Depends on how you drive and what oil you are using. If you are using Mobil 1 more frequent oil changes are typical (maybe every 2 - 4 track days) less frequent changes if you are using something like Redline (what I use).

There have been a number of threads discussing this topic.

Changing the oil and filter yourself is pretty straightforward and decreases the cost. Filters are available from Suncoast, Pelican, etc. and if you use Mobil 1 you can get it at Walmart in 5 qt containers at a good price.

 

My interval varies quite a bit depending on oil choice, max sustained oil temps, and contamination by fuel and water. I do about 20 track days/year and pay a lot of attention to oil consumption, temps, and oil color. As soon as the oil begins to darken it is a sign of contamination and time to drain it in my car. Sometimes I will get 4-5 track days and sometimes it will go 10 track days/3k miles before beginning to darken. Two times/yr is my maximum interval but it may get changed more often.

 

Thanks guys.

Right now I use the OEM fill Mobile 1 0W40. Unfortunately i have no dipstick in my car, so there is no way of checking oil color.

I generally short shift on the track (7000rpms) and my oil temp has never gotten past 245. Even though I am driving the car very hard, I don't think i'm being terribly hard on the oil. Changing the oil every few events seems excessive, but at 5 events or so I might consider changing it. I was just hoping for something a bit more concrete than feeling like it's time to change it.

I was going to take my car into the dealer to have it serviced at 10k miles and i'd like for them to do the oil change at that point in time since that's already included in that service. I could change it myself early if necessary, I just wasn't sure if that was necessary or not.

 

Even expensive race oil is cheap compared to having to pay for a new engine.

Some people use race oil and change before and after each event. I use Gibbs' Driven XP9 when on the track and their DT40 for the street. The 9A1 engine is designed to avoid oil starvation much more than the prior M9* engines, which often suffered oil starvation and bearing failure in high speed sweeping turns. with street oils.

The race oils have additive packages that take heat better and provide far more anti-friction additives, but they get used up quickly. XP9 is rated to only provide only 750 to 800 miles of protection. Regular motor oils have an additive package that doesn't provide the same protection, with more concern to have the additives last the life of the oil. So there is less protection in the race environment with street oils regardless of the color when it comes out.

In my car, because of the extensive thermal insulation on the intake and exhaust, the engine oil doesn't get over 210F on track, so the additives in XP9 probably don't get used up at the expected rate.


V6

 

You could have your oil analyzed by Breakstone to get a better idea of oil performance.

 

It's Blackstone Labs that does oil analysis. Breakstone makes cottage cheese.

I use oil analysis to guide my oil change protocol.


Dan
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You can also inspect oil color for contamination after each event by getting some XL cotton swabs and just reach in through the oil fill cap after it has been sloshing around all day. Just as effective as an OEM dip stick for general oil health. Be careful not to drop it in there though

 

Oil change intervals should definitely be adjusted to account for track usage. I change after every-other DE event (4 track days). High RPMs and high heat will cause oil to break-down faster and you're better safe than sorry when it comes to oil.

 

Be aware that racing oils are rich in anti wear additives that may harm your catalytic converters. At the BGB GT4 seminar last year I was surprised to learn their track oil of choice is Mobil 1 0W40.

 

Interesting... I would have thought a 50 weight would be the oil of choice for the track.

 

Yes, but my oil temps rarely get higher on the track than they do cruising at highway speeds (usually around 235). The max I've ever seen on a track is 243.

 

Try sending your used oil to Breakstone and see what happens! LMFAO

 

I changed my 2007 2.7 Cayman's oil and filter every 5,000 miles, regardless of the number of track days in that interval. I used the factory filter, and Mobil1 oil [0W-40 during winter months, 15W-50 (and then 5W-50 when it became available) during summer (i.e. track) months.] The car had 116,000 miles and ~150 track days on it when I sold it, and it consumed oil at a rate of 1 qt every 3,500 miles (mostly by sucking it into the intake manifold, which I managed by never filling it higher than one bar below the full level.) The current owner enjoys tracking and driving the car to this day. I never had a used oil analysis performed, BTW.

 

I have a CS with PDK and am using Mobil 1 0-40. I was told by a retired crew chief of an independent Porsche race team the following: Keep a log of the number of hours the car is driven on the track. If you run with "Sport" mode, change the motor oil every 15 hours of track time. If you run with "Sport Plus" mode, change the motor oil every 10 hours of track time; however, unless you are racing, there is no need to run in "Sport Plus" mode. This was his opinion.

I'm thinking of moving up to 5-40 for better protection.

 

Are you talking about engine oil or transmission fluid? I'm not sure why Sport or Sport Plus would make a big difference in how often you change the engine oil.

 

245 wouldn't concern me. Engine oil at 275 would b a concern. I'd be adding an oil cooler.
Actually, winter driving is rougher on engines than running them normally hot (245F max).
In winter, with lots of shorter trips, water builds up in oil leading to acid formation. Acids in oil will do a lot of damage over time.

BTW, my 981 CS engine oil runs right at 235F just cruising at 75-80 on flat interstate on a nice day with temp in the low 80s.

 

245 wouldn't concern me. Engine oil at 275 would b a concern. I'd be adding an oil cooler.

John at BGB told me (and please correct me if I misunderstood) that the additional oil cooler did not perform to expectations so I haven't gone that route. I just watch the temps and duration and decide from there.

 

Hi there;

I have just thought about this. Running at the track should have little to no effect on the filter. Assuming that is correct - change the filter at factory recommended intervals (10K?) and change the oil when deemed necessary. This will dramatically cut down on complexity, time needed and cost, especially if you wait for the M1 sale.

Weekend project for me!

 

Mechanics usually recommend changing oil every 5-6k instead of 10k to be on the safe side, but it depends on how you drive. The problem seems to be that oil starts to break down after heat cycling and when the car sits unused for a long duration, carbon deposits form. The solution is to run the engine hard and drive frequently so that there is less time for deposits to form. There is a big factor is usage vs time passed on whether you need an oil change.

If you are using the car as a track toy, you will heat cycle the oil and park the car for the next session, which might come in a few months. Depending on how hard you drove and how long the car got unused, some deposits form as the car sits in storage. In this type of situation, I would change the oil after the track session, however if you are also driving the car daily, I don't think a single track session is reason enough to change the oil.

If you drive lots of highway/ interstate frequently, 10k between oil changes 3 times per year is "healthy." If you drive less than 10k per year and lots of rough city miles, I'd probably change every 5k.

As mentioned, you don't need to change the filter. Just dump the old oil and add 7.5 L of new oil. The oil only cost $50 and you can do it yourself with the right gear. Definitely done to paying the dealer 400.

Side point, my car seems to run smoother on motul oil instead of mobil 1.

 

Track stress on engine oil is really just a time and temperature thing. The higher the oil temp runs, the sooner the oil needs changing. If ur oil temps don't run much higher than on the highway, there is not much need for frequent oil changes.
If u cook ur oil at high temps during frequent track events, yes ur oil will age quickly. My recollection is that for every 10C (18F) u run it hotter, the oil service life is cut in half (the typical Ahrenius equation). So if u normally run 230F going down the highway, and ur track temps reach 248F, u would need to change ur oil in half the time/mileage, assuming heavy track use. For most guys running occasional DE track events., this probably is not a big factor. Winter driving with frequent shorter commutes and shopping trips r hard on engine oil because of water and acids buildup. Winter use in the snowbelt is for sure where u need later Fall and early Spring oil/filter changes, at a minimum. For track use, just b aware of ur oil temp and time at those temps.

 

Ok guys... here is some hard data.

This was the second oil change, with the first being the initial fill. There was 4600 miles on the oil which included 7 Track days, 3 autocross days, and numerous spirited drives. According to the report, the engine is wearing well for an engine of this age and the oil probably had more life in it.

Here was my reply to Blackstone about the report:

"I noticed the viscosity of the oil was on the very low end from what it should be. Does this mean the oil was reaching the end of its useful life? I do a lot of high performance driving events with the car and I want to make sure the engine is receiving adequate protection from the oil. If the viscosity was getting too thin after 4600 miles, I will probably change it sooner next time."


Blackstone replied:

"You're right that the oil is on the thin end of the 0W/40 range, but that doesn't really mean anything. The oil was still up to the task when it was changed out. It's possible that the fuel thinned it a little, but even if the viscosity had read even thinner, it probably wouldn't have hurt anything. We don't normally see excessive wear just due to a thin viscosity. This doesn't really warrant changing the oil sooner next time than you did here."

 

Hold on. Hold on.
You never mention the track oil temperature you were running, or the duration of such. Also, you do not mention the date of your last oil change...
Oil life is all about temperature and time, unless there are numerous short trips in cooler weather when/where water condensate will build up. The polymers used for inverse viscosity vs temp can wear out and that oil may thin at higher temps. But give us an idea of the conditions you don't mention.

 

Last oil change was August of last year at approximately 3100 miles. Track sessions were generally 20 minutes long and oil temperatures were in the 240-244 range. I've never seen anything over 244F on track.

As for street driving, I almost never drive my car short distances. If I can't run the motor at least 20 minutes or so, I will usually take my other car.

 

You aren't going to find an exact science or proper procedure to when to change your oil when tracking the car. As you can see everyone has their own system and opinion. There isn't an exact answer. What does Porsche say in the owners manual for severe service interval ? Every mfg gives you a normal service internal and a severe service internal. Without looking I would say it's probably every 3000 miles.
As highly thought of as Mobil 1 is you would be giving your car additional help or better protection with Joe Gibbs DT-40 instead of Mobil 1 0-40.

 

For info the GT4 supplemental book "Driving on the Race Circuit" recommends changing oil every 6000mi of race circuit driving. Interestingly this is also the recommended interval to change the rear wheel hubs and bearings. I change the oil in my cars more frequently.

 

So there you have it. I figure if a GT4 can race for 6000 miles until needing an oil change, then I'm probably good for an equal number of miles in mixed street/track driving - especially considering the perfectly clean bill of oil health at 4600 miles.

Thanks for the input everyone.

 

Continue to be amazed by comments and the thought that you know better and more than anyone else.
Offering an opinion is one thing; thinking that only your opinion matters doesn't belong here.
Must be good to be the King.

 

Spare me the histrionics, Augie.

You got one guy suggesting running 50-weight oil in an engine designed for 0-weight oil, you've got another guy suggesting that oil gets thicker when it gets hot, and everyone overlooking the fact that it costs more horsepower to pump thicker oil, in a thread about track use of a high-performance automobile.

What do you think would happen if somebody who didn't know any better, read the "50-weight" comment and actually followed that "advice", by putting 50-weight oil in his engine?

This is not a matter of "opinion"- the properties of motor oil are not affected by one's "opinion". This is a matter of catastrophically bad "advice" being given by people who would be better off taking advice than giving it.

 

Not sure if anyone on the forum has visited "Bob is the Oil Guy" website, but I've found it to be an informative site to find out about automotive oils.

Here is one article which discusses something pertinent to this discussion on oil weight:

Motor Oil 105 - Bob is the Oil Guy - Bob is the Oil Guy

In his discourse on various weights of oils and their use, his view is the thinnest oil weight available that provides the appropriate oil pressure at the designated RPM level. His view is that oil flow at high temps is more important that thickness which the difference between weights become negligible at very high temps.
Better flow means better engine cooling as the hot oil is circulated--hopefully--to an engine cooler of some sort and then returned.

Anyway, and interesting view of the world. In the efforts of full disclosure, I've been all over the map with the various Boxsters we've owned and driven at the track--starting with M1 0W-40, then 5W-50 and have settled on 5W-40. I say that since we don't use the car during the November-March time frame and is garaged overnight.
I understand why Porsche went with M1 0W-40 because the oil gives protection at low temp start ups and from tests I've seen allow for the max HP to be generated at high RPMs due to be being a very light weight oil. Having said that, I always felt M1 in the 0W-40 weight seemed to generate a lot of metallic clatter--especially in the valve-train when hot. Switching to 5w-40 in either Motul, Castrol or Lubro Moly (all Porsche spec approved) quieted the 987 and 981 engines considerably.

 

Having said that, I always felt M1 in the 0W-40 weight seemed to generate a lot of metallic clatter--especially in the valve-train when hot. Switching to 5w-40 in either Motul, Castrol or Lubro Moly (all Porsche spec approved) quieted the 987 and 981 engines considerably.

One other aspect besides weight might be causing the difference in clatter you're hearing. The Motul, Castrol, and Lubro Moly are, I believe, true synthetic oils. Many oils are advertised as synthetic in the US, but are not actually full synthetic (there was some legal loophole that allows this--google it). I know that Mobil 1 is not always a full synthetic. Mobil 1 "European Formula" and Mobil 1 Extended Service (or some name like that) are full synthetic. So maybe you went from a not-really-full-synthetic oil to a full synthetic oil and thus noticed a decrease in clatter. Just a thought.

 

"You may want to consider the vocational and motorsports backgrounds of those involved in this discussion."

And in turn, you may want to consider the vocational and motorsports background of Porsche engineers. My guess is they make you look like a lightweight.

 

Porsche and I are recommending the same thing- what's your point?

 

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