oil for a 1997 Boxster

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

To get such info from an oil analysis, you would need to have one or more of the following consistently appearing in m96 oil analyses by the ~7.5k mark:

- Xw40 oils degrading down to a 20 grade viscosity
- TBN is gone, or TAN is exceptionally high
- Insolubles are too high

Almost none of those are feasible when we're talking about 8.5 quarts of high-end synthetic in a naturally aspirated small displacement engine, daily driven or similar, with any form of modern filtration. Furthermore, boxer engines are typically very easy on oil by their design.

Oh really? We have been collecting UoA's on M96 (and other) engines for many years now, our database entries for the M96 number in the thousands. We have seen Mobil 1's vaunted 0W-40 show lower viscosities than straight 20W oil after only 2,000 miles in an M96, we have seen TBN values that were less than 20% of their virgin numbers in the same number of miles, and have seen more crap in the used oil than one might imagine (fuel dilution, coolant, high metals, etc.).

"Furthermore, boxer engines are typically very easy on oil by their design." You have got to be kidding me.............The M96 is one of the worst oil killers Porsche ever released (and I have been building, repairing and racing them for over 35 years), they run way too hot, have a myriad of minute oil passages that become easily plugged, the chain tensioners are very sensitive to oil’s film strength, they have a lifter and galley design that is forever causing lifter issues, they tend to run bearings dry in hard corners, etc., etc.

We where happy when we could find an full synthetic that could last for over 5,000 miles in one………..on the street.