What oil weights are folks running on their supercharged R53s?

I know the factory recommendation is 5/30. But what are folks running and what kind of climate do you live in?

Thanks

 

I'm running the 5W30 just like the factory recommends. Mobile1 Synthetic. Summers are 105F plus; winters can dip down to 15F, typically no lower than 25F, but never below 0F.

 

I run 0-40 and my winters can be -10 and 100+ summer

 

Amsoil 0W30. Pittsburgh, PA can be over 90 in the summer and 10 below in the winter.

 

I use 5W30 in Southern California. I use Redline.
I have used 5W40 during the summer but found usually only need to change the oil once a year so I now just stick with 5W30.

 

I have Amsoil 0-40 for winter and will use 5-40 for summer use.

 

Synthetic oil flows at a wider temp range than normal oils...
I would suggest that 5w-30 as speced is the best choice for most, but a 0W-30 is a great choice too!
Tolerances (bearings, etc) in modern motors are MUCH tighter than 20 years ago...and this is ONE OF THE MAIN reasons THINNER OILS are used...get oil that is too thick, and it has trouble getting where it needs to go.

 

Thanks for everyone's comments.

I may run 5/40 since I have some of that weight in Motul that I ran for my pcar and my wife's audi. We can be a single oil weight family! (actually the Acura runs 5/20 I believe).

I live in the San Francisco bay area, so climate wise it's pretty mild. I just want to make sure that the oil doesn't get too hot and shear. So I'm leaning towards the 40w range oil. May test with 5/30 and 5/40 and see if I notice any differences.

What are folks running if they track their cars?

 

On my other car that I track, I pick the oil based on the oil temps. I started with 10-40. Temps were in the 260 range at the end of a run. After a bunch of research on race oil selection, I tried going to 5-30. My temperatures dropped 5-10 degrees because the thinner oil runs through and off the hot parts faster than the heavier oil so it doesn't pick up as much heat. I still use 5-40 for regular driving as heat is not an issue. I have since added an oil cooler to the car so I am hoping to have 220-230 degree oils after all this. That motor is a 3.2 liter straight 6 so comparing it to a 1.6 supercharged 4 is apples to oranges.

 

O-40 Mobil 1 all year long.
Here in Hawaii.

 

I've run 0-30, 5-30 and I'm currently running 0-40 mobil 1 (the european car formula) My weather is -25 deg F in the winter and 95 deg F in the summer I typically put 0-30 in for the winter and 5-40 in the summer but I'm trying something new this winter.

 

Wow, that's interesting info. I would not have thought the thinner oil would give lower temps.

Can I ask what kind of oil you used for this car?

My fear with the thinner oil (ideally flows better so better lubrication) too much heat will shear the oil. Hence me wanting to start with a higher weight oil and if it shears, it shears to a lower weight oil and I still have protection (vs. starting with say a 30w and it shears down to a 20w)

Does anyone know if the supercharged motors run out? (Dang it, I need a car with the chrono option so I can see oil temps!)

 

I exclusively use Amsoil for my vehicles. It's not because I think it is superior to all other oils (it's a great oil, there are other great oils as well) but I am a preferred buyer with dealer pricing and delivery, I never have to leave my shop to go buy anything.

When tracking my car, I worry more about heat than shear. I don't keep the oil in long enough to worry about shear. When not tracking, I run 5-40 as it does a lot longer distance drives.

 

The SC cars have a coolant to oil cooler....so temps are not an issues for anybody EXCEPT some track folks, and then NOT for the reasons you would think....
At higher rpms, especially if the SC has a pulley (remember the waterpump is run off the PTO on the SC), the water-pump will cavatitate (make vacuum bubbles) when at/near redline for very long, net result, the coolant flows are greatly reduced...since the block is cast-iron, it can hold lots of heat....so idling the car after a run is fine for most...then do an oil-change after your track day....
The biggest issue with adding an oil-cooler, is you don't get a oil preheat in cold weather, and if you do not cover it, temps can stay TOO LOW...resulting in moisture issues and sub optimal Viscosity due to temp...

 

This!