Oil change, what spec?

What weight oil and type do many of you use? Do you use synthetic, or non-synthetic petroleum based oil?

 

Someone here must change their own oil....

 

valvoline 20/50 racing petroleum based..,,,12 years going,,,baldwin filters.....they are Red,,,so they look good,,, my mechanic used a different brand filter on my 30k service last april,,,but i have the baldwins on standby....hope this helps,,,Brett,,,ps...my local jiffy lube drains the oil for me in their bay,,,and i bring my own oil and filter,,they charge me 20.00.....

 

15w50 Mobil 1. That's what a local Ferrari shop uses and I had it there for some other work so told them to change the oil while they were doing other work. Just put in what the owner's manual suggests and you'll be fine.

 

Jiffy Lube! Oye, I would let them grease my hair clippers.

I hope you put your oil plug back in yourself. How many horror stories of them stripping threads and the owner not finding out until the plug pops out with oil pouring all over the road.

 

I ran Mobil 1 15-50 but took it to the shop for it's second change. They use Mobil 1 5-40. Seems to run fine. Both synthetic. I wouldn't be opposed to using regular oil but I don't.

 

This is what I use
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Ditto!

 

Wow, many of you are using 15/50 that is some heavy oil. I use straight 30 weight in my race car, and 0w 30 in the Viper. Thanks, I'm glad I asked.

And thanks for all the response. I have been reading and learning all I can.

 

0-40 mobil one for over ten years. 50 weight is too thick and flows like mud in cold motors. Decades ago, 50 weight might have been justified. Today's oils are so much better, there is no need. Ferrari changed their recommendation to 40 weight during 328 production.

Dave

 

10W50 was originally recommended for the 308s and using a lower number for the "W" is even better for winter, ex. (0W50)

 

I use a variety of non-synthetic oils - Castrol 10/30 is pretty good I think. So is Valvoline or Pennzoil in that same weight. This is for temperatures in the NW USA (which are really mild). If I was in Alaska I'd use 0/30 and if I was in Arizona I'd use 10/40.

If I put a synthetic oil in a 30 year old ferrari or porsche which has had non-synthetic oils in it, all of a sudden there's leaks springing everywhere.

 

"50 weight is too thick and flows like mud in cold motors"

Straight 50 - absolutely right but 15W50 is 15W in the cold and flows very easily. That's the advantage of multiweight oils - better overall engine protection at all temp ranges.

One can argue about how LONG multeweights maintain their spec weights but that's a different issue.

 

20W-50 Castrol is all I've used. I change it every 2 years regardless of mileage.

 

I was using 5W30 Castrol and liked it. Just recently went to 5W40 Rotella and I'm please as well. Motor and gear oil change is every year in the fall. I put about 1000 miles/year on the car.

 

I've drained 5-50 from cars. It comes out like mud unless really hot. If you want an objective test, get a bottle of each and record how long it takes for each to go through the same restriction at room temperature.

Dave

 

Just remember from Aehaas's paper, that all other factors being equal, the only difference between a 10w-30 and a 0w-30 is the 0w-30 will be thinner at cold start up. Both will have the same thickness at operating temperature. That said, the 0w-30 would always be preferred, just because it will flow faster at start up, meaning (potentially) less wear on internal parts of the engine, since the oil will flow more quickly throughout, and less work for the starter motor and battery to turn over the engine.

 

Not for nothin' but what kind of car are you talking about? A 308? 328? Something else? Maybe I missed it, but don't see an F-car listed in your profile.

Whatever car you are talking about, including a 308 or 328, there are manufacturer recommendations in the owner's manual on the proper grade and type of oil to use. In older cars, if they originally used regular dino oil, you might find that they leak like a sieve if you switch to synthetic. Many newer cars use synthetic oil, and require specific grades of multi-weight oil.

So, IMHO, best place to start is the owner's manual. See what's recommended there. You can't go wrong following the manufacturer's recommendation. As for brands, most of the major brands have their followers here. I like Red Line gear oils, Catrol GTX in my old cars, and Mobil 1 in my Vette. YMMV. As you can see already, tons of varying opinions here on type of oil to use.

 

Esso Ultra 10w40 semi-synthetic fo me. No problems.

 

I use 20W-50 in my 328 and 15W-50 in my Porsche. The 328 gets changed once a year and flows out hot or cold very easily. Ditto for the Porsche but its oil changes are every other time it is goes on the track. Both cars are kept in my basement where it never gets below 55 F. The Porsche is an 86 model with 184K on it.

 

Uh, not really.

15W50 oil is still considerably thicker when cold than it is when warm. It's just not as thick as straight 50 when cold. Oil viscosity is a complicated subject. Read AEHass's write ups in the tech section.

 

Valvoline 5W-40 full synthetic for me. Here is what Ferrari said. The 5W-40 Shell foams a bit too much for most of us, though.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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I use Mobile 1 0w30 in my 328. After reading all I could on these forums about the subject including Birdmans recomendation AEHass's write ups in the tech section.

 

"Read AEHass's write ups in the tech section."

I've read his stuff since around 2003-4. He's interesting!

 

The oil pump and engine lubing were engineered for the characteristics of now unavailable 10W50 so I'll use 10W40 synthetic because its closest to the factory recommendation without going heavier. If I lived where winters are cold, I'd use 0W-40 because "0W" oils weren't available in 1985.

That's my logic, but picking yer motor erl is a lot like picking a Scotch anyway.