Miata oil weights for autoxing
THE HAMMER
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Miata oil weights for autoxing
Friends of mine just bought a 1994 miata with an LSD and now power steering (not an R package either) and plan to autox it in the stock class.
Right now I'm thinking of getting them to run mobil drive clean 20-50 or castrol 20-50...
However I'm not sure if the miata engine is finicky about wanting like 10w30 like some honda motors...
Anyone know?
Right now I'm thinking of getting them to run mobil drive clean 20-50 or castrol 20-50...
However I'm not sure if the miata engine is finicky about wanting like 10w30 like some honda motors...
Anyone know?
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He is right a lower number flows better gives better lubricartion and takes less HP to pump it around the engine. Just use a good synthetic I like Mobil oil 5 -50 but thats cause I am running over 380hp and its Turboed.
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The finickiness of a Miata engine lies in the hydraulic lifters. Oddly enough, not every car responds the same. Some do better with lighter weight oil, some with heavier.
If you drive the piss out of the car, the lifters are going to tick no matter what oil you use. It's just a fact of Miata driving life, and apparently doesn't hurt anything.
Two schools of thought: One says that a thinner oil should flow into the lifters easier and keep them "pumped up". The other says that heavier oil will just stay in the lifters longer.
I've found that on MY car, which has had Mobil 1 in it since its break-in period and now has about 65k on it, 10w30 was noisy. 5w30 did not help. 15w40 DID help. Now it rarely ever ticks under street driving conditions. (with 10w30 or lighter, it would sometimes tick after extended highway driving at 75-80)
It was ticking like mad at the track last Saturday, though... may have had something to do with being near or on the rev limiter for about half of every 90-second lap for 5-7 laps at a time.
At an autocross, I don't feel like I've pushed the car hard enough if it isn't ticking a little when I finish a run.
You're going to have to experiment with different weights to find what makes you and your car happy. This being Florida, you might just skip 5w30 and start with 10w30. If that doesn't work, try 15w40. And there's always 20w50... but that's pretty extreme for a modern engine.
If you drive the piss out of the car, the lifters are going to tick no matter what oil you use. It's just a fact of Miata driving life, and apparently doesn't hurt anything.
Two schools of thought: One says that a thinner oil should flow into the lifters easier and keep them "pumped up". The other says that heavier oil will just stay in the lifters longer.
I've found that on MY car, which has had Mobil 1 in it since its break-in period and now has about 65k on it, 10w30 was noisy. 5w30 did not help. 15w40 DID help. Now it rarely ever ticks under street driving conditions. (with 10w30 or lighter, it would sometimes tick after extended highway driving at 75-80)
It was ticking like mad at the track last Saturday, though... may have had something to do with being near or on the rev limiter for about half of every 90-second lap for 5-7 laps at a time.
At an autocross, I don't feel like I've pushed the car hard enough if it isn't ticking a little when I finish a run.
You're going to have to experiment with different weights to find what makes you and your car happy. This being Florida, you might just skip 5w30 and start with 10w30. If that doesn't work, try 15w40. And there's always 20w50... but that's pretty extreme for a modern engine.
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