Viscosity??

[bonsaiwino]

Gents, I have a '79 carbed Spider. What motor oil weight would be recommended? Many thanks, Don

[GeorgeT]

I always used either 10w-40 or 20w-50, depending on the season and never had any issues; always dino oil not synthetic.

[MrJD]

Rotella (Shell) 15W40 is what Brad Artigue recommends. How much oil does a 2.0 hold anyway?

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... 36&start=0

[V12StealthHunter]

valvoline 20w50 synthetic

[So Cal Mark]

I also use Rotella 15-40 and capacity is 4 3/4 qts

[MrJD]

mark, do you have a preferred brand of oil filter?

[ga.spyder]

Here you go....a test of 8 oil filters for the Fiat Spider.This was done by our own Baltobernie.The definitive guide for a Spider owner!
http://dcfiats.org/tech/filter-B.pdf

[4uall]

I am a big fan

[rja]

I am a big fan

is this because of the zddp content?

[4uall]

yes, as well as it seems to be one of the most recommended. For my 34yr old Fiona and only owning her since sep'11 I only know my own history I am just trying to keep her as good as I can for the time I have her I am by no means an expert.

[bonsaiwino]

So tonight I was standing in the motor oil aisle of the store, just about to get some Rotella 15-40. After making a call for advice, I was warned that it doesn't have a detergent additive. I was advised to go with Castrol 20-50 & put in some zinc additive. I'm enjoying this debate, but want to make a decision soon. As always, thanks guys!

[MrJD]

detergent additive?

[V12StealthHunter]

So tonight I was standing in the motor oil aisle of the store, just about to get some Rotella 15-40. After making a call for advice, I was warned that it doesn't have a detergent additive. I was advised to go with Castrol 20-50 & put in some zinc additive. I'm enjoying this debate, but want to make a decision soon. As always, thanks guys!

I used to actually do something similar many years ago on a 1974 Jaguar XJ12. I would use Castrol 20w50 and then add the Redline ZDDP additive. It was a cheap car and I didn't want to spend money on fancy oils. This worked out pretty well. I don't know if it was just a placebo affect but it always felt like valve chattered reduced with the redline additive.

[aj81spider]

I'd check your owners manual. The 81 manual I was able to reference quickly calls for 15W40 if running multi-grade.

Cooincidentally (or not!) that's what I run, and I put a ZDDP additive in it. I don't worry too much about detergent additives as I change it before putting it up for the winter and generally have put less than a couple of thousand miles on it in the season.

[baltobernie]

Diesel engine oil was a favorite for older engines after SAE went to grade SF oil, which was the first time since grading began that the new oil was not backwards-compatible. SF had greatly-diminished levels of zinc and phosphorus to avoid damage to the new O2 sensors and catalysts.

Since the 1990's, however, big diesels have gotten "greener" too, with catalysts of their own, so ZDDP levels are way down from the good old days. If you contact Castrol, they'll recommend GTX 20-50 for flat-tappet engines, so that's what I'd use.

There are small companies that blend motor oil specifically for our cars; another possibility. But frankly, the Fiat TC engine is a pretty robust little booger, and lubrication-related failures are quite rare. Most of us only drive a few thousand miles a year in these cars, so one change per year (even using a crappy filter) is probably OK.

I use the "Clean" brand filter and Hemmings 20W-50, changed every November, but that's just me.