper cover off right now. It took about 20 minutes once the front wheels are off. Of course, I have not put it back on yet!

I read somewhere they recommended a new rubber gasket on each removal. Mine is a little stretched so I will do that this time. I doubt it the next time.

Pete, thanks for the advice about the resistor. I replaced the A/C one but did not check the oil cooler one. I will do that before it gets all assembled!

The oil question is interesting and I am glad it came up again. My local shop uses 15-50W exclusively in Vancouver climate. It rarely freezes, winter 40-50F, summer 65-80F. We are only 120 miles from Seattle so its much the same. However, I have been waffling between Anderson's advice which tends to thinner oils and my shops which is thicker. Still not sure which is best. I might do some DEs this summer and definitely the 15-50 seems to be called for.

Cheers,

Mike

Ray Calvo

[quote]Although I've been a Mobil 1 fan, the Porsche approved Castrol/Syntec 5W-50 may be the best of both worlds - cold weather flow & hot protection. Anyone have any thoughts.<hr></blockquote>

For ages I was a Castrol fan, but a while back I read a test report of oils (as I remember, unless it was one of Bruce Anderson's recommendations) that said the Castrol breaks down under extreme conditins where the Mobil 1 doesn't. That converted me!

Don Magee

Ray, given your engineering background, I would be interested in your take on the relative merits of 0w-40 and 15w-50. Do you agree with the PCA experts?

Ray Calvo

[quote]Ray, given your engineering background, I would be interested in your take on the relative merits of 0w-40 and 15w-50. Do you agree with the PCA experts?<hr></blockquote>

Considering I'm a mechanical and not a chemical engineer, and PCA experts say something which I don't have any reason to refute, then I abide by what they say.

Added info - my '84 Carrera engine came apart at 125k to repair a snapped spark plug. Valve guides were just at the wear limits, and bottom end of the engine was "like new" (shop's words). This was a car that saw prob. 6 track weekdends and 5 autocrosses a year for 5+ years. Fed largely Mobil 1 (mostly 15W50). Enough proof for me.

Arjan B.

Hello 993 people,

I am looking around the corner and see this topic.

Please look at my topic about 0w40 oil on the 964 forum.


May be it helps.

Arjan
964 C2 1992 Black