Any of you guys know of any motor oil testing being performed?

Right now I am using Valvoline 20x-50 VR1 Racing oil (high Zinc). Many of the local guys I respect run Joe Gibbs oil.

I have been reading about some of the other choices out there like
• Joe Gibbs oil
• Royal Purple
• Amsoil

This is the only one I could find:
http://www.animegame.com/cars/Oil%20Tests.pdf

Any help would be appreciated. BTW: I run the car in Time trials on tracks like Lime Rock and Pocono. I miss Bridgehampton.

 

Try Bob Is The Oil Guy. They have a racing forum where you should find plenty of information about any current or ongoing tests on various racing oils. Be prepared for plenty of "informed" opinions though!

 

What type of testing are you looking for, comparisons, viscosity breakdown?
mr. beachcomber is correct, there are plenty of opinions out there.

 

Here is mine from the break-in with Joe Gibbs break in oil and a bottle of Comp Cams break in additive.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...-20-years.html

 

I switched from Mobil 1 to Royal Purple in my rebuilt 355. Oil pressures are more stable and the car seems to run smoother. Worth it since I only end up changing the oil twice a year due to low mileage.

 

'Oil tests' have been ongoing from the day the first SBC hit the street way over 50 years ago.

The results of billions of miles accumulated by millions of owners indicate that the brand of oil makes very little (if any) difference, despite what the snake oil salesmen and Bubba tell you.

Change the oil as recommended. Use the grade that is recommended. Your engine will last as long and run as well as anybody else's.

 

That is an excellent site.

I know what you mean about “plenty of "informed" opinions”Good data seems to be hard to come buy. When I talk to guys that run their cars, everyone has an opinion. Most oil choices are just based on the fact that they have used Xbrand and never had a failure. I just dropped in a new motor and the machinist recommended I break-in the motor with Valvoline VR1 racing oil and add EnginePro zinc additive for break-in.

Many years ago when I was working as a mechanics helper as I was going to school, a guy walked over when I was working on my car. He asked what oil I was using and commented on my air filter. When I asked what he based it on, he explained he worked for a heavy equipment company. The name escapes me, but they were big, like Caterpillar. Anyway, he explained they would build a group of engines where the rings had special material built in. They would run different oil and filters and send them into the field. After a time, they brought them all back, drained the oil and were able to determine ring wear. That was how they made recommendations.

Now I know we aren’t going to buy 12 identical cars and put Joe Gibbs in car one, Amsoil in car 2, Royal Purple in car 3……
But I thought somewhere this sort of data might exist.

 

This was my attitude for a long time and while this may be true, I've noticed higher and more stable oil pressure, cooler temps, and overall smoother operation since I switched from Valvoline to Royal Purple. I will be sticking with it.

 

It does- millions of consumers and not ONE statistic to show that any particular product is better than another.

 

well yeah, when people are changing their oil every other sat nothing is ever left in long enough to get any real results when they test their oil.

 

cottoneg,

“Minimum Standards”
A lifetime ago I went to buy my first motorcycle helmet. The shop owner, Kurt was an experience racer who told me that you buy a $10.00 helmet for a $10.00 head. Even though both helmets meet the minimum industry standard, I was happy I got the more expensive hat. Six months later a woman, late to church, with her kids in the back seat, ran a stop sign. She bent my bike in half, with me on it. A volunteer fireman friend saved the helmet to show me the road rash it was able to absorb. Was it more than the minimum standard helmet could have absorbed? Don’t know, but I am glad a wasn’t a failed test subject.

 

total tangent but not really, as a motorcycle racer i researched helmet after helmet and looked up test after test and in reality the helmet that transfered the least amount of energy to head was amazingly enough the least expensive helmet tested. the most expensive one let so much energy transfer to the head that it would have crushed the skull at the impact point.

 

The Bell company produced the helmet, not the Chinese. I really think you missed the point. Story time is over.

 

try BRAD PENN OIL its great!!! high levels of zink and other refinement

 

So, what if there was millions of helmets and millions of accidents and the stats showed no real difference from one to brand to another in outcome?

 

in the millions of accidents only 10 will push the helmets to the limit were you will see the true difference and of the 10 only one did his home work and got the best he could and is still alive to tell the story.

 

http://www.ctslube.ca/Docs/compare.pdf
Amsoil has a 10W-40 that has 1400 PPM ZDDP and is a street oil with proper detergents and additives. Base stocks make a difference in protection. All oils are not created equal. The Amsoil is $8.50 a Quart so if you change your oil once a year and drive your car under 5000 miles a year you will spend about an extra $30 a year to run it. I think it is worth it. Others may disagree. Let them run Walmart oil and save money.
We have a large trucking company here in town. They did run a variety of oils over the road in real world testing. Each truck used a different oil exclusively. I eat lunch with their main mechanic for 20 years and discussed this with him. He did the overhauls on these trucks when the testing was done. The engines were rebuilt @ 500000. The Amsoil engines had drastically less wear with this many over the road miles. They run Amsoil in all their trucks now. He runs Amsoil in his vehicles for the past 5 years. I run Amsoil in my vehicles now with 7500 mile intervals on changes. The vette gets changed every year.

 

I agree with you that the brand makes no difference, but a recent missing key ingredient does. Zink added by either using offroad racing oil or out of a booster bottle will do the trick. Although I have to say that I am also partial to RoyalP.

 

Year after year, test after test, AMSOIL is superior! It is normally a bit more difficult to find locally, but the API tests don't lie.. Amsoil will out perform all the others period.. I've been a mechanic since childhood. (I'm near 50 now) There are some other "decent" oils out there that are easier to come by; Royal Purple, Valvoline, Mobil 1. Don't forget the importance of a quality oil filter. Wix makes a great one.. Microns count! SeeYa, Hopper

 

I agree, and that's what I meant by 'proper grade'. The missing zinc issue was well covered in Duke William's article. Brand name still remains irrelevant.