I was hoping to get everyone's opinion on what synthetic oil you feel would be best for a turbocharged gas engine. I've used Mobil 1 since the first oil change in it but would like to see if anyone feels that there is a better oil for day to day highway driving with a few instances of hard acceleration and spirited driving. I'm looking to also try out the Auto-Rx cleaning product on the engine since it is nearing the 100,000 mile mark. Thanks for the opinions!
Best oil for a Turbocharged Eclipse.
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for turbos i would suggest redline or amsoil.
The reason I became an Amsoil dealer is because I bought my first turbo
OK enough sales hype. (but it is true)
You are correct to recognize the need for synthetic oil in your turbo. Sure people have got some miles out of their turbos with dino oil, but drive hard, or have to miss an oil change and the wear/coking can go extreme really fast.
I have been doing 10K mile oil changes on my turbo
for now almost 100,000 miles. UOA's look good. Of course it's been Amsoil. I have used 10W-30, Series 2000 20W-50, and 15W-40.....and to be honest didn't notice a whole bunch of difference in the seat of the pants/engine sound department. Another 9000 miles and I'll do a UOA on the 15W-40.
OK enough sales hype. (but it is true)
You are correct to recognize the need for synthetic oil in your turbo. Sure people have got some miles out of their turbos with dino oil, but drive hard, or have to miss an oil change and the wear/coking can go extreme really fast.
I have been doing 10K mile oil changes on my turbo
for now almost 100,000 miles. UOA's look good. Of course it's been Amsoil. I have used 10W-30, Series 2000 20W-50, and 15W-40.....and to be honest didn't notice a whole bunch of difference in the seat of the pants/engine sound department. Another 9000 miles and I'll do a UOA on the 15W-40.
What weight of oil is specified for this car? Mobil1 0w40 is very popular with owners of turbo cars as it's one of the few oils that meet stringent European ACEA A3/B3 specs as well as most manufacturers specs (VW, Porsche, BMW (some) etc.), and it's available off-the-shelf from places like AutoZone.
Turbodave,
Mobil 1 10W30
Mobil 1 0W-40
(German Castrol) 0W30
Amsoil S3K 5W30
(I put the German Castrol third only because we have less "experience" with it and it is harder to find. I put the Amsoil last only because it is more expensive; however, of the four I think it offers the greatest potential to extend drain intervals and with a greater margin of safety in doing so, if that is an important issue for you.)
Mobil 1 10W30
Mobil 1 0W-40
(German Castrol) 0W30
Amsoil S3K 5W30
(I put the German Castrol third only because we have less "experience" with it and it is harder to find. I put the Amsoil last only because it is more expensive; however, of the four I think it offers the greatest potential to extend drain intervals and with a greater margin of safety in doing so, if that is an important issue for you.)
FWIW, my mildly modded '94 TSI consumed M1 10w30 at the rate of 1qt/1000 miles. That was the old forumula, but I couldn't keep it in the motor. The 15w50 worked better for me from a consumtion standpoint.
$0.02,
Robert
$0.02,
Robert
Thanks for the replies everyone! I've been out of town for a few days so sorry for the slow show of thanks. I've been interested in maybe going to a bit higher viscosity for a while plus and minuses to going higher viscosity and is there anything sacraficed in going with a something that has a larger spread like a 0w40 over 10w30?
Thanks again everyone.
Thanks again everyone.
Turbodave,
Different cars, different results...but I don't like what I am seeing when you mix Saab Turbos with M1 0W40...shears and doesn't convince the reviewer that it is the best protection you might be able to find for a turbomotor. So I would NOT at this point recommend M1 0W40 (I know, Porsche puts it in their turbomotors, but have we seen a UOA from one of them?)...maybe you have another brand in mind. Of the oils we have easy access to, I'd say I'd feel better about a 10W30 than most anything else...and not necessarily M1.
[ August 12, 2003, 09:38 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]
Different cars, different results...but I don't like what I am seeing when you mix Saab Turbos with M1 0W40...shears and doesn't convince the reviewer that it is the best protection you might be able to find for a turbomotor. So I would NOT at this point recommend M1 0W40 (I know, Porsche puts it in their turbomotors, but have we seen a UOA from one of them?)...maybe you have another brand in mind. Of the oils we have easy access to, I'd say I'd feel better about a 10W30 than most anything else...and not necessarily M1.
[ August 12, 2003, 09:38 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]
Since you've used the Mobil for 100K with good results, I'd keep on using it.
Go with the 10W30 definitely. Not only have the UOAs on this oil been consistently excellent, but Mobil recommends the 10W30 SS for higher mileage vehicles like yours anyway. Plus you'll get faster turbo spool-up and better mpg with the 30 weight than with the 0W40.
I've run M1 10W-30 in my Saab turbo with good success. Depending on UOA it looks to be losing its abilities at about 6500-7000 miles. If you change at 5000 or so I think any M1 product will work fine.
I used to think high vis oils were better for turbo motors but with research here and other places my opinion is a thinner, high quality oil is a better choice. The 0W and 5W oils will get to the turbo bearings quicker and the good oils are plenty stable at high temps.
Right now I'm running German Syntec and in a couple thou miles we'll see how it compares to M1. So far, so good.
I would not recommend boutique oils like Amsoil or Redline unless specific situations require them. I think they're too expensive if M1 and Syntec will do just as good a job.
So you might want to start with M1 5W-30 or 0W-40 and do a UOA at a reasonable mileage (5000 would be good). Then based on that UOA bump the interval or go to another oil.
I used to think high vis oils were better for turbo motors but with research here and other places my opinion is a thinner, high quality oil is a better choice. The 0W and 5W oils will get to the turbo bearings quicker and the good oils are plenty stable at high temps.
Right now I'm running German Syntec and in a couple thou miles we'll see how it compares to M1. So far, so good.
I would not recommend boutique oils like Amsoil or Redline unless specific situations require them. I think they're too expensive if M1 and Syntec will do just as good a job.
So you might want to start with M1 5W-30 or 0W-40 and do a UOA at a reasonable mileage (5000 would be good). Then based on that UOA bump the interval or go to another oil.
TurboDave,
Check out the the UOA results on my 90 Eagle Talon TSi. My old turbo Talon seems to like Mobil 1 10w-30.
Check out the the UOA results on my 90 Eagle Talon TSi. My old turbo Talon seems to like Mobil 1 10w-30.
Again thanks for all the great input. Turbofrog I took a look at your numbers and along with everyone's input and my own experience it looks like I'll be staying with Mobil 1. However after all the great results with the Auto-Rx that everyone is having I'm definitely going to go with the 100,000 mile treatment regimine with the next oil change.
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks,
Dave
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