motor oil, any preferences? Options

[jfort]

I can believe this hasn't been discussed ad nauseum, but I did a search and couldn't find anything. Time to change oil. Any suggestions as to which oil to use?

[MarkV]

May 2004 Exellence Magazine had an article on "Motor Oil for Older Porsches". Looks like the Porsche factory is recomending synthetic over conventional oil. Here is part of the article:

Deciding which motor oil is the
"right one" is probably one of the most debated areas of automo-/e theory — and you'll get 100 answers for every 100 people you ask. )me enthusiasts stick with one brand r decades, others buy whatever's on lie, and many experiment with a imber of different oils until they find ie they like, whether it's because of ist, reduced engine temperatures, or ime less tangible benefit. Porsche owners have another 'enue: They can turn to the factory for Ivice. Since January of 2001, Porsche is filled all new cars with Mobil 1 OW-I synthetic motor oil. That's a pretty impelling recommendation for owners newer Porsches, but what oil should i used in older cars? This Tech Forum II explore the factory's recommenda-
lions and offer some suggestions based on real-world experience.

Conventional or Synthetic?

Enthusiasts have been arguing over the advantages and disadvantages of synthetic motor oils ever since they came onto the market a few decades ago. Books have probably been writ-ten on the subject, but the Porsche line is simple: Synthetics are better. To quote Porsche's latest oil-related ser-vice bulletin, which covers all air- and water-cooled road cars from 1973-98, "Non-conventional basic oils have more favorable properties as com-pared to conventional oils." (Non-con-ventional refers to synthetic oils, con-ventional means mineral oils.) Not very strong words, but the company's actions speak much louder: Porsche no longer approves any conventional oil for any of these Porsches.
Hard-core oil aficionados will already know that what is generically called "synthetic" motor oil is actually two distinct types: synthetic and hydrocrack. For the rest of us, what's the difference? Conventional motor oil is refined crude oil, pumped out of the ground and distilled for use in car engines. Synthetic motor oils are made from a conventional oil base but con-tain added synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants (such as polyalpaolefins) to improve low-temperature lubrication