Silent Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Due to recent EPA regulations on motor oil, the oil manufactuers have dropped the zinc content in SAE certified motor oil. Zinc burns up over time and turns to ash which leads to increased emissions. Newer model cars with OHC's and roller style cams do not have any problems with these changes. Unfortunately, older engines with flat tappet cams need the zinc to properly lube the camshaft. You see, zinc additives in oil help lube direct metal to metal contact when it occurs. I have been hearing these stories for a little while about flat tappet cams going flat and set out to find the truth. I emailed Royal Purple, Valvoline, Quaker State, Castrol, and Penzoil. I copied the same email to Comp Cams and Crane Cams. Everybody but Penzoil replied, and they all had the same response. They all recomend using a racing grade oil with flat tappet cams. A few companies told me that it was imperative that I switch from standard oil. Even Royal Purple told me that thier sae approved synthetic oil was not enough to protect a flat tappet cam. Racing grade oil contains more zinc than current formulations of SAE approved motor oils. This is to help metal to metal contact that occurs at high rpm and long duration high heat races. Everyone I contacted told me that these oils ensure the life span of flat tappet cams. The high zinc content has been shown to shorten catalytic converter life, and possibly shorten the life of O2 sensors, so you get to make the choice on which you want to replace. Screw in O2 sensors are easy and relatively cheap, and catalytic converters are not that bad either. I know which ones I will take the risk on. To date, I have not found an oil additive that will replace the zinc that is designed for prolonged use. Many break in supplements and cam break in lubes have a high zinc content, but thier manufacturers do not recomend thier use past the first part of new engine break in. Don't take my word for it, research it yourself. I'm just here to make sure you guys have heard about the situation. just bit of info for those who keep eating cams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 I guess its the same with gas when they switched to unleaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Try submitting the same info you sent the other oil companies to Amsoil technical services using the link below. http://www.amsoil.com/techservices.aspx I would be interested to see what they have to say and recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Posted February 27, 2006 Author Share Posted February 27, 2006 a friend of mine typed that out, and told me about it, because i know at least 6 people who have eatin cams this year in our small racing community. just figure id pass it on. this would explain the number of msa cams going flat as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 bump... So were there any suggestions as to which oils are suitable for our engines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 more or less oils that are specific for racing, i know vavoline has a couple different weights, but aside from that, i haven't heard anything else from people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 i could have gone today without heering that, o well....im running synthetic oil now, guess i have to switch to synthetic racing oil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 So were there any suggestions as to which oils are[/i'] suitable for our engines? Ok, I’ll start by suggesting this product. There are several others that would also apply Explore and read some specs. http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/tro.aspx?zo=314844 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Ok' date=' I’ll start by suggesting this product.There are several others that would also apply Explore and read some specs. http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/tro.aspx?zo=314844 What specs would those be? I couldn't find anything about zinc content in that link. I did find this, which was interesting, but the info is a little dated... http://www.micapeak.com/info/oiled.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZFury Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 TY for the info... first time I have ever heard that... what are some cars that use flat tapped cams? I am not totally clear in flat tap cams. I assume roller cams are like the new push rod V8's (LS1), and the OHC'ed L24 is flat tapped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 So what about motorcycles!!! Most are overhead cam to shim valve with way more rpms. Are they concerned or is their valve train weight and pressures not as great. Is the cam wear do to inferior metals being used for the cams.Surely oil advances have helped to make up for the losses of certain additives.Definetly an subject worth investigating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mofaster Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 the best oil to use for break in of flat tapet cams is a compresion grade oil like Delo or Rotella. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preith Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Ok' date=' I’ll start by suggesting this product.There are several others that would also apply Explore and read some specs. http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/tro.aspx?zo=314844 Interesting. According to TimZ's link posted, the Amsoil 2000 series does NOT have any zinc added. As Tim stated, the link is a bit dated ('99), but with the current trend, my assumption is this hasn't changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X64v Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Interesting. According to TimZ's link posted, the Amsoil 2000 series does NOT have any zinc added. As Tim stated, the link is a bit dated ('99), but with the current trend, my assumption is this hasn't changed. Empty cells indicate the data was not avaliable. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 .. Maybe I'm sutpid, but I could find any "specs" on amsoil's website to confirm or deny. I'm looking at Valvoline's VR1 synthetic: http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X64v Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Maybe I'm sutpid, but I could find any "specs" on amsoil's website to confirm or deny. Neither could I, hence the fact that the box is blank in the link you originally posted. Also, vr1 is a conventional oil, not a synthetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katman Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Valvoline Racing still has about .2% zinc I think, and Kendall GT-1 Racing used to have about .16. We used that in our IT cars with good success. However, I don't think the GT-1 Racing is available anymore, and their conventional high performance oil is only about 0.13. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Neither could I' date=' hence the fact that the box is blank in the link you originally posted. Also, vr1 is a conventional oil, not a synthetic.[/quote'] My Bad: http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=95 ...not the VR-1, and also not street legal for some reason:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Valvoline Racing still has about .2% zinc I think, and Kendall GT-1 Racing used to have about .16. We used that in our IT cars with good success. However, I don't think the GT-1 Racing is available anymore, and their conventional high performance oil is only about 0.13. Here is what I was able to come up with - the only oils where zinc is rated are the conventional ones, so I think it's safe to say the others are zinc-less. http://www.kendallmotoroil.com/Product+Data+Sheets/MotorOil.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 My Bad:...not the VR-1' date=' and also not street legal for some reason:confused:[/quote'] ...oh this probably explains it a bit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZDDP Duh - ZDDP is bad for catalytic converters . Now it all makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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