mastiffdog

Yes, that opener in itself impairs the credibility of the post, if you go back and study the poster's posting history.

Regardless, I know nothing about oil or the chemistry behind the whole thing and will probably go through life not ever caring a whole hell of a lot, but I did manage to read the owner's manual for the car and 0-40W is one of the oils recommended by the factory. The book says what the book says, their car, their oil recommendation.

Oil, shmoil, drive the cars and be happy!

gota911

Anyone ready for popcorn and a drink?.... I'm buying!

DreamCarrera

Tim, I'll take a bag of popcorn with extra butter and a Warsteiner if you don't mind.

Thanks.

mastiffdog

It has been rather boring here lately, I'll buy in, what the heck ...

DreamCarrera

0W-40, 5W-40, 15W-50, Blah, Blah, Blah. I am getting tired of all of this oil talk because I have found a lubricant to use in my 996 which is much sweeter, literally, than any currently P-approved oils. It's Aunt Jemima syrup and IMHO it blows away Mobil 1(AKA Mobil Water).

Please note: I use the original formula as I feel the new sugar free version is far too watery and would not provide adequate engine protection, although I'm sure some on this board will dissagree with me.


Now granted this "lubricant" is not on Porsche's approved list but I don't care because it is so damn good, tasty even.


Here is my take on it. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert in engine lubrication but then that does not stop others here so I am going to have a go at it.

1. Since using Aunt Jemima I have been burning a fair amount of it but I don't care because it smells so damn good when it burns. Hmmmm!!!

2. Since using Aunt Jemima, about 2,000 miles so far, I am happy to report that I have not had an RMS failure. This stuff gums up the seals to the point that nothing could possibly leak from them. I think this stuff will make all of Porsche's RMS issues a thing of the past.

3. I do not hear any valve train noise at start up, even after the car has been sitting for a week or so. In fact, my engine runs so quiet now I can hear the radio perfectly clearly even at 7,000 RPM. Rock on!!!

4. After engine shut down, Aunt Jemima sticks to the engine parts like maple syrup unlike that Mobil 1 water which just runs right off exposing all kinds of bare metal.

5. As far as thermal breakdown is concerned, pancakes are hot arn't they? Case closed.

5. I can't comment with any certainty about its long term engine protection qualities but I will report back with my findings after about 15,000 miles or so. When I do my next oil change I will put the used oil on my pancakes to see if the syrup, I mean oil, has a metallic taste to it. Who needs a laboratory oil analysis, not me.


Flame away if you wish but I truly believe the Porsche engineers will vindicate me by eventually adding Aunt Jemima to their APPROVED(NOT RECOMMENDED) list.

boolala

That's the nice thing about being able to afford a new car before the warrantee runs out on the old. I just use what the factory recommends. For the rest of it--I don't give a crap....

parsecnc4

Just when I thought this thread will get boring ... this is just absolutely top notch

2 thumbs WAY UP

Ray S

Ok, Tim I can't believe I'm about to do this again but I'm going in.....cover me.

1999Porsche911, the current issue of Excellence magazine (April 2007) covers the oil topic in two different sections. On page 34 a reader asks a question about using 10W-40 oil 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. 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 renowned 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 some of what Jim reports in his column.

"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 delicate systems 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

Would you care to comment on why you believe these experts are wrong on the use of the thin oils that they recommend??

turbojohn

I think for the south, the 5w-50 or 5w-40 is better than 0-w40, but I can't find it in any parts stores (not even Walmart)in my area. Mobil 1 is there, but 5w20, 10w-30, but nothing else. Where have you found it, what parts store??

boolala

Some of the same people who think it's verboten to use oil viscosities other than those approved by the Porsche engineers are the same ones who decry the factory reommendation to limit RPMs to less than 4200 in the first 2000 miles of ownership.

Why they think Porsche is right about one thing but wrong about another is a mystery to me.

For my money the answer is simple; Follow the manufacturers recommendation in all cases if you want the most trouble free, best performing vehicle that Porsche can produce.

ebaker

The first number refers to an oil's cold cranking viscosity, measured at -35°C for 0W and -30°C for 5W oil. An oils viscosity above about -15°C has more to do with the second viscosity number. For instance Molil 1 10w30 is much thinner at 0°C than Mobil 1 5w40 (595 cSt. vs. 1066 cSt).

ebaker

Generally faster liquid flow will cool better. For maximum cooling you want turbulent flow. Faster flow is more turbulent.
I think the myth that slower flow cools better came from improved cooling seen when using restrictors in water cooling systems. It was thought the slower flow transferred heat better. Actually the increased pressure created by the water pump pushing against the restriction, prevents boiling at hot spots in the cylinder head.

allegretto

Question;

Assuming minor heat losses in the pipes and the major losses in the sink, wouldn't laminar flow have greater velocity than turbulent and therefore greater heat off-load at the sink, assuming that the sink was not saturated?

1AS

It appears to me that a major point of confusion is to define the primary and secondary purposes of oil in our engines, and recognize that the multiplicity of purpose forces some compromise. It isn't just heat transfer, but hydraulic properties, passive and pressurized flow properties, flow at zero and sub-zero temps, combustion properties, and apparantly some others.
Porsche 911 does make points which are correct for the specific arguement he is making (viscosity for example- if fastest flow was desirable, why wouldn't the coolant be a gas?), but the issue is more complex.
The coolant properties question is probably moot, because with oil and water doing the job, my engine always runs cool. So, I'm guessing Porsche elected the possibility of compromising there to get the rest of the system to work properly. The engine life is probably far longer than any of us will ever keep our cars, but the warranty length isn't. Therefore, I wouldn't do a single thing that could allow a dealer to deny coverage, even if it seemed dead wrong to me. AS

allegretto

Coolant could be a gas. Liquid He or H would be great for pure heat transfer. But water is far cheaper and since it is stable at roomtemp +/- a very broad range it can be used in secondary functions. Oil's primary function is still to lubricate and note that the engineer mentions that tolerances are so close these days that low viscosity is what's needed.

Cooling is a secondary oil function, and oil viscosity probably makes little differnece here. I only brought it up because there appears to be a little confusion about heat pumps.