Quaker State Euro 5W-40 can be found cheap at Walmart and is actually Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40, the oil that Ferrari recommends. I prefer Mobil 1 so Mobil 1 FS 5W-40 would be my pick. If you like thin oils, give Mobil 1 AFE 0W-30 a try, you might like it.
I have used Shell Helix Ultra 5W40 and the 0W30 Mobil 1 in various sports cars in the past. But my favorite is RLI.
From a previous post on my Enzo. Note that the original RLI was down to a 20 grade oil yet the engine spec'ed for a 60 grade oil had very low wear numbers. It all comes back to viscosity is temperature dependent and I was not running the car using all 650 HP on the track at 225 MPH:
Revised old post:
It may be worth revisiting this very old UOA comparison. I have not seen a similar item recently. I am giving evidence that thinner oils can be used when otherwise very heavy grades may be specified. And that thinner oils may result in much less wear than when the “recommended” oil, in the “manual” is used.
Several things to note. We are neighbors, drove the same car (but for the milage), drove the same way in the same environment. His car had what can be considered normal wear. Yet mine had a significantly reduced wear pattern. Also, the original RLI that dropped to a 20 grade oil had more wear than the newer “Enzo” formulation. But it was still less than the 60 grade Shell oil. Maybe the sweat spot for this car was a 30 grade oil for driving in our environment.
Compared Enzo Ferrari UOA from years ago: This is my neighbor’s 2003 Ferrari Enzo with a total of 8,800 miles on the left column and my 2003 Enzo with a total of 4,400 miles on the right column (middle 2 columns, earlier UOA of my car). Both cars had about 1,400 miles on the oil. His obviously had more break-in time. He had the oil changed by the Ferrari dealer using the required 10W60 Shell Helix Ultra Racing oil. I ran 0W30 Castrol GC in the second column, the original formula of Renewable Lubricants Inc., (RLI) in the 3rd column and the “new and improved “ RLI “Dr. Haas” Enzo formula in the last column.
Tested my Enzo oils by Terry Dyson. His testing counts larger particles as well as all the smaller ones so other labs may give false lower values. At no time has the oil temperature in this engine gotten above 180 F. This latest oil has been in for nearly two years but Terry Dyson said I should just keep going (and going and going). What is particularly interesting is that the original RLI formulation dropped to a 20 grade, the newer formulation did not.
Part of the original post: I believe this formulation has been perfected and am considering it’s use in all my cars. I am not sure my wife will allow such a thick oil in her Murcielago however.
OILS: ….Shell……. GC…... RLI….... RLI - “Dr. Haas Enzo Formula”
Iron___________ 32...11...7...3 (Fe in RLI VOA =2)
Chromium ____ Nickel _________2...1....0...0
Aluminum _____11...3....2...0
lead __________ 16...0....3...1
Copper ________25...8....4...3
Tin ___________ Silver ________ Titanium _____ Silicon ________ 7...3....4...2
Boron _________ 1...3...16..17
Sodium _______ 8...3....10...8
Potassium ____ Molybdenum _ Phosphorus ___1026...935…1032…698
Zinc __________ 1135...1228…1055...988
Calcium ______ 1454…167...2108…1898
Barium ______ Magnesium __1219...526…53...19
Antimony ____ Vanadium ____ Fuel %Vol ____ Flash_______not done..335..320..300
Abs Oxid _____ 34...10..127...95
Abs Nitr ______ 11....8....8....7
Wtr %vol ____ Vis CS 100C __ 15.8....11.8….8.6….9.8
Vic CS 40C___not done…66….44….48
SAE Grade _____40....30....20....30
Gly test ______NEG…..0.37 “not antifreeze”…...0…..0
TBN _________not done...7.9....5.9...6.4
TAN _________not done...1.7....1.4...1.3
Visc Index___not done…154...177...192
Soot_________not done...0....0.01....0
Ali
