Best oil to use for high performance driving?
 

Hi Guys,
I apologize if this question has been answered before but I drive my car quite spiritedly to say the least. I don't track the car and i don't intend to. i'm wondering which oil is best to use for high performance driving. I understand that a high viscosity would help but I'm unsure how high to go. Also I want to run a fully synthetic oil only.

Thanks

Run a 0w-20 if you dont track. You make more power (but not much) and get better fuel economy then you would on a 5w-30.

Now that being said if your hitting 300F plus oil temps you should move into a thicker oil and stop driving that hard on the street lol.

The best Oil.

Eneos Sustina 0W20

You don't need the best, just a good oil for the conditions you will be driving. I have been driving an 04 WRX for over 13 years. My last OCI using T6 5w40 was phenomenal at 105k miles. It's a good oil but not some really expensive oil, 17 bucks at Wally World. Go to bobs the oil guy and do some searches and reading on oil. Right now I am using Subaru 0W20 for my BRZ that's basically my commuter car. I just put in castrol 0w30 European formula in my WRX for the winter. It's the equivalent of German castrol. Good stuff.

I don't reckon it matters ....... use any name brand, 0-w20 synthetic oil, for the type of driving you are speaking of.

No need to over think this oil thing ......:)


humfrz

Yup

I'm going to go with humfrz on this one.

You don't need a boutique oil for just spirited (non-track) driving, unless your oil temperatures are extremely high.

Pick any brand-name oil and use an oil change interval that you can adhere to. If there's any doubt about the performance the oil that you're using, get a used oil analysis (UOA) and go from there.

On a side note, I use Eneos Sustina but have used Subaru OEM Idemitsu and regular Eneos 0w20 with oil analyses that came back just fine. Based on my driving habits and environment, I could just get oil from Wal-Mart or Costco and I would barely notice the difference, except for more money in my pocket.

I challenge all of you to post UOA of Eneos vs Mobil 1 and impress me with your vast oil experience.

Just don't run some SA rated/conventional bullshit and you'll be fine OP. If you live in a really hot area and flog your car up some canyon roads, run 5W-30, otherwise what you need is what the manual tells you to run.

No one is saying that M1 is as good as Eneos, what we are saying is that the M1 is likely fine for his driving conditions and there is little need to spend more money for no noticeable improvement for his OCI.

In the past, my father and I have taken multiple cars to 200k with dyno oil rated for the engine and Fram orange filters. It's pretty simple stuff and many over do it.

NA engines are more forgiving. If it was turbo charged maybe you make sure you get a better oil because of the heat. But I know a few WRX owners who just put in the cheapest stuff rated for the engine and its worked out for them. Just gotta watch your OCIs. I am sticking with Subaru stuff because Amazon has it, so it's easy.

Thanks for the info. I might just stick with the OW-20, I do have short little trips in the car which can be classified as extreme conditions because the oil can't properly heat up, other than that I drive like I stole it and the area I'm in is pretty cool so I'll stick with the factory spec.

What ever fan boy base you want. Any oil is good these days.
Enos, Mobile 1, Motul, Castro, Amsoil, Royal Purple, etc they will all do the same job, and do it well. It's just which logo looks cool to you, or which one has the hottest race queens models.

Hell you could run Costco Synthetic brand and it would still be good.
Go with what ever price you want to pay. $30 for a jug at any auto parts store or $35 for a shiped jug of oil you have to wait for?

For me I rock Mobile 1, I can get a jug of it for $27 at any Walmart. If I'm low I can find it at any backwater hick vill gas station. And the most important part of all, the Moblie 1 race queens are the hottest chicks I seen.

...and with the $12 rebate from Mobil1, a 5-quart jug is $15 until Oct 31. I just submitted my 2nd rebate form online yesterday...

Redline oil 0w20 or 5w30

The Immortal Sustina

viscositosis.rex tested.
60k miles. total.
Watch for oxidative thickening.

I've been using Castrol Edge 0w-20 for mine, been running it since 35k miles through 65k miles. I'm going to start sending oil samples to Blackstone as I haven't seen much info yet.

I've been running German Castrol Edge 0w-30 and oil pressures look much better than any 0w-20 under hard usage, high temperature operation.

really? Sounds like it'd be worth it on the street what are your thoughts?

Exactly this. I track and daily my car with Mobil 1 Extreme (gold cap) 5w-30 during the summer and 0w-20 for the non-track/winter months which can be in the teens or single digit temps here. Like Mr. AC said, it's readily available and cheap if you buy the 5qt jugs. So cheap that I change it and the filter after every track day even though I don't really need to. But it's 15k mile oil if you didn't want to be that CDO.

It gives some peace of mind knowing the oil pressures are better than with a 0w-20 if I'm intending to track the car. I've seen the oil pressure drop very low into the single digits (psi) during idle after running the engine slightly hotter than normal using 0w-20. The better solution would be an oil cooler. As far as being strictly street driven during the winter time I wouldn't see a need to run thicker oil. Even if you like to punch it to redline now and again. If you're not seeing much sustained high temp operation I really see no need.

Agreed. Street driving is much easier on engine oil (and the car as a whole) than track driving. There's just no way to push the car on the street the way you would on a track.

OP - you'll be fine running any brand-name synthetic 0w20 for street use and even some minor track use.

I can second this post to an extent. I am running an oil cooler running Mobil 1 0w-30 advance full synthetic green bottle. Oil literally looks like piss but its doing great so far.

I use Motul 8100 0w20 and I think it is superior to both Mobil 1 0w20 Advanced Fuel Economy and Extended Performance, I've used them all. I don't track my car but I sense actual real-world differences between them during street driving. The price difference between Motul 8100 and Mobil is so minimal that I see no reason not to use Motul. 300V is a different story though, which is what you might want for track driving. 300V would be about double the cost of Mobil but I personally would not use Mobil on the track, just from the differences I experienced on the street.

Bottom line - Motul 8100 0w20 is my recommendation for you.

Oh look! It's my 3 cents!
I am suggesting regular/early oil changes are more important than the brand of oil being used.
The viscosity you use depends on where you live. If you live in Brisbane I would suggest 5w30. Melbourne? 0w20.

During the summer months were ambient temps in some places can be consistently in the triple digits or average close to and above 40*c for the metric folks, it might be a good idea to run a thicker oil if you tend to drive hard even if you don't beat on it at a track, I'd say.

Please elaborate on what you sense is better performance with Motul.

Your butt-dyno needs calibration.

I ran Mobile 1 the last ten years on my MR2 Turbo, it's seen 10+ years of daily driving, and about 6 years of autox and track days at Willow Springs in the summer with 90-100 degree temp. So far it's still ticking and working fine.

So if it works great in a mid engine trubo charged car, yeah it's going to work in ours.

Brand name synthetic 0W20 no brainer average driver/commuter.

If FI or tracking, 5W30. Slightly less fuel economy, better maintining viscosity during higher temps, protects bearings and other internals.

I have run as high as 5W40 in the past as per HKS supercharger manual.

Overall quieter, smoother running engine. With Mobil 1, the engine has this rattle sound, that I have concluded is related to the timing chain. Once I fill up with Motul, that noise is completely gone and this is 100% repeatable. I can switch back to Mobil and the noise instantly comes back. I am certain Motul provides better lubrication for this engine. It's not a coincidence. The engine revs smoother with Motul. That is a small difference but the timing chain noise is not. Power wise, I don't feel any major difference between the 2 and have no data to prove anything.

Like I said above, I don't sense any power differences. The differences go way beyond power in my situation. Your MR2 doesn't have an FA20 engine. The same oil can behave differently in different engines and I have no doubts Mobil 1 worked well in your MR2.

Yeah I think the manual specifies a slightly higher grade oil can be used in extremely hot regions or for extended high RPM usage (or something like that). Just a balance between maintaining proper oil pressure on the hottest days vs. cold start viscosity and bearing clearances on the coldest days. I use a 5w30 synthetic during the summer track season and 0w20 synthetic during the winter.

Same here, but I like to swap between 0w-20 oils and the Castrol 0w-30. Supposedly the Castrol runs a bit thicker than most 0w-30's and 5w-30's. Plus Pep boys runs a special on castrol synthetic oils every other month. :)

German Castrol! I used to use that on my STI. A lot of the Subaru guys love it since it's a little thicker like you mentioned.

Or 50.
I run M1 0w40, for both street and track. It's one of the last oils in their lineup that's still PAO base stock and UOAs show it's worth well more than the $30/5L (Canadian) I pay at Walmart for it.
I don't let EPA required fuel economy number dictate how I protect my motor.

They sell Eneos at Walmart? Do they also sell Sustina 0w20?

huh?

Never mind, just noticed you wrote M1 :bonk:

The specs that an oil meets are more important than the base stocks that are used. These days Mobil 1 uses GTL base stocks in the 0W40.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub...containing_GTL

Interesting process.
I haven't bought a jug of M1 0W40 that didn't say Eruopean Formula on the label, so none of this GTL stock has been in my engine. I'll be monitoring the UOAs for it, and provided it tests well and maitains the current price point, I'll give it a shot.

http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/a...etails?id=3965


This is important. I really do not think it is good to use non 0-20. If you track your car, get hardware to increase flow of your oil or increase cooling capacity.

You need to check your oil. Is your oil sheering down below the recommended viscosity during your track day. If it is I would use a thicker oil or another oil of same thickness that does not sheer down. Using a thicker oil for a track day will not likely hit your engine. Running too thick as a DD could cause trouble over time.

thicker oil vs larger oil pump and more volume. I dont think people are getting the difference. Pressure itself is only a valid indicator of what is going on if the oil is the same oil in each system. If thick oil, it is simply needing more force to move but it is not getting to the parts it needs to lubricate any faster.

I remember many street racers getting larger oil pumps. I guess it would help if flow rate is increased.