Porsche's own factory race team apparently uses M1 0w-40 FS

[Arcoril]

I was fortunate enough to attend Porsche Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca Raceway back in 2018. It's a huge gathering where every conceivable model of Porsche is brought to a track and displayed and raced. One of my favorite parts of the event is that nothing is roped off and people can go right up to the cars and examine them or take pictures.

As I walked by the paddock I saw a few members of Porsche's factory racing team servicing a first generation 991 RSR. At the time I took this picture the car had been recently retired as Posrche was transitioning to a new mid-engined 991 RSR platform. This particular car was about to take to the track to do some demonstration laps so I stuck around for a little while to watch the entire prep process. One of the final steps was to top off the oil. I expected to see some sort of ultra-low TBN race oil or something in an unmarked or Porsche OEM branded bottle but they were using an ordinary bottle of Mobil 1 0w-40 FS on a factory RSR. I did a double take and tried to take a few pictures of the bottle itself.

Afterwards the car took to the track with another RSR and did some very uncharacteristic burnouts. They followed that up with some hot laps that looked absolutely insane in contrast to the street legal cars that had preceded them on track. You never truly realize how much faster an actual racecar is until you see them on the same track one after another.

 

[OVERKILL]

Yup, @Doug Hillary has posted about this previous and I remember one member scoffed at the idea that this could be the case quite recently when I brought it up.

 

[2EHA]

simply the best. on long races it shears down to a light 30 and unlocks more performance

m1 5w50 would slow the vehicle down considerably

 

[Bjornviken]

Race proven oil

 

[Jetronic]

and also a sponsor.... I wonder if pennzoil was a sponsor, if they'd use PUP...

 

[RooflessVW]

I think most people are not surprised that Porsche (and other) race cars use Mobil 1, but that an off-the-shelf Mobil 1 is used.

m1 5w50 would slow the vehicle down considerably

Agreed. Perhaps during a 12 or 24 hour race?

 

[MrHorspwer]

Seems odd that they'd be adding oil while the vehicle was randomly sitting outside the garage. This being an RSR being fielded by a top tier team, it's not exactly grandpa's old Chrysler minivan eating a quart while he pumps at the local Shell. They have time for ensuring the car is tip-top and that's usually in the garage, long before the car sees sunlight, not in some type of parc ferme with crew members pointing at things and grinning.

You know how in movies, the Starbucks cups, Coca Cola cans, and Macbooks are always in the frame so the logo shows perfectly on-screen? This seems kinda like that.

 

[Davejam]

I don't know what is so absurd here. Its not that far from the road-going engine.
And the oil will be changed after every event...

Either way super cool car. thanks for the post.

 

[KCJeep]

Just goes to show how good the readily available oils we can buy (surprisingly cheap) are.

 

[Jetronic]

everything that happens on such an exhibition is a show, from the second the cars are trailered in. This is no exception. Maybe the crankcase (or oil reservoir as it's a dry sump I would think) is filled with Mobil1 0w-40 fs, maybe it isn't. We don't even know what was in the bottle or can see where it's being poured, could be an empty bottle taped up against the firewall for all we know. But I know this, I see Mobil1 on the front fender... I'm surprised they didn't say they were going to Disneyland afterwards.

 

[mightymousetech]

and also a sponsor.... I wonder if pennzoil was a sponsor, if they'd use PUP...

Exactly, just a series sponsor, I REALLY doubt they are actually using that Mobil oil. Back when we were racing in Grand Am, we had an oil supplier as a series sponsor. We were not allowed to be seen using any other oil., if we did, our team could be fined. All the teams would use empty series sponsor oil bottles and use our own oils, we were using Redline. No way were we using a regular street oil in our race cars. All the teams did the same thing.

 

[930.engineering]

Perhaps. Anyway I'm not surprised at all. Probably even very most C3 xW-40 PCMOs are good enough for this application. Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 comes with an actual Porsche A40 approval, so it has been tested for track duty and it isn't that unlikely they actually use it.
The added stress (local heat and shearing) is compensated by appropriate oil pumps and dry-sump resorvoirs, huge cooling capacities and to some degree by short OCIs. Oil temps measured at the filter housing aren't necessarily higher than they are on a street driven Porsche.

 

[ScottyB]

You never truly realize how much faster an actual racecar is until you see them on the same track one after another.

its always the braking capability that gets me. sitting anywhere near a turn after a long straight it just seems impossible that they can slow down that fast.

 

[930.engineering]

Downforce, sticky rubber and high-µ tarmac helps.

 

[wpod]

What was really in the bottle? See the Mobil! decal on the car? .Are they wearing Addias sneakers? Call me skeptic.

 

[2EHA]

No way were we using a regular street oil in our race cars. All the teams did the same thing.

New Life 0W40 is not a regular street oil, it is a flagship. even unsponsored indycar teams have been caught using it

 

[RooflessVW]

To all the naysayers, what oil do you think they use?

Sometimes what you see is actually what you get.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

If they can keep it cool enough (say under 280) I don't see why they wouldn't use it.

 

[930.engineering]

....which they most certainly will.

 

[mightymousetech]

You guys should volunteer for some pro racing teams and see what goes on.