I just got my oil changed at Moorespeed here in Austin Texas, and they were awesome. Friendly, worked with me, dropped my wife off when she dropped the car off and picked me up when it was done. They used Mobil 1 10W-40 Racing 4T oil…which to my understanding is fine for cars even though it says motorcycle. The only difference is the levels of different voodoo things in the oil that may shorten the life of the cat. Either way, the oil is fine for the engine itself after doing some research.

The real reason for this thread is because I THINK, and I say think because I’m severely diagnosed OCD and anxious, the car has developed lifter tick. This is the 3rd German car I’ve owned (VW and an E36) and they had lifter tick normally, and after I would autocross them I’d have even worse lifter tick, but I’ve never really noticed it in this car until after this oil change. I know that these cars sound like (as it was once described to me) it has a bag of marbles in the crank case, but I’m doing a track day at CoTA in 3 weeks and am starting to freak out that something might be wrong with the car. I first noticed it last night and was really freaked out, but I drove it this morning and feel slightly better about the sound. I put a link to a video I recorded with my iphone 6 (so the sound quality is AMAZING…sarcasm), so if you could let me know what you think I’d appreciate it. The sounds is the same on both sides of the engine.

The car behaves 100% normal, feels like it has full power, no warning lights, holds .7 boost…it’s just this sound is severely messing with my OCD…and please give me honest thoughts, but please don’t say something is wrong just to mess with me.

 

video is private... FWIW Many people talk about sound changes depending on the oil they use.

 

Should be fixed, and I know they do.

The problem is I'm severely OCD and anxious about mechanics now to the point I don't work on my own car. I was an aircraft mechanic and lost a pilot. It wasn't my fault, but for 6 months during the investigation I thought it was my fault until they came back and told me what happened. Ever since then, if something isn't 100% correct I freak out.

 

If you were a mechanic you know a tick in a lifter is absolutely nothing to worry about. The noise just means there may be an ever so slight amount of lash that is not being taken up by the pressurized oil pushing on the piston in the lifter body. Could be wear, a small scratch or scar or a spec of contaminant causing pressure loss. It also could be the fresh oil has not fully entered that lifter body yet and exchanged with the old residual oil which has thinned out.

You should also know slightly ticking lifters will cause no harm to the motor and are just annoying. A lifter that becomes too tight and is totally silent is the motor killer. The silent tight ones are the ones that burn valves, cause valves to collide and bend, cause valves to hit the pistons, etc.

Relax, often with more and more running the lifters will quiet down. Also as I hope you already know, the TT motors are very noisy. There is a lot going on mechanically, and I think it can be pretty difficult to isolate noises and their source. In the end, it's a machine, a very robust one. If you use good oil, change it often, keep the level up and warm the motor before redlining it, you've done all you can do. I agree using an oil with ZDDP is a good idea. I've been using T6.

 

my draining of the oil in turbos caused them to "cavitate" and the sound was annoying as hell and not right. i haven't drained the turbos since and no cavitation noise.

 

Well, a couple of things...

One is 10w-40 oil is not the right oil. 0w-40, 5w-40, or 5w-50. Note that Porsche doesn't approve any 10w-xx oil.

Lifter and VarioCam Plus oiling requirements probably play a role in the 'W' number being what it is. There have been a few reports of owners deviating from the approved viscosity and reporting problems.

The other thing is when doing an oil change to a Turbo one should wait a while after dumping in the oil before starting the engine.

If this shop is not Turbo savvy and failed to do this I'm not sure of what this could do but it might result in air getting into the oiling system and the lifters could get air instead of oil. While this air should work its way out it can take awhile. 'course, if the shop is not Turbo savvy there is the concern about what else during the oil change did it possibly get wrong? Did the o-ring in the oil filter housing get replaced? Is the right amount of oil in the engine?

Last but not least there is a risk to an engine with ticking lifters. The noise comes from the cam lobe striking the top of the lifter bucket because the zero lash adjuster is not working properly due to the presence of air in it.

This can result in accelerated wear of the lifter bucket/cam lobe surfaces.

I know you won't like read this but my advice is to remove the 10w-40 oil. You do not have to use 0w-40 unless ambient temperature where you live/drive requires the "0W". If not then you can use an approved 5w-40 or if where you live/drive is still rather warm this time of year run a 5w-50 oil (Not a typo for 15w-50!).

If the oil gets changed be sure the shop lets the engine sit a while after filling the oil tank with oil before starting the engine and of course the right amount of oil gets added and the filter housing o-ring gets replaced, and in short the change gets done correctly.

 

Thanks for the reply. The shop I have taken it to is a pretty well known shop around here and they race their Porsche's in some series (moorespeed.com). They also service Carrera GT's (not that is an indicator they know what they're doing, but they're obviously respected.)

Another question I have is I've seen various other places that people are advised to run high mileage oil in their engines on these cars, which from what I've always seen is a 10W oil.

 

I freaking hate oil and everything associated with it. One one hand you have an oil list saying no 10W oils...on the other you have people running 15W oils in their cars...and you have oil companies saying 10W because high mileage you need that extra bit. Mine has 84,xxx miles on it. I have a shop that races their Porsche's recommending this oil, as well as other people running the same weight or even a higher weight.

Then you have people saying the engine sounds fine, others saying its chain tensioner, others saying lifter tick, and people who have engines that sound quieter and others that sound way louder.

It seems stupid and silly to other people, but this kind of crap seriously pushes my anxiety for crap like this. I seriously hate this and regret asking. I know people are trying to help, though.

 

Anyone ever try XADO EX 120 in their 996?

I put some of their diesel specific stuff in an old truck I had and it seemed to help quiet things down.

 

What weight is that?

 

I would not use that oil personally but you answer that question with your confidence in the shop you use= so I say don't worry. But I would use Mobil 1 couldn't resist giving my opinion lol.

 

Sorry for the high level of anxiety you are experiencing. But you are the one who elected to use an off the reservation oil and whose engine is now making troubling noises.

Couple of things. One is what works in race engines is not always suitable for street engines. Some racers run a 0w oil for its less drag but I won't run this oil in a neighbor's lawnmower.

Oil companies say lots of things to get someone to buy their oil. Kind of funny that some owners put stock in what oil companies say, who have some monetary incentive to get you to do what they say, yet dismiss what Porsche has to say when really all Porsche has at stake is its existence as a viable automaker.

Also, if you read the oil company fine print invariably there is the advice to when in doubt refer to the automaker. So, really, no matter what an oil company says, it knows the best authority regarding which oils to use is the automaker.

Why a high mileage engine needs a 10w-40 oil vs. a 0w-40 or 5w-40 oil is beyond me.

The assumption is wear has increased clearances and thus a thicker oil is required. But at a cold temperature? I note the oil pressure of my Turbo when I start it cold is quite high, as high as it is when hot and at much higher RPMs.

One would think instead of an oil company recommending a 10w-40 for a high mileage engine instead of the 0w-40 or 5W-40 oil it would instead recommend a 5w-50. 'course, not all oil companies make this multi-viscosity grade.

They like the "10w" cause they get this with low temp viscosity index improvers, an additive. This additive can represent a considerable amount of the oil's weight. It is cheaper than filling the bottle using a better base synthetic oil that delivers its multi-viscosity characteristics, umm, organically because it is a superior oil. 'course, it costs more to make and probably has a lower profit margin.

Over the years I have found owners run just about anything that pours from a bottle. And sure, we do not read of all that many problems.

However, I like to play the percentages and use what the engine maker recommends. To me, only Porsche is the authority on engine oils for its engines. If one wants to go off the reservation regarding oils then one can pick an oil based on what a race shop uses, what is printed in the ads for the oil, or what some other owner has used in his engine and basically the engine hasn't blown up. Yet.

Oh, high mileage...while 84,xxx miles is getting up there, my 03 Turbo has over 125K miles. Up until the last oil change I ran 0w-40 and the engine was fine. I switched over to a 5w-50 (not a typo for 15w-50) not because of any worry about wear and larger clearances but because the climate where I live and drive is mild in the winter and can be rather hot (100F+) in the summer.

My 02 Boxster now has over 287K miles and the same applies.

There is a 996 Turbo around with over 400K miles and a recent engine teardown found no signs of wear. Guess what oil was used? Hint: It was no 10w-xx, racing, or motorcycle engine oil.

 

If you feel better, buy 8 liters of an approved porsche oil, i would highly recommend 5 W 50 or a the best oil ever Castrol Edge 10 W 60, go to the shop again and tell them to change without filter.

End of story.

 

Thanks. It sucks, trust me.

As for the motorcycle engine oil, after reading about it the reason it's "motorcycle" engine oil is because of the higher levels of zinc and/or phosphorus which can be bad in cats...which motorcycles don't have. Other than that its 10W-40 oil.

I'm not worried about cats right now. Also worth noting, my oil pressures at start up are the same they've always been.

Another question I have:

Why is 10W too thick when cold (when things are smaller before thermal expansion) but, when its hot and things have expanded 40, 50, or 60w are okay? This makes no sense to me.

I will tell you, though, I'm only going to the dealer from now on. To hell with all this worrying...but then there will be people saying "Oh, should have gone with the 5W vs the 0w they put in there" or the other way around, or people going "Should run 10w in an older engine like that."

It's never ending.

 

there have to be AT LEAST 50 "approved" oils on porsche's own updated approved oil "list". that right there says a lot if one reads between the lines on the many oil brands available. the one non negotiable recommendation is that it be full synthetic

is a always some kind of 0/40 up to 5/50.