genuine1980

I heard that Royal Purple can cause damage to seals?
And that as an oil, it's no better than Mobile1... and that its a waste of money.

baxsom

is there really many oils that are better than mobil1.

Mike Ward

Yes, but it would be pointless to debate it. Most people think higher price means higher quality. And if it's 'synthetic' its even better.

Good luck.

wfo76

Haven't seen an engine oil test like this, but saw a gear oil test and RP had by far the worst anti-corrosion protection of any of the oils tested, and it sheared down due to heat as well (the GM dino over the counter gear oil was far better overall than the RP). I think their stuff is over priced and over hyped and for your engine, would stick with a HD dino like Delo, Rotella, etc; even Mobil 1 not designed for high levels of oil contamination that occurs in older engines.

7T1vette

Well, Mike...if it's synthetic oil, it IS better. There are a few valid reasons for not choosing synthetic...either because of incompatibility with some [old] seal materials, or because you require changing the oil on a specific frequency and would just be throwing money away if you used synthetic oil. Neither of those situations is very common, and the vast majority of vintage car owners would benefit from using synthetics. There are many studies which demonstrate the improved lubricity, longer lubricant life, and greatly extended engine/transmission operating life using synthetic oils; and I don't know of any [legitimate] studies which show them to be worse than organic oil.

Anyone can use whichever type of lubricant they want...for whatever reasons. But that doesn't mean that synthetic lubricants are not better than organic ones.

Durango_Boy

100%

Mike Ward

As I said, it's pointless to debate it.

Good luck!

427Hotrod

Rp works fine. It's been proven in the over the road diesel industry for years. It's used in just about every form of racing. I've seen the race oils survive some incredible situations and have all the internal stuff come out looking new.

I've been using it in my G-Force race trans too with no issues.

But as mentioned...Mobil 1 is good stuff too.

And so are many Dino oils. Not worth getting real emotional over. I've seen serious race motors run multiple seasons on WalMart Tech 2000 oil and live just fine. These days if you have engine issues.....it's NOT the oil that caused it. Any of them will run fine.

If you have flat tappets...just get a little additive package to help it out..otherwise don't worry much.


JIM

birdsmith

For my $$$ the primary reason for using synthetics over mineral oils in a street-driven car would be driving in a region where oil temps are difficult to control, i.e. somewhere in the southwestern deserts in the summer. Dino oils break down and lose their film strength at temperatures over 300 degrees, and if your street-driven Vette is seeing these kinds of oil temps you have a cooling problem, not an oil problem. Mobil 1, RP, etc. tell you how great their oil is because they want you to buy it- that still doesn't necessarily mean that its expense is justified for your particular application. In my vintage racer I used Mobil 1 because during summer races I could frequently see oil temps up to and over 280 degrees, even with a big cooler facing into the airstream. I never broke it or even hurt it. My Vette gets diesel oil. It's got a good cooling system, I don't flog it to death, I change the oil about every 6 months, and I don't have any oil problems or cam wear issues. There are also people out there who insist on putting 92 octane gas in 8:1 compression motors because they "seem to run better".....the oil companies are just as happy to take their money too.

Shurshot

I used RP on a motor that had major issues

1. Not enough valve spring and I was finding steel in the oil from the shims that were being beat to death. (found out the cause of the steel when the motor was torn down). That process started from day one and was still going on nearly 2000 miles later

2 Then the motor went lean and broke 4 pistons with one missing a chunk the size of my thumbnail. However I put thirty miles on the motor driving home after the detonation event and all I had to do to the block was re-hone it.

With a chunk missing that big there had to be a lot of luck involved but still with all the steel that was running loose in that motor from day one I am very impressed with RP oil.

It was not their race oil but their normal 10-40

Doug

Mike Ward

Glad to see that there's at least one other person that 'gets it'

jb78L-82

Here we go again! Synthetics are BETTER than conventional oils but everyone should use what they want! Let's try this again: Synthetics are a conventional oil as a base stock with a different additive package than conventional oils. Synthetic oils, most importantly, are conventional oils with the oil molecules resynthesized so that ALL the molecules are the SAME size versus conventional oil where molecular size is random. It is the molecule uniformity that allows synthetics to offer better wear and temperature protection. Pretty simple. Synthetics cost more due to a more refined process and they do have significant benefits over conventional oil, not because the oil companies feel like charging more and every one is stupid and will just pay the price. Conventional oils will work fine, obviously, but you could also put a $40 tire on your vette or a $250 tire. They both roll and will do the job, albeit very differently. Oh yeah, I guess the tire companies charge $250, just because they can with no tangible benefits for its application!

Reggie Dunlop

Using synthetic engine oil is like pissing your pants, it gives you a warm feeling but that's it. A quality conventional motor oil will work fine in every situatuion. Spend your money on something more fun.

7T1vette

Gee, Reggie....that must mean that all the high performance car manufacturers around the world are just "pissing their pants", because all of them are putting synthetic oils in their vehicles--including the Corvette, of course.

You "die hards" are just a hoot! You probably complained about the "evils" of the microwave oven, touted the benefits of 8-track tapes over CD's, and just know that ATM's are a government conspiracy to control your money.

All I ever stated was that synthetic oil is better than conventional oil...not that conventional oil was bad. And, yes, anyone can use anything they want [which I also clearly stated]. But, trying to convince folks that they should continue to use conventional oil because you say that it's just as good, is too much.

eagle275

Haven't heard that one mentioned yet.

540 RAT

I've become a fan of Royal Purple through personal experience as well as through research, lab test data, and other real world reports, including the fact that it is quite popular in most types of racing. I've used their street oil in 4 different cars over the past few years, which range from a 550 hp, 12 psi supercharged car, down to a 200 hp daily driver. It has worked just fine in all those cars without issue. And during draining, there was no sign of foaming as it splashed down into the drain pan, like I'd been seeing recently from Castrol GTX dino oil, that I had used for many years prior to that.

As for research, one of the pieces that stands out is the "Oil Film strength/wear prevention" lab test that was done by an Australian magazine a couple of years or so ago. While some people argued that they didn't like the test (generally because they were Mobil 1 users which showed very poor here), the fact is, all the different oils tested were subjected to the exact same test. And of the oils tested, Royal Purple Racing Oil was best in wear prevention, while being in a tie with another oil not sold in this country, and Royal Purple street oil placed second in wear prevention. This success is also backed up by what we've seen in the real world in some broken (unrelated to oil) motors, where even though broken, Royal Purple kept non-broken parts looking like new. So, say what you want about that lab test not being done in a running engine, or being done in a manner that you may not like, but wear prevention is wear prevention. There is no debate that that is any oil's first priority, and everything else it does, comes AFTER that. Those results along with my own use, and the use by others, has made me a believer in their oil. I'll continue to use it because, for me its worth the extra cost for the extra engine protection. Its cheap insurance in my book.

And speaking of Mobil 1, I disagree that its good oil. Not only did it show up poorly in that film strength test mentioned above, but Isky told me NOT to use it with my my new high dollar BBC EZX solid roller bushing-type lifters. And if those issues weren't bad enough, unless you been living on Mars lately, you couldn't have missed the common new ads by Valvoline where they state that, independent lab tests show that their Valvoline Synthetic oil provides 5X the wear protection of Mobil 1. So, why would anyone want to use Mobil 1 when there are so many other oils out there that are clearly superior? And its not like Mobil 1 is cheap either. I don't base my oil buying decisions on emotion, I go by data and real world experience. Personally I wouldn't use Mobil 1 in my motors, even if it was free, but each to his own. And yes, I'm well aware that some new performance cars come factory filled with Mobil 1, in fact, I have one those cars at home in my garage (though it now has Royal Purple in it). But since Mobil 1 is NOT superior to other oils on the market, Mobil would have had to have made a good business case (its always about the money) for companies to use it. So, it's obviously "good enough" oil to generally get by. But is just "good enough" up to par for your stuff? Obviously that's your call, but at least now you know a little better how it stacks up.

Here is some Royal Purple lab test data that I've gotten back this year:

Royal Purple 5W30 XPR Racing Oil (full synthetic)

TBN = 10.9

In parts per million (ppm):

Calcium = 3039

Phosphorus = 1338

Zinc = 1421

Moly = 204



For reference:
Calcium : Detergent/dispersant additive
Phosphorus: Anti-wear additive
Zinc : Anti-wear additive
Molybdenum: Anti-wear additive
TBN (Total Base Number): reserve alkalinity, which controls
acid formation as a result of the combustion process

So, with the high levels of zinc/phos and a good amount of moly present, it has excellent anti-wear properties. And with good levels of detergent, and reserve alkalinity, it is also suitable for street machines where normal change intervals would be used. Then combine all that with being the industry leader in oil film strength, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better motor oil. All you have to do is get past the $14.00 per quart that it costs. But at least, it appears that you get what you pay for.




Royal Purple 5W30 street oil (full synthetic)

TBN………….12.4

In parts per million (ppm):

Molybdenum...127
Calcium…....2230
Phosphorus...737
Zinc……….…864

jb78L-82

Any synthetic, Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Amsoil, Valvoline, etc etc is BETTER than a conventional oil! Of course for the 50th time a conventional oil will work. As to which SYNTHETIC is better than the other synthetic is debatable but to say Mobil 1 is NOT good oil is just foolish especially when you look at the volumes of DATA out there about Mobil 1 and the facts mentioned above such as the major auto manufacturers use it as factory fill with 15,000 miles change intervals, as just one example. Please! I have used Mobil1 for 25 years with zero engine issues ever! By the way, the most high tech sophisticated racing engines in the world ( and by far the most expensive engines bar none), a Formula 1 2.4 liter V8 (Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Ferrari, etc) turning 19,000 RPM making 900 HP, ALL use synthetic oil, not conventional oil, including Mobil 1 (so much for Mobil 1 not being good oil). The engines have to last for 2 races per th rules. Not one of these manufactuers would EVER use a synthetic oil that they did not feel was up to the task, not when they are spending up to $500 million (yes millions) for 2 cars to win the world championship. Mercedes uses MOBIL 1!!! Any synthetic is BETTER than conventional oil. Let's stop the nonsense guys, some comments are really foolish!

Reggie Dunlop

7T1vette - I do not know what all the worlds high perf car makers do in their pants, but I do know that over the last 30+ years I have tested and used just about every type of oil to come along and I can tell you for a street car the little bit of difference a synthetic engine oil makes is negligible. I have tryed it in grocery getters, race cars and heavy duty trucks and unless you use it in the gear boxes as well, you really gain nothing!
There are a few hundred thousand trucks hauling everything you will ever purchase millions of miles a week with conventional motor oil in the crankcase. Sure there are a few that use RP and the like, but just like the world of passenger cars, they are few.
I never said one was better than the others, but the consumers around the world say conventional oil is better if sales volume counts for anything. So if using it gives you a warm feeling go ahead, buy it and enjoy.

blctalon

I'm using rotella in my 406ci. By the time it breaks down due to the 'type' of oil I'm using, I'll be ready to rebuild it. lol.

For the record though, I have beend using amsoil synthetic in a 355 i rebuilt 8 years ago and it runs fine. I recently switched it over to rotella because 8 bucks a quart isn't going to work. It still runs fine and isn't complaining about change. It does need some valve stem seals on those shotty old sportsman IIs.

Edit again - sorry, I got off track, but I doubt that Royal Purple is going to hurt your seals. That's the old myth that 'synthetic' oil in general will creep past your seals cause it's so slick. I've had both leak out of my seals cause they were bad seals.

jb78L-82

I think that the only way this dilemma is ever going to be resolved is by chemists and engineers on the forum. Everyone else including me, truckers, race car builders, grocery getters etc are just novices spewing opinions! Any one out there with credentials to back up their statements? Facts would, of course, be helpful. Please chime in! Two requirements: 1. Facts 2. Scientific credentials to back up the "facts".