Newbie frustrated and confused

[turbojr74]

Hello guys with more experience than me ;-) Noob here on the site but I've been lurking for about 3 months trying to read all I can and well....I can't make a good decsion on what oil to finally decide to use.

I've read so many different arguements I have had my fill of reading and trying to understand everything. I own three turbo cars and live in Washington State - '90 Eclipse, '95 Eclipse, and '05 Evolution. Factory fill on the Evo is M1. The '90 is driven in the city, the Evo sees city and highway (and later possible drag track but right now the daily driver) and the '95 sees mostly drag track but I occasionly take it instead of the Evo.
I've been using M1 for quite some time on all three and use Puralator filters. I've read site info on RP, Redline, and others and even wrote the companies asking for suggestions. But never went to the higher side of oil because I really wanted to find out is it really worth the money. I've always been one for doing it the right way the first time...so if I can find if an oil is worth the money I will spend it. I thought I could find an answer here, but have gotten frustrated to finding an answer.

So now I'm writing to find out what you guys, the better experienced individuals think or point me in the right direction. To end my quest for the best oil...

Thanks everyone for the space and your time,
Joey

 

[Gurkha]

IMHO, I am no expert but M-I is the best for you period. Tranny and diff also would benefit from M-I specific oils.

Nice collection of cars by the way, my compliments on the Evo.

 

[mechtech]

Hang around - you'll get more confused and frustrated!
M1 is one of the top choices for your vehicles.
Use it while you peruse your options, and be very happy.

 

[turbojr74]

Thanks Gurkha and mechtech for your comments.

bump for more opinions (not to get off subject but are these types of 'bumps' allowed...I read the rules and say nothing in there about this)

 

[goodvibes]

I'd be careful about M1 in the tranny. It doesn't always shift well. I'd look at SF since you've got transaxles and the dual gl4/gl5 rating will give more protection than other good shifting gl4s under your severe conditions.

 

[Gurkha]

goodvibes,

Have been using M-I tranny fluids in my vehicles since the 90s, never had any problems whatsoever, actually it improved shifting considerably and all my trannies lasted long till I sold the vehicles. It is only now living in India that I am forced to use mineral tranny fluids as M-I is the exclusive domain of luxury car dealerships and not available for us mere mortals through retail.

 

[goodvibes]

I only said be careful. I know that M1 doesn't shift as well as some others in certain manual trannies and I'm sure that protects great. I suppose you could say that about many fluids but Redline or SF almost always shift better if they fit the application. M1 certainly wasn't the best choice in my last car.

 

[dave1251]

goodvibes is giving good free advise. He is just giving his personal observations. I think that redline or sf would be better suited for his "high performance" shifting but M-1 should hold up great.

 

[sgtgeek]

Being an old school gearhead...I have plenty of experiance with forced induction V8's....Mainly GM big blocks and now LS1's/2's....So I preface my response with that "qualifier".....been arond engines/performance/racing most of my adult life for sure.......I will say the quest for the holy grail of the perfect engine lube is a twisting turning road sometimes
You name a few top quality oils in RP/Red Line/ Mobil 1......been there done that.....for quite awhile I would "boycot" Amsoil frankly because I hated the marketing scheme.....however...I am a Amsoil convert.....my engines/trannies/rear ends all run Amsoil and I have received top performance and totally eliminated lube related failures....Just cannot ignore the superior (yes superior) results with the Amsoil products.....Ihighly reommend you give Amsoil a try and see for yourself.....no you can't buy it from me! Sorry.....

 

[vad]

quote:

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Originally posted by turbojr74:
I've read site info on RP, Redline, and others and even wrote the companies asking for suggestions. But never went to the higher side of oil because I really wanted to find out is it really worth the money.

---

How hard do you drive, how long in between the oil changes?
If you're just a casual driver and don't want to practice the extended oil change intervals of 8K and beyond then GC, Mobil1 will work just fine. No need for the super duper high end synthetics.
If you are hard on your cars then try RedLine and follow up with oil analysis.

 

[turbojr74]

quote:

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Originally posted by vad:
How hard do you drive, how long in between the oil changes?
If you're just a casual driver and don't want to practice the extended oil change intervals of 8K and beyond then GC, Mobil1 will work just fine. No need for the super duper high end synthetics.
If you are hard on your cars then try RedLine and follow up with oil analysis.

---

The Evo I've been taking it rather easy with the occasional hard run down the highway. The '95 Eclipse I tend to beat it like I stole it. And the '90 I tend to drive fairly easy. I've always practiced the 3k or 3 month OIC only because that's what every person who has been brain washed does and all three are turbo charged. The '90 and the Evo I wouldn't mind having longer OIC's (specailly with gas prices and such on the rise). Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not sure that I can do this on the '95 because I drive it harder (track use) and it doesn't get as many miles on it. I probably don't drive it 3k in three months. I hope this better sheds light on how to choose the right oil.

I have looked into Amsoil and others and have had a hard time going with any of them because I have no experience and I figured you guys would have facts rather than cleaver advertising. I really appreciate all of your inputs in helping me with this decision.

 

[sprintman]

SF or RL for your trans. At least a Group IV basestock oil for your turbo engines. Auto-Rx maint dose for added protection/cleanliness. Cheers...s (turbo owner)

 

[turbojr74]

quote:

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Originally posted by sprintman:
SF or RL for your trans. At least a Group IV basestock oil for your turbo engines. Auto-Rx maint dose for added protection/cleanliness. Cheers...s (turbo owner)

---

sprintman,

What milage do you go on your OIC's?? Suggested manufacture??

 

[tuong]

this is a copy and paste cause im too lazy to repost. but basically learn your car and feel what it likes. i notice my car only likes honda atf. maybe your car different.

i just pick an oil that my car feels best with. i tried every oil on the market, my car response best to this oil. on another note, there was an article that suggest some cars love certain brand oil better. I believe that to be true. supposidly hondas love royal purple, but my honda loves amsoil 0-30 2k. somtimes u just got to do your own research by testing stuff out. and reading bunch of stuff on this forum.

 

[turbojr74]

tuong, ^^^

It is said there is a difference between experience and wisdom.
Experience - to find out for yourself. Screw it up, mess it up, and then chalk it up to experience. Then don’t do that again.
Or Wisdom - learn from other ppls experiences so you don't end up making the exact same mistakes. As it goes without saying "work smarter not harder".

If I had the money and the knowledge for testing all the oils I could, then I would. However, I admire the experience and knowledge of the individuals on here and wouldn't mind learning from them. If the knowledge is out there please point me in the right direction. Such folks like these –

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil_filter_study/

http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm

- deserve a lot of thanks for what they have done. And I for one share this info at any chance I get, because the knowledge I do have or experiences I have had, I am willing to share only because I would rather someone get up over these advertising jerks that are only into one thing - taking our hard earned money. It is our responsibility as consumers to try and share the wealth of knowledge out there so that our dollar goes to the companies that produce a "no BS" product. They are the only ones in my book that should have my hard earned dollar.

As I first stated, I have been reading my brains out...doing searches, research, and reading some more to the point my eye's are about to fall out.

Take this as you will...I don't have the resources, money, or the vehicles to test, experiment, and find out all the time what works best. Perhaps you do and congrats for that.
However, in the end I choose wisdom over experience any day of the week.

 

[AndyH]

FWIW, I have an '05 STi and am currently running GC ("German Castrol" Syntec 0w-30) with a planned 5,000 mile OCI. I don't track the car (at least not yet), but it is my daily driver and I like to drive aggressively whenever traffic allows. I have faith that the GC will hold up just fine over 5,000 miles (per all of the excellent results I've read about here on BITOG with this oil), but I will have a UOA performed after 5,000 miles to see how it actually performed. I'd say your Evo is a candidate for a 5,000 mile OCI with a quality synthetic oil.

 

[turbojr74]

Can't wait to find out how your UOA turns out...thanks

 

[Geoff]

I'd go with at least an European A3 rated oil. Look up the specs and see if it sounds like it fits your usage patterns. German Castrol is A3 rated. VW has some tough specs as well for their turbo 1.8L engines in Jettas, Golfs, and Audis. Find oils that meet their spec.

PAO and ester oils can withstand the high temps without sludging compared to traditional oils. This is proven and makes the choice easier. GC is the only Castrol blend that I know of that is all PAO/ester. Perhaps their 5w-40 is as well.

Other than that I like Shell Rotella T Syn 5w-40. Good price and great additive package that is still API SL compliant for gasoline engines. Shell has some nice Group III and viscosity improver technology.

You won't really stress the oil unless the engine sustains high load (say 85% of output) over extended periods (many minutes). The 1/4 mile takes what for your Evo - 13 sec? Few people get their engines to that point legally, but its nice knowing its there if you need it.

 

[ex_MGB]

As you can see from the above, your vehicle with the biggest problem is the EVO. This car is, simply put, a freak, producing a ridiculous 276+ hp from a measly 2.0 liters.

Frankly, modern oil science has not advanced to the point where a definitive determination can be made as to what oil, if indeed ANY oil, can be found suitable.

Unfortunately, Mitsubishi, like all of today's manufacturers, will simply hide their blatant ignorance behind a smokescreen called "the owner's manual".

As a fellow BITOGer my advice to get this monkey off your back is to donate this car to a fellow member.

May I offer my services?

 

[turbojr74]

^^^^LOL Very funny ex_MGB. You'd have a blast taking it off of my hands. The Evo handles corners and the straights like a dream.

Geoff,
The Evo does a 1/4 mile stock at 13.3-13.2 My plan is low twelves and stop. The Eclipse GSX does a mid 12 right now on pump and I plan on trying to get it to run high 11's on pump with a front mount and water injection. Yes I have the stock side mount and she runs 12's without timing issues. I think I got lucky with the way this engine goes at it or it's the Cennex gas I'm always filling up with (94oct).
Thank you for the advice.