Best Race engine motor oil

[BruceG]

Looking for your thoughts on the above. Mobil One, Redline, Royal purple? Redline has a single weight that acts like a multi.

Also, what weight is best for summer racing in New England.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Bruce

[Ron]

Brad Penn oil. Look them up.

[BruceG]

Thanks,Ron....I'll check it out.

[quadzjr]

I have always been an amsoil fan.. but it is a bit expensive. Most ofthe time we use mobil 1.

Ron, never heard of that oil.. it is hard to put faith into somethign new when so much is on the line. I assume it is what you use in the 2.3L?

[MMiskoe]

The Valvoline VR Racing has some properties that make it attractive. It has the moly_____ lubircants amoung others that many don't have these days. I could be wrong, but I beleive it has kept the additives that most of the oils have dropped as of late. If you look around there are posts about newer oils that don't do such a good job of lubricating in return for fewer emissions.

Oil weight decisions has a lot to do w/ what the bearing tolerances are and what oil temps the engine sees.

[Streetwise guy]

First and most important question- Flat tappet cam, or roller followers? If its a nice modern piece, use nice modern oil, just like what the owners manual specifies. Its tough to go wrong with a synthetic that meets ACEA (European) ratings. (Read: Mobil 1) Then watch oil temps. You will do more damage running too hot, or starving the pump in high G situations than you ever will by running good synthetic 5W-30 in a modern IT engine. If its a flat tappet dinosaur the game changes.

But thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[tnord]

Redline holds consistent oil pressure in my engine better than any other. sold.

[BruceG]

Thanks Guys! still looking for thoughts on best weight to run in average NE summer temps(65-90deg f).

Also, the Brad Penn oil that Ron mentioned would seem to be grat for older cars(HP,etc) as well as formula VEE's since it still has the zinc in it. I thingk Penzoil has a synthetic w/ the zinc still in it,too.

Any thoughts?

Bruce

[Ed Funk]

We run Redline 10-30 in the C cars in New England. Pressures stay good, 60-70 hot at race RPM, 20-30 hot at idle.

[Ron]

We did a lot of research on oils. From break in to running. Most of the off the shelf pep boys oils are missing some of the most important things a race motor needs. Trace elements like phosphorus, and zink are being removed from mobil 1 and others. Gibbs racing produces some very nice blends, royal and others are good also. The reason we run the Brad Penn is that it is a company taylored to racing. You can call them up and they will talk to you about what they are doing. Also talk to cam grinders and ring manufactures about what they would like to see in your oil. Don't just read online, make some calls and ask a few simple questions. You don't want to waste their time but many different companies were very forcomming in "oil" beleifs.

One last thing the Penn oil is very cost efective. I mean the same cost of mobil 1. And one more thing, it is US crude, not middle eastern. Not that matters, but you can buy something made in America.

[bamfp]

I agree on the Brad Penn. When run it in an FP 914 that sees 290-300* oil temps. It is what I will be running in my ITB 914. It is great for aircooled cars and solid tappets.

Blake Meredith

[jimbbski]

I haven't done any research on this but i have heard that a straight weight oil of 40W or higher the additives are different. That is they are similar to the additives that were in oils of just a few years ago. I guess it's because no OEM specifies anything but oil like 0W-30, or 5W-30, or 10W-30. So if you use a 40W oil it's for racing or old engines.

[spawpoet]

We did a lot of research on oils. From break in to running. Most of the off the shelf pep boys oils are missing some of the most important things a race motor needs. Trace elements like phosphorus, and zink are being removed from mobil 1 and others. Gibbs racing produces some very nice blends, royal and others are good also. The reason we run the Brad Penn is that it is a company taylored to racing. You can call them up and they will talk to you about what they are doing. Also talk to cam grinders and ring manufactures about what they would like to see in your oil. Don't just read online, make some calls and ask a few simple questions. You don't want to waste their time but many different companies were very forcomming in "oil" beleifs.

One last thing the Penn oil is very cost efective. I mean the same cost of mobil 1. And one more thing, it is US crude, not middle eastern. Not that matters, but you can buy something made in America.

Ron,
I went to the Brad Penn website and they don't have a webstore there. Do you just call them and order oil from them directly, or does it have to be purchased through their distributor network? I appreciate your info on the product. We run old Datsuns, and the Brad Penn seems like it would be a good fit for our motors.

Chris

chris

[joeg]

Old diesel oils work too. However, it has to be old as those too are no removing the good additives to save the cats on the newer diesels.

I have Brad Penn too.

Pennsylvania crude base stock is the best for racing.

[BruceG]

Hi Chris

After Ron suggested Brad Penn, I called them. They told me that they had some one local to New England(VT) and that they would have him contact me. Just the other day but I will post it here once I know. The company emailed me back immediately so they were very responsive.

Thank's again guys for all this great info!!

ps. still haven't heard any thoughts on the best weight for average New England summer racing(65-90 deg). ANy thoughts?

Bruce

[Ron]

distributor network is how they operate. The one in Atlanta is, is, hell I need to look it up.

[ITC Racer]

We run Redline 15w40 Racing oil in the ITC CRXs at the suggestion of the engine builder. The Redline 15w40 also is labelled 40wt on the bottle.

Seems to keep pressure pretty consistently and works well in WI summers which should be similar to NE summers.

[fiero14]

John Singer did a test a few years back, & published the results in Circle Track magazine. Royal Purple used less power to lubricate (oil pump & passage drag). Has all the additives for EP as well.

[modernbeat]

My applications are a little different, a slightly modified Miata autocrosser and a Honda sportbike motored Lotus 7. I don't see as much heat soak, but see more runs up the rev range with a very light drivetrain and no damping.

I've used different Amsoil oils for three years and have been VERY happy with them. Last year I switched to Torco and will stick with them for the next year in a Prepared class Miata.

[rsportvolvo]

Anyone else stumble across Mobil 1's new (to commercial consumers) racing oil?

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Racing_Oils.aspx

Looks like a good oil for most of our older engines. A friend is going to check with a Mobil 1 test engineer about the viscosity compatibility. I'll post the info once (if) I get it.

[chuck baader]

Will be interesting to compare the prices of the custom, Mobil 1, and Amsoil.

I recently read Amsoil literature on the three ball wear test. Of course Amsoil was best on both tests, but the Joe Gibbs and the Brad Penn were only slightly behind. I have switched from M1 to Amsoil and am quite happy with my cam wear along with the remainder of the motor. Now, if I can just quit lending the car so friends can blow motors, I'll be ok:shrug: Chuck

[BruceG]

Will be interesting to compare the prices of the custom, Mobil 1, and Amsoil.

I recently read Amsoil literature on the three ball wear test. Of course Amsoil was best on both tests, but the Joe Gibbs and the Brad Penn were only slightly behind. I have switched from M1 to Amsoil and am quite happy with my cam wear along with the remainder of the motor. Now, if I can just quit lending the car so friends can blow motors, I'll be ok:shrug: Chuck

Since starting this thread, I've done a bit of research...it appears that Valvoline VR1 has more ZDDP(zinc,etc) in it than M1 and is about half the price at local autoparts stores!!

Also, it seems like Brad Penn has more ZDDP than any other oil and might be best for flat tappet engines like Formula VEE.:eclipsee_steering:

[BruceG]

Also....Idemitsu makes the only oil designed for rotary engines and endorsed by Mazda. They used it in their big rotary win at Lemans in the early 90's.

[BruceG]

Anyone else stumble across Mobil 1's new (to commercial consumers) racing oil?

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Racing_Oils.aspx

Looks like a good oil for most of our older engines. A friend is going to check with a Mobil 1 test engineer about the viscosity compatibility. I'll post the info once (if) I get it.

Sounds like a good compromise for older engines. They designed it to be used in Nascar flat tappet engines. Might have to try it in my 49 Plymouth coupe that has a 54 Desoto Hemi in it!

[fiero14]

I recently purchased an oil additive from my Swepco (Southwestern Petroleum) distributor for resale in my shop. It's named "502 Engine Oil Improver", and is loaded with Molybdenum. It's not a viscosity improver, so I can use it in lower mileage customer cars. Should be very good for OHC and flat tappet motors.

[BruceG]

I recently purchased an oil additive from my Swepco (Southwestern Petroleum) distributor for resale in my shop. It's named "502 Engine Oil Improver", and is loaded with Molybdenum. It's not a viscosity improver, so I can use it in lower mileage customer cars. Should be very good for OHC and flat tappet motors.

Before you try that stuff go to the website"askbobtheoilguy"(I believe). It's the ultimate forum on oil! They built several motors with plexiglass covers so that you can see what happens to the gears. They added diferent additives(Lucas and a bunch of others). They all foamed up the gears really badly!!

Check it out for yourself.

[timo944]

My engine builder recommended Rotella. It's a diesel oil, no additives. Not sure I want to go that route!!!

[shwah]

My engine builder recommended Rotella. It's a diesel oil, no additives. Not sure I want to go that route!!!
That is what I used for break in on my all out build motor. Changed to redline after one session on Rotella, and saw 20-30deg oil temp drop. Road America, same day, no other changes - other than revving it out a bit more (I have also found that short shifting by 300-500rpm drops temps by 15-20deg in my car)

[BruceG]

My engine builder recommended Rotella. It's a diesel oil, no additives. Not sure I want to go that route!!!

Timo..what kind of car are you running the Rotella in? I read somewhere that diesel oil will foam up in a gas engine.

Bruce

[chuck baader]

Rotella diesel still has all the additives needed by the older motors. I use it for break in oil on my BMW motor. Chuck

[Tristan Smith]

I was also advised by Don Dixon who just rebuilt my motor to use Rotella for the break in. Again, as stated, because it still has all the zinc, heavy metals, additives, ect. Then I switched to Redline.

[Rob May]

Hands down winner. Joe Gibbs racing oil. I worked at a well known engine builder and we tested many oils on the engine dyno. It consistently proved itself in better HP/TQ. We didn't see any more wear in the engines from using it as well. The new team I work for was using another brand in their Grand-am Koni challenge cars. On a E46 BMW M3, we saw 5 HP at the wheels in a back to back test.

[timo944]

The car is a 944 with typical IT-legal rebuild - balanced etc. The builder (Jon Milledge's machinist) recommended running Rotella all the time but I won't. I did buy a supply for initial break-in though. Hope to get up and running here in a few weeks, the motor is back in the car...yahoo!!