First oil change??

[Toster]

I have an older 1996 SN 176 with the PCM 351w in it. It is coming up on needing an oil change. I know this is a topic of much debate, I have read most of the oil threads dealing with ZDDP.

I think I am going to go with the Valvoline VR1. It seems that is one of the highest without breaking the bank. My question is what weight? I live in Nebraska where we run the boat anywhere from 50 ish degrees outdoors on a cool morning to 100+ on a warm summer day. I was thinking of a straight 30wt, but don’t want to kill the engine on a cool morning.

[jmo]

RE: First oil change??

I run Castrol 15w-40 Diesel (it okay in unleaded engines too) and my engine is happy whether it's 50 degrees in the Spring and Fall or 90's mid Summer. It has the ZDDP additives the GT40 motors require. I only put 40 -50 hours a season on the boat so I just change it at the end of each season hence an oil with broader coverage in terms of temp range is important for me.

[SuperSquirt]

RE: First oil change??

I used to have the same exact boat, SN176, and i used 10W40 for 8 years....using Castrol Syntec. It ran so pure it was ridiculous