Oil Type for 997

[Vereina]

Apologies for what is probably a bit of a newbie question:

My new (10 days old) 997 looks like it needs its first oil top-up. There is a sticker on the inside of the engine lid that confirms it came with Mobil 1 in it, but no indication of which viscosity. I suspect that the answer may be that it doesn't matter too much, but I would appreciate any advice on which of 0-W40 or 5-W40 is the better choice.

Thanks ....

[richard k]

Not sure how far away you are from your dealer, but with mine, as it was new, they just topped it up for free. Yours might do the same.

[Vereina]

Thanks for the quick reply. Dealer is over 40 miles away and I won't have time drive over in the next few days (much as I'd like an excuse for a little trip!), so I'd better just buy some.

I'm assuming, of course, that, as it already has Mobil 1 in there, I'm best sticking to the same brand - so just need to decide which flavour to use. Based on what the manual says, I think it has to be a choice between 0W-40 and 5W-40.

[clorenzen]

Beware that you do not overfill. Every line in the electronic read-out represents 0.5 litres so be careful how much you "top up".

[hutchingsp]

Might be worth phoning and asking but when I needed to top-up my Boxster I went with Mobil 1 0W-40, I don't have the manual in front of me but there was a reason for that and I think it was because it was the only grade that the manual showed as being suitable for all climates, plus a dig around on here suggested 0W-40.

[Vereina]

Thanks, clorenzen and hutchingsp, for the tips. (That's not in the Tiptronic sense, obviously.) Having checked the manual again at home this evening, 0W-40 is one of only three options for above -25degC (the other two being 5W-40 and 5W-50), so that seems fine.

Just out of interest, does anybody know why (or in what circumstances) 5W-40 or -50 would be better choices than 0W-40?

[jjr1]

I supplied 5w-40 to the dealer the other day for my service as that is what they asked for. 10 litres of Mobil 1 at a heck of a lot less than those robbing gits were going to charge me.

[stealth997]

I was "concerned" about the oil usage in the first 2000 miles so I took the car to West London OPC. They confirmed that optimum read-out conditions are between 15-20 minutes of switching off the engine. Also, each notch on the electronic indicator is only 250ML so you should only really be topping up when you're near the bottom of the indicator.. And if it says Mobil1 you should use Mobil1.