Oil pressure on my '03 C4S

Hello......name is Les and I'm new here, also new to the Porsche marque. I took delivery a few days ago of my '03 996. In going through the owner's manual I see that the oil pressure is quoted as 3.5 bar at 5krpm on a fully warmed up engine. Mine runs at 5.0 at anything over about 2.5krpm. Engine sounds and runs fine.....no leaks etc. I was wondering if the guage is calibrated in PSI and if so then 3.5 bar is just about 50 PSI. Even so, it's still high at lower revs. Pressure drops to around 2.0 at idle. Would appreciate your thoughts please. Also would appreciate any advice on whether to use mineral or synthetic oil. The manual states either but "suggests" synthetic?? Thanks in advance Les.......Marietta, Ga.

More pressure is generally fine up to a certain point, less pressure is generally bad. What temperature was the engine (oil) at when you observed 5 bar over 2.5k rpm? What viscosity oil are you running? 2 idle is ok. Use synthetic. Stick to mfgr approved weights. 0w40, 5w40, 5w50, or unapproved (10w40, 15w50). (yay another oil thread!)

Mine seems to run as high or higher than the book indicates. I've never paid any attention, assuming that it was either good or a generous sender/indicator. Certainly, I wouldn't do anything to try to get less oil pressure....especially as long as (as logray suggested) I'm using approved oils. It wouldn't hurt to get an oil change & followup inspection in fairly short order now that you own the car. That will set a baseline for your ownership.

Thanks logray.....Temp was around the middle of the guage........viscosity not known although the Porsche dealer I bought it from said they'd done an oil change so I assume they used the correct stuff!! Sorry about "another oil thread"...........as I mentioned, new here....:-(

Thanks RF5BPilot.........as mentioned, the dealer said they'd done an oil change. In checking the levels (manually) it looks to be topped up ok but the color is kinda yellowish like I'd expect with mineral oil. Perhaps it's worth coughing up for a Mobil1 change.

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i would say don't worry bro. my car's oil pressure gauge shows almost the same as yours after i change my oil from M1 0w40 to M1 10w40.

My '02 shows 5 bar at idle (cold) and the 2 bar (hot) or sometimes slightyl below 2 . I noticed that also seems to depend on oil level - if oil is at top of electronic dipstick the readings are higher than when oil is at lower end of dipstick - I guess that makes sense. At >3K RPM it runs at 4-5 bar hot but the other day I noticed it at 3.5bar- sure enough oil level was at min again - after adding oil it went back to 4-5 ..... I used 1qt of mobil 1 0W40 every 1500 mikes or so (54Km on the clock)

Gauge numbers refer to Bar not PSI. New oil tends to run higher pressure for a while. Your oil pressure sounds normal from your description. I use Mobile 1 0W-40 exculsively. Almost 13 years, over 75,000 miles. No leaks or failures due to oil-related causes. However, oil choice, it appears, is for some reason very personalized and a discussion of brands here will reignite a very heavily beaten horse. If you search this forum on oil brand choices, wear a flame retardant suit.

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What you do not have access to is the oil temperature. The oil pressure could very well be different due to differences in oil temperature. If the oil level is low towards the low end there is less oil and the oil could run hotter than it would in identical conditions of the oil level were at the top end. Another factor is with a low oil level the oil that the oil pick up gets may have some air in it and oil with some air will not provide as much oil pressure. In some engines (not Porsches though) at very high rpms due to a poor oiling system the oil can get enough air in it that the zero lash hydraulic valve lifters do not work fully and valve lift is less and valve timing affected and the engine's output falls a noticable amount. Keep the oil level up just to be safe. But the numbers you report do not scare me in the least. Sincerely, Macster.

"Keep the oil level up just to be safe." Means keep it around 1/2 way beytween the full and empty mark on the stick or ~2 bars down on the gauge. Stick trumps gauge. 1 bar or 3/4 on stick if it has been sitting a week.

Normal. Your 996 only has a coolant temp gauge, no oil temp gauge. Not sure how long your engine was running for when you were looking at the gauge, but even once the coolant temp gauge is at the halfway point, your oil will still be colder than normal operating temp for anywhere from a few minutes to 10-15 minutes depending on your driving. Even if it was completely warmed up, it's normal. 2bar at idle is good. It will rise as you increase RPMs as you notice. When you're cold the oil resists flow more, 5bar is normal at idle when cold. Usually if something is actually wrong, the reading are WAY off, very seldom will they be slightly off when something is wrong that you need to speculate. If your oil pressure is too low, you will get a warning on your cluster. If you do happen to get the warning on your cluster, fear not, as 99% of the time it's just the oil pressure sensor, very common on these cars. As for what type of oil, I can only say one thing - I'm a tech at a Porsche dealer in Ontario, Canada. All modern (1999+, not including CGT) Porsches get 0w40 Mobil 1 synthetic. I also put it in my personal '04 C4S. To sum everything up... Don't worry and just enjoy, there are very few things in the world that can compare to the feeling of owning and piloting a P-car Cheers!

Thanks to everyone for some great responses. Certainly has put my mind to rest of the oil front! Best Regards Les.