CraZee ZO6

I know its FI forum But I wanted to post this here..

I used to love Mobi 1 then they strayed from there original FULL SYNTHETIC formula then I loved Royal Purple but not sure anymore.. plus I like getting my oil cheap like walmart 5 quart. So AMSOIL and RP for me are out. I change oil often 3k max. I know in a regular car you can go long mileage 7k 12k.. but this is a HEADS CAMMED Z driven.


So whats the best? I feel mobil 1 which I am currenty using is good but there is better? I am going to try CASTROL SYNTEC next.. (german syntec is hard to find I dont care for it unless I stumble upon it) or Pennzoil Platinum (which I hear is VERY GOOD and full synthetic).

TurboTravis

You want the truth? Rotella synthetic or Delvac 1 (Mobil brand) are the best off the shelf synthetic oil for a LSX engine that is driven hard. As far as off the shelf 'regular' synthetics, just pick the bottle you like the best as each one is going to provide basically identical protection. The brand loyalists will come to this thread soon, but re read my post and the end for the correct answer.

CraZee ZO6

Ive heard about this ROTELLA... isnt it a diesal oil?
Also heard that its great for bikes..


Do you think its ok with the cleaning agents for LSx street cars?

Ikester

Your wasting good oil. I have proven you can go way past 6k miles on synthetic oil. I sent out my oil for analysis at Blackstone Labs. After a Watkins Glen track day, trip to Bowling Green, and hard driven street miles, the viscosity level was only at 63%. And mine is a H/C setup too. The DIC is pretty accurate!

Next time you change your oil at 3k, send a sample to Blackstone, they will break the 3k oil change myth.

Shinobi'sZ

Been doing a lot of research on this and have come down to the following choices for my next oil change. All of them are 5w-40

Rotella T Full Syn 5w-40 (Ci 4+ not Cj spec...new diesel)
Mobil 1 5w-40 Diesel (still am finding the Ci 4 + stuff on the shelf at Autozone).
Amsoil 5w-40

It's about high temp sheer rating and startup.


The reason (I heard) that Zinc has been removed for these new formulations is that not only that it is better for emmissions but that new cars don't need the Zinc because they have roller tappet cam shafts and don't wear the same as a flat tappett...well that is true with that respect but it doesn't mean that roller tappets still don't wear. It's all a scam to get the motors to wear quicker so that the big companies can sell more parts.

Even the Diesel has changed the formulation for new emmissions...give us back the Zinc.

C66 Racing

The reason that many people will recommend diesel oils is they have higher anti-wear additives. But... that is somewhat dated info.

The reason diesel oils came into favor is that the EPA requires new cars to meet emissions requirements for over 100k miles. The phosphorus, one of the primary anti-wear additives in oils, causes long term damage to the catalytic converters and the automotive companies requested the API to limit them in the new automotive oils.

The actual additive in question is ZDDP, or Zinc dialkyl dithio phosphate. The new API SM/ILSAC GF-4 specification limits phosphorus to 0.08% or 800ppm in 30 grade oils, which effectively limits the amount of ZDDP the oil can have.

There were comments above that diesel oils such as Shell Rotella T have higher levels of ZDDP. Unfortunately, the API has made similar restrictions on the newest diesel specification, CJ-4, has they have on API SM automotive oils. According to the new specs for CJ-4, the oil must contain lower levels of ash and phosphorus (1200 ppm), and it must also not have a TBN any higher than 9. TBN is a measure of the oil’s alkaline reserve, which is used for fighting off the damaging effects of acid. Most diesel oils on the market today are formulated to meet CJ-4 specifications.

For those looking for high ZDDP oils (noting that none of these meet GM Standard 4178M), AMSOIL makes these oils which all have phosphorus on the order of 1275 ppm, and zinc on the order of 1365 ppm.
AMSOIL Series 2000 20w50
AMSOIL SAE Synthetic High Performance 20w50
AMSOIL SAE Synthetic High Performance 10w40
AMSOIL Series 3000 Synthetic 5w30 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil

I know that's not what the original poster asked, but all of the oils listed above will meet API SM standards and have phosphorus limited to 800 ppm. For those wanting an oil suited to their FI motors, I think they are better served finding higher alternative ZDDP oils. If I had an FI motor, I'd use the AMSOIL High Performance 10w40 listed above.