What oil should I use for my Lotus Exige?

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Thanks again guys just finished the oil change. Returned the AMSOIL and went with the Mobile 1 0W-40 since winter is coming up and temps will be slightly lower for the next couple months.

I also went with the K&N HP2009 oil filter. Not sure if you guys have preferences on oil filters or not.
 
Originally Posted By: advocat3
Thanks again guys just finished the oil change. Returned the AMSOIL and went with the Mobile 1 0W-40 since winter is coming up and temps will be slightly lower for the next couple months.

I also went with the K&N HP2009 oil filter. Not sure if you guys have preferences on oil filters or not.


LOL....cruise through the filter section! K&N should be a good choice, similar to the TRD filters I think. So would the M1 filter. Plenty of good options out there.
 
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Update!!!

I ran the Mobil 1 0W-40 and the car felt great! Cold starts were fantastic. Barely noticeable from warm starts. Car felt smooth and warmed up quickly.

Took my car to the mechanic shortly after running Mobil 1 0W-40 and he said 'I wouldn't track the car or give it any heavy use with a 0W-40. It will be too thin at temp.'

Eventually the seed of doubt he planted grew too big and I had him pull the 0W-40 and put in Lotus recommended Havoline 5W-40.

Fast forward to today:
It's getting colder here in the Bay Area and the car has been running like [censored] in the cold. Lots of hesitation and takes forever to warm up so I got tired of the [censored] Havoline and went back again to Mobil 1 0W-40.

Two questions for you guys: people on the Lotus forums are swearing by Mobil 1's 5W-40 turbo diesel oil for the ZDDP levels (I believe) and the way they help protect the Toyota 2ZZ cams. They say there's definitely special stuff added specifically to the turbo diesel version of the 5W-40 that is great for our engine.

Any thoughts on 0W-40 vs 5W-40 turbo diesel Mobil 1? What about an additive to the 0W-40 for more protection? I love the cold starts and am sold on the 0W-40, just wondering if I can pay a couple extra bucks for some added protection with some kind of additive or if I should just run the 5W-40 turbo diesel Mobil 1.
 
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Are some of these engines still having excess camshaft wear?
M1 0W-40 and 5W-40 have similar amounts of ZDDP. I'm not aware of anything special in the 5W-40 that is great for camshafts. I would not add any additive. Either oil should be good choices but I prefer the 0W-40 for better viscometrics and more friction modifiers.
 
After a bit of research I decided on Redline 5w-40 for my Elise w/ the factory supercharger, mainly for the higher additive levels. I did use a mix of Redline 5w & 10w-40 prior to an HPDE.

M1 0w-40 is a fine oil, I use it in most of the family fleet (not the toys though), but it is a relatively thin 40 weight. Given the higher higher redline that this engine sees in the Lotus, as opposed to in its original application, and the known cam issues (related?) i would go with something thicker.

Enjoy the Exige. Nice car, like the color.

If you take the hard top off, does it become an Elige?

w
 
Originally Posted By: advocat3
Update!!!

Two questions for you guys: people on the Lotus forums are swearing by Mobil 1's 5W-40 turbo diesel oil for the ZDDP levels (I believe) and the way they help protect the Toyota 2ZZ cams. They say there's definitely special stuff added specifically to the turbo diesel version of the 5W-40 that is great for our engine.

Any thoughts on 0W-40 vs 5W-40 turbo diesel Mobil 1? What about an additive to the 0W-40 for more protection? I love the cold starts and am sold on the 0W-40, just wondering if I can pay a couple extra bucks for some added protection with some kind of additive or if I should just run the 5W-40 turbo diesel Mobil 1.


The TDT 5w40 does have 1100ppm of Phosphorous compared to 1000 ppm for 0w40, but in my opinion, that's no reason to change. M1 0w40 has 74 ppm of Molybdenum and 221 ppm of Boron, while the TDT has no Moly and 78 Boron. The extra Moly and Boron in 0w40 more than makes up for the higher Phos in TDT.

Also, TDT has a relatively low VI of 154, versus 180+ in the 0w40. This means the 0w40 will have lower viscosity at startup.
 
Part of the reason TDT has no moly and more Phos is likely the intended diesel applications which would require lower sulphated ash - hence the removal of the moly compound.

I agree 100% that the moly and boron in 0W40 will mix well with the existing phosophorus to make up for the lower level of phosphorus compared to TDT. There are additives that can boost your phos levels if you really want to, but I don't see a specific need here.
 
Originally Posted By: wings&wheels
After a bit of research I decided on Redline 5w-40 for my Elise w/ the factory supercharger, mainly for the higher additive levels. I did use a mix of Redline 5w & 10w-40 prior to an HPDE.
M1 0w-40 is a fine oil, I use it in most of the family fleet (not the toys though), but it is a relatively thin 40 weight. Given the higher higher redline that this engine sees in the Lotus, as opposed to in its original application, and the known cam issues (related?) i would go with something thicker.
w

RL 5W/10W-40 is a very heavy oil (heavier than most 50wt's) with it's HTHSV of 4.6cP ans 4.7cP repectively. The engine simply doesn't need an oil that heavy. RL 0W-40 would be a much more suitable choice with it's HTHSV of 4.0cP. Ultimately the proper way to determine how heavy an oil to run in any application is with an oil pressure gauge and I can't imagine a scenerio where M1 0W-40 would be too light. It is after all a full grade heavier than what was spec'd originally for that Toyota engine.
 
Originally Posted By: Solarent
Part of the reason TDT has no moly and more Phos is likely the intended diesel applications which would require lower sulphated ash - hence the removal of the moly compound.


I was told by Dave at Red Line that the above was also the reason why their 5W-40 (and 15W-40) has/have GREATLY reduced moly, and other SAPs type additives, as compared to the rest of their lineup, even including their various 0W-xx oils!!

So you are NOT getting "more" moly in the RL 5W-40, actually MUCH less (yet another reason to use either their 0W-40, or M1 0W-40, even for open tracking).
 
I had traded emails w/ Dave regarding the Lotus and he recommended the 5w-40. I had asked about the moly including mixing their 10w & 5w-40 and he replied that it could be done, but to no great advantage. I considered the 0w-40 but went for the 5w for the higher flash point and as this is a Summer toy, I didn't need the cold properties. It does get the occasional quart or two of the 10w-40 as I use it in the 911 & TR6.

This is probably all academic as they are all fine oils
 
Originally Posted By: wings&wheels
I had traded emails w/ Dave regarding the Lotus and he recommended the 5w-40. I had asked about the moly including mixing their 10w & 5w-40 and he replied that it could be done, but to no great advantage. I considered the 0w-40 but went for the 5w for the higher flash point and as this is a Summer toy, I didn't need the cold properties. It does get the occasional quart or two of the 10w-40 as I use it in the 911 & TR6.
This is probably all academic as they are all fine oils

I know Dave at RL and unless you're seeing oil temp's in the 300F area the 5W-40 and 10W-40's are way too heavy and you're oil pump will likely be in by-pass mode most of the time which is not a good thing.
I'd suggest you install an oil pressure gauge; every track use car should have one, which is the proper way of fine tuning the oil's viscosity to your application.
If you don't like the FP of RL 0W-40 then RL 5W-30 would be a good choice with it's FP higher than RL 5W/10W-40. RL 5W-30 with it's HTHSV of 3.8cP, 162 VI and 0 VIIs is heavier than most PCMO 5W-40s including M1 0W-40 in service. And on the remost chance it isn't heavy enough, just add a pinch of RL 5W-50 (FP 268C, HTHSV 5.9cP and 185 VI) which is one of RL's better oils for blending purposes.
 
Thanks everyone, lots of great discussion.

I am reading everything, even though I don't understand all of it haha.

I've been running the oil now for a couple days and absolutely love it. Car is a lot smoother in the mornings on dead cold starts with a lot less hesitation.

So far so good! Also I did a double flush since the Exige has oil coolers that don't drain during oil changes. So I technically did a double oil change.
 
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Originally Posted By: wings&wheels
I considered the 0w-40 but went for the 5w for the higher flash point and as this is a Summer toy, I didn't need the cold properties.


I daily drive my Exige so smoothness, reliability, and great cold weather protection are critical for me!
 
You made a good choice in M1 0W-40.
Many people don't understand 0W-XX oils. 100F is a cold start as far as your engine is concerned and what most 0W-XX oils offer over 5W-XX oils is a higher Viscosity Index meaning they are lighter on start-up at all temperatures. This has major advantages particularly in a high reving engine.
Not surprisingly, the leading edge in race oil formulation are 0W oils, and it has obviously has nothing to do with sub 0F performance but rather their high VIs. A good example of this would be Mobil's 0W-30 and 0W-50 race oils and they offer nothing else.
 
The plan was to run the M1 OW-40 during the colder months and swap it out for Lotus' recommended 5W-40 for autocross / track events but the M1 sounds like it's a really solid oil.

What do you guys think about running it in ~205F-210F conditions with engine revs up to ~9,000?

Remember that excessive cam wear is common among Lotus 2ZZ-GE owners.
 
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If you're going to track the car, install an oil pressure gauge.
This is the only way to optimize the actual operational viscosity to your application. If the 205-210F are oil temp's then even M1 0W-40 is likely heavier than necessary. If that's coolant temperature it tells you very little; you need to install an OP gauge to see what's going on. An oil temp' gauge is always nice as well but not necessary.
 
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
If you're going to track the car, install an oil pressure gauge.
This is the only way to optimize the actual operational viscosity to your application. If the 205-210F are oil temp's then even M1 0W-40 is likely heavier than necessary. If that's coolant temperature it tells you very little; you need to install an OP gauge to see what's going on. An oil temp' gauge is always nice as well but not necessary.


Yeah an oil temp and oil pressure gauge would be great. The cars are known for having their oil lines spontaneously fall off the block and spew the entire car's oil reserve onto the engine and the road so a pressure gauge will help with that.

The temps above I described were indeed coolant temps.
 
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