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Which Driven oil for high temperature climate. FR50 vs DI40
Live in an extremely hot climate. 68-120 degrees Fahrenheit all year. Would using Driven FR 5w50 instead of DI40 be better for the engine and possibly prevent or extend any bore scoring issues.
997.2 c2s that currently uses motul 8100 xcess 5w40 that consumes some oil but below what Porsche deems normal consumption. oil changes done every 5-6k miles. Last UOA was not great with iron, aluminium, copper all in the higher ranges
I would move to the FR50. Thats what I run in my supercharged 997 that sees 225-250 oil temps when it's being pushed hard on spirited drives. Have only seen 250 in the middle of the summer. Last weekend I drove the car as hard as it's ever been driven in NC and TN around Tail of the Dragon and the surrounding area and temps never got above 230 F but did see the oil pressure drop closer to 4. Even at those temps, my oil pressure stays above 4 bar on the gauge. At 200 F, it's at 5 bar on the gauge when being driven. It's always at 1.5 bar or above at idle. The Driven oils should hold up to 300 F oil temps just fine.
You could also email LN and see what they suggest. Although the above suggestions are likely correct.
DI 40 is 0W-40 and too light of a viscosity for extremely hot climates like the south and the west. Charles recommended FR 50 for my Florida Porsche. Good tip to contact LN Engineering because It is the best place to buy Driven oil and products as LN/Charles are a RL supporter and it is same price there as everywhere else.
I think the temps and the UOA are 2 different things that can/should be managed separately. Oil weight will help a little for temps but 3rd rad, LTT will help to. The UOA can be looked at with "better" oil or additives to help.
NOTE: Its worth checking your oil temps with OBD or CANbus readers. The gauge is not an accurate indicator. My oil reads 215ish on gauge but canbus is 196.. The water gauge is way off but we all know that is a dummy light.
Last edited by platinum997; 11-01-2021 at 12:14 PM.
DI 40 is 0W-40 and too light of a viscosity for extremely hot climates like the south and the west. Charles recommended FR 50 for my Florida Porsche. Good tip to contact LN Engineering because It is the best place to buy Driven oil and products as LN/Charles are a RL supporter and it is same price there as everywhere else.
Charles is certainly the best resource. However, I'd ask him again about the DI40 (0w40), and if you are are tracking it, the Driven XP9 (10w40) for the track. A 50w oil in a Porsche DFI engine, with tight tolerances, might actually increase your temps. This season -- 20 event days (yea!) -- I tried running the Driven XP6 (15w50) during the hot summer as an experiment, and the car ran much hotter. I dumped it immediately, right at the track, and ran the XP9 for the rest of the weekend, and it ran 10 to 12 degrees cooler! The DI40 runs about 5 degrees cooler than the XP9 for me. Also, the DI40 is made for the DFI engines. Note: the comments about viscosity are a bit off I think. The low number is basically about cold viscosity. The top number is about hot viscosity. Both DI40 and XP9 are 40 weight oils. I've been told that the base oils for each are basically the same, while the XP9 has a formulation geared towards track use (I'll let the Driven peeps or Mr. N elaborate). Just my two cents worth learned while chasing my own oil temp issues this year. FYI, I have the CSF rads and center rad, the LN deep sump oil pan and the LN deep sump PDK pan -- running 230-240 oil temps on track, depending on ambient temps. Normal driving is between 180 to 200, in any weather, with the DI40. Bump on LN!
Last edited by Papamurphdog; 11-01-2021 at 03:52 PM.
Reason: spekking
Charles is certainly the best resource. However, I'd ask him again about the DI40 (0w40), and if you are are tracking it, the Driven XP9 (10w40) for the track. A 50w oil in a Porsche DFI engine, with tight tolerances, might actually increase your temps. This season -- 20 event days (yea!) -- I tried running the Driven XP6 (15w50) during the hot summer as an experiment, and the car ran much hotter. I dumped it immediately, right at the track, and ran the XP9 for the rest of the weekend, and it ran 10 to 12 degrees cooler! The DI40 runs about 5 degrees cooler than the XP9 for me. Also, the DI40 is made for the DFI engines. Note: the comments about viscosity are a bit off I think. The low number is basically about cold viscosity. The top number is about hot viscosity. Both DI40 and XP9 are 40 weight oils. I've been told that the base oils for each are basically the same, while the XP9 has a formulation geared towards track use (I'll let the Driven peeps or Mr. N elaborate). Just my two cents worth learned while chasing my own oil temp issues this year. FYI, I have the CSF rads and center rad, the LN deep sump oil pan and the LN deep sump PDK pan -- running 230-240 oil temps on track, depending on ambient temps. Normal driving is between 180 to 200, in any weather, with the DI40. Bump on LN!
Agree with you that FR 50 will not reduce the temps or the fuel consumption either…….but it will better protect engine from the heat because it has a higher HTHS. It will probably shear down quicker too. The third radiator and LT thermostat is to reduce temps. If OP is driving in temp ranges of 68 lows to 120 highs then 0W-40 oil is not the correct viscosity especially on track. Agree with contact LN.
Consider installing third radiator, low temp thermostat and FR50.
im based in the middle east. all 997.2 sold here come with the third radiator by default. Most other cars ive owned have a lower temp thermostat as well for the middle east markets as the part numbers are always different from US models so i would assume porsche do the same. will need to check.
11-01-2021, 02:15 AM
Which Driven oil for high temperature climate. FR50 vs DI40
