Recommendations for my 1988 Ferrari Testarossa.

Joined
Sep 18, 2022
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Greetings everyone! I own a 1988 Ferrari Testarossa, 40k miles. The workshop manual calls for a 10w50 oil. According to the last service record, right before I took delivery of the car, the oil used was Liqid Moly Race Tech 10w60. It’s almost time for it’s next annual fluid change service so I’m trying to decide what product to use.

I do intend to keep this car indefinitely so I want to use the best product. I do not track the car, and probably drive it more gently than 95% of other Ferrari drivers, but I do open her up every once in a while.

What oil would you guys recommend? The oil will be changed annually and I will probably put around 2k miles on the car per year. Some years a little less (I’ve put less than 1k on it so far this year) and some a little more. As far as I can tell, the car hasn’t used any oil since the last oil change.
 
I use this in my Swedish, race ready Ferrari. Even has the prancing moose logo just like my avatar.

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A few questions:
  1. Does a Testarossa really have red heads?
  2. I've heard that a Ferrari must be serviced by a Ferrari shop to retain its value. Any truth to that?
  3. How much does a "regular service" cost at a Ferrari dealership?
 
A few questions:
  1. Does a Testarossa really have red heads?
  2. I've heard that a Ferrari must be serviced by a Ferrari shop to retain its value. Any truth to that?
  3. How much does a "regular service" cost at a Ferrari dealership?
1. It actually does.

2. It helps, but it doesn’t have to be an official dealership. Service records from a decent indi shop are fine. With that said, a record from Jiffy Lube probably wouldn’t look good. With older Ferraris, a lot of people do their own maintenance. As long as you keep receipts it’s generally ok.

3. The last annual service was $575. I believe newer Ferraris are more expensive. On older Ferraris, every 5 years a major belt service is required. The engine actually has to come out and the last major service (last year) was $6k.
 
Is Mobil 1 still good? I’ve been told that they greatly reduced their additive package to comply with emissions standards or some other reason.
The 5W-50 and 15W-50 still have a good dose of ZDDP, they haven't been "watered down".
As 40,50 and 60 grades are not considered resource conserving, they still have all the goodies.
 
Where do you live?
If you live somehwere where it doesn't get very cold i'd use Mobil 1 15W-50 in a heartbeat.

Or if you want to stay with the factory recomended 10W-50, Total Quartz Racing 10W-50.

Another option would be Mobil 1 5W-50.
I am in Alabama. Mid Winters here typically average in the 29F lows to the 55F highs. We occasionally have a cold snap where nighttime temps drop below 20F and occasional warm snaps in the 70-80s.
 
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