Hi all Just wondering what engine oil everyone uses or recommends. I need to do an oil change soon and was curious as to people's choices and why. I have been told synthetic oils are better for the 308 engine but others have recommended mineral oils. My 78 GTS wet sump has 70000 miles. The previous owner told me he used a mineral 20W-50 by Repsol and the car does not blow smoke and has good compression. Thanks in advance David
Then stay at this choice and never change a running team. 20W-50 is very good, I run it (Castrol Classic) at my 8-Cylinder Cavalli too.
Oil choice is, historically, the second most debated topic here (after timing belts). Darn near everyone's got an opinion, and almost nobody has reported ruining their engine due to oil choice. Many people feel you need an oil with high zink/ZDDP levels, some people feel you shouldn't use synthetic oil, some people even think you should run really thin oil compared to what the manual lists. I have a personal affinity for the Joe Gibbs Driven oils which make claims to use some special additive not present in typical oils to fight rust during long-term storage (as well as all the zinc you might need). Unless you're pounding it on the racetrack, a -40 or -50 should work and no doubt a lower Winter number is good.
I use Mobil 1 0W40 in my 328 since I purchased it in '08. As noted, you will get a ton of various opinions. Do whatever you are comfortable with - the factory recommendations in the owners manual are, obviously, a pretty good start. The only thing, IMO, worth noting is that with any multigrade oil is that within the tolerance of specs, any oils with the same top number are the same "weight" at operating temp. IOW, an 0w40, a 10w40, and a straight 40 are all the same. Factory oil recommendations have tended toward lower "w" numbers as those oils became available.
I use Shell Helix 10W60 Racing in my 308 GTB QV. Many specialists use this oil also. When I bought it, it had 5W40 in it. (also synthetic) I had the old oil tested and the lab-report said the 5W40 is too thin for this engine. You can risk bearing damage. I think many oils are fine for these cars, but I would never use too thin oils. So if you are happy with the 20W50 oil, stick to that. I would never use 0W40 in my 308, but that is just my opinion. Other people think otherwise. But like everybody says, there are 100 threads about oil already and even more opinions
On my 76 , I have stayed with 20w/50 as well, seems to work the best. Little start up smoke, and very little burn throughout the season.
Proper oil viscosity is determined by oil system pressure. If the viscosity of the oil provides sufficient operating oil pressure, it is the correct weight. IOW, if 30 Wt oil provides 10 PSI per 1000 RPM in an engine, there is no benefit to going to heavier oil. "Tight" bearing clearances can use lighter viscosity oil, "looser" bearing clearances need higher viscosity oil to achieve the same pressure per RPM. Heavier weight oil than needed just means the relief valve on the oil pump lifts at lower engine RPM and the pump uses more engine power to pump the heavier oil. In my engine building days, we custom tailored each engine to oil by checking operating-temp oil pressure in the engine, going with the lowest viscosity that would maintain the 10psi/1000 RPM pressure readings. Frankly, that was almost always 30 wt.
I have used Castrol 20W-50 with good results, To me the best test is your oil pressure at the stop light at the end of the off ramp after a long hot run....I want good oil pressure there. The needle shouldn't be bouncing off the bottom of the scale. Under those conditions, I like it to be 25 to 30 pounds.
Just to be clear, your engine report applies to exactly one oil at one particular mileage, which is the one that was in your car. It is foolish to say 5w40 oil is "too thin" for the 3x8 engine -- there are plenty of other reports that refute that. One thing is very clear: different oils with the same label viscosities are NOT created equal. Some 5w40 oils will shear down to barely a 20 wt after just a few thousand miles in a tuned engine (one Mobil oil, in particular, was infamous for that). On the flipside, Castrol GC oil is a 0w30 but it has a higher tested viscosity than many 40 wts, and it maintains its viscosity exceptionally well during grueling use. They're all different, and some better than others. There are many threads you can search for recommendations on here. There's a lot of uninformed opinions, but I think there's a general consensus that our engines benefit from an addititive package with extra zinc, etc, protect the cams, etc. There are some expensive oils that do that which people recommend. My Ferrari mechanic has always recommended Shell Rotella, and I know a lot of track fanatics who swear by it based on their own oil analysis reports. It is inexpensive, readily available from Wal-Mart, and comes in dino, semi-synth and full-synth varieties. I'm running the mineral version in my 328 (you can see an oil analysis report here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/411741-used-oil-analysis-w-rotella-15w40.html), and just yesterday I switched my 375hp WRX over from Motul 8100 to Rotella T-6 full-synth because every analysis I've seen indicates the Rotella gives all of the performance of the fancy Motul at half the price (similar addititve package, etc). (The Motul has tested extremely well for me, though, too.) One thing I would definitely say is to avoid any oil stamped "energy conserving" for any high-performance engine, as the EC oils seem to give up sheer-stability for mileage considerations. Also - Oil that's too thick is just as bad is oil that's too thin, as you'll over-work the pump and potentially get oil starvation issues. Per the owners manual the oil pressure should be right in the middle of the gauge during mid-RPM running (4-5000rpm, IIRC).
I suspect that for as little "stress" that most of these cars receive, Johnson's baby oil would probably work fine! OK, I'm being sarcastic. I do NOT use and do not advocate using JBO in a Ferrari motor.
Royal Purple 20W / 50! Best product for my car! Will never go back to Mobil 1 or Castrol (used in the past).
Make that olive oil -- EXTRA virgin! Actually, I've been impressed with the 328. Even on the race track with 105-degree ambient temps, its fluid temps and pressures showed barely any change for the most part.
OK, I'm curious…. I don't know what oil type/viscosity was stated by Ferrari for 308s; I only know that synthetic 10w40 was stated for my '89 328. I see several posts of 20w50 dino oil being used. Was this weight oil recommend by Ferrari for earlier 3x8's?
Castrol 20/50 with a ZDDP Zinc additive (1 bottle per 5 liters). Considering the mileage I do over the summer (+/- 4000kms) I change it once a year. It works fine for me.
When you get around to freshening that old motor I would switch to a synthetic. Mobil 1 15k 50 if you have it there.
