I plan to take my stock '96 Miata out to the track for the 1st time soon. I'm also due for an oil change. I normally put 5W30 non synthetic in my cars which work fine in California weather and normal driving. What motor oil would you recommend for the occasional track use, autocross, and some spirited back road driving in the Santa Cruz mountains on weekends.
Also, would anyone suggest using additives?
Thanks
Autocrossing isn't much different from ordinary driving for some of us. 8;)
It depends on how heavy the track use is going to be. If "occasional" means one to four times a year, for, say, half a day of on and off (two-group) track time, then I wouldn't do anything different except change more frequently. I generally change oil every 3K miles or 6 months for street driving with the odd autocross thrown in.
If I'm running a two-full-track-day weekend at the track, I change oil and filter immediately before and immediately after. It's relatively cheap to do and it gives me peace of mind to eyeball what comes out.
Just about everyone I know who runs frequent track days or autocrosses seriously uses synths, mostly Mobil 1 and Redline. They're likely to hold up longer without breaking down under very stressful conditions at the track.
Other than heavy use at high speeds, it's a religious discussion. But with frequent enough changes, either dino or synth should be fine.
No one I know uses any.
-- Larry
Sometimes I'll add extra salsa to a burrito. Mmmm, burritos.
Oh, in the oil? No way. Unless you mean snake oil.
This good information. It'll just change my oil more often, depending on track use, and stick with dino. Price wise, I can do 2 to 3 times as many oil changes with a name brand dino as oppose to Mobil 1 or Redline.
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