If my car is any indication then anyone not using M1 0-40, or equal viscosity is not doing their engine any favors. My car had the 30k serice done about 3k miles ago, but always a had a slight lifter tick at idle (many here said was normal, no one said it was something to look into) an there was a noticeable engine hickup/change/blip at 3300 rpm or so (which many here also said was normal..some said it was the variocam plus, others the intake flop over). I just could NOT believe that Porsche would have an engine with those kind of noticeable issues with 37k miles on it. I contacted the indie that did the service, 9 moths ago, and was told, they could not tell me what viscosity was used for sure, just that it was Mobil 1 because "Porsche is always changing what the official oil should be". So I did my own change, and the differnce is night and day. Lifter tick totally gone, NO blip in any gear at any RPM, which pretty much clinches that it was the Variocam plus, which uswes the motor oil as a hydraulic fluid. My mileage is even up about 0.8mpg over 200 miles. I'm just kicking myself for not doing it sooner and hope no damage was done. I'm sending the oil out to Blackstone Labs for analysis, but it wasn't very dirty since it only had 3k miles on it. much happier camper now!!!

 

You have VarioCam....but NOT VarioCam Plus. I don't think that came out until the 997. Right?

 

996 2002 and up have Variocam Plus

 

Thanks, Mark. I guess it is the 987 that did not get in until, what...2007 or 2008?

 

Yup, 07 for the 987

 

How was the oil level before the change?

I've seen/heard the ticking on cars where the level is low - simply filling to required level has fixed it.

Be prepared to be roasted for even mentioning 0W40 - there are those here for which it's a banned substance.

Personally, I use it on both P cars however, and my VW.

 

Huh? Roasted...it is likely most folks here use 0W40...of course a certain 1999 will yell at you, but we all ignore him anyway.

 

I found a NorCal source for Mobil 1 5W-50 that I'm going to try next time I change my oil. The increase to the 5W may cut down a bit on the consumption...plus the fact it doesn't get very cold here in the Sacramento Valley, but it does get unseasonably hot which would affect the viscosity. The 5W 50 is an approved Porsche oil....mostly used in the UK.

I'm NOT looking to start a discussion on oil viscosity...simply a statement that there is a local source for a weight that I was told was unaviailable here.

 

Ooooo, where did you find the 5w50?

 

There's 10W40 at Walmart

 

[/EndThread]

or lets count the pages.

 

Identical levels before & after (down 3 bars - half way on electronic indicator) not any consumption before or after (so far). Also not trying to start a flame war..just some more info for anyone that may be annoyed by the variocam pulse or some lifter tick and "scared" of using M1 0-40 because of some posters misguided rantings.

 

It's been 102 for the last 2 days here. 0W in my car and 0 usage at 67,000 miles. FYI

 

Chuck, I was going to make the switch to Mobil's 5W50 until I looked at the HTHS (cSt) numbers.

The 5W50 is a 4.22 vs. a 4.35 for the OW40. So, it looks like the 5W50 has a lower high-temperature high-shear viscosity than the 0w40. I think this is the downfall of an oil with a large range like a 5W50.

I use 5W40 Red Line. The HTHS viscosity is over 5.

 

Wouldn't that there be the problem, instead of which oil you were using?