Lloyd Christmas

My engine builder has told me to use VR1 20w50 in my forged FI 347. I don't even remember if he had said conventional or synthetic. I had assumed racing oils would be synthetic. Looking at the valvoline page they have 3 "racing oils". VR1 synthetic, VR1 conventional, and Specialty Racing Oil (Not Street Legal). The super special oil has a disclaimer about being race specific with low detergents and requiring frequent changes. The other 2 don't until you look in the FAQ, which states: So they're all low detergent, fine. What does that mean to me? Sure, they need to be changed more frequently, but how frequently? Maybe after just a weekend at the track, but what about street usage? If this oil is toast after 1,000 miles or so on the street, I am going to have to talk with my people about using something else.

http://www.valvoline.com/products/co...ing-motor-oil/

WKMCD

I've broken in several engines with VR1 NFS (Not for Street). It has high levels of ZDDP anti-scuff that the EPA made the manufacturers take almost completely out of "street" oil. I changed it at 500 and 1,000 miles on the new engines. After that, I run Royal Purple or Red Line.

corvette8189

I run the VR1 conventional 20-50
Personally after a weekend at the track i would change it no matter what. Street use and occasional WOT, i would just check it every so often and change as necessary.

oil change is cheap insurance

Lloyd Christmas

Right, so what kind of mileage are you seeing with it on the street? Can you run it for 3,000 miles?

Lothar34

I don't. I change it every 4 months which comes out to at most 1500 miles on my car.

How often are you driving yours?

Lloyd Christmas

I really don't know yet. I would say between 12,000and 15,000 miles yearly.

Lothar34

Then I would do what WKMCD said. Use the VR1 for break-in and then switch to something else.

C5Natie

I usually use Rotella T6 5w40 full syn but now I started adding 2qts of syn VR1, especially for track days. If youre using only VR1 you can easily do 3000 street miles as long as you have a good working pcv system and allow the oil to reach full temp when you drive the car. This will help it stay cleaner since it has low detergents. I would only worry if the engine was dirty or hadnt been maintained well but if you always change your oil as needed then it should be nice n clean in there. I have a few friends that run syn VR1 10w30 on the street on supercharged 600+hp motors with no issues.

Lloyd Christmas

PCV works well AFAIK and I'm adding an RX can soon. So far I've gotten oil temps up when using it but I may use it for some shorter trips when I get settled in to my new place.

C5Natie

Youre good easily to 3000mi or more. It still has some detergents though not much. I knew a guy who would add a cup of atf to his racing oil just have some detergents, since atf has a lot of it. Ive never tried that tho. As long as its not a daily driver seeing stop n go traffic all the time I wouldnt worry. If reg syn oil easily goes 5000-7000+mi then 3000mi to be safe should be ok. But thats JMO.

C5Natie

Found this post from Valvoline on a racing forum. Seems the VR1 is good for 3000mi, the "not street legal" oil is meant for 500mi intervals.

"We are not able to join the forums, but we can give you the answer you need, or maybe would like to add to the forum. Our VR1 Racing Oil is NOT just an "ordinary new car street oil" as listed. Our Valvoline VR1 Racing Oils can be used in street applications, but still contains the high amount of ZDDP (Zinc and Phosphorus). This information can be found on our Valvoline.com website, under the section where it lists the Racing Oils. We have also added the product information sheet for both the VR1 and the "Not Street Legal" Racing oils. As you will see, Valvoline still contains 1200 ppm Zinc content in our regular conventional VR1. It does carry the API Service "SM" rating, but this oil was not made to change for emission standards due to it not being a "ordinary street car oil." This information clearly states the amount of both the Zinc and Phosphorus levels in the oils. The main difference between the the "Not Street Legal" racing oil, or commonly known as Conventional and Synthetic Racing oils, and the VR1 is the Calcium content. Calcium levels are higher in the NSL oils, compared to the VR1, and the NSL oil is only recommended for 500 mile oil changes, while the VR1 is a 3 month/3,000 mile oil. Valvoline stands behind the flat-tappet and more aggressive type cam applications 100% with our Valvoline VR1 and NSL Racing oils. The proof is in our product information sheets, which are online for the viewing as well.

Here are the product information sheets with test results for all of VR1, Not Street Legal conventional, and Not Street Legal Synthetic.

"Adding to what we stated earlier, we have read throughout the forum. We see a lot of references to the API Service "SM" rating, being the main cause for catalytic converter damage. SM is basically just a gasoline rating. The S stands for Spark ignition, which refers to the ignition for gasoline type vehicles. When an oil has an SM rating, that just plainly means that the oil past the specific API (American Petroleum Institute) test requirements to obtain this specification. It has nothing to do with catalytic converters. The rating that stands out on conventional motor oils, (Premium conventional, Durablend, & Synpower) is the GF-3 and GF-4 ratings. These are energy conserving ratings that are necessary because of the Environmental Protection Agency mandating federal standards to further reduce emissions, beginning with '05 vehicles. These are the ratings that make the oil safe for catalyst effectiveness, and these ratings are not found on the VR1 Racing Oils due the ZDDP additive content, not API Service "SM."

Hope this helps,

Valvoline "

Lloyd Christmas

Awesome! That's exactly the info I'm looking for. Thanks!

C5Natie

Glad I could help. I was doing my oil change today and got curious since. Now im contemplating running all Valvoline Racing Oil next time. The Autozone by me has it, 10w30 and 20w50.

Rx7Rob

I'm thinking about using one of these oils for my cam break-in so it will only be in there for about an hour. Probably follow WKMCD's lead and use NFS. Maybe I'll do another fill for the dyno tune. I'm catless so thats not a concern.

Is there a ZDDP oil that also has a fair amount of detergents? With the exception of HPDE's, most of my driving is a short (20 min) ride to work which barely heats up the oil.

A relative runs Bradpen in his old Lotus 7 and TVR Vixen. Any idea how that compares to the VR1?

C5Natie

Amzoil has their Zrod oil. Its supposed to have a high zinc content but Im not sure how much. Only problem with some of these oils is availability. I want to go to the store down the street and get what I need in minutes. In July I installed my LS3 with a new cam, valvetrain and heads. For break in I used conventional Rotella T and a lot of Lucas assembly lube wich has a lot of zinc as well. After 500mi I put in synthetic. Also there are zinc additives you can order and mix with your oil. Redline makes one I believe.

Rx7Rob

What causes the high ZDDP oils to have such a short change interval? Is it the addition of the zinc and phosphorous, or lack of detergents?

You'd think someone would sell an "off road" oil that has the pre-2004 formula that is good for cam wear while maintaining a long service interval.

C5Natie

Its not high zddp oils, its race oils that have a low interval life. They are made with less detergents so the oil doesnt stay as clean. Theyre made to provide maximum protection, not life. Diesel oils have high zddp levels amd are designed to last many thousands of miles. In fact they have more detergents since diesels run "dirtier". Thats why my personal choice, for my cat-less car, is Rotella T6 diesel oil.

Rx7Rob

Cool! I'll check out the Rotella.

My local NAPA has Valvoline NFS so I'll run that for cam break in. I'm a newb on the ZDDP issue but thought I saw one thread that mentioned diesel oils may have a problem in our motors. Also thought I read an oil analysis showed the non-NFS version of V1 didn't have high ZDDP levels.

I'm only doing about 3000 miles a year in my car and will be trying some more tricks with the PCV system to get it working better. Unfortunately most of those miles are short trips so the oil temp doesn't even hit 190.

Lloyd, hope I'm not stealing your thread ...

WKMCD

FWIW: Rotella doesn't have anywhere near as much ZDDP as it did a few years ago. I used to use it for break in but switched to VR1 NFS.

C5Natie

Rotella T6 still has about 1200ppm of zinc. Most regular oils are around 600-800 still its still a great improvement. Go to bobstheoilguy, tons of info and used oil analysis there.