DE and Oil
 

New BRZ owner looking for a little guidance. I am a 5 or 6 DE's per year driver. I am driving a 1980 Porsche 911 SC now so the BRZ will be a nice step up in the momentum car world.


"Oil" is almost a religious discussion on most Porsche forums, so I did "search" before this post. It seems to me that 0-20W oil is really light weight for track use. Is there a preferred weight and brand for the track? Or am I over thinking this and just make sure I have fresh oil for each event?


Thanks for any and all advice.

0-20 is fine if you're not in an overly hot climate or running forced induction. Some people will say its too thin for track use and some will say anything other than that and your bearing clearances will cause your motor to explode. The fact is Subaru recommends using a "higher" viscosity under extreme situations. Depending on where your owners manual was printed it is more or less vague about this. The new FA20DIT, the factory turbo version of this engine runs (?)w-30 as factory fill.


Amsoil dominator or Motul 300 are exceptional oils under harsh conditions. I personally run dominator 10w-30 in my turbo frs but many use motul on the track with good used oil analysis'. Keep in mind a high ZDDP oil has exceptional wear characteristics but is not "approved" for use with a catalytic converter.


Amsoil XL or Motul 8100 are also great oils and what I would run in a DD car and I would utilize the longer drain intervals. I run a race oil DD only because im on ethanol 100% of the time so I feel I don't need the detergents and I want to see what the UOA look like.


Don't over think it.

Motul 300V and Jackson Racing Oil Cooler Kit (NA application). 300V is a tough oil that resists shearing at high temp. JROC kit is retrofit capable from NA to the JRSC FI application with a change of bracket and lines (different lengths and clocking). JR uses a Setrab core and is the largest oil cooler available so far on the market.

If I'm not mistaken, 5w-30 is what is recommended for the motor in Europe. US gets a thinner oil thanks to CAFE.

From what I understand, thicker oil like 5w-30 also increases peak oil temperatures at the track by 10-15 degrees F.

0W20 will be fine if you're running a top shelf synthetic. Otherwise, 5W30 is the way to go.

We've successfully tracked with both.

I have a JR oil cooler for my NA BRZ and it keeps oil temperatures very reasonable even on track in hot weather. I'd recommend it but as with anything watch all clearances line routings (I had a minor fitment issue with the nearby HP fuel line and the sandwich plate that I had to resolve with JR's help). Overall I would recommend the setup and I am heavily tracking my car (June is looking like it will be five days on track for it).

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. I was a big Motul fan when In was tracking '99 996. Think I will go that route in September when I get back to the track.