Porsche Driven by Pfaff Racing at Rolex 24 Gets its Oil Analyzed
After 2,500 miles of racing over 24 hours, the Motul oil in Porsche 911 GT3 R showed no signs of wear.
Endurance racing blasts through tires, and fuel, and brakes. But one component that sometimes gets overlooked is oil. Well, it is overlooked until it becomes an issue. At the recent Rolex 24 at Daytona, Pfaff Motorsports used Motul oil in their 911 GT3 R. During the 24-hour race, they completed over 2,500 miles.
Traditionally that kind of mileage is nearly the length of old-school oil intervals. After that kind of mileage, oil would break down, and that’s with “light” use in a car used in every day driving. So after an endurance race, you’d expect the oil to come out looking beat up. Shockingly, it wasn’t. According to our friends at Rennlist, Pfaff had decided to send out their oil to see exactly how much abuse it took during the race.
Reading through the results, you’re probably as surprised as we are. No significant signs of wear. Not only does that mean that the oil protected the important friction surfaces, but the oil itself held up. Keep in mind, oil does not just lubricate, but it also cleans and cools the engine. Oil passages are routed specifically to cool engine hot spots, and solvents in the oil take some abuse from the combustion process itself through mitigating carbon deposits. Amazingly, all of those functions were still present in the test sample.
Essentially, Pfaff Motorsports could take the Motul oil they used at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and put it right back in the car and continue racing. They would actually need to do that in order to get a proper wear sampling. Not like they would do this for the upcoming 12 Hours of Sebring, but they could.
So, now you’re probably wondering how this related to your road car, right? While you would think an endurance race might be tough on an engine, your street car gives oil a challenge too.
Essentially, Pfaff Motorsports could take the Motul oil they used at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and put it right back in the car and continue racing.
Motorsport oil is formulated specifically for higher temperatures. But race engines get warm, and they stay warm. Your regular road car puts oil through a number of heat cycles every day, meaning it has an even wider range of operation where it must provide protection. Polymers in the oil prevent thermal breakdown in motorsport applications. Those same polymers allow your car to start up at 50 degrees on a brisk morning, and operate at 200 degrees over and over.
Photos: Motul
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