Hello,
been reading here for a while and today I decided to register and ask about the right oil for my newest purchase.
I bought a 1990 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE with around 98k km on it. (No, not the submarine
) Well the car has a 2.2 liter turbo 4 cylinder DOHC with 4 valves per cyl. Turbo is oil and water cooled. Engine has an oil cooler and chargecooler (air to liquid intercooler) installed stock. It has around 265 HP stock.
The previous owner did not drive it that much so it has been sitting most of its time in the garage except the occasional drive to the store on or the sunday trip. I use this car as a daily driver now as it would be a shame to put it away and besides its just too much fun to drive. It has an excellent service record from 1992 on, every nut and bolt listed. Last oil change was done about 9500 km ago, mid 2007 with castrol 10W40. (Record shows Castrol MI-SYNTH 10W40)
Dipstick and oil filler inlet shows brown/black buildup on all internal parts (as far as I can see). So my question is what oil should I use for my Esprit ? I did some research on this and I do like the method of using mineral oil and changing it at 5000 km, filter included. Other Esprit Turbo owners prefer to use castrol edge 10w60, and the records of my Esprit also shows the use of castrol 10w60 RS before the switch to 10W40.
I do about 25 km daily, a mix of highway, urban and fast "mountain roads". Im not driving slow (Who in his right mind would drive a Lotus slowly anyways ?
).
Car does occasionally not get full boost and needs a tune up, plugs wires filters oil, the usual stuff. The boost issue will be sorted out once the engine is working well with new mentioned parts. OEM oil filter will be used.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Brgds
Steven
Here are a few images of said vehicle:
been reading here for a while and today I decided to register and ask about the right oil for my newest purchase.
I bought a 1990 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE with around 98k km on it. (No, not the submarine
The previous owner did not drive it that much so it has been sitting most of its time in the garage except the occasional drive to the store on or the sunday trip. I use this car as a daily driver now as it would be a shame to put it away and besides its just too much fun to drive. It has an excellent service record from 1992 on, every nut and bolt listed. Last oil change was done about 9500 km ago, mid 2007 with castrol 10W40. (Record shows Castrol MI-SYNTH 10W40)
Dipstick and oil filler inlet shows brown/black buildup on all internal parts (as far as I can see). So my question is what oil should I use for my Esprit ? I did some research on this and I do like the method of using mineral oil and changing it at 5000 km, filter included. Other Esprit Turbo owners prefer to use castrol edge 10w60, and the records of my Esprit also shows the use of castrol 10w60 RS before the switch to 10W40.
I do about 25 km daily, a mix of highway, urban and fast "mountain roads". Im not driving slow (Who in his right mind would drive a Lotus slowly anyways ?
Car does occasionally not get full boost and needs a tune up, plugs wires filters oil, the usual stuff. The boost issue will be sorted out once the engine is working well with new mentioned parts. OEM oil filter will be used.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Brgds
Steven
Here are a few images of said vehicle: