Good oil for 25 year old Viper GTS with under 40k miles

[Enthusiast]

Okay, like the title lists, I need to choose the oil I will be running in my Viper. I'm planning on putting on less than 3k a year (mostly giving rides to friends and family and taking it to auto shows, etc.). I have no plans to track her or anything along those lines. Given her age, I'm leaning towards a high mileage synthetic. I know it has the Mobil 1 cap but from my understanding Chrysler doesn't list Mobil 1 as meeting their specs (not sure if Mobil 1 changed their formal or if this is some kind of sour grapes). I have used Pennzoil Platinum in nearly a decade ago on a completely different Chrysler engine (3.5l SOHC) And found it to cause leaks so I'm not sure about using that again. What brand do you recommend?

 

[Malo83]

Pennzoil causing leaks

 

[JoelB]

No oils are going to cause leaks. And any API SP oil should be far superior to anything that went into that car when it was new.

 

[earlyre]

Okay, like the title lists, I need to choose the oil I will be running in my Viper. I'm planning on putting on less than 3k a year (mostly giving rides to friends and family and taking it to auto shows, etc.). I have no plans to track her or anything along those lines. Given her age, I'm leaning towards a high mileage synthetic. I know it has the Mobil 1 cap but from my understanding Chrysler doesn't list Mobil 1 as meeting their specs (not sure if Mobil 1 changed their formal or if this is some kind of sour grapes). I have used Pennzoil Platinum in nearly a decade ago on a completely different Chrysler engine (3.5l SOHC) And found it to cause leaks so I'm not sure about using that again. What brand do you recommend?

the PP didn't cause those leaks...it cleaned up the detritus that had previously plugged them.
in other words, they were existing leaks, that had sealed themselves with crud, and the PP cleaned the crud away..

 

[TomYoung]

Okay, like the title lists, I need to choose the oil I will be running in my Viper. I'm planning on putting on less than 3k a year (mostly giving rides to friends and family and taking it to auto shows, etc.). I have no plans to track her or anything along those lines. Given her age, I'm leaning towards a high mileage synthetic. I know it has the Mobil 1 cap but from my understanding Chrysler doesn't list Mobil 1 as meeting their specs (not sure if Mobil 1 changed their formal or if this is some kind of sour grapes). I have used Pennzoil Platinum in nearly a decade ago on a completely different Chrysler engine (3.5l SOHC) And found it to cause leaks so I'm not sure about using that again. What brand do you recommend?

You had a car engine with leaks, in which you ran Pennzoil Oil. Your Viper engine, though large and powerful, is understressed. There is no call for a high mileage oil (in this case and imho in general), no problem that it would solve. Not really seeing any reason to venture beyond PP 0 w 40, unless you have a hankering for a boutique oil...

 

[OVERKILL]

I'd personally just run M1 FS 0W-40 in it. The OE spec grade was a 5W-30, but the later SRT vehicles spec'd M1 0W-40.

 

[Lubener]

Okay, like the title lists, I need to choose the oil I will be running in my Viper. I'm planning on putting on less than 3k a year (mostly giving rides to friends and family and taking it to auto shows, etc.). I have no plans to track her or anything along those lines. Given her age, I'm leaning towards a high mileage synthetic. I know it has the Mobil 1 cap but from my understanding Chrysler doesn't list Mobil 1 as meeting their specs (not sure if Mobil 1 changed their formal or if this is some kind of sour grapes). I have used Pennzoil Platinum in nearly a decade ago on a completely different Chrysler engine (3.5l SOHC) And found it to cause leaks so I'm not sure about using that again. What brand do you recommend?

It's leaking from lack of use. It's not the oil's fault.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Mobil 1.

 

[RooflessVW]

Give it some Castrol Edge HM 10W-40.

 

[andreigbs]

More importantly, pics. We also need to see under the hood.

 

[Enthusiast]

Okay, Let me try and explain things a little bit better. My comment was not meant as a slam against Pennzoil Platinum. I completely understand the concept that the oil had a leak originally and the use of Pennzoil platinum cleaned it out resulting in this. I agree it's a high quality oil and is great for cleaning out applications as well as engines that tend to have slug issues such as the Chrysler 2.7. My concern is that using such a detergent focused oil would cause the same problem all over again on this car. So far it doesn't have any serious leaks though I know there's a slight scent after driving it. I just want to do some preventative efforts. I gradually get more into the throttle after it warms up but not from a dead stop as I don't want it to break loose given these cars reputation for being easy to wreck letting it get up to around 3-4 k rpm between shifts.

So the opinion is to use 0w-40, a starts off thinner then becomes thicker oil than stock? This would tend to help with protection and possibly be less inclined to leak than 10w30. Other than possibly reducing fuel efficiency an unmeasurable amount (which isn't a concern on this car's use) what would be the downsides (why didn't they use this originally)

 

[Brice]

 

[OVERKILL]

So the opinion is to use 0w-40, a starts off thinner then becomes thicker oil than stock? This would tend to help with protection and possibly be less inclined to leak than 10w30. Other than possibly reducing fuel efficiency an unmeasurable amount (which isn't a concern on this car's use) what would be the downsides (why didn't they use this originally)

No, the 0W-40 doesn't start off thinner, it just meets the Winter grade performance requirements to be labelled as a 0W-xx, which is cranking and pumping performance at -35 and -40C respectively.

ALL oils get heavier as they are cooled, the Winter grade just indicates that the oil has passed the performance requirements for the temperature at which that Winter grade is rated.

 

[Enthusiast]

Here's a couple to start out with. I'm admittedly not good with taking photos. I actually don't have one yet of the engine.

 

[Enthusiast]

Give it some Castrol Edge HM 10W-40.

Okay what are Castrol's strengths? What applications are they preferred for vs. others?

 

[RooflessVW]

Okay what are Castrol's strengths? What applications are they preferred for vs. others?

I'm not really a salesperson. It's a thicker oil and the HM stuff should help with any leaks.

 

[kschachn]

No, the 0W-40 doesn't start off thinner, it just meets the Winter grade performance requirements to be labelled as a 0W-xx, which is cranking and pumping performance at -35 and -40C respectively.

ALL oils get heavier as they are cooled, the Winter grade just indicates that the oil has passed the performance requirements for the temperature at which that Winter grade is rated.

Plus it doesn’t help with “protection”.

 

[Enthusiast]

Plus it doesn’t help with “protection”.

So you are saying the 0w-40 does improve on motor wear over 10w-30?

 

[kschachn]

So you are saying the 0w-40 does improve on motor wear over 10w-30?

I was referring to your post where you said the oil with the 0W winter rating would be thinner and therefore give better protection. Besides what Overkill explained to you about the winter rating, thinner oils never give better wear protection.

Film thickness protects and a 40-grade has a higher MOFT.

 

[andyd]

Any halfway decent oil will suffice for the use you intend. Anything beyond a conventional 10w30 is over kill. Despite it's low miles, I would check stick before every outing. Especially because it is an aluminum block engine built by Lamborghini. I would love a ride in a classic, I couldn't own one though.