cvazquez

I had a conversation with a Master Porsche Tech. I mentioned oil weight he would recommend for Florida and he responded with 15-50W. I'm considering taking his advice. Opinions are welcomed?

texas911

Just go with the what your manual says.

utkinpol

15w50 is fine for summer, 5w50 is good for whole year. both are better than 0w40 imho.

cvazquez

I did some research and concur; the 15w50 is for hot climates such as Florida. Therefore, I'm convinced so will make the change in the near future.

Lubrecon

When I worked for Mobil Oil, every news release that went out for publication, had the following.....There is no "e" in Mobil....looks like it is still needed!

You do not need a cross graded (x)W-50 oil in any driving application except possibly racing or high speed, high temp conditions. Living in Florida or Texas does not qualify as a need for an SAE 50 viscosity engine oil. Anyway, I bet Porsche wants an ILSAC GF4 or GF5 and a 15W-50 does not meet any of those specs.

Mike in CA

For normal use, why would anyone choose an oil viscosity other than that recommended by the manufacturer? Clearly Porsche feels that oils that are thinner when "cold" (0W and 5W) are important for quick lubrication at startup in all climates. In the opinion of the "Master Tech" what makes 15W-50 superior to the 0W-40, 5W-40, or 5W-50 for this purpose? Doesn't make sense to me.

stevepow

manual says "generally above –13 °F/–25 °C SAE 0W-40, 5W-40, 5W-50"

why choose one over the other, it doesn't say...

Mike in CA

There may not be a significant difference and Porsche is giving a range of acceptable viscosities to insure that people aren't tempted to use an unacceptable oil because of lack of availability. What's consistent is that all the recommended choices flow really well at startup. Given that, why would anyone experiment with an unapproved 15W oil? Like I said, it doesn't make sense.

Palmbeacher

Champion Porsche (Ft. Lauderdale, also owns Champion Motorsports) uses 5W-40. Several independent racing shops around do likewise. Florida isn't any hotter than Ohio, it's just hot more days of the year (and more humid). It never gets past the 90s here, and there's an FHP with a radar gun behind every stand of sawgrass. It isn't AZ or NV where temps are regularly above 110 and you can drive for hours >100mph without worry of getting stopped.

Macster

Mobil 15w-50 is not on PCNA's approved oils list.

Mobil 1 5w-50 oil is. Not all Mobil 5W-40 oils are on the list. (Formula M isn't for instance.)

BTW, I drove my 03 Turbo thousands of miles in the high temps (on one trip for miles and miles through up to 118F temps at speeds of 80mph or higher (AZ)) of the southwest (and CA -- one summer day in the Turbo here in Livermore I encountered 116F temps) with sometimes Mobil 0W-40, then Mobil 5w-50 and then Castrol Syntec 5w-50 (which is no longer on PCNA's approved oils list) and the engine suffered no harm. Oil pressure remained quite good at all engine speeds.

The next oil change, due to happen any day now before I head out on a thousands of mile road trip will be Mobil 1 5W-50 oil. Just picked up 12 quarts at nearby Mobil oil distributor for $7.28/quart not including taxes, etc.

Use a recommended oil of the right viscosity grade. Change it often. I like 5K miles between oil changes.

Sincerely,

Macster.

NA011

Macster,
Do you have any updates to your to your list? It's a good one. Thanks.

"BTW, I just got ahold of the latest PCNA approved oils list -- dated 7-29-2010 --and neither Mobil Delvac or TDT oils are approved.

The Mobil oils approved for North America (or world wide) with their expiration date ().

Esso Ultron 5w-40 (10.04.2011)
Mobil Synt [sic] S 5w-40 (19.11.2012)
Mobil Syst [sic] S 5w-40 (19.11.2012)
Mobil 1 FF 100 0w-40 (17.10.2013)
Mobil 1 0w-40 (07.10.2012)
Mobil 1 5w-40 (25.08.2012)
Mobil 1 5w-50 (25.08.2012)
Mobil 1 ESP 0w-40 (21.07.2011)
Mobil 1 New Life 0w-40 (28.08.2013)
Mobil 1 Peak Life 5w-50 (04.05.2012)
Mobil Super 3000 X2 5w-40 (21.01.2013)
Mobil Formula X2 5w-40 (21.01.2013)

Sincerely,


Macster."

Macster

No. But I'm due to have my Turbo's oil/filter changed this week and I will see if the techs have a newer document. They might not though since many of the certificate of approval expiration dates are sometime next year.

BTW, I was reading through some old notes and found that in late 2002 Porsche switched away from Mobil 1 15w-50 when Mobil 1 0w-40 became available here in the USA. Up until that time even the dealer (Aristocrat Motors in Merriam KS where I bought the car in Jan of 2002) was using 15w-50.

Oh, I picked up 12 quarts of Mobil 1 5w-50 oil (at $7.28/quart not including tax, etc.) the other day from a very handy Mobil oil distributor. This is the oil that is going in my 03 Turbo. And I found the ingredients: fully synthetic with additives.

Sincerely,

Macster.

No HTwo O

Macster, any guess as to why this oil is now off the Porsche approved list?

Thanks.

Balloonmeister

I just had my oil changed at North Scottsdale Porsche and they used 5W40 SYN Euro Pennzoil Ultra, not Mobil 1.