Oil change frequency and proper oil

I have searched all over and there seems to be few bottom line answers to the following questions. How often should you change your oil? Everyone seems to agree that you should not follow the manual and change it more frequently than every ten or fifteen thousand miles or whatever it says. That makes sense. But what is the proper mileage? Does how often you track your car make a difference? I am thinking every 3,000 just to be safe. Opinions? What is the proper oil? A lot of thread say Mobile 1 synthetic. But other threads say they changed their formula in 08 and not to use it anymore. What brand should you use? It is a twenty plus thousand dollar engine so cost is no consideration.

99 Carrera C2 No track 5,000 miles 0W40 Mobil 1 Synthetic

You will probably get 20 diff recommendations. My reco is every 5k miles or 1yr whichever comes first. Street: Motul Excess 5w-40 (good price from amazon 5L jugs) Track: I heard Motul 300V

99 Carrera C2 Haven't tracked(yet) 4-5k miles filter and oil either Mobil 1 0W40 or Castrol Synthetic 5W40 Since new, my C2 has 11 documented oil and filter changes and has traveled 67,545 miles. There were 3 dealer oil and filter changes for the first 28,232 miles. That means since my ownership I've driven just 32,500 miles with 8 oil/ filter changes. Usually once a year.

RP 5w40 every 5k miles. Car survived to 117k on 10k mile M1 oil changes at the dealer for ALL of her life before I got it.

http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/P...oved_Oils.html FWIW, once per year or every 5K miles (since I very rarely go past 5K/year) using Mobil 1 OW40. Holding my breath that this OIL THREAD (gasp) stays civil

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All I can offer is my opinion and that is 5K miles between oil/filter services is a good number. Well, my opinion and based on the fact my 02 Boxster's engine has now racked up almost 280K miles with my following a 5K miles oil/filter schedule. My 03 Turbo's engine has over 120K miles running this oil and getting 5K mile oil/filter services since I bought it in 2009 with just 10K miles. Not good enough? Well, there is a 996 Turbo with over 400K miles on it and the owner (posts under the user name "T2" primarily in the 996 Turbo section) reported recently he pulled the engine to address some leaks and to tear the engine down to rebuild what he suspected was a worn out engine -- though I do not recall he reported any symptoms of a worn out engine -- only to find upon tear down no appreciable wear. IIRC he's run Mobil 1 0w-40 in the engine. As for some formula change, I hazard a guess it is the rare oil that doesn't have its "formula" changed at some point or another over a span of years. Regardless, Mobil 1 is still the factory fill oil last time I heard and Porsche still offers a 4 year, 50K mile warranty and still offers a 100K mile extended warranty which to me says Porsche has a lot of confidence in the oil with which the engines leave the factory. The oil is also still on the Porsche approved oils list. There are a number of other oils on the list as well so there are no shortages of approved oils if you want to use something other than Mobil 1 0w-40. Might also note there are a number of oils what were on the list and have gone off the list. Some may be off the list because the oil company changed the formula to the extreme. As for track usage... When I raced motorcycles and when I auto-x'd I showed up at the track or the auto-x course with fresh oil in the engine. That was what more experienced racers did -- we often prepped our motorcycles together -- and what the mechanics who worked at the shops I hung out at recommended. Later when I auto-x'd that is what my mechanic friends (some who also auto-x'd) did.

Change every year regardless of low miles. Change every 5,000 miles. Joe Gibbs DT40 5W40. Do Blackstone UOA's. Run an L&N Eng. magnetic drain plug.

5k miles Mobil 1 5w40

5000km or whenver i park it for the winter Giving Motul 5W40 Excess a shot

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Turbo Diesel 5W40? Good choice.

Annual Castrol Syntech full synthetic, I believe 5W-50, about 3000 miles. New filter, unfold old one and look for shiny bits. Running magnetic oil plug. Keep it on full mark. Original IMSB. Will change plastic filter housing next oil change, some anecdotal evidence the bypass spring wears, and they are under $40 I've heard. 2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red

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2003 Carrera 4S Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 Rust Red

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Dave, i'm running the original IMSB too at 61k miles. How many miles you have?

It's the cheapest insurance you can buy to assure a long and happy engine life. Mobil1 0W40 between 4-5k miles. Especially if you are a DIY guy you're only looking at $60 bucks.

I'm a new owner, but I have the LN Engineering Spin-On oil filter adapter (use a Purolator Pure One Filter or a Bosch). I just changed my to Millers CFS 10w40 and will be changing every 5k. I am at 68k on my 99' C2 with original Dual Row IMS Bearing.

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5k miles (or less) Motul 8100 Installing LN Engineering spin-on adapter at next oil change

I like the way the thread is going. Just stating what you use and no bashing BS.

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Unless you use oil gathered from the remains of magical unicorns you are guaranteed an IMSB failure! Must change every time you even think about the word "bearing" (Sorry )

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+996. Magnetic oil drain plug, oil filters from Pelican and Mobil1 0W40 from Walmart. A nice DIY ritual at each 5K miles.

Local porsche dealer uses Castrol Synthetic 5W40

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Was wondering if you also DE. I bought my 2003 996 C2 last year and have done 2 DE days so far this year and am wondering how frequently I should change my oil. Had changed a couple times last year as had my IMS done and then later ended needed the RMS done so had changed at about 2K miles each time, and was planning on about 5K between changes...but am now tracking and wondering if I should change more frequently and if so how frequently. Just seems crazy after every day and maybe even 2, but just don't really know. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

All of the above suggestions plus observe the color of the oil on the dip stick when you check it . A healthy motor will maintain fairly clean oil between changes whereas dark or black oil is an indicator of a not so healthy motor, the unclean odor & color essentially being from carbon or other unwanted wear elements getting in the oil . If this is present , chg the oil & continue to observe it & at your discretion have a tech do a compression test & by all means dissect the filter for contaminants . For the 1st oil chg of my 01 C4 purchased in 12/13, I put in 10/40 Castrol for High Mileage oil as I'm a long time Castrol user & it contains a seal treatment as well as better than average detergents . After that will be full syn Castrol . Bob 01 C4 31 Ford cp chp & ch, 302/350 40 ******, 302/350, IFS 38 Ford cp, 327/350, IFS 57 Belair 62 356B --long ago

Thanks for all of the answers. There is no one right answer. It is not like the car is going to immediately throw a rod if it gets the wrong kind of oil. Very good to know about always going to the track with fresh oil. Anyone know if you should just switch out your oil or should you also change the filter as well even if it is relatively new?

I'm running DT40 05-40W, FVD deep sump, LN filter adapter, filter mag and an LN low temp T-stat. I change at 3000 miles or after 3 track days whichever comes first. I also get an OA from Blackstone. Car has 90K miles and uses a half quart between changes.

'04 C4S here, 84k miles all on Mobil 1 0w40. I like the idea of using slightly thicker oil in summer so switching to Motul 8100 X-cess 5W-40, will go back to Mobil 1 0w40 in late fall. The Motul is on Porsche's approved oil list and Amazon has a good price on it. I'm installing a new (stock) oil filter housing and LN magnetic oil drain plug which (for a little while at least, as the car is new to me), I'll check frequently for signs of IMS failure. I have found it really easy to jack the car up slightly, whip out the LN plug temporarily replacing it with the stock plug for a quick inspection, kinda like a poor (extremely paranoid) man's IMS Guardian

If you track your 911, then change oil/filter following each track weekend. relinuca

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I have heard others say the same and am just starting so honestly dont know rationale, but doesnt that seem excessive ? I mean, Including driving back and forth to the track and my 4 20-minute sessions, I will have about 250 miles on it. Will the Mobil 0W-40 break down that fast ?

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I think its more of a preventative measure since you're redlining the car and it's a good idea to flush out anything you might have knocked loose..Carbon, a loose bit of metal here and there..etc..Is a bit excessive? Probably, but it's piece of mind when you know what the cost of a rebuild is.. Some of my OA's from Blackstone showed a touch more Iron and Zinc and a touch lower on the Viscosity on Track Day oil vs Street used Oil..Still doing its job.. Ken

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My last OA from blackstone was right after a single session with right around 1K miles on new oil. I've now done 3 more sessions and added about 2250 miles overall so I'm interested to see what that does to my next report.

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this will be useful info to all of us that DE! 2002 Turbo - Basalt Black Metallic / 2003 Carrera 4S - Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 - Rust Red

Subscribed. I've got 2 DEs on my current M1 oil and was planning one more this weekend at Road Atlanta. Probably 1500 miles total incl. road miles back and forth. It still looks new when I wipe the dipstick on a paper towel... I was planning on changing it after this upcoming event.

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You are where I was thinking. I've done 2 days and in May have an auto cross and then a 2 day at Mont Tremblant and was wondering if I should do before or after that....although I guess the answer is that if I have to ask the question, then should probably do anyway. To my earlier post, if I do before Tremblant, then I'll have less than 500 miles and just don't know how the oil can be bad in that short a time. Thanks all for the thoughts...

So this has been an interesting thread. I have been out of the oil game for quite a while. So bottom line is that I was and am still under the impression that Casterol Synthetic is a Group III base oil. Since, many people are using it in these cars is that still the case? Also, I was under the impression that about 2007 or so Mobil reduced the amount of sulfer in their Synthetic - has anyone else heard anything about that? I use Joe Gibbs Racing Oil in my 996. Thanks,

Motul 8100 Xcess every 5k. LN spin on using WIX or NAPA Gold and LN mag drain plug. No track yet.

Under my ownership: Mobil 1 0W-40 Changed every 5K or 6mo since I've owned it. Factory filter Dealer here used 0w-40 Mobil 1 as do the 2 indy's I've talked to According to the service history I have from the 2 previous owners (always dealer maintained it looks like.), on the car's second oil change they switched to 15W-50 Mobil 1. The original engine never made it to it's 3rd change as 2 years later the motor was replaced under warranty with an updated large bearing design on Porsche's dime (no reason why listed). That was in early 08. The original owner was changing oil every 2 years and had only racked up 8100 miles in the first 6 years. 2nd owner bought the car in 2010, had it changed every year with 0W-40 and racked up close to 30k miles on it going off of time rather than mileage. I was concerned I may be burning oil as it seems a bar or 2 lower than when I initially had it changed back in October, I've done a DE and 1 AutoX since then though. No signs of smoke, Oil pressure is good, oil still looks clean on the stick but I'll be changing it shortly anyways just to be safe. <2.5k miles since last oil change in October. 02 C2 Just ticked over 50K last week +1 on the magnetic drain plug.

AMSOIL 20-50 5to 7k change, specially good for the Florida HEAT.