which engine oil and why

[D.T. Benner]

Pintos have to be build kind of "loose" to make good power. That and the use of a carb. mean you get more unwanted stuff in the oil. If you use one of the Pro engine builders you should seek their advice on oil change intrvals. My thought is that even though Mobil 1 is expensive it's still cheaper than engine rebuilds!

[Mark H]

Like the Indy car guy said we are racing "stock" engines, the Pinto a little looser than stock but its the revs that kill, so with the quality of the over the counter oils now a days, any good name brand oil will do I think.

I have always wondered what type of oil the Indy, F1 and NASCAR teams REALY use. I mean come on will Jeff Gordon's engines last 500 mi on Quaker State like he advertises? Or is it some one off blend that QS put out there for just him? On some of the F1 sites they state the brand of fuel and oil that they use or should I say are sponsered by. I can see Shell, Mobil 1 and Motul the big teams state but there are some snake oil names used by the back of the packers.....maybe thats why they are in the back? oil??

I bet that Honda states oil type, change out intervals and psi traces given to them in their rental program ( shoot how much dose Honda charge for an "over rev" these days) . So the Euro blend Mobil 1 may be the way to go.

[Steven McWilliams]

I use AMSOIL 10w-30, the engine hasn't gotten over 200 yet. Sandy from Quicksilver said AMSOIL was a good choice. It works great

[Bob Ramberg]

Here is an AMSOIL white paper on Gear Lubes. I have a couple other oil related pdf files but they are too large to post. Any Ideas?

Here is a link to an AMSOIL sight with a lot of comparitive data on other oils.
http://www.performanceoiltechnology....ompetition.htm

[Garey Guzman]

Bob,
If the PDF is too big, I would assume it's a lot of pages. You can save smaller portions and attach in sections.

[T644HU05]

It looks like almost everyone is ending up with 50 on the high side of multi weight oils and all over the place with the low side. The previous owner of my car ran straight Redline 30wt. I won't recommend it after I took the oil pan off and it looked like someone had painted the inside of the thing with black Krylon! No bits or pieces but it wasn't a great first impression.

I'm a brand loyal Mobil-1 guy and that's what I will be putting in the car from now on. It looks like the 15w50 racing only stuff. But, I'll have to wear a mask when I go to the Devil (Wal-Mart) to buy it. Oh, I'll need to borrow someones car too...

[Rick Kirchner]

I was on the certification committee for the Indy 500 back in the mid to late 80's. Certification checks the cars for the contingency sponsors to make sure that they are using the products they say they are in the manner that the manufacturer intended. We had a mass spectrometer to check oil and yes, the Mobil1 15W50 was the same stuff you buy at the store. 2 1/2 hrs inside a spotless engine operating at optimum temps isn't much of a test of oil anyway.

We used to carry around a can of STP and had to witness it going into the car. If a team with Mobil1 sponsorship put STP in it voided their contingency deal.

I believe that we caught Patrick racing changing plugs on Johncock's 1982 winning car while waiting in the impound line. They had Bosch sponsorship, but weather conditions had them switch to a champion plug when they put the race plugs in after warm-up. Bosch wouldn't pay because thier product wasn't used and champion wouldn't pay because there were Bosch decals on the car. For several years after whenever you saw pics of Gordy's Wildcat used in ads the "bosch" decal on the nose was edited out.

[turnbaugh]

Does anyone have any information on Motul oil and how it compares?

[Brian]

I don't have any data on it, but I use the 15W-50 Motul racing oil in my Formula Ford motors. It has performed admirably, has held oil pressure at temp better than anything else I've used (I cannot get used to 5 psi driving back to the pit after a session, I don't care what anyone says...). I leave it in for 4 to 5 race weekends. It is intended (and used) for 24 hour endurance racing, Le mans style. It has adequate extreme pressure additives. It's off the shelf at my local circle track race shop.

Brian

[rjnicholas]

I noticed that nobody above seems to be using Redline synthetic. I remember it used to be kind of a standard with some motorcycle mechanics. What happened?

Also, what happened to STP? I remember hot rodders and drag racers always adding STP to the oil. Is it just not necessary with the new blends?

[turnbaugh]

I cannot find the 15W-50 M1 anywhere here.

What is the next best choice?

[Brian]

In what? There are a ton of choices, and while 15W50 Mobil is a good choice for a lot of things, there are a lot of way better racing oils out there. I rank it kind of high middle of the pack, unless (with absolutely no disrespect intended) shopping at Walmart and not spending too much on oil is really important to you.

Google on Motul (my personal pick for Formula Fords), Redline, Brad Penn, Gibbs Racing, etc. For an awful lot of engines, any normal top shelf synthetic or Dino oil is more than you'll ever need, though. I also like Valvoline these days, I get it at NAPA.

[Mike Holland]

Their web site has a locator search for products http://web.sa.mapquest.com/mobil1/?tempset=search Looks like Wal-Mart is suppose to have it in your area.

[RacerDave51]

I was told recently by my engine builder that I was not to use any oil with API "SM" rating because the zinc (among other stuff) had been removed. Valvoline (not for street use) is available at NAPA or Red Line racing oils still have the zinc. There are others as well, I'm sure...

http://www.apicj-4.org/EngineOilGuide2006.pdf

I have two gallons of Mobil 1--one about a year old +/_ and one I get a few months ago. The old one has no 'SM' on the tag and the newer gallon has the 'SM' rating--FWIW.

[FC63F]

Use Red Line - always use Red Line -

Recomendation by engine builderto use Redline - and if the engine builder thought it would help power and longevity to dance a jig around the engine before start up - I would do so...

Finally - more rationally - synthetic is better at dealing with heat - which we create an abundance of. I had a Crossle 63F that ran oil temps of 145 degrees C and would leave a buring smell with dino oil was as new with synthetic.

David Keep
Reynard 90SF

[Brian]

Said this many times but it always bears repeating - the whole Zinc ZDDP SM oil rating thing applies to pushrod engines with flat tappets - Formula Ford for people on this list. Sliding tappet engines like Pinto's and other OHC are OK with the reduced additives. That doesn't say that oils with racing additive packages aren't good for all engines, just that it's more critical for those that need it.

Any diesel oil (Rotella, Delo, etc) will have the additives - they need it to protect the fuel pumps and they don't have catalytic converters - and the whole temperature thing with synthetics is totally valid. It's good to know the "why" behind the "what" is all.

Brian

[PaulT]

Got this from an email list...

http://www.wheels.daytondailynews.co...LS1215WOW.html

Paul

[rickb99]

Okay here we go. Back to the OIL thing.

I was listening to the "car guys" on the way to the track last Saturday morning. A couple of pretty sharp fellows who also drag race a couple of Super Stocks. Basically they were saying ALL of the oils have now been reformulated to remove the zinc, etc.

They had many comments but the interesting one was.... No matter WHAT oil you use when racing, if you're breaking in a new engine for sure use Brad Penn, Joe Gibbs or Lucas which still has the zinc, etc. in it. They said it was essential for initial breakin of flat tappets and cam shaft. They said the cam manufacturers are very concerned about the effects of the new blends on cam lobes during break in. If you have a roller cam, not to worry.

Gibbs seems to address these specific issues with this oil:
http://www.saferacer.com/joe-gibbs-r...?productid=425

[Hamish]

How good are Lucas oils?

[DaveW]

From Valvoline's website:

Valvoline Synthetic Racing Oil is designed for racing application only. Its unique formulation contains premium synthetic base stocks and advanced additive technology to reduce internal friction and help enhance horsepower output. Available at NAPA.

• Designed for high-performance racing engines
• Proven to provide more horsepower than the most widely used engine oils in grassroots racing
• Helps increase horsepower through advanced friction modifiers balanced with reduced detergent levels
• Contains increased amounts of zinc for extra engine protection

This is the VV85* series. I use the VV853 5W30.

[rmccown]

How good are Lucas oils?

I'd go look, but my damn lights went out again.

[racer27]

I run the same as DaveW, for the same reason, except in 10/40 grade (Actully gonna try 20/50 for my Summer races and compare prressure traces). Avail at Amazon.com with free shipping.

[EYERACE]

Thanks to DaveW eye will only use the Valvoline Racing Synthetic in the race cars now.....with a Mobil 1 filter...with a magnet on the outside of the filter. I use AmsOil synthetic in the Diesel but if I go back to a gasoline powered vehicle on the Governor's public roads, it too will only have the Valvoline Racing synthetic in it.