Oil weight thoughts for the deep south... | FerrariChat

Oil weight thoughts for the deep south...

Discussion in '360/430' started by chrmer3, Jun 26, 2009.

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  1. chrmer3

    chrmer3 Formula 3

    May 19, 2006
    1,719
    USSA
    Full Name:
    Chris
    I have searched & I have read many posts on Oil. I know this has been beat to death but I cannot find what people in the deep south are running in the heat of the southern summer (south carolina).

    5w40 is what Ferrari says for the 360 I believe. My question is with the heat of the south, I was debating going to a 10w/40 -

    I noticed Redline has a 10w/40 synthetic- was debating going that route. Any other thoughts/brands?

    Yes it gets that hot here & if I get stuck in traffic I sit that much more.

    Thoughts>?
    Chris
     
  2. jj525

    jj525 Karting

    Feb 8, 2009
    184
    Virginia, Florida
    Before the days of synthetic oil MB did a test with various oils in diesel engines by just running them until they wore out and then measuring wear of lubricated components. In short the conclusion was heavier weight oil generally protected better and straight weight oils protected better than multi-viscosity. Intuitively that makes sense but it was nice to see it proven. That has changed with synthetics because they are not supplied to my knowledge in straight weight. In the heat of the summer it seems you could easily run a 15-50 weight oil with no issues, but the only datapoint I have is that 1 study.

    Of course if you do what the factory recommends you can't go wrong and you can be sure they have studied it intensely especially the Scuderia.
     
  3. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,539
    Vegas baby
    My advice... stick with the owners manual. South Carolina can't be any worse than Vegas in the summmer. Also, Ferrari tests in all weather conditions. With Shell as their partner, I don't think you can get any more better advice than that.
     
  4. chrmer3

    chrmer3 Formula 3

    May 19, 2006
    1,719
    USSA
    Full Name:
    Chris
    Thanks for posts- I believe I will try Redline 5W40
    Chris
     
  5. Pantdino

    Pantdino Formula 3

    Jan 13, 2004
    2,069
    Full Name:
    Jim
    The main advantage of a lower weight oil is better pumpability at cold startup-- even if "cold" means 80 deg F-- so the oil gets through your engine as fast as possible to lubricate the moving parts. So a 5W oil is good.

    The second number reflects viscosity at operating temperature, which is controlled and will not be exceeded unless the engine is subjected to sustained, high-load running. If you don't track your car or cruise at 160 mph in hot weather you shouldn't need to use thicker oil than Ferrari suggests.

    Do 360's have an oil temp gauge? If the oil temp is staying about the same as the coolant and your pressure is stable you don't need a thicker oil.
     

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