Oil Preferences?

[Cornpanzer]

I am getting ready to do my first oil change on the 70 "S". P.O. says taht he used Amsoil on the last change. What do most of you guys use/suggest. Thanks

[dr.porsche]

I would be very interested in hearing how your 911S responded to the Amsoil. I have used Amsoil in my bike and my other two cars and I think it is really a great product. I just recently acquired a '72 911S nad was wondering how well the older engines worked with the synthetic oils. I had heard that some synthetics will leak in some engines and it is best just to try and see. But at $6.50 a qt, that's a little steep just to try and see.
Thanks
Jeff

[Chuck Miller]

There is a long thread about oil preferences on this board, but I'll be damned if I can find it ... Sherwood Help

My personal preference has been Kendall G-T1 Racing Oil ... in all I drive... for the last 30 years.

[RSupdate]

In the last 20+ years that I've been listening to my wife about all things 911 Porsche, she has told me time and time again, that if you want to use synthetic oils in a 911, switch over at the time of a fresh rebuild. She says if you don't odds are that you will develop an oil leak shortly afterwards. But on the other hand she says that If you switch over at the time of a fresh rebuild (read: first fill of oil prior to first start-up) there won't be any higher chance of any leaks than there would be using regular motor oil.

She has horror stories galore of owners switching to synthetic oils at "any-old-time" and having it find places to leak out of that the previous non-synthetic oils did not and never did, leak out from.

She has told me these stories on just about every year & model 911 thru the late 80's.....

Now days she gets a chuckle out of owners having their 911's flatbedded to her shop with puddles of oil under them on the flatbed...the owners are all upset....she now acts like a nurse or counciler, trying to calm these guys down, telling them "everything will be alright...."

They simply drain the synthetic out, change filter, re-fill with the owners previous favorite brand (as long as it's Castrol 20/50...right Chuck? ) And surprise.......no more leaks.

Strange...huh?

Oh, and they clean up the underside of the engine etc...of all the leakage mess as well...

[pwd72s]

John, I must be lucky? Switched to Mobil one 15-50 some years ago, at around 35,000 miles. Now at 48,000, change oil & filter on an average of every 9 months, and leaks are zilch...minor drips when I've overfilled a smidgeon, but other than that, no problems...and the case has never been split, so 30+ year old sealant technology. I know others haven't been so lucky, but you never know until you try, right? Why do I choose synthetic over dino oil? Better protection when things get hot, but have to admit, with the '72 front mounted radiator cooler, I've never been past 230 or so, even when I time trialed the car on tracks...So, my suggestion? Try the synthetics...if they don't work, you can always go back to Dino oil....

[roblav]

Personally, I would not use the expensive synthetic oils in a carbureted 911. The problem is that the accelerator plungers squirt raw fuel into the cylinders, which finds its way into the oil, necessitating the 3-6K mile oil changes. This has been my experience running these cars over the past 25 years or so.

[rst73]

I'M GOING TO PUT IN MY TWO CENTS WORTH. AS OF APRIL 2000 PORSCHE HAS RECOMMENDED MOBIL 1 FOR ALL PORSCHES FROM
1973 AND NEWER. PORSCHE TECHNICAL BULLETIN 1701 17MAR2000.
I HAVE BEEN USING 0-40 MOBIL 1 IN MY 2.7 MFI MOTOR WITH NOW 140,000 MILES ON IT AND YES IT DOES LEAK A BIT, BUT IT HAS SINCE 75,000 WHEN I WAS RUNNING REGULAR OIL BEFORE.
BY FAR THE BENIFITS OF SYNTHETIC FAR OUT WEIGH A LITTLE OIL LEAK. THOSE WHO KNOW ME KNOW I DON'T BABY MY CAR WHEN IT COMES TO DRIVING. THE HOTTIST IT HAS EVER GOTTEN WAS 210oF DRIVING VERY FAST WITH IT 105oF OUTSIDE! WHEN IT DOES START TO DRIP I WASH OFF THE ENGINE OFF WITH SIMPLE GREEN AND WARM WATER AND IT GOOD FOR ABOUT 2,500 TO 3,000 MILES AND THE NEXT OIL CHANGE. AT LAST CHECK 1,500 MILES AGO, LESS THAN 4% COMPRESSION LOSS OR LEAK DOWN IN ALL CYLINDERS.
IF YOU RUN SYNTHETIC IF THERE'S A PLACE TO LEAK IT WILL FIND IT! BUT EVEN THE NEW CARS HAVE LEAKS.
I TELL MY CUSTOMERS IF YOU PLAN TO KEEP THE CAR FOR A LONG TIME, USE SYNTHETIC OIL AND CHANGE IT EVERY 3,000 ON THE OLD CARS AND 5,000 TO 7,500 ON THE NEW CARS.

ALL THE BEST!

ROGER GRAGO
R GRUPPE #27

[pwd72s]

Also, if you find yourself in a WAL-MART from time to time? Cruise through the automotive department. A few (too few) times during the year, unannounced, they offer Mobile One in 5 quart jugs for $17.88, various weights. When I discover this? I stockpile!