Advice on Oil Change / Service Options

Wanting to do an minor service on the 996 (2000 C2). On all the other P-cars I use a slightly thicker oil due to thinning in the summer months in FL. Did a search but 'oil' brings up multiple pages of irrelevant info. What oil do other listers who live in high-temp areas use? What other service items would you change? What is the service life of fuel filter, air filter etc? The car is stock, are there any aftermarket parts that would be considered an 'essential' upgrade to the stock items?

Quotes source post: 4896002

This topic has been covered more than any other on this forum. I think 996 owners know more about oil than the chemists themselves.

Read the manual. There is no better source for this information.

Some oils have been superseded in accordance with TSB's making the manual recommendations obsolete on a number of occasions. This has been pointed out in several threads on oil in the past.

Quotes source post: 4896013

OK, I know this must have been covered, but I don't visit this forum often, I mainly post on the 944 forums. So I searched for 'oil' in 996, this first five pages (as far as I looked), all mentioned oil in a different context, with no relevant info. Could anyone just post me a link to a past post, pretty please with Christmas bells on top.

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/popcorn.gif

Quotes source post: 4896015

I have the manuals, all 13 volumes. The only referance to oil viscosity appears on page 0-13 where it says 'Refer to Tech Info bulletin for engine oils. Any help appreciated.

Mobile 1 0-W40 is most widely used by Porsche.

Here is an answer. It is open to a million opinions, but if you want just one answer, here it is. 0W-40 or 5W-40 synthetic Mobile 1 is one flavor, there are many others. It works for the factory and they had to warranty the cars so I wouldn't bother 'second guessing' the engineers. Many suggest for preventative maintainance to change the oil at 7,500miles rather than 15K Fuel filter, in the older cars had a change interval, in the new cars (Mk II) it was a lifetime service. Check the manual for your car. Airfilter, 30K. Sparkplugs, check your manual, varies by production year. Brake fluid every 2 years. This information is in your manual. Essential aftermarket parts: Short Shift Kit (SSK), clear sidemarkers

Excellent thanks Tim & Andy, short shift kit might be a little tricky in the Tip, though you've just given me an idea for a useless item that might sell on eBay

Here is the latest tech manual for oil that I have:

I would change the tip fluid and filter like at 40-50k miles, mine was black and smelled burnt at around 65-70k mark. I drained it twice and both times it was black, probably had to do with not doing a flush though. Porsche says 90k.

Quotes source post: 4896218

Forget the manual. Go with the most recent TSB, which it looks like someone's posted for you. Porsche updates its recommendation from time to time.

gina.kane Oil was my 1st post last June when I joined. I actually thought I had a unique question, like none of you guys had ever thought to discuss oil. I'll give you my advice on oil and other topics I see here. Oil is like many topics here, everone has a favorite and darned good (and sometimes even scientific) reasons why they do what they do. Now I'll give you mine : You can't go too far wrong by going by the manual. In the case of oil , 0W40. Can you blow a motor using 5W40? Of course not. 15W40? If I drove mine on the track and in very hot climates, I'd probably use 15w40. That's what I use in my 964. But mine is a daily driver and I've chosen 0w40. I may well change to 5w40 on my next change as that's what I use on the wife's G-35 and I'm tired of buying separate oils. The point is, you'll have to read many folk's post, determine whose logic you can agree with, and use them for advice. That's what I do. I'm surprised you couldn't find anything on oils at it truely is volumns. If you want to really get confused, start looking at the zinc level vs. weight, vs. synthetic, vs. Pennsylvia, vs...

Quotes source post: 4896515

I applaud the refreshing reasonableness of this post. Here's my logic: I have never heard of a 996 engine failure related to oiling. And if I use Porsche's recommendation, there is at least some underlying credibility to the source and someone to yell at if something goes wrong. Not so for screen names on the internets. Philosophically speaking, it's been my experience that the amount and vigorousness of debate is inversely proportional to the availability of objective evidence. Think fundamentalist religions, WMDs, the recipe for Special Sauce, and you'll get the idea.

Bruce P +1 But at any rate, a great way to learn. I love reading these threads. I learn someting new on almost every one. Some darned smart people here!!

Quotes source post: 4896653

+1 some very smart people here and thank you all for the info, priceless!

...I wouldn't do that Just wanted to point you fellow BMWCCA members to a good article in this month's Roundel. On page 119-120, there's a good technical discussion on viscosity and spirited/track driving. I read it to say if you're going to track a car, you may want to consider a oil like a 15/50. I also read it to say it's the higher rpm's more than the heat that dictates that. I know thse are BMW's, but I would think this would apply. Anyway, I found it interesting and thought you might...

In theory , the best oil would be 0W-60. The largest viscosity span widely available is 0W-40. In practice there are those who will tell you the additives necessary to accomplish a large span in viscosity break down with time and might cause problems. Personally I use 0W-40. Unless you are tracking the car, don't worry about it, just use Mobil I 0W-40 like Porsche suggests. And read, it can be fun: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ , though as with any information on the internet, don't consider anything as gospel. Did someone mention OIL?

Last summer I used 15w-50w Mobil 1, but changed over to 0W-40W for the winter months.I've only noticed that my oil pressure is slightly higher with the 15W-50W. Other than that it seems everyone has a personal preference with oil viscosity choices.

Quotes source post: 4916904

Thank you for all the options. After speaking to my local shop www.orbitracing.com , for road use they always use Mobil 1 15W-50 year round in FL without any problems. I understand that this might not be the viscosity to go for in cooler areas of the country, but they have used it with great success here. They also said a cold air intake kit would be a useful upgrade, but they had no manufacturer recommendations. Anyone know of a good cold air intake kit, supplier?

Ah..another BIG topic. If you want my input on CAI. Keep your money for the clutch replacement down the road, or an Ipod installation. I've read a lot on CAI and personally believe there's little to no gain in engine performance. If it's really hot and you want to drive really hard, put in 100 octane lead free race fuel which can be found at many stations (at least here in SC). Of course I can't inagine driving THAT hard w/o being on the track. The CAI will give you nice sound inprovements at 4,000+ but that's about it IMHO. Another good option, if you don't already heve it, is the 3rd radiator. That will definitely let your car run cooler.

I agree with Pat. The aftermarket CAI "may" get you a couple of HP but will you really notice an additional (and I am being generous here) 5 HP? That is a whopping 1.5% increase in HP. If you want louder intake sound do the "orange cap" mod, adds no HP but sounds louder at WOT.

My .02 on the CAI: My own little research project on this suggested that you get something out of it power-wise if you also do the chip thing, particularly with the 3.4. It ends up being expensive horsepower, but you get some. Without it, it's mostly a noisemaker. I have an Evo CAI along with Evo's exhaust, but no chip (yet). Together, I find they make the car more involving to drive, because I like to hear what's going on back there when I'm driving con brio. Together with the SSK, they gave the car a bit of edge without making it uncivilized. I won't begin to defend the cost/benefit equation. It's also important to remember that, on this car, 'breathing' mods tend to produce their benefits at higher rpms and speeds. If you're looking for more shove-in-the-back off the line, there's no bolt-on that will do it for you short of a supercharger. None. Flame away, boyz. On the cooling thing: Again, just my own little research effort, corroborated by some near obsessive observing of the OBD temp readout last summer while sitting in traffic. What gets these cars hot is standing still and what cools them is airflow. And it takes surprisingly little airflow to make a meaningful difference. If I was going to improve cooling for street driving, I'd do the fan mod rather than - or in addition to - the third rad. If I was tracking the car, I'd do the rad, since it's heat production rather than buildup that you're trying to manage there. (Thanks to 1999Porsche911 for the OBD temp readout tip. I learned a lot from driving around with it displayed).

Gina &/or Mike: Back to your original q: why would you care to use a thicker oil in the summer? Thinner in the winter, I get that (for those of us not in Florida) but since the 996 is an air-cooled car, theoretically it runs at the same operating temperature regardless of the outside abient, right? So unlike your air cooled cars, it shouldn't matter. Just a thought, as it seems that your shop has decided it for you (and I don't disagree with them - that's what I'm using). And I used to run 20w50 in my track car (C4 Corvette) and I remember many a morning driving that car in sub-freezing temps, which was probably not a good idea with such thick oil. But never had any engine problems due to oil. It was the ARMCO that killed that car. Michael

The thinner oil in a cold climate is more important to protect the engine at start up irregardless of running temp.