Bought a Dodge SRT-4, They Recommend Mobil1 Need some Advice.....

[UncleS2]

Congrats on your SRT-4 "Super Neon"! for oil: I don't mean to sound like a Schaeffer rep, but have you considered BobZoil(Schaeffer 7000 blend) in 10w30? Especially if you change it every 3K, savings would be substantial. The German Castrol 0w30 should be an excellent choice, & easily allow you to extend oci's to 5 k, at least. A little Lube Control to keep those ring packs working freely should also help to safely extend intervals, no matter what oil you run. FP or Neutra will keep those injectors clean & working right, too.

My 97 Neon now has over 150K on it, & running great, though it'll never match the SRT-4's acceleration. I'm jealous!

And for the Acura owner above- I can only say...

! Only a Neon, indeed!

 

[guitargeek]

I agre with someone above... stick with 10-30 Mobil 1 and don't worry about it. It's deffinitely a proven oil, and comes as factory fill, so I would think that would be plenty.

Good choice, BTW. They're quick little things and are seriously under-rated. If I had the money for one (and a little extra to chop off that rediculous wing on the back), I'd be all over it, and I'm a die hard GM guy who's never considered anything else...

 

[Last_Z]

The first thing you need to do before worrying about motor oil is to take that thing to the track and tell us how it did. Then we can discuss all else.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Last_Z:
The first thing you need to do before worrying about motor oil is to take that thing to the track and tell us how it did. Then we can discuss all else.

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I saw one during my last trip to the track and he was running 14.4s at 97mph. He didn't seem to be launching it too well. This same day I ran a best of 13.68 at 100.4mph in my nearly stock LT1 Firebird. So I'm not quite scared of getting beat by a stock SRT-4, although I'm sure that one with it's boost level tweaked would be a different story!

 

[BrewCityR]

edit for noobness

[ November 29, 2003, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: BrewCityR ]

 

[BrewCityR]

quote:

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Originally posted by Patman:
So I'm not quite scared of getting beat by a stock SRT-4...[/qb]

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Me neither in my *cough* LSD-equipped *HACK!* Integra Type R

. No, I'm just messin' around. With the LSD coming for '04 (is that an option now or comes standard?), it should be a fun autocross/HPDE trainer.

Patman, you need more posts.

Stuart, amen, to Schaeffer 10w30. My R and daily driver Civic live by it.

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/wetoddimage.wtdr/i=wMTUxNDkxNnM0MTNkZmQzMXk1NDE=.jpg

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

quote:

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Originally posted by BrewCityR:

quote:

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Originally posted by Patman:
So I'm not quite scared of getting beat by a stock SRT-4...

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Me neither in my *cough* LSD-equipped *HACK!* Integra Type R

. No, I'm just messin' around. With the LSD coming for '04 (is that an option now or comes standard?), it should be a fun autocross/HPDE trainer.[/QB]

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my 2004 model comes with a quaife lsd from the factory, newly added this year, one of several really cool parts on the car. I should be taking it to the ClubSi Gingerman event June 21st, 2004, I'll see how it performs on the track.

[ November 29, 2003, 04:43 PM: Message edited by: Idrinkmotoroil ]

 

[geeeman]

Cousin....!

quote:

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I'll dare to say that once owning a Mopar product you'll never buy another ricer...

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HA HA HA... Once you've owned a Mopar, you'll never want another one...!

Oh crap...(I can say that now, right?) wrong forum...!?!?

 

[Patman]

I'm shocked I owned two Mopars, since my first one was a disaster, a 1984 Laser. I was only 16 when I first bought it, and it was in the shop every month with a big $$ repair of some sort. Then when I was 18 I bought a brand new Dodge Shadow ES Turbo. This one was incredibly reliable though, I owned it for 3 years, and drove it 50,000 miles and not once did it need to return to the dealer. The only problem I had was with thermostats sticking open, but they were easy to swap in less than 10min and only cost $3. I loved that little car, it would keep up with 350 Irocs in a 0-60 sprint since it only weighed 2700lbs but made probably 170hp (that little turbo engine definitely made more than the advertised 146hp, especially in colder weather)

 

[Idrinkmotoroil]

Patman, your car is **** fast, and its an automatic to boot. Are they all that quick ?. I can see why you like to run the 1/4 mile every so often, must be fun running that fast. cool.

 

[Steve S]

Love your car and change the motor oil and transmission oil often.

 

[Jerry]

My '87 Lebaron 2.2L turbo w/ a stick, had severe rod flutter by 90K miles and was low on oil pressure. Ran Castrol 10-30 GTX w/ 3K drains. A short 4-5 mile "almost floored" sprint late one day for work did the engine in. After that oil pressure was much lower (50% of what it was before) and reving the thing at 2K no load, you could hear the flutter even with the hood closed.
Not sure I would blame the oil on this one, I did hear the bottom end on those turbos were weak and rod problems were common. Be interesting to see if the Neon is beefer..

 

[WeyounDS9]

I keep hearing stories of PPL running their engine's hard and the breaking.

I am used to 10 year old Infintis running them up to triple digits daily (there was a spot on ym way to work where it was nearly impossbile for cops to lurk and an extra lane opens up when I lived in Minneapolis (dont remember the hiway).

I guess I been lucky, there is only one achilleus heel with my favorite cars (plastic guides for cam chains, replace with improved part for $1200-1500) and when its fixed, the engine can be run w/o fear for mechanials

Once I ran (emergency w/ full knowledge of Police)) one of those almost 10 year old Q45's (in perfect shape,tranny cooler, susp,tires, brakes, engine) at 100-120 mph in hilly terrain for 75 minutes never dropping below 95 and then accelerating hard back up to 110-115 mph.

Ran exactly as before afterward and now years later its still running well for a buddy of mine (who runs even harder than me at times.

Fred...

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Idrinkmotoroil:
Patman, your car is **** fast, and its an automatic to boot. Are they all that quick ?. I can see why you like to run the 1/4 mile every so often, must be fun running that fast. cool.

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My car seems to run quicker than other LT1 f-bodies with the same setup as me, but a lot of that is due to my making sure this car is running at 100%. A lot of guys show up at the track with old plugs and wires, or have never changed their fuel filters, etc. My car is in perfect mechanical condition, plus I think it's one of the better built LT1s, which is making a few hp more than average. In bone stock trim my car went 13.74 at 100.0, while most others go 13.9 to 14.0. I did let it cool down a long time to run that number though, and the weather was really good. Those are two big factors.

When I ran my 13.68 it was really cold out (5C), but I also was hot lapping the car, which usually slows it down by a tenth or two. So I expect more out of the car next year when I make some runs with a good cooldown and good traction (I only cut a 2.00 60ft on that 13.68 run, but have run a 1.94 60ft on that track before). The only change from stock now is the new exhaust system I put on (an SLP catback)

Driving this car on the dragstrip is nowhere near as much fun as my supercharged Mustang was (12.16 at 112mph) or my 98 Formula (12.68 at 110.6)

 

[VNT]

Congrats on the SRT 4

I currently own 5 older Dodge Turbos and run the Amsoil 0W-30 with the bypass filters and run
20K mile/2year drains. Never had a problem. Have 185K miles on my shadow, 155K miles on my spirit, 117 on my 86 CS Daytona, 110 on my 90 ES Daytona.

As far as your car goes, ditch the stock computer and get the Upgraded computer(Stage 1). The stock computer does not like manual boost controller and will pull timing when it detects anything it doesnt like. We dynoed an 03 last spring and attempted to raise the boost, but you could watch it detect it and pull the timing on the scan tool.

If you get the stage 1 computer, a manual boost controller and a better exhaust, the car will
run 12.8's. Check out the SRT board and look for SRTGurl. She runs hers(o3) at NEDW and has the slips and videos posted.

BTW the upgraded computer doesnt detect nor care when it sees the extra boost. Also the turbo and manifold are an integral Turbofold, expensive to upgrade and I dont know of anyone who is making a seperate exhasut manifold.

Regards

Mike

 

[Bror Jace]

Stewart Hughes: "I don't mean to sound like a Schaeffer rep, but have you considered BobZoil(Schaeffer Supreme 7000 synthetic blend) in 10w30? Especially if you change it every 3K, savings would be substantial."

Bingo!

Stewart, I'm surprised no one beat you to this recommendation. For short intervals, I don't think anything's gonna beat this stuff ... period. It's thicker than Mobil 1 and won't shear down appreciably during the 3,000 mile interval.

I see guys with Vettes and Vipers using Mobil 1 and then swapping it out after just 2,000-3,000 miles. I understand babying an expensive toy with extra care, but what's the point of the Mobil 1 in that situation?

If it were me, I'd order a mess of Schaeffer and then if/when you dump it after 3,000 miles it isn't as expensive ... and your engine probably is getting better protection all the while.

Search the UOA section for UOAs of Schaeffer 10W30 and see what I mean.

Of course, there's a lot to be said for using Mobil 1 ... especially if any warranty claim gets challenged. See if the manual is really pushing the stuff.

BrewCityR, I see you're still on the Bobzoil bandwagon. Good deal.

I, on the other hand, have (maybe temporarily) left the Honda-Acura bandwagon with the purchase of an '03 Nissan Sentra Spec-V.

It has dealership oil in it now, will have Red Line Oil in it this winter and then it's back to Bobzoil in the spring.

--- Bror Jace

 

[StratGT]

I've owned alot of Chrysler Turbo products and never had any problems with them. The cars were a "85 Shelby Charger Turbo, "85 Lebaron GTS Turbo, '87 Daytona Turbo Z, "93 Eagle Talon TSi AWD.

The secret to extending turbo life is to let the car idle for 3 minutes after driving it hard. This lets cooler oil circulate throughout the turbo and avoids choking.

Mobil 1 synthetic would be as good as any for this car. Use it, keep it under warranty and enjoy the car.

I read in Hot Rod Magazine about the excellent forged internals in that engine, so you know the engine will last under boost.

 

[MikeL]

I disagree with some on this board (even though i'm still a little knew to the board). The turbos on those cars, specifically the turbine side, is wayyyyyy tooo small. This creates a lot of back pressure at higher rpms and therefore heat at the turbo, header, and head. If i were you, i'd change it with another turbo that has a slightly higher AR ratio, and use an aftermarket boost controller. Should'nt add too much lag, and for longevity purposes leave it at 1 bar of boost. Might not be as quick out of the trap after that, but once it's mov'n it'll suck your eyeballs into you sockets.