Recently picked up my new 2009 4S and in anticipation of needed to top off the oil level at some point (and despite consulting the manual) I'm not completely clear on which viscosity I should go with. Mobil 1 5W-40 appears to be the suggested choice but I don't think they sell it in the US. So far in my research the suggested weights have been 0W-40, 15W-40 and 5W-50. I'm hoping some of you experts out there can help me with the proper answer. As far as climate is concerned, I live in Los Angeles. Thanks.

 

Seems that most go with OW-40. Covers a large range of temps.

 

Today i picked up OW-40. I have 09 C2. i'm going to top it off.

 

All I have ever been able to find in the USA is 0W-40 and that is even hard to find most of the time.

 

When in doubt I usually read the owners manual. You'd be amazed at how much information Porsche has included in there. For the record, you can add full synthetic oil to any oil without doing any harm to your engine.

 

You'll be just fine with the 0W-40. BTW, I had to add nearly 2 quarts to my '09 C2 at about 3,000 miles to bring it back up to full level.

 

Thanks for the responses. That's is why I love these forums. Can't write anymore -- gotta go buy oil.

 

Pep Boys carries Mobile1 0W-40 for $6.99/qt -That will do you just fine. That is the same oil both of my local pcar dealers use (but thy sell it for $12 / qt... lol).

I don't know where you are in LA but I usually buy it at the Pep Boys on Pico blvd / West Side.

 

Lubromoly 5w-40 would be an excellent choice. www.liqui-moly.com I know there are some european specialty auto parts stores that could ship it to you. Some good debate here https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...mobil-1-a.html

 

For a while I couldn't find it at Pep Boys. One day I asked about it, and they showed me boxes of it on the floor below the shelf. They told me they carry lots of it because all the MBZ and Bimmers need it too.

 

I've been useing Mobil 1 Synth for a long long time. Used it in my race boat, pleasure boat and cars for well over 20 years.

I have used 0w-40 since 2006 in my 997S cars with out any issues on the track and street.

I live in Florida and I found this odd but my local Porsche shop recomends 15W-50 for 997S cars! I was under the impression that this weight of oil would not allow the Vario-Cam system to operate properly. They said that is not true and they have been oing this with all 2005+ 997 cars with out any issues.

thoughts and opinions?

 

As for the Variocam not working with 15W50, that false report was due to some "Porsche expert " yahoo that wrote an article about it and said you had to use 0W40 in order for the system to work.

Since 99% of people believe what they read regardless of whether it makes sense or not, it kinda became accepted as fact.


Mobil 0W40 is as big a con job as is Global Warming being caused by humans. People just suck it up as fact because it's the popular thing to do.

 

Perhaps they "suck it up" because they live in a cooler climate and would like for their engine to get some oil at start up when the temps dip fairly low. If you would like to name a reason to back up this assertion, such as 0W-40 shearing down to a 30 (which it often does), then be my guest. However, if you just want to continue to use 15w-50 since it has been around since the dawn of time and "those cars ran just fine", it is another matter entirely.

Edit: and to the op: 0w-40 is fine. It is the only widely available oil in the U.S. that meets Porsche's current spec for the water cooled 996/7 and 986/7 engines. Most American Porsche owners run M1 0W-40 with nary a complaint.

 

I have tried to read you over the years assuming you had something of value to say. Your comment on global warming proves that I was mistaken. You have the oil information all wrong and have your head up your *** on environmental issues as well. Too bad the planet didn't come with a manual. Not that anyone would have read it. Sad. Gpj

 

Hey, how's the temperature in New York right now? I guess it's true. There is a sucker born everyday.
Oh yeah, now I remember you. You're the one who believes that burning as much as 9 gallons of oil in your Porsche between changes is perfectly fine because it says so in the manual. I guess that's good for the environment too. You aren't trying to warm things up around your area, are you?