Porsche oil choices

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I recently purchased a 1987 Porsche 944s (16V 2.5L 4cyl water cooled). I looked through my stash to find a suitable oil. The top two contenders are Syntec 5W40 and Valvoline Synpower 5W40. Both say Porsche approved but only the Syntec is listed on the Porsche approved list.

Syntec lists GM-LL-B-025, VW 502.00, 505.00, ACEA: A3/B3, A3/B4, MB 229.3, BMW LL-98

Synpower lists VW 502/505/505.01, ACEA: A3/B3/B4/C3, MB 229.3/229.31/229.5/229.51, BMW LL-04

I also have some GC but it's not on the Porsche approved list and nearly all are either 0W40 or 5W40.

I live near Toronto, Canada, a fairly mild climate. Which would you use?
 
GC used to be on the Porsche approved list until they decided to exclude anything thinner than a 40-weight, which was only a few years ago IIRC. That'd be my pick for your car for sure.

Next in line would be Syntec 5w-40. The Valvoline has more modern approvals but a lot of them are low-SAPS (229.31, 229.51, LL-04). Those tend to compromise acid fighting performance to protect certain kinds of emissions systems, which your car definitely does not have.

Nice car, by the way.
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I did find a couple comments on a Porsche site to not use GC. I don't remember the details, it might have been about an air cooled one.
 
I'll see if I can add a photo at a rest stop. My car is black and a friend gave me a ride in his red 924s to pick it up.

944sdrivinghome001.jpg
 
Why not M1 0W-40? Not only is it Porsche approved, it's also BMW LL-01 and an MB 229.5 approved which is quite the trifecta of stringent oil quality standards.
 
Seeing as I have 3 candidates already in stock I really don't need a third. I'll keep it in mind if I need to purchase more.
 
Originally Posted By: westwind999
Seeing as I have 3 candidates already in stock I really don't need a third. I'll keep it in mind if I need to purchase more.
My bad - I did not read your original post carefully enough.

Given the actual constraints, I'd do the Castrol over the Valvoline for these same reasons.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
GC Next in line would be Syntec 5w-40. The Valvoline has more modern approvals but a lot of them are low-SAPS (229.31, 229.51, LL-04). Those tend to compromise acid fighting performance to protect certain kinds of emissions systems, which your car definitely does not have.
 
I ran M1 15W50 red cap in my 1992 968 (successor to the 944 line) and honestly it was a little thick.

I also ran M1 0W40 and it was a lot nicer to deal with. However, due to "M1 noise" (a hotly debated topic, but I observed it in three vehicles) I've moved away from M1 products. They gave good UOAs and all, but I try to use other products.

I personally would go ahead and give GC a try. It's a stout oil which after only a couple of thousand kilometers of shearing remains thicker than M1 0W40. I've found GC to be superior to M1 0W40 in other German applications, I'd expect it to do well here.

That being said, I also wouldn't be afraid of 5W40s like Rotella, Amsoil AFL, or Esso XD-3 0W40. You could also run a dino 15W40 in the summer with no issues if you wanted.

Do you intend to track the car? Is it in "minty" condition or has it run some hard miles.
 
I was thinking of picking up some XD-3 0W40 before I realized I already had the 5W40 in the porsche approved list. Wal-mart used to have it for ~$22/gallon but I see it's $35 now.

I'm not planning to take it to the track, at least not on a regular basis. I'd feel bad if I broke it. More of a weekend cruiser. It seems fairly well cared for although the timing belt has broken twice according to the records. It was last changed 2 yrs ago ~3000 miles ago, it currently has about 82,000 miles. It's originally from Florida so it's got cracks in the interior but there's no rust.
 
Westwind, the oils you currently have I do not see anyone of them will cause any problem, I mean if you are gonna do a 8 to 12K Km OCI, I do not see it as a problem, if everything else in ur car is well taken care off.


For your model GC should do just fine, or easily availabe Syntec 5W-40. There are lot of oils one can recommend for your car, I think GC and Syntec 5W-40 will be sufficient.

But if you want best of the best, I am not sure if these oils are on Porche approved list, but my friends who drive exotic modified sport cars often swear by following oils.

Shell Rotella Synthetic 5W-40
Mobil 1 Delvac 5W-40
Mobil 1 Truck 5W-40 (not as preferred as Delvac)
Amsoil 5W-40 (Expensive)
Redline 0W/5W-40 (Expensive)
GC & Syntec 5W-40
Motul (Expensive)

I have never seen a penzoil platinums and valvoline synpower 5w-40 oil grade locally availabe....
 
I'd PM Doug Hillary. He has a lot of experience with Porshe's, and may be able to give you some real insight on this model.

Either one of the 5W-40's you have will most likely work just fine. When you're out of those, I'd look at M1 0W-40.
 
A good friend of mine runs either mobil 0w40 or 5w40 Amsoil in the identical car. He tracks his, and has great luck with those oils.

The 944 is a great car! A few tweaks and they can be a real 911 killer!
 
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