Oil type/change frequency

[catahoula lou]

Group:

A neighbor of mine has a 1964 356C and is unsure about type of oil and change frequency. A mechanic I know claims that air-cooled engines are designed to use mono-viscosity oils, as opposed to multi-viscosity oils, with either having an appropriate amount of zinc.

Questions:

(1) Is this true?

(2) Given that his engine is now a true 356 engine (w/oil filter), how often should he change his oil/filter, considering that he lives/drives in the mountains?

(3) He used to do oil changes every 2-3K miles in the temporary VW 1600 (no oil filter) engine that he used until getting the Porsche engine. If he adds an oil filter to this engine, does that mean he can now increase mileage between oil/filter changes, in case he needs to swap back for some reason AND would that be the same frequency as the Porsche engine?

Best,

Thom
_________________
1 great wife
2 Catahoula Leopard Dogs (Mahogany Star and Spartan) - RIP Lucy, Braveheart, & Dusty!
1 1959 mango green Ragtop Bug (the "Mango")
1 1958 pantina red Lowlight Ghia (the "Chili Pepper")

Still looking for:
(1) My Dad's 1955 356 (he raced it amateur-class at Riverside and other courses during 1950s),
(2) My parent's black 1955 hardtop bug (CA license plate FWC 201 or FWG 201), and
(3) My parent's agave green 1957 ragtop bug (CA license plate LFK 734).

[MMW]

Oil change every 3000 miles, filter & clean the sump screen every 6000 miles. This is what the manual states. It also says to use mono viscosity oil. 30w in warm weather & 20w in cold weather.

Having said that I do mine twice a year regardless of miles & I do the filter once a year since I don't put a lot of miles on it. I do keep a close eye on the condition of the oil & it stays very clean. I probably put 2500 miles a year on it?

As for oil I run straight 30w Brad Penn as it has enough zinc to keep the cam & lifters happy. http://penngrade1.com/
_________________
Mic
1959 356 coupe
Missing the original engine 72488
Update - third pc. found!
Now just need the case halves.
1965 fenderless beetle

[catahoula lou]

MMW:

Thanks for the info. Between my VW 1962 1200 manual and my ancient Clymer manual (small pages), they both talk about using mono-viscosity oils. I believe that the Clymer does state that multi-viscosity oils can be used, but the clear bias is toward the monos. It either one of these or another ancient one I dug out, one talks about improvements in the multis at the time (early 60s, I guess).

Been considering Brad Penn, as I understand that this oil is the original green oil made by Kendall, which I used before "the change". I looked at the Pelican Parts 356 Technical BBS, which has a very good comparison of several oils, including the all-important zinc content. Using data from the BP site for 20W-50 (Pelican only compared multis), BP appears a little better than Kendall, AND Valvoline Racing (which I used decades ago and thought the "racing" was a marketing tool) appears even slightly better than BP. Accordingly, price appears to increase through Kendall/BP/Valvoline Racing.

I can only assume, pending further site visits, that the mono versions of these produce would rank about the same.

Have a local source for Kendall/Valvoline Racing, but none for BP, although a guy on Ebay sells double cases of BP for ~$120 + shipping.

Best,

Thom
_________________
1 great wife
2 Catahoula Leopard Dogs (Mahogany Star and Spartan) - RIP Lucy, Braveheart, & Dusty!
1 1959 mango green Ragtop Bug (the "Mango")
1 1958 pantina red Lowlight Ghia (the "Chili Pepper")

Still looking for:
(1) My Dad's 1955 356 (he raced it amateur-class at Riverside and other courses during 1950s),
(2) My parent's black 1955 hardtop bug (CA license plate FWC 201 or FWG 201), and
(3) My parent's agave green 1957 ragtop bug (CA license plate LFK 734).

[roy mawbey]

Yes, Porsche never in the 1960's -1970's used multigrade in 356 engines. However over here, now most do. I change mine every 1500 miles the filter every 3,000.

MMW is therefore correct , it does no harm to keep that oil nice and clean.

I used to use Shell Rotella 30 grade its a HD oil but now over here you have to look hard to get it.

Roy
_________________
Roy
RHD356A super75 106954

[MMW]

I buy my Brad Penn off e-bay from here. Just specify the weight you want. Fast shipping good price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAD-PENN-OIL-5-30-10-30-1...mp;vxp=mtr

The way I look at it is the factory specified certain types of oils & intervals. The newer oils in the same weight/type are much better than back in the old days so just using what they say is an upgrade in itself. Same goes for gear oils. I just run whatever the manual states & have no issues. I don't go for all the hype of every latest oil craze as our cars were not designed to use them.
_________________
Mic
1959 356 coupe
Missing the original engine 72488
Update - third pc. found!
Now just need the case halves.
1965 fenderless beetle

[catahoula lou]

Ironically, I've already contacted Bob at QP, but waiting on my neighbor to decide if he wants me to order him a case at the same time. He also has a 996, which takes a ton of engine oil for each change, relative to his 356, and my 1959 lowlight and 1959 ragtop bug.

Best,

Thom
_________________
1 great wife
2 Catahoula Leopard Dogs (Mahogany Star and Spartan) - RIP Lucy, Braveheart, & Dusty!
1 1959 mango green Ragtop Bug (the "Mango")
1 1958 pantina red Lowlight Ghia (the "Chili Pepper")

Still looking for:
(1) My Dad's 1955 356 (he raced it amateur-class at Riverside and other courses during 1950s),
(2) My parent's black 1955 hardtop bug (CA license plate FWC 201 or FWG 201), and
(3) My parent's agave green 1957 ragtop bug (CA license plate LFK 734).

[Glenn]

Since the 356 engine is so similar to the VW engine, lets use the existing oil topic in the Performance forum.

Official "What oil / additives should I use" topic

The importance of choosing the correct oil weight.
_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

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