First time here, first time porsche owner.

Just bought a 2000 911 carera 4 cabriolet
88k it runs great had all the service records from the begging. Have been driving it for almost 1000k. I just noticed my oil level a little lower then it was this morning when I left the house. Looked under the car and on the driveway floor, no oil is there. The under carriage of the car is clean no new oil or any type of liquid. I looked on the engine it self with a flash light and everything is clean. Is this normal? Does this car burn oil?

I have also noticed, when I take it in the hills and push it hard. It heats up to 190'sh degrees (is that normal?), and when I get back home I can smell oil, fresh hot oil. Its not burning it just smells like I opened a jug of motor oil. Is that also normal?


The way I checked the oil was: When I got home in the garage turn the engine off then turned the key and let the computer test the oil. I was to bars lower then this morning.

 

Welcome to the 6. Post pictures (it's the law).

A *little* oil burned off is fairly normal for these cars. A large amount is not and 2 bars seems....like a lot. Check your coolant to make sure you don't have an intermix issue. If not, keep an eye on it for a while to try and identify how quickly your losing it. Are you sure you're smelling oil? There is a distinctive Porsche aroma that is more reminiscent of burning cosmoline.....

My car tends to run at 180 on normal running. A little hotter in stop and go traffic. So it sounds like your in the right range.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum. As your car ages, the spaces between the metal allow for more oil to be burned from normal operation. Search oil in these forums and you'll be overwhelmed at how much is listed. If you are running Mobil 1 0-40, it is time to change. It is too thin for the age of your car and what you're doing. There are many better choices. Check out any of the following oils and go with 5W-40 to start. Make sure you pick a Euro oil: Pennzoil Euro, Amsoil Euro(many stopped oil consumption with this one per the forums), Shell, Castrol Euro/Belgian. Anything with higher ZDDP to protect your engine from hot, high revs. Oh, if you like Mobil, I've been told you can get Mobil 5W-50 than would be better too. The smell after a hard drive is quite normal for a Porsche. You'll grow to love it. Good luck and repost after you change that oil. For more in depth info, google: LN Engineering, oil recommedations / Oilman, porsche oil / or read some of the lengthy forums here.

 

This is a super oil change thread too / got me motivated and saved me a fortune. I actually did the LN adaptor too and love it:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ed-dragon.html

 

First to the OP, welcome to the forums! To be within Porsche's specification the oil consumption rate is 1.6 qts (1.5 liters) per 625 miles (1,000 km). It seems like a lot and most people do not have to add this much oil. Most have to add a quart here and there over their service cycle.

Thanks for the shout out... As I work for one of the major oil companies and specialize in passenger car motor oils I feel it's my duty at times to help people out when I can. A 5W-40 is not a thicker oil than a 0W-40. The first number in the sequence is the viscosity of the base oil at cold temps/stat up temp. Lower the number (typically), the greater protection you have at start up as it takes less time for oil to travel to essential parts of the engine. The second number is your operating temp viscosity. The Mobil 1 0W-40 actually has a very high viscosity index compared to most 40 weight oils if thick oil is what you want (it is thicker than all of the oils listed at operating temp.Pennzoil, Castrol etc)

Now in regards to M1 5W-50, it is so packed with viscosity index improvers that as soon as you turn the car (not really but it might as well) it shears to the equivalent of a 40 weight oil in a very short amount of time. So in the end, you have a 40 weight oil that under performs at cold start up (where most of engine wear occurs by the way) and gets up to temp a lot slower than the 0W-40. Not a bad oil, just better options out there.The ZDDP content in 40 and 50 weight oils are usually very similar as new emission standards only apply to xW-20 and xW-30 oils. ZDDP is known to clog catalytic converters and the movement in the industry is to protect emission systems, that's why you see 'Titanium' being advertised. It is also cheaper to use titanium than ZDDP. On another note ZDDP is an anti wear additive and the 0-40 has plenty of it. Any synthetic really will stand up to thermal break down and heat than a conventional no matter how much ZDDP is there.

I will say this again, the Mobil 1 0W-40 is the gold standard of 40 weight oils and is the best oil that Exxon Mobil makes. It has a ton of engine approvals and is a factory fill/in service fill in more cars than any other oil in the world.

I don't work for Mobil either so this really is an unbiased opinion /rant

 

Benvenidos. Try comparing oil levels morning vs. the next morning. This allows time to let the oil drain completely down. Also, 190+ degrees seems a bit excessive. Check your coolant level, and add if needed. Does your coolant reservoir have the updated coolant reservoir cap (part#996-106-447-04)? The older caps tend to leak. Good luck.

 

Also, verify the level with the dipstick.

 

Yeah I have seen the electronic oil level report almost half way down, check with a dipstick and it is just a hair under full, then re-run the electronic check and only show one bar off full.

I would suggest taking the readings before driving and comparing to ensure consistency, and defer to the dipstick if you are unsure.

 

Regarding the oil you choose, it is my OPINION that you can do way better than Mobil 1 0W-40. They have changed their formula to a more Cat friendly, energy conserving one that does not protect your engine (specifically your IMS bearing) the way it should. It has ZDDP, just not enough. Do your own research on this site and Rennsport and you will read how important an oil with ZDDP is to specific parts of our engines. Govt regulations changed and provided that failed cats are covered for a much longer time than regular warranties. I can guarantee that if the govt said IMS bearings needed to be covered for 10 years and/or 100K miles that Mobil and Porsche would add ZDDP quickly. So, it may be a bit harder on your cats, but do you want to replace some cats at $2K or an engine at $20K?

Again, only my opinion, but supported by hundreds of others here and on other forums / and in independent oil tests.

 

I am thinking that you are smelling burning RUBBER and not oil... The 996 ( mine did that too) runs these tires really close to the oven ( :-) so combine that with spirited driving and you will get some rubber burning off the back of your tires. AT least that what I found out.
Yep, 190 degrees is what my car ran too when the weather was 60 or above. Just on the right side of the ZERO in 180 which will be around 190. And when you sit in slow traffic it will go up to 200-210 before the fans start. That s why some people change to a lower thermostat and / add a 3th radiator.. So I guess it is normal for the 996 but I found myself always looking at that gauge. LOL
In terms of burning oil and seeing the level go up and down 1-2 bar on the dipstick is quite normal too. Water accumulates in the oil and gets burned off when the engine is hot and gets driven for a while ( say 30 minutes or more on operating temp). So depending on when you check you dipstick you may have some more or less water in the oil. It make a difference on the dipstick.. More than you'll expect it to.

 

I can't resist: New oil formulated specifically for the 996 to meet the high engine oil temps our cars produce along with optimum Zn. JOE GIBBS DT 40 SYNTHETIC. It's the result of a collaborative effort by Flat6 Innovations, LN Engineering, and Joe Gibbs Oils. That sounds good to me. I'm going to this next oil change.

 

It's all good my man. I'm not trying to start an oil vs oil war here. I just happen to love motor oils and like talking about them. I'm an oil nerd what can I say? You're are completely entitled to your opinion and the oils you listed are very good.

Mobil 1 isn't really the oil I choose but based on A LOT of research not only professionally and recreationaly M1 0W-40 is a great oil, with great value and readily available at all 4 corners of the earth and happens to be the factory fill for our cars. Hell I use Pennzoil Ultra 5W-40 in my 996 and Shell Rotella T6 in my Land Rover.

It is not as straight forward as you have been lead on to believe. It's true, oils have dramatically have changed over time but their ability to lubricate and clean has gotten far better. ZDDP isn't what makes a good motor oil, it's really the balance of the overall package. TBN retention (oils ability to make the additive package last that includes detergents, dispersants and anti wear agents) is far more more important than having a **** ton of zinc and phosphorous.

Mobil 1 among others have proved to be great oils with a lot of industry data concerning UOA (used oil analysis) and VOA (virgin oil analysis) to support the quality of popular brands. Every case is different and different oils meet a different persons' needs. If you'rel ooking far an oil that does it all, Redline 0W-40/5W-40 has the highest of quality base stocks you can find a great ad package with a lot of ZDDP

 

Over the last two years I've found that my confidence in choosing an oil is inversely proportional to the number of oil articles and threads I've read. Consequently, I'll be sticking to the choice I made when I was much less informed.

 

LOL. Yep, no oil war here. In fact, I use Mobil 1 5W-30 in both my SUV's. It is good, I think Porsche just demands (& deserves) a little better. I hope an fresh oil change helps out our newbie. I like talking oil too and my wife and friends think I'm crazy. To each his own....HA.

 

Wow guys thanks a lot, this is more info then I asked. I like how you guys handle things. I appreciate the baby steps in teaching me on engine oil, never knew how much of a science this is. I will ask the mechanic what kind of oil he uses, and if I can pick my own. How about filters? Do those make a difference?
Ok one last question how much does an oil change cost?