Porsche Branded, "Genuine" Engine Oil??

I know there is a line of " Porsche Classic" oils for older Porsches / hard to find viscosity (e.g., 10W60) but is there a Porsche branded "genuine" engine oil aside from M1? A friend of mine has a 991 but not at all a car guy and doesn't even know where the car battery is located (and thinks he must go to a dealer even to replace a battery). He was complaining about his recent oil change of $550+ at a dealer in NJ and was asking "oh, do you know how to do an oil change for a 911 and can you do it?" He knows I have been DIYing most of my life but seriously thinks that 991 is like a spaceship while my 987 Boxster (or other cars) is like a tractor simply because his car is waaaay more expensive than mine. And before I answered, he immediately said "oh, I would only agree to let you help me if you use the Porsche genuine oil." First, I was thinking WTF, you are "allowing" me to save you $500 bucks??..that's nice.......and if you want help, just go buy whatever you want and come by Then wondered "what is this Porsche branded, genuine oil?" When I asked him, he just assumed the dealer used the Porsche "Genuine" oil (and heaven forbid any of the A40 approved oil goes into his car and something like DT40 will make his engine explode ). In any case, is there a Porsche branded, "genuine" engine oil that's not the classic line? AFAIK, even GT3RS is factory-filled with M1...

Do you really want to deal with this dude? I'm sure the Porsche "Approved" "branded" oil is simply Mobil -1 in a 50-gallon drum that mechanic's draw from as they service the cars. In new shops, it's likely in an overhead hose with a thingie to dispense the correct amount. As you suggested, if you're helping him and he's saving money, he can do the fancy footwork, find an oil that pleases him, and pay for it. This sounds like an entitled #sshole who is now looking at you as his personal mechanic. I guess you could try showing him the sticker on the car that sez " Porsche Recommends Mobil -1". IMHO it's not a great oil, but it's not awful either.

Hahaha..I am a nice guy and even "allowed" foodbiker to meet me

Besides the "moral quandry" of whether to help this guy (that's your call) I was interested to see what would happen if he actually went to the Porsche dealership parts counter and attempted to buy Genuine Oil. I pulled up the PET for my 987.1 Cayman and here is what I found. First image- there are 3 listings for oil. All are Mobil -1 0W-40 Second image- I went to Getporschesilverspringparts.com The P/Ns for the litre and the gallon come up as Discontinued. The 3rd P/N, for 20 litres, does come up. About $20 litre. So it would appear that the dealship might officially have the product in bulk. And that is not to say that on new cars the dealership might have a Porsche part numbered product to sell you. So speaking of new cars, I went back to the Porsche Classic PET website. They don't list any newer 911s than the 997 but they do list a PET for the Macan , valid right up to now. As shown in the third image below, the P/Ns for oil are very similar. Indeed, the P/N for the litre is also discontinued. So you got me. That is probably way more info than the OP needs or wants. I suspect most parts counters keep Mobil -1 on hand to sell to folks. This scenario probably pales in comparison to Ferrari owners that do engine out services based on calendar time and wind up pulling the engine on a car that has only traveled a few thousand miles. To each his own! One final note- I am on pretty good terms with the parts guy at my local dealership. I went in to purchase Genuine transaxle fluid. Yeah, I am more like the original poster's friend than I would like to think. He was able to sell me said fluid in litres but he said in the shop, they dispense it in bulk. Noting that a standard full fill is between 2 and 3 litres, he said he was pretty sure they round up the service order to 3 litres and charge their retail price, regardless of what gets pumped out the the big tank. Capitalism in action!

Sometimes. OEM does not always mean the same as original. Sometimes the original part or fluid is slight more tailored to the application than the OEM replacement. Other times the OEM replacement may have some updates or improvements that the original does not include.

You are correct that it is just Mobil 1, but where it get's dangerous is that so many just keep saying it's Mobil 1 0W-40. But which one? For modern cars, there are several flavors of M1 0W-40 and you should put the right one. Porsche specifies different Mobil 1s for my 2022 Cayman 0W-40 than GT Car 0W-40, so it is not as simple as many make it sound. Mobil 1 lost their BMW Long Life 01 certifification or didn't go through the trouble of getting it certified. Some of the newer 2021 and on cars have particulate filters that use X3 or X4 variants of Mobil 1 0W-40. So oil on modern cars is not just selecting the right brand or viscosity grade. Engines are being fitted with more advanced emission systems and direct injection that can more prone to evaporative losses, intake valve build-up and low speed pre-ignition. The amount of detergents in oils can have an impact on low speed pre-ignition so just popping down to Walmart and grabbing a 0W-40 oil is not really the best way to care for your beloved car. Oil is very specialized nowadays and you should do your research especially with the newer cars. If someone doesn't want to do the research and wants some piece of mind, then they will have to pay for crazy dealer prices. It stings but at least you are probably getting the right stuff. On the 718 Mobil 1 X3/X4, it is even hard to find aftermarket. I had to go buy it at the dealership for my first oil change. It is more available now than in 2022. The 987s have more choices on the correct oil. No they are not tractors but back then you were allowed to run two viscosity grades. You don't even specify if which 987 Boxer you have. Early base ones were Port Injected which doesn't carry some of the intake valve build up or pre-ignition concerns of direct injected variants like the S models. If you knew this difference than it didn't come across in your post. The bottom line, just based on your post, you are in the wrong for making fun of your buddy for playing it safe. And no the engines don't explode but those that lived through the GT3 engine recalls, Bore Scoring issues and other BMW Nikasil engine issues are are little more concerned to try to do the best thing for their car.

I mean, sure, that can sometimes be the case, and you should do your research first. But that said, not in any of the cases I listed. The 987/997 are very nice cars, but there's nothing particularly exotic about their designs that requires custom fluids or something. As to which oil, just check the spec for the model and buy a brand that meets the spec. You can get into the nitty-gritty of different brands if you like but for a modern car that's good enough. If the 991 is A40 spec you can use the Mobil1 FS 0W-40, if it's C40 it would be the ESP X4 0W-40. My guess is that the big barrel at the Porsche dealer that they're pumping from is the Mobil 1 ESP X4 0W-40. That's A40 and C40 spec'd so it can probably be used in the vast majority of cars they've built since the 996 or so, and again is probably the factory fill. Porsche and the dealers aren't going for magic fluids that are the best or anything, they just want something that meets the requirements.

1) Great oil thread, TBH. Always nice to see my fellow P9 peeps intelligently put good data out there, instead of throwing rocks at each other. 2) As of right now, I'm still sticking with Mobil 1 on all my vehicles; see my responses in earlier threads. I may change that in my 987.2 at some point, but not at the moment. The fact that the car comes factory with a sticker on it with a specific brand and weight recommendation -- that's good enough for me. Dollars to donuts, P-car dealers have huge bulk containers of such that aren't branded. 3) I can certainly vouch for @Hoster987 being a nice guy. Heck -- Not only did he let me meet him, he paid for lunch twice up here in Boston! (Thanks again.) 4) At some time or another, we have all met that guy who is a combination of being flush with cash, and very obsessive about their car. They can't be persuaded to be convinced otherwise, and it's a shame their energies and attentions aren't directed towards positive things. One could totally have a psych field day on this, but that's not my point. To me, the key thing is how such people act. If they're not interested in being kind, thoughtful, trusting, or open-minded to myself and to others -- those are non-starters for me. I'd rather give my time, energy, and help to the people who are. That's the foundation of a solid community. Just my two cents.

I hear you and I have the same exact PET...I would have to tell my friend that he MUST get the oil that starts with 991.xxx....which he may not find He and another friend (with a Bmer and a Audi) have been asking me to change the oil and I keep telling them "spend 5 mins, do some research, go buy the right oil filter cap wrench, oil, a filter, a washer, etc, then we can talk about it. I will even discard the old oil for you".....and they go quiet

You can buy me lunch next time I am up there

Great thread. Last time i changed someone else's oil, (1977, old vw, beer, greasy motor, greasy tools) I ripped my right finger tip clean off. i only do my own oil changes now on my '07 CS and 86 Carrera

OP, here's another reason not to get involved with your friend. As soon as you become his oil change guy, then he'll be coming to you for everything. "So my car started making this strange noise when I start it cold, and it only started this right after you changed the oil. Do you think you did something to it? Can you take a look at it?" Steer him toward an independent shop that only charges $400 for an oil change

hahaha..a great point. He will NOT go to an indy as he thinks dealer have this unicorn running around with a magic potion...he even paid $700 to replace his Audi SUV battery - yes, this requires removing the front seat and a scanner tool ($100?) to "reset" but certainly not a difficult job for a typical DIYer. My friend and I try to avoid taking his calls when he mentioned "oh I need to change my air filters" (as you may know 991s require you to remove the rear bumper but not as difficult as our 987 bumper removal which we have done in the past)

There's another A40 oil here in Europe that I never heard of before. I noticed that at the last service of my 981 , which I bought recently, they used it. It is called Liqui Moly Top Tec 4100 , 5W-40. This is a synthetic oil from a company in Ulm, Germany. It seems to work, and according to various websites it is quite kosher. The place that did the service charged €22 per litre for it, but in the local shops it sells for €33 per litre -- which is a bit rich! I have ordered two litres from Amazon.de for €30 incl shipping. David

LiquiMoly is one of the more "famous / boutique" brands, at least here in the US....they only support / sponsor various teams in F1, MotoGP, DTM, etc...