Reviving this thread..... I have read everything above and trust Brian's recommendation of Castrol 20W50. Past oil changes were done using PenGrade 20W-50 Synthetic Blend. I see Castrol now has a 20W-50 High Zinc oil. I wonder if this should be used or the simple original dino formula. Car: 1988 Mondial 3.2 Cab. 30K miles. I live in Massachusetts, and the car gets stored as soon as it starts getting cold out. Thanks in advance. - Ron Frohock
Brian didn't post in this thread; but my recollection is that he recommends Castrol 20W50 mineral oil for the older 2 valve carbureted and injected engines. For the 308 QV and 328 engines, and their Mondial counterpart 3.0 QV and 3.2 engines, he recommends synthetic 5W-40 oils, like the Ferrari-branded Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40. Even the factory fill on the QV 308 and 328 engines was an AGIP synthetic oil! Regressing to a mineral oil is not a good plan. I use the Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W-40 in my 84 308 QV; that's what I'd recommend for your 88 Mondial 3.2. The hype about zinc content above 1000 ppm for "flat tappet" engines is blown way out of proportion - that guidance came for overhead valve 2 valve V8 hot rod engines where the valves are huge and heavy, they run very stiff valve springs to control the very heavy valves, so the cam to lifter faces see way higher pressures than we ever see on a tiny light valve, direct acting on the shim bucket, no heavy pushrod and rocker adding inertia, with moderate cam profiles. A Ferrari 2V or 4V DOHC V8 is not a flat tappet engine in the sense of the zinc concerns. Gordon For reference, from recent oil threads in this forum section over the past one or two years: In response to a member suggesting 20W-50 mineral oil for a 328: From a couple of older threads, this one regarding gear oil and touching on engine oils: In response to a question in 2017 about what oil he used:
@GordonC - Thank you for collating these comments in one place. @Rifledriver - Thanks for sharing your expertise. - Dave
