abe

to that...you are not going to do engine damage. 0-40 probably more appropriate in colder climates....you can get away with a little less viscosity in warmer climates. Stick with the Mobil I, but the wt can be varied a little.
If anyone else thinks in this site that not using 0-40 will cause engine damage and that using 10-30 or 10-40 will.....I certainly like to hear about it. I also like Porsche justify that someone ruinned the engine using a slightly different wt.
The only thing I would say is that if you are going to keep the car for a long time...I would not follow Porsche rec schedulle of oil changes. Like BMW and Mercedes I sometimes question if these companies are rec longer periods between oil changes because it is a selling too...
"see how easy low cost it is to maintain your car". I know engines are better today than before...but I am from the old school and my daddy is a mechanic. Change the oil more frequently... I do it every 3-5000 miles depending upon how eager I am. Some of the post have mentioned how dirty your oil gets after just 3000 miles...I can't imagine after 2 years.
Happy Driving

Ray S

Two experts from Excellence Magazine addressed this "oil debate" in the April 2007 issue. Here is what they said;

On page 34 a reader asks a question about using 10W-40 oil (for a Boxster) in Florida vs Mobil 0W-40. He is concerned about using the 0W-40 because 10W-30 or 10W-40 is a "more common fill" in Florida (he also asks about break-in). The response from the Excellence technical expert was as follows.

"Those who suggest higher viscosity oils usually don't understand the whole problem. Oil in engines is no longer just a lubricant. It is also a coolant for the engine as well as a hydralic control fluid for all of the things like VarioCam Plus, hydraulic lifters, and similar systems. If the oil is too high a viscosity, it can affect the way those circuits operate.
The 2001 996 Turbo was the first Porsche to use the VarioCam Plus technology and a friend who works as a dealer technician told me that one of their technicians spend the whole day trying to diagnose a running problem caused by an owner who hadn't trusted Porsches factory fill and thus changed his oil to SAE 20W-50. The heavier oil totally confused the VarioCam plus system and the engine ran poorly.
All of these devices have been designed to run with the SAE 0W-40 oils or other oils that Porsche recommends. Use only those oils recommended in your owners manual - SAE 0W-40, SAE 5W-40, or SAE 5W-50. Porsche is so sure about this decision that it came out with a bulletin recommending these oils for all of its older models as well."

Now I know that is just one "experts" opinion. However, on page 169 Porsche tech expert Jim Pasha dedicates his entire "Tech Forum" article (6 pages worth) to "Oil". I'm not going to type in all 6 pages of material but I will quote a few short pieces of what Jim reports in his column (he covers a lot of ground in his article).

"Why does Porsche specify such a low lower viscosity rating? The answer comes in two parts. First, in a quest for better fuel economy and longer engine life, Porsche engineers use bearing and cylinder-wall clearances far tighter than what they used previously. This creates less internal drag on components, and lighter oil is more compatible with tight tolerances."

He also says;

"In the latest Porsches, which use 0W-40, the thinner oil is critical to delicatesystems that use motor oil as a hydralic activator. VarioCam Plus uses tiny "shafts" of oil created under high pressure to help the system alter valve timing. It is a trick system but it REQUIRES thin oil to work properly

abe

or pay like Nugget did. I wonder if Porsche has first rights to buy all the Mobil 1 0-40 out there before anyone else can. Oh one more thing Ray..
And for you Nugget..

nyca

search? walmart carries mobil 1 0W40.

irish guitar

I bought a case of Mobil 1 0w-40 from Performance Products a while ago. Recently I went to order some more and see that they now only have Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic 0w-40. What's the story with that? Is it the same thing but just bigger, faster, better?

Nugget

You guys are nuts! In the "Sport Chrono ???" thread there are people patiently explaining that since the Sport Chrono is a mere pittance at only $960 that you'd be foolish not to just buy one even though it's worthless because it's practically free. Yet here I'm getting grief because I spent an extra $20 on ~3 years worth of engine oil because I didn't see the value in trying three or four places looking for a store that stocked it.

Crazy! In a world of Porsche Exclusive options for leather-lined ashtrays and suspension bushings painted to match exterior color I don't think that buying oil from the dealer even registers on the silly indulgence scale.

cello

Ray, nice informative post. Thanks!

OCBen

Well, it IS a worthless option, and if you got suckered into ordering it, it wasn't by me.

I've been preaching against wasting your money on this POS option and on overpriced oil since day one.

Crazy Canuck

abe

Nuggett take it easy....we are just looking out for you....BTW I was too cheap to get the chrono.
I figure I can do alot of oil changes with that. Keep in mind I don't race, its my first Posrche to be use for leisure driving/daily, and have had Benzs for 20years.....so I am a little new to this stuff. Oh, and by the way I eat all my food in the plate because I feel guilty about all those starving people in Africa.....

rdstemler

Hey....where can you get those bushings that match your exterior paint???? Does your HP increase???

dstrimbu

You guys are brutal. :-)

Thanks Ray, nice capture of the issue at hand.

phaphaphooey

Surely you can find M1 0w-40 somewhere, here all of the autoparts stores carry it for $5-$6 a quart and I live in a warm climate. With that said, for Porsche owners in the U.S., a 5w-40 will suffice as well since it does not get cold enough here to really bring the difference between 5w and 0w into play. Additionally, to throw fuel on the fire, there are likely better oil brandss for the car than M1. The M1 sticker by the oil filler port is part of a marketing agreement since Porsche has approved many other oil brands for use in the cars. Although M1 is the most widely available 0w-40 or 5w-40 in the U.S., other oils such as Pennzoil Platinum and Amsoil tend to do better in used oil analyses. The truly curious can visit www.bobistheoilguy.com to glean knowledge from some of the net's foremost experts on oil.

Deanski

I remember reading that article in Excellence. Made perfect sense to me.

Most people skim by the info area on oil, gas, TIRE PRESSURE etc in the manual. If more people would take the time and sit down to read the many manuals that come with the car, you may find most of the info from the start.

And to be quite honest, I've yet to go through the whole PCM manual for the Bose/Nav etc. It's still in the tin where the operating manual is in the car.

As long as it's 0-40W, and is "approved" by Porsche, you're good.

One mag had all the oils approved listed as well.

Regards,
Deanski

nyca

who makes 5w40? I think castrol syntec makes 5w50.