What brand and weight are you folks using in your flat 12 engines? I say, "Not a T.Belt Thread" because the oils available are always changing. ie. The "old" Kendall is now Brad Penn. Kendall is Penzoil or Valvoline? etc. My background fear is killing the cats with high ZDDP oils.
Big difference between BB and TR. BB and BBi had the old and frankly not very good Borgo pistons and rings with iron cylinders. They had a reputation for burning some oil due to the ring package they had and it gets far worse with synthetics. In those one of the good grades of dinosaur 20-50 is a good choice. I happen to use Valvoline Racing but there are other good choices. The BB & BBi had no oil cooler either so weight may vary depending on how the car is used. Run hard the oil temps go right off the gauge routinely. The entire TR line had the much superior Mahle pistons and rings with the alloy cylinders. I use Redline synthetic 5-40 in all of those. Also they had large oil coolers with no thermostat so 20-50 etc is not really wanted in these.
Excellent info! Thank you Brian. This aligns with a lot of my experiences and suspicions. Some experiences that I'm mindful of: Volatility of crummy oil on high revving engines is huge concern. I saw a 308 die sadly due to oil starvation after endurance event and low oil level. Also, at Laguna, I've seen pegged oil temps on 308's w/ dinosour oil which was improved w Agip. So now the dilemma?? I've got an old design Borgo ring package BBi with the necessary CA cats. What oil do I buy at my local O'Reilly (or other more Euro-centric) parts store?? Many-many thanks!!
15w/50 synthetic Mobil 1 for my Testarossa for 10 yrs. Works perfectly, very little start up smoke, and no burning or oil usage.
Interesting, this last year i have been running mobil 1 15-50 and thought the oild consumption was high. Seems I am better off going back to Dino oil?
You have a boxer...I have a 308 carb, I used Mobil 1 15/50 synthetic, I had the same issue, smoked, and burned. Went back to Dino 20/50 the last few years and its perfect.
Same experience. I use Castrol 20/50 in the Boxer. Synthetic makes it smoke a little. I do use the Redline 5/40 synthetic in my F40. Drew
I went agip on the 308...20/50, works perfectly. The 15/50 mobile 1 synth made it smoke constant those 2 yrs in it.
Mobil 1 15W-50 on sale for $5.99/quart during March at NAPA...thats $3/quart less, just thought I would post as it is time for spring oil change
There's a huge difference between a Full Synthetic (Mobile 1) and Mineral oil. They will affect oil pressure, oil consumption, engine noise and of course, longevity. I'd stick to what the engine was designed to use but of course, I'm not an expert here or even performed an oil change on a TR yet. Pics from the Owners manual and Ferrari Dealership receipt. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Excellent Sam !! 512TR .... 10W40, 12 ltrs ... consumption 1-2 ltrs in 1000 kms But friends: look at page N5 in the oem Technical Manual (in case of my 512TR): Maintenance and Lubrication Chart
These belts have never been changed and they're still good but I need to refinish the cam gears due to rust. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think so, but I'm no expert. There is a tech sheet if you google AGRIP SINT 2000. It's just hard to get in the U.S. so I use Mobile 1 and have had no issues, but there sure are a lot of opinions and lots of different recommendations.
I am using BradPenn in my air cooled cars and the old british cars, was planning on using it in the testarossa but they do not have 10-50w. Penn Grade 1 High Performance Oil I used this oil in my last 308 and it worked fine, I do not drive in the cold season and perhaps the 20/50 oil will do for the flat 12. It is not recommended for cars with cat's though, they have other oils but no 10-50 I am aware of. Branded Lubricants - Engine Oils | American Refining Group, Inc. Many Porsche owners prefer BradPenn green oil and Swepco for the gear box, I have used royal purple for the ferrari gearbox but never tried their engine oil. Royal Purple - Synthetic Oil and Performance Lubricants
Anybody want to chime in for updates for 512tr? Great winter project. I wonder if the 512tr would prefer higher zddp levels as long as the cats are gone. I used the pennz 10-60 last change but I had to order a 5 gallon container because the cost was ridiculous What do you guys think about the Mobil 1 0 racing oil? (If you don't have cats)
Not sure if it is cat related, but Mobil is not reccomending their racing oil for road cars. I run their Euro formula 0-40 in my ZO6, which they suggest for street/track day cars. It's worked well the last few years, including hot Oklahoma August track days (110* ambient temp.), IIRC I was seeing oil temps around 257-8*? It's a little spendy, but I always change oil before a track day. See bottom of page: https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-racing-oil
257/8 is not so high, in celsius 125°. up to 135 °C you may not get a problem, only when you finish the track you may cool the engine down before you stop the engine but also have a look at the oil pressure in idle
