A couple of maintenance questions
 

Hey folks, apologies for my first post, but instead of something interesting I have a couple of questions I need help with. I just bought (on 11-23-15) a 2013 BRZ Limited with 34k miles on it. It was obviously babied by the former owner. My local shop performed the Maryland State Safety Inspection on it and said that it was in great shape.

But better safe than sorry, and because I didn't know the status of things, I decided to change the oil, transmission fluid, and while I was at it the rear diff fluid. I decided to go with Motul.

For the oil, the guy at the shop which sold it to me (and who has a BRZ himself) recommended I go with 5w40 instead of 0w20. Is this likely going to be a problem? Just don't want to stress the engine.

For the transmission/rear diff I went with Motul Gear 300. However, the guy at the motorcycle shop (hey, was hard to find this stuff) only had 3 1 litre containers. The shop next to it, which repairs Ferraris, had a 4th litre of Motul Gear 300, but it was LS. The guy at the Ferrari shop told me that as long as I was sure to put the LS Gear 300 in the rear diff I'd be fine, and not use it in the transmission box. So my rear diff now has a litre of Motul Gear 300 LS topped off with a wee bit of regular Motul Gear 300. Is this going to be a problem?

Much obliged in advance,

--kravi

Hey first off if the car is stock you should run 0W-20 unless you are going to track it. Your better off getting an oil cooler and sticking with 0W-20 for heavy sreet duty or even light track duty. 0W-20 will be thinner at startup and prevent more startup wear then a 5W oil. The first number with the W is the cold temp rating and the W actually stands for winter not weight. The second number is the viscosity rating at operating temperature. I would not go with somthing that thick as you will be losing alot more power to trying to pump it around the engine.

We have Torsin diffs so that means no clutch plates so you should be fine, I see no need for a friction modifier in our diffs.

By using 5w40 you're going to notice less fuel economy and more wear on startup I would like to know why this guy said use 5w40 you're not tracking the car or driving it super hard where oil temps would go past 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Also its going to be a slight bit harder to start in the cold.....

Just a FYI I used to get oil temps over 240F in traffic. One of the reasons I invested in a cooler.

Really? Any other mods?

Full catless exhaust intake, and a tune so between the headers near the oil pan and a more aggressive tune I think thats why. I wish I installed my oil temp gauge before my other mods to see if those are what caused high temps cuz those are crazy high for a steet car. I hit 280 on some back road tears before I installed the cooler.

Thanks for the responses. I appreciate the feedback. I told the guy my car was stock, his was (obviously) heavily modded.

I'll switch back to 0w20 next oil change, unless you think I need to do it sooner?

Cheers!

--kravi

Damn that explains it, have you tried DEI titanium wrapping the header? As well as using a reflective padding: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Protection-Fiberglass-Self-Adhesive-Backing/dp/B00LGZ3NWU"]Amazon.com: Aluminum Heat Shield Protection with Fiberglass and Self-Adhesive Backing Heat Barrier (10 Square Feet): Automotive[/ame]

To deflect heat from the oil pan?

Depends on how much you drive honestly, because the next oil change could be well after winter and the temp drop where its harder to start the motor

My next intended oil change would be sometime this spring (when I'm planning to autocross anyway). I drive usually twice a week to the office (38 miles each way, though lots of traffic), and maybe put on an extra 5 or 10 miles the whole week beyond that.

Grrrrr. Note to self. Don't spend ~$60 on Motul oil when you might need to change it out after 2 days...

--kravi

EDIT: Info on 5w40. Speculation it is safe even in winter. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91820
Would love feedback on this, as I'm sitting on the fence.

I tried gold reflective tape (stuff was like $100!!!) On my intake and it had an extremely small effect so I decided to not waste my time or money doing my oil pan. I also have 2 rolls of the headerwrap but I am still contemplating swaping my header out so I didn't get a chance to wrap it this summer.

240F isn't a big deal. I'm more curious as to how long it takes your oil to warm up properly.

-alex

Your right 240F isn't that big of a deal but pressure does start to drop if it gets too hot.


The oil cooler has a thermostat so in the summer it really doesn't take any longer. Now that it is winter I have completely removed the thermostat so I can get the maximum amount of oil to bypass the cooler but some still does get to it so it does take a little longer but its not bad at all. I also idle the car for 5-15 minutes before I drive depending on the temperature both summer and winter. I also do used oil analysis and so far the cooler has not caused any change in wear witch is nice to see. I was worried that I would get more wear on startup.

Depending on the ambient temps in your area the 5w40 oil will be fine page 402 of BRZ owners manual recomended oils 0w20 5w30 5w40.. The thicker oils recomended for warmer climates and or high speeds or loads.

5w40 probably not the best choice if your seeing temps below zero regularly but still in the recomended operating range.

you manual may be different not sure 0w20 prefered for max economy and in colder climates.

dealers in south africa and australia are using 10w30 at service in many cases