Joe Croser
Northamptonshire, UK
@jcx911 Model997.2 Turbo Year 2010 Acquired December 2015
Time for my eightyear major service, and Millers Oils are on the menu for engine and PDK transmission. I know the transmission oil isn’t due yet, but the PDK is an expensive unit handling massive power so it’s time to give it what it deserves: less friction, lower temperatures and more power. The question is, do I use an Official Porsche Centre or an independent?
Sale adverts frequently promote
‘full Porsche service history’, but is it a deal-breaker? I asked my trusted dealer
pal Tom at 911virgin about the effect on resale values of OPC servicing and he said: “If you offered the car to me at eight-years-old I wouldn’t penalise the car if the most recent service was carried out by a reputable specialist instead of an OPC, but I do like to see the first three services carried out by an OPC.”
Great, as my first three services were carried out by OPCS. With quotes in hand for £1,500 from Porsche Cambridge and Porsche Silverstone, I called DW Performance, the rising star among Porsche independents in Wellingborough, and spoke to Kev Waterhouse – the Goldaccredited former workshop manager at Porsche Silverstone. Kev gave me the good news. With TIPEC discount applied, he more than halved the OPC price, and included time to change the PDK transmission oil.
I first used Millers Oils’ award-winning nanotechnology (NT) in my 964 engine and gearbox, and the difference was night and day. Since then, Millers has revised its spec, and now offers an NT+ product which is even slippier. That’s good news for reducing engine wear, which may be why Hartech fill every rebuilt engine with Millers’ NT+. The
performance gains are measurable; independent bench dyno tests have recorded power gains of 5 to 10 per cent with Millers NT+ engine oil.
After some research, I opted for Millers’ CFS 10w50 NT+ engine oil, which is specially formulated for hotterrunning high-performance modified and turbocharged engines above 2.0-litres.
The gearbox was trickier, as Millers Oil makes a type of transmission oil which is specifically designed to include friction modifiers for plate-type LSDS. But do I have such a thing? I know I have option code 220, which on a 2010 Gen2 997 either delivers a limited-slip diff for nonturbo cars or Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) for the Turbo. I couldn’t get a consistent answer from any of the OPCS on whether PTV also included an LSD, or if so if it’s a wet-plate or an electronic LSD, so I contacted Porsche Germany. A week later I received news from Porsche HQ in Reading who confirmed that my car includes a plate type.
Millers’ CRX LS 75w90 NT+ transmission oil was ordered. Millers Oils also provide an oil analysis service for a very modest fee so I ordered that too. I’ll share my results next month.