What Oil Are You Using?
- Thread starter superchargeddrt
- Start date
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TheMoparMan
Modifies everything
Here is a controversial GM Techlink newsletter sent out to all the dealer service centers about Zinc from GM Powertrain.
______________________________________________
Over the years there has been an overabundance of engine oil myths (fig. 1). Here are some facts you may want to pass along to customers to help debunk the fiction behind these myths.
The Pennsylvania Crude Myth -- This myth is based on a misapplication of truth. In 1859, the first commercially successful oil well was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania (fig. 2).
A myth got started before World War II claiming that the only good oils were those made from pure Pennsylvania crude oil. At the time, only minimal refining was used to make engine oil from crude oil. Under these refining conditions, Pennsylvania crude oil made better engine oil than Texas crude or California crude. Today, with modern refining methods, almost any crude can be made into good engine oil.
Other engine oil myths are based on the notion that the new and the unfamiliar are somehow "bad."
The Detergent Oil Myth -- The next myth to appear is that modern detergent engine oils
are bad for older engines. This one got started after World War II, when the government no longer needed all of the available detergent oil for the war effort, and detergent oil hit the market as “heavy-duty” oil.
Many pre-war cars had been driven way past their normal life, their engines were full of sludge and deposits, and the piston rings were completely worn out. Massive piston deposits were the only thing standing between merely high oil consumption and horrendous oil consumption. After a thorough purge by the new detergent oil, increased oil consumption was a possible consequence.
If detergent oils had been available to the public during the war, preventing the massive deposit buildup from occurring in the first place, this myth never would have started. Amazingly, there are still a few people today, 60 years later, who believe that they need to use non-detergent oil in their older cars. Apparently, it takes many years for an oil myth to die.
The Synthetic Oil Myth -- Then there is the myth that new engine break-in will not occur with synthetic oils. This one was apparently started by an aircraft engine manufacturer who put out a bulletin that said so. The fact is that Mobil 1 synthetic oil has been the factory-fill for many thousands of engines. Clearly, they have broken in quite well, and that should put this one to rest.
The Starburst Oil Myth -- The latest myth promoted by the antique and collector car press says that new Starburst/ API SM engine oils (called Starburst for the shape of the symbol on the container) (fig. 3 and 4) are bad for older engines because the amount of anti-wear additive in them has been reduced. The anti-wear additive being discussed is zinc dithiophosphate (ZDP).
Before debunking this myth, we need to look at the history of ZDP usage. For over 60 years, ZDP has been used as an additive in engine oils to provide wear protection and oxidation stability.
ZDP was first added to engine oil to control copper/lead bearing corrosion. Oils with a phosphorus level in the 0.03% range passed a corrosion test introduced in 1942.
In the mid-1950s, when the use of high-lift camshafts increased the potential for scuffing and wear, the phosphorus level contributed by ZDP was increased to the 0.08% range.
In addition, the industry developed a battery of oil tests (called sequences), two of which were valve-train scuffing and wear tests.
A higher level of ZDP was good for flat-tappet valve-train scuffing and wear, but it turned out that more was not better. Although break-in scuffing was reduced by using more phosphorus, longer-term wear increased when phosphorus rose above 0.14%. And, at about 0.20% phosphorus, the ZDP started attacking the grain boundaries in the iron, resulting in camshaft spalling.
By the 1970s, increased antioxidancy was needed to protect the oil in high-load engines, which otherwise could thicken to a point where the engine could no longer pump it. Because ZDP was an inexpensive and effective antioxidant, it was used to place the phosphorus level in the 0.10% range.
However, phosphorus is a poison for exhaust catalysts. So, ZDP levels have been reduced over the last 10-15 years. It's now down to a maximum of 0.08% for Starburst oils. This was supported by the introduction of modern ashless antioxidants that contain no phosphorus.
Enough history. Let's get back to the myth that Starburst oils are no good for older engines. The argument put forth is that while these oils work perfectly well in modern, gasoline engines equipped with roller camshafts, they will cause catastrophic wear in older engines equipped with flat-tappet camshafts.
The facts say otherwise.
Backward compatability was of great importance when the Starburst oil standards were developed by a group of experts from the OEMs, oil companies, and oil additive companies. In addition, multiple oil and additive companies ran no-harm tests on older engines with the new oils; and no problems were uncovered.
The new Starburst specification contains two valve-train wear tests. All Starburst oil formulations must pass these two tests.
- Sequence IVA tests for camshaft scuffing and wear using a single overhead camshaft engine with slider finger (not roller) followers.
- Sequence IIIG evaluates cam and lifter wear using a V6 engine with a flat-tappet system, similar to those used in the 1980s (fig. 5).
Those who hold onto the myth are ignoring the fact that the new Starburst oils contain about the same percentage of ZDP as the oils that solved the camshaft scuffing and wear issues back in the 1950s. (True, they do contain less ZDP than the oils that solved the oil thickening issues in the 1960s, but that's because they now contain high levels of ashless antioxidants not commercially available in the 1960s.)
Despite the pains taken in developing special flat-tappet camshaft wear tests that these new oils must pass and the fact that the ZDP level of these new oils is comparable to the level found necessary to protect flat-tappet camshafts in the past, there will still be those who want to believe the myth that new oils will wear out older engines.
Like other myths before it, history teaches us that it will probably take 60 or 70 years for this one to die also.
Bob Olree
GM Powertrain Fuels and Lubricants Group
___________________________________________
Source: Bob Olree of GM Powertrain Fuels and Lubricants Group
GEO
Sarcasm Inc.
That's what I have been using for over 10years , and Walmart sells the 5qt jug for under $26.
Pulled my 340 down last year after running it since the initial fire up in 1984 for some upgrades in HP.
Everything looked great in the engine with zero problems.
I only run Mobil-1 in my vehicles , cars , truck , motorcycle and lawn mowers
j par
Well-hung Member
Brand penn 15/40
Bob Olree can stick it where the sun don't shine. I worked for GM long enough that I've seen them make so many mistakes just like the one printed and then recant them over and over and over. I'm stickin with my zinc for flat tappets. Thank you very much.
UOP
Well-Known Member
Rotella T6 5w-40
SwingerMan
Well-Known Member
I ran Valvoline VR1 10w-30 for a long while. Then I found the speed shop across the street carries Joe Gibbs high Zinc in stock (had to order the Valvoline). Been using it the last year on my solid-flat tappet.
fratzog lover
Well-Known Member
Interesting reading
June 20, 2013
MOTOR OIL ENGINEERING TEST DATA
This Blog now has over 90,000 “views” worldwide!!
Its view count increases by about 5,000 views per month on average. Of course simply listing the number of views by itself, is not intended to indicate validation of the test data (validation is shown throughout the Blog). But, indicating the number of views does show that an enormous number of people worldwide recognize the value, understand the importance, and make use of the motor oil test data FACTS included here, that cannot be found anywhere else. And as a result, they are posting and sharing links to this Blog, all over the world.
The independent and unbiased Engineering testing I perform at a representative OPERATING OIL TEMPERATURE to establish motor oil wear protection capability, is a dynamic friction test under load, similar to how an engine dyno test is a dynamic HP/Torque test under load. Both tests show how their subjects truly perform in the real world, no matter what Brand names are involved, no matter what outrageous claims may have been made, and no matter what their spec sheets say.
The resulting data used in the Wear Protection Ranking List is NOT my opinion, and it is NOT my theory. The data is the result of the Physics and Chemistry involved in the testing. I am only the messenger. The Science is what tells us how these oils perform. And no one can argue with Physics and Chemistry.
You can see my entire 150+ motor oil “Wear Protection Ranking List”, which EXACTLY matches real world Track experience, real world flat tappet break-in experience, and real world High Performance Street experience (test data validation doesn’t get any better than this), along with additional motor oil tech FACTS, by reading below.
**********
!!!!THE INFORMATION ON THIS BLOG WAS LAST UPDATED ON April 19, 2015 !!!!
Article 10, titled “Break-In Oils – Do we Really need them?”, was updated.
***********
TYPICAL GEAR HEAD MINDSET vs ENGINEER MINDSET
A typical Gear Head’s mindset regarding new flat tappet engine Break-In is, “What I’ve been doing works, so I don’t want to change anything”. An Engineer’s mindset is, “No matter what you’ve been doing, let’s see if we can move forward and improve things, making them “better” than they were before”.
An example of this regarding motor oil is, a typical Gear Head has been using some high zinc oil, or some oil with an aftermarket zinc additive also poured in. And with that, he “thinks” he has made a good oil selection. But, using oil like that, knowing nothing more than the zinc level, requires a careful and elaborate break-in procedure, if there is any hope of not wiping any lobes in a flat tappet engine. He’s managed to get by with this, so he thinks he has it all figured out.
But, when his motor oil concoction is put through Engineering Wear Protection Testing, the results often show it to be a low performer regarding film strength load carrying capability, no matter how much zinc is present. As a result, that oil ranks rather low on my Wear Protection Ranking List, and means that it provided only a very low Margin of Safety. With this being the case, the engine was at significant risk of failure. So, he has essentially been playing Russian Roulette with his engine, without even knowing it.
For those not familiar with the term, Margin of Safety refers to how much capability your motor oil provides, vs how much capability you actually need to prevent wear and/or damage/failure. The higher the Margin of Safety, the more reserve wear protection capability you have available, and the safer your engine is.
The careful and elaborate flat tappet break-in procedures that Gear Heads typically use, is nothing more than a crutch to try and prevent wiped lobes with low performing motor oils. A fair number of people have been lucky enough to get away with this, while some others have been wiping lobes. And wiped flat tappet lobes have been all too common over the past few years, even though name brand, highly respected parts are being used. It can be a hit or miss situation, regarding wiping lobes or not wiping lobes. But, it doesn’t have to be this way, if better performing oils are chosen.
And keep in mind that so-called Break-Oils with their typical low wear protection capability are absolutely NOT required for proper break-in and ring sealing. That has been proven over the past couple of decades by numerous Factories using highly ranked 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic oil in their brand new performance vehicles. They break-in and seal their rings just fine, and of course come with a warranty.
Being an Engineer with clear improvement in mind to solve the iffy situation of wiping lobes or not wiping lobes, I recommend switching to different motor oils that rank far higher on my Wear Protection Ranking List, no matter how much zinc they have. The only thing that truly matters is an oil’s film strength load carrying capability, NOT merely how much zinc it has. Using much higher ranking motor oils with their much higher wear protection capability, means that special break-in procedures ARE NOT REQUIRED. And an engine will be far safer due to the better motor oils providing a much higher Margin of Safety.
The Engineering mindset that resulted in the Wear Protection Ranking List, is the whole point of this Blog. So now, we no longer have to guess which oil is best. We have the data available at our finger tips to show us how various motor oils compare head to head, regarding wear protection capability.
And since you have to buy motor oil anyway, why not use this Engineering Wear Protection Test Data to help you select a high performing motor oil with excellent wear protection? The engine you save may be your own.
***********
.
BLOG CONTENTS:
Section 1 – Motor Oil “Wear Protection” Ranking List
Section 2 – Motor Oil Viscosity Selection
Section 3 – Motor Oil Thermal Breakdown Test Data
Section 4 – Motor Oil component quantity Lab Test results
Section 5 – Reserved for future Motor Oil Test Data
Section 6 – Detailed Motor Oil and Mechanical Tech Articles
NOTE: Some of the motor oil Articles were written before the most recently tested motor oils were added to the Wear Protection Ranking List in Section 1. The articles included are:
1. I-Beam vs H-Beam – which Connecting Rod is Best?
2. Rod Bolt Strength – what do we Really need?
3. Solid Roller Lifters – Bushings vs Needles, which is Best?
4. Camshaft Overlap vs LSA
5. Leak Down Tester
6. Can you really suck the Oil Pan dry?
7. Dynamic Compression Ratio (DCR) vs Static Compression Ratio (SCR)
8. 0W40 vs 5W30 vs 0W30
9. Aftermarket Zinc Additives – Do they Work?
10. Break-In Oils – Do we Really need them?
11. Can you always count on high zinc motor oil?
12. Diesel Oil – Is it the right choice for High Performance gasoline engines?
13. Do comparable zinc levels provide comparable wear protection?
14. Does Prolong Engine Treatment actually work?
15. Test Data on the newest Pennzoils made from Natural Gas
16. High Temp Motor Oil Wear Testing – Myth vs Reality
17. Do HTHS (High-Temperature/High-Shear) values provide any useful information about wear protection capability?
.
=================================
.
SECTION 1- MOTOR OIL “WEAR PROTECTION” RANKING LIST.
.
Before we get into motor oil tech, let’s briefly touch on a little background info. I’m a working Professional Degreed Mechanical Engineer, as well as a U.S. Patent holder. Mechanical Design Engineering is what I do for a living. A Mechanical Engineer is clearly the most qualified Engineer to test motor oil that was formulated by Chemical Engineers, for wear protection capability between mechanical components under load. But, as you will see below, the following write-up is not intended to be a chapter out of an Engineering textbook. And the intended audience is not other Engineers. There are no formulas, equations, charts or graphs. The intended audience includes Automotive Enthusiasts, Gear Heads, Hotrodders, Racers and Engine builders. So, it is written in normal everyday spoken language, rather than overly technical jargon. That way, it will be the easiest to follow and understand by the widest possible audience. And some key points will be “intentionally” reiterated from time to time as the information presented her progresses, to emphasize those points.
.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT thing a motor oil does for your engine, is prevent wear. Everything else it does for your engine, comes AFTER that. But, I have found that there is a tremendous amount of misinformation and misunderstanding about motor oil. The worst of all is that a lot of people, even those at Cam Companies, blindly accept the MYTH about needing high levels of zinc in motor oil in order to have sufficient wear protection. But, that line of thinking is NOT based on technical fact, and is simply FALSE. So, at the beginning of 2012, I began Tribology Research using motor oil “Wear Testing” equipment, to explore the facts regarding the wear prevention capabilities of motor oil. For those not familiar with the terminology, Tribology means the study of friction, lubrication, and wear between moving surfaces.
.
I’m a total perfectionist when it comes to technical issues. And those who know me personally, know that I would never jeopardize my reputation or my integrity, by posting test data that would turn the Hobby/Industry on its ear, unless I was absolutely sure about the data I put out there. Of course I’ve always known my carefully generated data is completely accurate. And to make that clear to the world, you will see below that my test data EXACTLY aligns with real world race track experience, real world flat tappet break-in experience, and real world High Performance street experience.
.
OIL TEST DATA AND RACE TRACK EXPERIENCE ARE IDENTICAL
.
An oval track dirt racer (his class is extremely competitive, so he asked that his name be left out) on the SpeedTalk Forum runs a 7200 rpm, solid flat tappet, 358ci Small Block Chevy motor, with valve spring pressures of about 160 on the seat and 400 open, that are shimmed to .060” from coil bind. The rules and the combination of parts, were causing him to experience repeated cam failures while using high zinc, semi-synthetic 10W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 motor oil. Lab Report Data from testing performed by Professional Lab, “ALS Tribology” in Sparks, Nevada, showed that this oil contains 1557 ppm zinc, 1651 ppm phosphorus, and 3 ppm moly. In spite of this being a high zinc oil, that most folks would “assume” provides excellent wear protection, he experienced wiped lobe cam failure about every 22 to 25 races.
.
A race consists of one 8 lap (a lap is typically 3/8 mile) heat race and one 20 lap feature race, plus any caution laps. If you add it all up, 25 races only total about 281 miles at the point of cam failure. So, that is a perfect example of what I’ve been saying all along about high zinc levels being absolutely NO GUARANTEE of adequate wear protection. And my test data on this 10W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 motor oil, shows that it produces a wear protection capability of only 71,206 psi, which puts it in the MODEST wear protection category, and it ranks a very disappointing 110th out of 153 oils tested so far. That means of course that there are 109 different oils I’ve tested that provide better wear protection.
June 20, 2013
MOTOR OIL ENGINEERING TEST DATA
This Blog now has over 90,000 “views” worldwide!!
Its view count increases by about 5,000 views per month on average. Of course simply listing the number of views by itself, is not intended to indicate validation of the test data (validation is shown throughout the Blog). But, indicating the number of views does show that an enormous number of people worldwide recognize the value, understand the importance, and make use of the motor oil test data FACTS included here, that cannot be found anywhere else. And as a result, they are posting and sharing links to this Blog, all over the world.
The independent and unbiased Engineering testing I perform at a representative OPERATING OIL TEMPERATURE to establish motor oil wear protection capability, is a dynamic friction test under load, similar to how an engine dyno test is a dynamic HP/Torque test under load. Both tests show how their subjects truly perform in the real world, no matter what Brand names are involved, no matter what outrageous claims may have been made, and no matter what their spec sheets say.
The resulting data used in the Wear Protection Ranking List is NOT my opinion, and it is NOT my theory. The data is the result of the Physics and Chemistry involved in the testing. I am only the messenger. The Science is what tells us how these oils perform. And no one can argue with Physics and Chemistry.
You can see my entire 150+ motor oil “Wear Protection Ranking List”, which EXACTLY matches real world Track experience, real world flat tappet break-in experience, and real world High Performance Street experience (test data validation doesn’t get any better than this), along with additional motor oil tech FACTS, by reading below.
**********
!!!!THE INFORMATION ON THIS BLOG WAS LAST UPDATED ON April 19, 2015 !!!!
Article 10, titled “Break-In Oils – Do we Really need them?”, was updated.
***********
TYPICAL GEAR HEAD MINDSET vs ENGINEER MINDSET
A typical Gear Head’s mindset regarding new flat tappet engine Break-In is, “What I’ve been doing works, so I don’t want to change anything”. An Engineer’s mindset is, “No matter what you’ve been doing, let’s see if we can move forward and improve things, making them “better” than they were before”.
An example of this regarding motor oil is, a typical Gear Head has been using some high zinc oil, or some oil with an aftermarket zinc additive also poured in. And with that, he “thinks” he has made a good oil selection. But, using oil like that, knowing nothing more than the zinc level, requires a careful and elaborate break-in procedure, if there is any hope of not wiping any lobes in a flat tappet engine. He’s managed to get by with this, so he thinks he has it all figured out.
But, when his motor oil concoction is put through Engineering Wear Protection Testing, the results often show it to be a low performer regarding film strength load carrying capability, no matter how much zinc is present. As a result, that oil ranks rather low on my Wear Protection Ranking List, and means that it provided only a very low Margin of Safety. With this being the case, the engine was at significant risk of failure. So, he has essentially been playing Russian Roulette with his engine, without even knowing it.
For those not familiar with the term, Margin of Safety refers to how much capability your motor oil provides, vs how much capability you actually need to prevent wear and/or damage/failure. The higher the Margin of Safety, the more reserve wear protection capability you have available, and the safer your engine is.
The careful and elaborate flat tappet break-in procedures that Gear Heads typically use, is nothing more than a crutch to try and prevent wiped lobes with low performing motor oils. A fair number of people have been lucky enough to get away with this, while some others have been wiping lobes. And wiped flat tappet lobes have been all too common over the past few years, even though name brand, highly respected parts are being used. It can be a hit or miss situation, regarding wiping lobes or not wiping lobes. But, it doesn’t have to be this way, if better performing oils are chosen.
And keep in mind that so-called Break-Oils with their typical low wear protection capability are absolutely NOT required for proper break-in and ring sealing. That has been proven over the past couple of decades by numerous Factories using highly ranked 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic oil in their brand new performance vehicles. They break-in and seal their rings just fine, and of course come with a warranty.
Being an Engineer with clear improvement in mind to solve the iffy situation of wiping lobes or not wiping lobes, I recommend switching to different motor oils that rank far higher on my Wear Protection Ranking List, no matter how much zinc they have. The only thing that truly matters is an oil’s film strength load carrying capability, NOT merely how much zinc it has. Using much higher ranking motor oils with their much higher wear protection capability, means that special break-in procedures ARE NOT REQUIRED. And an engine will be far safer due to the better motor oils providing a much higher Margin of Safety.
The Engineering mindset that resulted in the Wear Protection Ranking List, is the whole point of this Blog. So now, we no longer have to guess which oil is best. We have the data available at our finger tips to show us how various motor oils compare head to head, regarding wear protection capability.
And since you have to buy motor oil anyway, why not use this Engineering Wear Protection Test Data to help you select a high performing motor oil with excellent wear protection? The engine you save may be your own.
***********
.
BLOG CONTENTS:
Section 1 – Motor Oil “Wear Protection” Ranking List
Section 2 – Motor Oil Viscosity Selection
Section 3 – Motor Oil Thermal Breakdown Test Data
Section 4 – Motor Oil component quantity Lab Test results
Section 5 – Reserved for future Motor Oil Test Data
Section 6 – Detailed Motor Oil and Mechanical Tech Articles
NOTE: Some of the motor oil Articles were written before the most recently tested motor oils were added to the Wear Protection Ranking List in Section 1. The articles included are:
1. I-Beam vs H-Beam – which Connecting Rod is Best?
2. Rod Bolt Strength – what do we Really need?
3. Solid Roller Lifters – Bushings vs Needles, which is Best?
4. Camshaft Overlap vs LSA
5. Leak Down Tester
6. Can you really suck the Oil Pan dry?
7. Dynamic Compression Ratio (DCR) vs Static Compression Ratio (SCR)
8. 0W40 vs 5W30 vs 0W30
9. Aftermarket Zinc Additives – Do they Work?
10. Break-In Oils – Do we Really need them?
11. Can you always count on high zinc motor oil?
12. Diesel Oil – Is it the right choice for High Performance gasoline engines?
13. Do comparable zinc levels provide comparable wear protection?
14. Does Prolong Engine Treatment actually work?
15. Test Data on the newest Pennzoils made from Natural Gas
16. High Temp Motor Oil Wear Testing – Myth vs Reality
17. Do HTHS (High-Temperature/High-Shear) values provide any useful information about wear protection capability?
.
=================================
.
SECTION 1- MOTOR OIL “WEAR PROTECTION” RANKING LIST.
.
Before we get into motor oil tech, let’s briefly touch on a little background info. I’m a working Professional Degreed Mechanical Engineer, as well as a U.S. Patent holder. Mechanical Design Engineering is what I do for a living. A Mechanical Engineer is clearly the most qualified Engineer to test motor oil that was formulated by Chemical Engineers, for wear protection capability between mechanical components under load. But, as you will see below, the following write-up is not intended to be a chapter out of an Engineering textbook. And the intended audience is not other Engineers. There are no formulas, equations, charts or graphs. The intended audience includes Automotive Enthusiasts, Gear Heads, Hotrodders, Racers and Engine builders. So, it is written in normal everyday spoken language, rather than overly technical jargon. That way, it will be the easiest to follow and understand by the widest possible audience. And some key points will be “intentionally” reiterated from time to time as the information presented her progresses, to emphasize those points.
.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT thing a motor oil does for your engine, is prevent wear. Everything else it does for your engine, comes AFTER that. But, I have found that there is a tremendous amount of misinformation and misunderstanding about motor oil. The worst of all is that a lot of people, even those at Cam Companies, blindly accept the MYTH about needing high levels of zinc in motor oil in order to have sufficient wear protection. But, that line of thinking is NOT based on technical fact, and is simply FALSE. So, at the beginning of 2012, I began Tribology Research using motor oil “Wear Testing” equipment, to explore the facts regarding the wear prevention capabilities of motor oil. For those not familiar with the terminology, Tribology means the study of friction, lubrication, and wear between moving surfaces.
.
I’m a total perfectionist when it comes to technical issues. And those who know me personally, know that I would never jeopardize my reputation or my integrity, by posting test data that would turn the Hobby/Industry on its ear, unless I was absolutely sure about the data I put out there. Of course I’ve always known my carefully generated data is completely accurate. And to make that clear to the world, you will see below that my test data EXACTLY aligns with real world race track experience, real world flat tappet break-in experience, and real world High Performance street experience.
.
OIL TEST DATA AND RACE TRACK EXPERIENCE ARE IDENTICAL
.
An oval track dirt racer (his class is extremely competitive, so he asked that his name be left out) on the SpeedTalk Forum runs a 7200 rpm, solid flat tappet, 358ci Small Block Chevy motor, with valve spring pressures of about 160 on the seat and 400 open, that are shimmed to .060” from coil bind. The rules and the combination of parts, were causing him to experience repeated cam failures while using high zinc, semi-synthetic 10W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 motor oil. Lab Report Data from testing performed by Professional Lab, “ALS Tribology” in Sparks, Nevada, showed that this oil contains 1557 ppm zinc, 1651 ppm phosphorus, and 3 ppm moly. In spite of this being a high zinc oil, that most folks would “assume” provides excellent wear protection, he experienced wiped lobe cam failure about every 22 to 25 races.
.
A race consists of one 8 lap (a lap is typically 3/8 mile) heat race and one 20 lap feature race, plus any caution laps. If you add it all up, 25 races only total about 281 miles at the point of cam failure. So, that is a perfect example of what I’ve been saying all along about high zinc levels being absolutely NO GUARANTEE of adequate wear protection. And my test data on this 10W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 motor oil, shows that it produces a wear protection capability of only 71,206 psi, which puts it in the MODEST wear protection category, and it ranks a very disappointing 110th out of 153 oils tested so far. That means of course that there are 109 different oils I’ve tested that provide better wear protection.
jaimus
Old School ASE Gold
5w30 non synthetic, gets changed every 4000 miles.
buck351
Well-Known Member
Amsoil ZROD 20W50. After reading the article on oils by the mechanical engineer I'll have to think about switch to the 10W30 ZROD. Very interesting article.
fratzog lover
Well-Known Member
The article was indeed an interesting read. surprising where he ranks Brad Penn. I always used Mobil 1 in Cindys car because it was 24 bucks at Wallymart. Maybe its not so mediocre after all. He ranks several types of Pennzoil platinum, one is discontinued, one is from natural gas etc. Not sure which one is the highly rated formula.
I ordered some of this from Summit & you were right, cheapest I've seen it.
Thanks for the heads up!
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