What brand of oil are GTA folks using in their 911/964/993? With all the talk about the lower zinc level in current versions of Mobil 1 on the 993 board, have you guys found an alternative? This applies to pre-OBD II 911s (not 996 and 997).

Most recommend Brad Penn, but I don't know of any dealers here. Some recommend adding the GM EOS zinc additive to the oil to increase the zinc content.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

I have cross-posted in the 993 forum.

 

I am not in Toronto but I use Elf. It's a euro oil, synthetic. If I can get it in Ottawa you should be able to get it in the GTA.

http://www.elflubricants.ca/

It's now goes by the name of 'Total', I use the one in the picture on the homepage. I don't know it is exactly right for my car. The way I look at it, if my engine blows I will probably spend less time rebuilding it then I would have researching all the documents and threads on oil.

-matt

 

I've got the name of the GTA distributor of Brad Penn. His name is Brian Taylor (briantaylor at rpoil dot com). There was a thread about it in the Canada Pelican Parts forum a few months back.

His pricing is as follows:

Brad Penn racing 10W30 sells for $51.89 ,10 case price is $47.56, the 20W50 sells for $51.33 and the 10 case price is $47.05,note when buying 10 cases you can mix from the different grades

I think the pricing is fairly competitive. I'm still using Mobil1 5W50 in my '91 C4. My mechanic doesn't think the zinc is a big issue for my car. He's got a 964 as well and is aware of the threads on rennlist. I too have seen the discussion on the 964 boards about zinc. Sometimes these kinds of discussions turn into such bun fights (as with engine tray on/off, engine chips, after market airboxes, etc) that its tough to find the "truth".

My car is a daily driver and I need the lower weight in the winter. I don't think 10W30 would cut it up here in the North. I've asked for real world winter experience with Brad Penn on the 964 board but haven't had any answer yet.

Would love to hear about what the other 993 guys have experienced.

Cheers,

Cliff

 

I noticed you use Mantis from another thread right?

Actually, my 993 is at Mantis right now. They have heard about the Zinc discussion, but still recommends Mobil 1 0W40 or 5W50 for all 911s as that is the factory approved oil. I am sticking with Mobil 1 for now.

But you are right, the available Brad Penn viscosity will only be good for summer here. It will not work well during winter months.

 

Brad Penn from a group buy from their distributor in Oshawa as mentioned above. $35 a case for 20W50. (It's gone up!) Very thick oil. The car seemed to run slightly quieter.

But after digesting the monster oil thread on Pelican, the consensus is if you change it frequently enough, it doesn't really matter. But I still bought BP just in case.

Ian

 

+1 for Mobil 1 5W50. I drive my 993 in winter ('95, like yours) and 5W50 is probably a good compromise.

 

Amsoil Synthetic 5W-40 European Engine Oil. I have been using this oil for about 6 years and recently in my 996 and the honest truth....RMS leak stop. It is the best oil I have ever used.
Jack over at G-tek does all the work on my car, he we pleasently surprise.

 

I use Castrol GTX 20-W-50 on my 80 SC. I recently had the engine apart to change the head studs and re-grind the cams. The inside of the motor was spotless.
I track the car as well and the temp. never goes above 230.
And that is with a trombone cooler.

 

You're correct. Congratulations on your 993.

I did mention the last time the car was in that with all the stop-n-go city driving the car endures, she's using a bit more oil than expected. He suggested that the next time I top up, I should use a 15Wx for the summer months. The 5W may be too thin in the hot summer.

I'll probably only need one oil change per year since I'll be lucky to crack 10,000kms. But if I get to the point where I need more than one change a year, I'll try running the BP in the summer months.

Might be worth organizing a group buy.

 

In my 928 I use 20W50 Valvoline VR-1 racing oil. I have been using this oil in my Porsche since I first owned one. I have had no issues and a case costs around $60 dollars. So far this has been good for me...but I do not drive it every day either....Bill

 

hey b5...does this mean now that you've got the new car the S will be for sale?

 

I run Royal Purple 20W50.....it goes on sale twice a year at Performance Improvements, so I buy 3 cases......works well, price is good, and the 930 seems to like it.....

Cheers,

Mark

 

Garden variety Castrol 20w50 in the 72 911. No way I'd put synthetic in there, as I don't like cleaning my garage floor! I change it quite frequently - at max every 5000 km but it's usually 3-4000 km intervals. Mind you it sees the track a fair amount (though not these days unfortunately!).

 

Gents,

Speaking of oil, if you give me a sample of your oil I can get it analyzed that will give you loads of information on what's happening in your engine. I think it costs $60? I take it to the lab at U of Waterloo and test it there.

Let me find one of my previous readouts.

 

That would be awesome. I can see the line up already. You better put a wristband policy in effect and hire crowd control....