0w-40 Synthetic oil source Bay Area
 

Hi All,

My first post. I'm normally on Rennlist in the 951 forum and recently joined the 986 world. I recently bought a 02 Boxster S and after doing some search for which oil to use, seem Mobil 0W-40 is the choice. Anyone know where I can get these online or the bay area? I've been to every auto parts store here and cannot find it.

BTW: These Boxsters is such a blast to drive

I 've found it at any San Jose Kragen locations with no problems. In fact it's on sale right now:

http://ads.kragen.com/kragenauto/default.aspx?action=browsepagelarge&storeid=254443 9&rapid=454727&pagenumber=2

Maybe, that's why you can't find it in stock.

Thanks.

I did go to Kragens but they didn't have tthe viscosity I was looking for. I'll check again tomorrow.

Also try Pepboys, Autozone, and even Walmart. Sometimes it is hit-or-miss if it is actually on the shelf any given day.

FYI:
Looks like you have 2 different rear tires.....and the drivers rear appears to be installed backwards. I believe the "V" in the spread should always be pointing down so you maximize coverage when going forward and water will "bleed" into the center channel from the V ribs pointing to the center........ anyone else notice this?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Welcome and nice 02 S boxster!

Thanks. Good eye. Yes I know that and used it to my advantage when I was negotiating. The rears have Kumho and Falken. The front has Yokohama's. I alrewady have plans on changing all 4 tires and have the car aligned. Belts, air filters, oil filters and cabin filters are already on order. I'll be washing, waxing and detailing the car today.

Is Mobil 1 0W-40 the choice for these cars? Reading the manual MFG recommends
10 W-40
15 W40
15 W-50

Doing a search on Rennlist and this board the choice seems to be
0 W-40.

Is this the choice?

Red Line can be ordred online. Do a Google.

hey cas...nice box and welcome to the forum...see you on the road sometimes :cheers:

Just changed mine with M1 0W-40. It has the widest range- excellent for cold weather starts and acts like an SAE 40 as it gets hot. Found it at Advance Auto Parts for $4.98 on sale, normally $5.98. Buy 10 quarts, use all 9 and top off with roughly 2 cups (cooking terms) from the tenth bottle.


Due for tires also. Any reviews on the cheaper Kumho Tires. Or should I stick with Conti Sport Contact 2. I still have the 17s.

Later y'all,

JV

i'l looking forward to my first Boxster get together. Don't know when that will be. I know of the Boxter fest in Lake Tahoe next month but I don't think I'll be able to make it. I'll be in Hawaii at that time.

Is there any Boxster wremching party at all in the Bay Area? I'm in Santa Clara. I think I posted on one of your post once about you selling your Boxster wheels.

Anyhow looking forward to meeting you all.

:cheers:

Just has a work on cars in San Jose. Duster was there showing us how not to bleed brakes....

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14592

Bet that must have been fun. Is there another one planned anytime soon?

My 996 friend, Loren, has one going on today. He use to go to the San Jose ones. That is how the 996s ended up going to the Boxster work on cars days. But he just moved to Sacramento, so today's work on cars is in Sacramento.

Nothing scheduled in San Jose that I know of.

This is the parking lot of a motorcycle shop in San Jose that we had a few of these.

Walmart

Good Luck

I went to Kragens and guess what they had 0-W40. They had exactly 9 qts left .

Tnaks for all the leads guys.

Ugggg!

I just played "pick the oil" with my dealer on the phone.

According to them, they use 5W-40 as thier standard for porsches - and we are located in the frigid areas of upstate NY.

-Is the a major need/lubrication benefit from 0W-40 over 5W-40 for extremely cold weather??
-My porsche manual (IIRC) does not say to use 5W-40 and it does not even list 0W-40 - I think it advises 10W-40! The mobil 1 website tells me to use 0W-40. My dealer says use 5W-40. What the heck? :confused: :confused:

This is why I was confused. I read the manual and this is the recommended for Synthetic temp > 50 deg.

10 W-40
15 W40
15 W-50

Doing a search on Rennlist and this board the choice seems to be
0 W-40.

I also found this link from Imagine Auto who's a reputable sponsor at Rennlist. Also known for Supercharging Boxsters.
http://www.turbo911.com/showthread.php?t=279

cas951,

It is funny, hearing different reccomendations on oil from 3 separate sources that I all consider reliable - very anal enthusiasts, porsche AD, and the car's manual itself ;)

When did mobil 1 introduce its 0W-40? That might shed some light on some of this. I'd also assume that 0W-40 is best for cold weather and has the best flexibility for high temperature variance.

How about opening a open in poll on oil usage...such as 5w30, 10w30, 10w40, 15w40, 5w40, 0w40, etc and see what people are putting in thier car?

Good idea.

Not sure how to start a poll. Do you kn ow how?

One thing to always remember with oil...the greater the difference in multi-grade oil weights (seperation of viscosities at various temperature extremes), the less that oil will perform at any given range in that span. The additives known as VII do a good job at helping the oil acheive a sense of viscosity balance at OT vs. cold, but there is always a tradeoff! (nothing is free!) - so choose the MG oil with the smallest gap of viscosity range as possible to acheive your desired coverage.

Let's see if I can help start the poll for you.
:D

All of the above and more is why what oil to use is often debated.

Porsche comes out with a list of approved oils about once a year. 0W-40 was put on the list in 2001. 5W-40 was put on the list in April 2007. The list for 2001 said Mobil 0W-40 was now going to be the factory fill.

Back then 0W-40 was hard to find, unless you bought it from a Porsche or Mercedes dealership. You could not find it on local auto parts shelves. In my area there is a local Mobil distributor who would order a few pallets and that is initially were the local guys got it. Back then Mobil said it was not going to make this a consumer oil. I forget if Mobil or the distributor told me this. Something changed because after a time it started showing up on shelves, but you had to hunt at different stores.

Even before then, it was said 10W-40 was the factory fill, but it was not sold in the US back then. People would try to replicate it by mixing equal parts of 5W-30 and 15W-50, as those oils were sold in the US. In the US Mobil now sells 10W-40 as a "high mileage."

Oil is a funny business. Mobil has the lion's share of the synthetic market. Mobil makes enough money that they can pay manufacturers like Porsche and Corvette for a sticker on the car.

M1 0W-40 is fine for the car.

So is any QUALITY SYN with a 5W-40 rating.

Not to worry.

I just searched for M1 0W-40 at my local store. No luck!

Will there be any measurable impact on cold weather starts / cold weather lubrication performance (and I mean COLD - 10 degrees F or less) between 0W-40 and 5W-40?

Not really.

Jeff, thanks for your informative post. Q: when you say that a particular grade was put on the list, does that imply that that grade was applicable to the porsches sold that year? So, for instance, per your above post, 5W-40 is (one of) the recommended grades for porsches sold in 2007, whereas 0W-40 is (one of) the recommended grades for cars sold in 2001.

Thanks!

PS: I'm getting the itch for doing the OBD hack on my 01 (I need the temp to tell me whether to turn on the heat or the ac :) ). I'll send you a note when I run into trouble.

The last few lists of approved oils state that they are retroactive for Porsches made since a certain date, excluding certain models.

The bulletin/list issued April 11, 2007 states that the list is for all Porsches made since 1984, except for the V6 Cayenne.

The prior list was issued July 28, 2006.

So what happens when an oil is on the list, then that oil is taken off the list when the next list comes out a year later?

Everyone has to go to their dealer and immediately change their oil - just a joke.

The dealerships have to throw away all their oil inventory if the oil was on the old list but not on the most recent list - just another joke.

The bulletin issued April 11, 2007 states that the remaining inventory of engine oil specified in the prior list (July 28, 2006) can be used up until June 30, 2007 if the oil is not on the April 11th list. Now, figure that one out.

Then, the April 11th bulletin/list states that Porsche has reached an agreement with the oil companies. An oil approved by Porsche is valid for 2-3 years. After that time Porsche's approval is revoked unless an extension is requested by the company.

Being a cynical Boxster owner, I wonder what it take$ to get on and $tay on the li$t of oil$ approved by Porsche.

I use Redline 5W40. Great oil. I put this in during October 2006. I have an oil change scheduled in 2 weeks. I'll have just over 9,000 miles on this oil. Never added even an ounce of oil during this time period.

Red Line is one of the last real syns left on the planet.

Group 5 basestocks all the way.

I use this in my Sportster and used in my Box.

Good stuff, not cheap.

:)