My engine builder is not a big fan of the new oils out there. Most of the new oils have had to have so much of the lubricants taken out of them due to the EPA there is not much left to lubricate the motor. Most if not all the Sulpher and Zinc has been removed. This is critical for camshaft lube. Most newer motors are running rollers so it is not missed. For us running the older motors with flat tappets it is needed or some type of additive is needed. He said most of the Racing oil still has the lubricants in it.

I just got my new solid flat tappet cam today and the inside flyer also confirmed this. It said this is the cause of many cam failures of lately. They are recomending some type of deisel oil which has all the lubricants in it. I was running synthetic oil in mine after 500 miles of Dino oil and thought I was doing the engine a favor. Maybe not? I'm not saying I am for or against either one but it sure makes some sense that a lot has been removed from oils.

Comments from any oil experts.

 

i wouldn't use synthetic oils on any engine that uses a flattappet cam. I used Valvoline VR1 exclusively on my old flat tappet 383, because of the high zinc content, however, i will be using synthetic on my new rollercammed 383 after about 500miles.

 

My uncle doesn't use synthetic in his race cars and I don't either. I figure if its good enough for motors to last 200 thousand miles it's fine.

 

Ive been running valvoline 15w40 diesel oil for years

 

Mountainmotor told me to us VR1 racing oil.

 

Rotella 15-40 Diesel oil.. The best thing you can do for your old motors... Dave..

 

My uncle told me to use that also and thats what I use.

 

In a B/B 'Vette?!?!?

 

http://www.pecuniary.com/newsletters...fications.html


If you use 10-30 you are OK...if it is 5-30...forget it...as the DI pac's are reduced...and forget additives,BTW....snake oil...
Rich

 

The amount of zinc used in oils.... with zinc (including various diesel) is measured in ppm. The amount of zinc "coating" is absolutely on the molecular level. One basically has less than one "spin" before the zinc is gone. One cannot see the zinc on the surface. Sulpher is bad, one should be glad it is not in oil, especially if you are not running a breather or PCV.

Mythbusters should do an episode on lubrication and additive packages.
Synthetic oil is not synthetic in the way one usually would believe the definition of the word. All synthetics use the same group I and II base stocks which are what you would find in Dollar Store no name oil. Basically all motor oils come from the same three refineries only the additive packages are different. Additive packages in modern oils SM and SL rated are so much better than when our C3's where built. They are all backward compatible rated or SAE would not have given them a rating.


If Zinc is a concern I would add VSOT (valvaline synpower oil treatment) it has the highest level of zinc of any of the supplement additives.

 

That is what the cam manufacter recomended

Also the VR1 has been recomended

 

Very interesting, I am listening, Mine will be ready in a couple of weeks, and I went to the very old school.
Keep em coming.

 

This is a VOA on Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment from blackstone labs.
Lots of good stuff. About 1 oz. per quart should be plenty.

This the Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment that comes in the 15oz bottle.

Aluminum 0
Chromium 0
Iron 2
Copper 1
Lead 0
Tin 0
Molybdenum 3481
Nickel 0
Manganese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 0
Boron 1367
Silicon 33
Sodium 60
Calcium 1719
Magnesium 2718
Phosphorus 2109
Zinc 2626
Barium 0

SUS Viscosity @ 210F 188.8
Flashpoint 345F
TBN 16.1

 

Thanks goinbroke... I was going to include the VOA.
As one can see by the numbers... all those elements that folks say there is not enough of or can't be found in modern oils, can be added by using VSOT.

 

Here's a link to compare VOA's of different oils. Not all brands are included, but it's enough to get an idea as to what's generally available.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/voalibrary.html

 

I've been using the same oil. Mostly because I usually work on diesel engines. I have almost never had any sludge build up on a new engine that started its life with this oil, and had regular changes be it gas or diesel burning. I do recommend taking oil samples at every oil change to moniter its condition, and check for wear.

 

I like rotella T and mobil 1 synthetic...

Rotella t in all the diesels, lawn equipment... soon the vette. Synthetic in the new cars. I dont much care for it as it gave me a pretty decent scare. Checked the oil and it was all foamed up to the full level. Came back when it was cold and it barely read minimum! (Not sure where the oils going in this thing either... )

 

bobistheoilguy web site is really informative.....heres my thoughts.....after i use up the case of Valvoline 10w30 racing oil i just bought i am going to switch to the valvoline full synthetic for this reason....the temperature at which the oil starts to break down....the synthetics break down at a much higher temp rating and the other reason was the vaporization point(i think thats what they call it) its much higher with the synthetics and i'm thinking some of the smells we get from the engine is actually oil burning and vaporizing.

 

I like the synthetics but feel they are not providing the needed lubricants for the older engines. Maybe a mix of the two or additived to the synthetics would help.

 

I agree about the use of synthetics for inital breakin in flat tappet motors (Or overhead cam where the lobe rides on the valve stem as in 4t motorcycles) . Once the surfaces have mated and had some thermal cycles to get used to each other then switching to synthetics WILL lower friction. In my 10 years of roadracing motorcycles it was common to pick up 250 to 500 rpm on top at WOT when switching from dino to fully synthetic with no other changes.

Synthetics are NOT good in vehicles that are not driven regularly. (The inverse is also true) Ask Mobil why they pulled Mobil 1 aviation oil and rebuilt/replaced many aircraft engines. Can you say hygroscopic? Fully synthetic oils are non hygroscopic, meaning that they dont absorb water. Water is a by product of combustion and it is in the ambient air, so in the case of a motor that gets run infrequently or dosent get up to operating temp when run the moisture level in the engine is sufficient to rust and then wipe camlobes (exactly what happened in the airplane motors).

Also there has been some research and testing that indicates oil particulate filtering below 10 micons, say 2.7 microns absolute, removes nearly all of the particulate matter from the oil.

If it really bothers you the best thing that you can do change your oil (and filter) more frequently, monitor oil temp, and get on an oil analysis program.

Oh yeah and DRIVE IT!! it wasn't built to set around every day otherwise it would be all chrome

IMHO