ENGINE OIL RECOMMENDATION

[konradlip]

Hi, Im looking for a engine oil and filter recommendation for my l28et. I been researching all the different websites about the oils for that engine and they all give me a different answer. However what I did find was few suggestions to use the 10w30 oil. Im still not sure if I should run full synthetic so I would like to know what other l28et owners use in their cars. Also I seen few people suggest the Valvoline oil as it contains zinc. Any opinions on that? Thanks

[abdi]

I used to use valvoline racing 10w30 thats the one with zddp. Right now I use motul 300v 10w60 for trackdays

[johnc]

Normally I would send this post to the tool shed but I've got some new data. At our Porsche shop we've switched to Penzoil GT Performance Racing 25W-50 based on their reps statement of 1980 ppm of Zinc and our own Blackstone VOA test that showed 2100 ppm of Zinc. That's almost three times the Zinc of current catalytic converter safe oils and equal to what was available in a racing oil in the 1970s.

 

Only the oil in the viscocity I listed above has that much zinc. Non of the other Penzoil products have anything over 900ppm of zinc.

[z-ya]

HI John,

 

Are you implying that oils with less than 1980ppm ZDDP are catalytic converter safe?

 

Thanks,

 

Pete

[Xnke]

No, more like oils that are 900ppm or less...if even that much. I am still using the VR1 synthetic, with no issues at all...even did a no-no and broke in a new cam with it with absolutely no problems. It is an SH grade oil, so supposedly it provides the protection levels that a flat tappet cams need.

[konradlip]

So when buying the VR1 should I go with the synthetic?

[johnc]

Catalytic converter safe is under 900ppm as Xnke mentioned above.  The Federal Emissions Warrantly requires the cat to last 100k miles so that's why there's such low zinc in the latest engine oil standard.  If you're not worried about your cat lasting 100k, you can run an oil with much higher levels of zinc.

[johnc]

You don't need synthetic unless you're seeing oil temps over 240F.

[z-ya]

Any negative effects of zinc on WB O2 sensors?

[johnc]

Not that I know of.  I ran leaded fuel with a $250 O2 sensor in my racing 3L without any problems.  The important thing is not to spend a lot of time idling.

[z-ya]

I run leaded 110 in my race car too, and it already clogged up two sensors. It is my understanding that cleaning them in unleaded gas will make them new again.

[BitchinZ]

Napa Gold 1521 is a good filter.  If youre on a budget look into the Shell Rotella oil at WalMart.

[HowlerMonkey]

I've never had trouble with standard Purolator filters and Castrol gtx 20/w-50 oil........especially in a long used engine.

 

I've seen multiple tests and both end up near the top against far more expensive options.

 

If your engine is brand new with perfect clearances, you might get something more from a thinner oil concerning miles per gallon and oil pressure from a cold start but I find 20w-50 works well in any but the coldest climates.

 

interesting reading at the link below

 

http://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

Edited February 12, 2014 by HowlerMonkey

[konradlip]

I used Rotella in my subaru and I was very happy with it. I might just go that route since 65 bucks for the Valvoline synthetic is little pricey. 

[Xnke]

Buy from a local oil distributor and that 9$/qt synthetic becomes 3$/qt.

 

I'm not saying the synthetic oils are needed...Just that that specific one is an easy to find source of oil still designed for a flat tappet cam. I'm not saying ANY oil is unsuitable, just that newer grades of oil are not specifically designed for flat-tappet valvetrains and that rollerized engines WERE developed to work with newer grades of oil. (Yes, that's my belief and I have enough evidence to prove it to myself.)

[Chemicalblue]

Motul, all test prove its one of the best oils out there. Amsoil would be a close second. 85% of all professional race teams use Motul, from our test its worth every penny. $60 for 5qt jug is really not to bad considering we don't see it breaking down until 5-7k mi. I change my personal turbo car every 5k, and on our NA cars we usually change it every 10-12k mi.   

[konradlip]

Any other recommendations for weight of the oil and company? Motul oil seems difficult to find. I couldnt find rotella t6 10w30 only t5. Still thinking about that Valvoline vr1 and if its worth the money. I kind of want too try it since its the first oil change im going on the car and idk what the previous owner was using.

[z-ya]

Brad Penn is what I run in the race car.

 

[TimZ]

Brad Penn is what I run in the race car.

I ran Brad Penn for a while as well, until I saw this white paper stating that it was not compatible with E85:

http://www.penngrade1.com/CMSFiles/File/March%202011_E85_TECH_LETTER_BRAD_PENN.pdf

I didn't observe the issues outlined in the paper, but this made me decide to switch anyway.  Too bad, since I found a local distributor that bought it in bulk for a really good price.

 

Also tried the Valvoline NSL synthetic for higher zinc content, but am now back to synthetic VR1 10w30 as it is only slightly lower in ZDDP than NSL and is MUCH easier to find.  No issues.

Edited February 12, 2014 by TimZ

[RebekahsZ]

1) How often to change oil on an autocross car that really only gets driven at autocrosses (6 minutes a month)?

 

2) How often to change oil on a low-compression, pump-gas drag car (30 passes a month)?

 

What I have been doing, is changing the oil and filter each spring (before the season starts) whether it needs it or not.  It usually has some color in it by then.  Car gets most of its mileage (or hours) from April to October, then it is on jack stands all winter.  Any real reason to change it more often than that?