synthetic oil comparison

[Tim Penton]

Does anyone have any current comparisons between Royal Purple, Mobil One, Amsoil, Redline, etc.?

[MosportGreen66]

I hate to hijack your thread, but this is on topic…

I recently talked with my mechanic about gas prices and related topics. He said in all the muscle cars and a drag cars coming through the shop, he has been changing the oil with diesel truck oil because of its high levels of viscosity. When I asked why not a 5w50 or 10w40, he said that increased levels of ethanol in the regular car oil is making these hi-compression engines run like junk and in an extreme case, he has seen a cam shaft go bad on race car.

I thought this was interesting. Now back to you Tim.

[Tim Penton]

Dan, I've been using Royal Purple with good results with my Chevelles. Reher Morrison recommended Royal Purple to me. On my regular use vehicles I use Mobil One also with good results and no problems. I could not find any fairly recent comparisons on the net. The older comparisons that I found showed excellent results for Amsoil. By the way my Dad used Rotella T on his tripoli turquoise '68 L78 Chevelle with great results in 1968. The results were 12.20s on street tires, stock with the mufflers pulled off the exhaust pipes with the stock exhaust manifolds. This was at the now closed Laplace Drag Strip in Laplace, La. Also, Dad said that his car was a California car with the emmissions that was also taken off by him. He said that his Chevelle always ran better than other comparable '68 Chevelles. He seemed to think that something was different about the performance of his California emissions equiped car.

[Tim Penton]

Charlie Lilliard, What are you using on your cars, in particular the original Zl-1 and your high performance pro-touring cars?

[NCGuy68]

I've been using Amsoil (Service spec SJ-CF) in all my vehicles for years. Used oil analysis shows it works well in my late model cars and even in my girlfriends 05 Camry.

A number of well respected engine builders (read NASCAR) are suggesting Rotella 15W40 in early model muscle cars. Yep, diesel oil.

A excellent website on this topic is: www.bobistheoilguy.com. (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com.) Good info there that all of us 'gear heads' can use.

[Tim Penton]

Charlie Lilliard, Check this thread out. I'm trying to compare Royal purple to Amsoil. Any help would be appreciated. Rob Clary, what are you running in the Yenko? Thanks guys http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[Charley Lillard]

Ok so I'm slow getting here. I'm running Mobil 1 in my go fast stuff mainly because it is in the store on the shelves as opposed to Amsoil or Royal Purple. I worked as a mechanic on a farm for years and we used Rotella in damn near everything.

[SMGCO]

[ QUOTE ]
Does anyone have any current comparisons between Royal Purple, Mobil One, Amsoil, Redline, etc.?

[/ QUOTE ]

IMO you should be careful and discuss this with your engine builder before making any changes. Every engine has different tolerances. A few years ago I flattened a solid roller cam soon after looking for a few more horsepower with synthetic oil.

[JTH74]

My best friend is a master race engine builder with Penske South racing and he swears by Mobil 1, he runs it in everything, and he gets it for me, for free, and I run it in everything I own, and its great stuff, tried and true!

[Salvatore]

You will get a lot of opinions here. I have used Castrol for 20 years or so. When I realized it really wasn't green anymore I was not that interested like I was. I have been using Pennzoil and Castrol in my 69 Z for 5 years now but next oil change and from here on out I am using Rotella T. I really don't like additives so I think Rotella is the right oil. Diesel oil always had better lubricant properties in it. I have over 140,000 on my 1998 GMC pickup and always ran Castrol or Pennzoil every 4000 miles. I use a quart about every 2000 miles depends on my driving. (10W40) So who really http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif But I bought Rotella T for the next Z/28 change.

[markjohnson]

I've been using Rotella for the past six months after the big reduced-zinc content scare became common public knowledge. I used Mobil One for 20 years before that but they took the ZDDP out of it too. I've done a lot of reading on this subject and in 2007, diesel oils such as Rotella are slated for reduced ZDDP content. So I wouldn't get to used to putting it in the old cars. So now I'm onto Valvoline Racing oil 20W50 and for added measure I put in a small bottle of GM cam and lifter oil prelube at every oil change. Just did a large solid lifter camshaft break-in recently with monster valve springs and everything seems to be fine so far. Fingers crossed.

[Chevy454]

[ QUOTE ]
Rob Clary, what are you running in the Yenko?

[/ QUOTE ]
Castrol Syntec, 10w/30

[Tim Penton]

Thanks for your post fellas. Craig, that bobistheoilguy.com site is great!! Everyone here should check it out. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif

[Motion Camaro]

<font color="blue">I have always used Kendall 40 wt. Race oil in my engines, never had any oiling problems, but since Kendall sold out &amp; changed their product, I don't know what I will use anymore ... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hmmm.gif

Here's an oil story for you:

I just sold a customer rebuild parts for a Ford 302 he put in a '63 Comet.
I gave him a Comp. Cams Hyd. Cam &amp; lifter kit with an MSD distributor.
The break in seamed to go well until about 5 hours later.
The engine stoped running ... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif... checked fuel, O.K., checked spark, N/G. Pulled the cap off &amp; the rotor was not spinning. Pulled the dist. out &amp; the gear was worn like it had 150,000 miles on it. The cam had 5 worn lobes &amp; 2 lifters were almost worn through!
I called Comp. Cams &amp; went over everything, they sent me a new cam &amp; lifter kit &amp; told me to use the new Poly Gear.
(side note: the original stuff that came out of the engine with 65,000 miles on it looked fine.)
The custome said he had 60lbs of oil pressure during break-in &amp; about 15lbs at idle, seems typical Ford to me.
Put in all the new parts, rechecked everything ... 8 hours later, a valve tap ... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif ... Cam &amp; lifters worn out, one good note, that poly dist. gear still looked new.
Engine is out &amp; back apart now.

looking on the Comp. Cams website one night trying to see if there is a situation with their product I came across a bulletin about breaking in your new engine with ... ROTELLA ... hmm, no one mentioned this to me on the phone, well we will search for another problem first &amp; then try this oil. </font>

click here --&gt; ROTELLA bulletin (http://www.compcams.com/information/whatsnew/Files/225TechBulletin.pdf)

[GRB]

Hmmmmm....the EPA again doing more harm than good.

This question pops up relentlessly on automotive boards. The only way to get the correct answer is to ask the big guy. "God, what would Jesus run?" He said to me, "RP Racing. How can you go wrong with purple engine oil?"
Oh, he also said don't believe everything you read on BTOG.

That ended the oil debate for me.

[NOCOPO]

Mobil 1 in everything for me. All the products on the market are good, I have seen a lot of test comparisons between them all and depending on who did the testing, thats how the results end up. I have 250K on my '94 GM daily driver, I just changed the V/C gaskets and it still looks brand new under there. My $.02
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flag.gif

[Chevy454]

NOCOPO: the thing about is, is that all new(er) engines are manufactured with the newer oils in mind...which means the oil mans are gonna cater to the folks buttering their bread, not folks like us living with 30+ year old technology...

On a similar note, yesterday I picked up our Dmax dually from getting the rear rebuilt...I asked them about synthetic vs. dino gear lube, and he told me he's not sold on the synthetics...said his experience has been that the synth lube will darken and degrade sooner than it's dino lube counterpart...he even had a TSB from Ford stating that the synth lube in the trucks from the factory was to be dumped in favor of the tried &amp; true dino based 80w/90 lube...just something to think about.

[Chevy454]

Had a S/S buddy tell me of a recently developed Valvoline Synthetic racing oil...says it has added zinc and other additives to keep our dinosaur BBC's alive &amp; well...I don't have a bottle in my hands yet, but hope to nab some soon and I'll report back. Otherwise, sounds like it's eeny-meenie-miney-mo to pick your oil, then dump in a moly additive or a bottle of GM EOS...

[Motion Camaro]

[ QUOTE ]
I have always used Kendall 40 wt. Race oil in my engines, never had any oiling problems, but since Kendall sold out &amp; changed their product, I don't know what I will use anymore ... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hmmm.gif

Here's an oil story for you:

I just sold a customer rebuild parts for a Ford 302 he put in a '63 Comet.
I gave him a Comp. Cams Hyd. Cam &amp; lifter kit with an MSD distributor.
The break in seamed to go well until about 5 hours later.
The engine stoped running ... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif... checked fuel, O.K., checked spark, N/G. Pulled the cap off &amp; the rotor was not spinning. Pulled the dist. out &amp; the gear was worn like it had 150,000 miles on it. The cam had 5 worn lobes &amp; 2 lifters were almost worn through!
I called Comp. Cams &amp; went over everything, they sent me a new cam &amp; lifter kit &amp; told me to use the new Poly Gear.
(side note: the original stuff that came out of the engine with 65,000 miles on it looked fine.)
The custome said he had 60lbs of oil pressure during break-in &amp; about 15lbs at idle, seems typical Ford to me.
Put in all the new parts, rechecked everything ... 8 hours later, a valve tap ... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/no.gif ... Cam &amp; lifters worn out, one good note, that poly dist. gear still looked new.
Engine is out &amp; back apart now.

Looking on the Comp. Cams website one night trying to see if there is a situation with their product I came across a bulletin about breaking in your new engine with ... ROTELLA ... hmm, no one mentioned this to me on the phone, well we will search for another problem first &amp; then try this oil.

click here --&gt; ROTELLA bulletin (http://www.compcams.com/information/whatsnew/Files/225TechBulletin.pdf)

[/ QUOTE ]


<font color="blue">UPDATE:
Put a new cam &amp; lifter kit in the 302 (Crane (customers a little jittery) &amp; he used Rotella 15w40 to break it in.
He has driven the car about 200 miles so far without a noise or anything.
Seems to have been the whole problem.
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0002KKZHQ.01-ADG953YR6NRBF._AA215_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif Two thumbs up for Rotella T. </font>

[GRB]

I saw some synthetic diesel at O'Reilly the other day. Brand name but I can't remember what. What would be wrong with that?

[tirebird]

This subject has been hashed over on every muscle car/sports car board for years with most of the comments being anecdotal and very few citing SAE or other scientific evidence to back up their opinions. So what's the truth? Is synthetic better than dino oil and, if so, which brand is best? The only way to find out is to use double blind research and test each brand in the laboratory or in automobiles for extended periods of time where neither the testor or the testee knows which oil is being used. The results are there. I don't belong to the SAE so I can't download the scientific data but there is a good comparison test by Amsoil on it's website which shows the comparative performance of many of the popular brands of oils. It's good reading.

http://www.amsoil.com/products/atm_testing/index_flash.aspx

[Chevy454]

Being as Amsoil did the testing and it's posted by Amsoil, a person *might* want to take that article with a grain of salt...for us old car guys, it's mainly gonna come down to zinc &amp; moly content, moreso than who's oil pours the best at the lowest temperature...

[NCGuy68]

As I've mentioned before, go to www.bobistheoilguy.com (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com) Lots of good info there.

[tirebird]

[ QUOTE ]
Being as Amsoil did the testing and it's posted by Amsoil, a person *might* want to take that article with a grain of salt...for us old car guys, it's mainly gonna come down to zinc &amp; moly content, moreso than who's oil pours the best at the lowest temperature...

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not so sure that Amsoil did the testing but they sure paid for the testing. What I find interesting about the results is that their biggest competitor, the one they're always comparing their product too, Mobil 1, came out so well. I'm told by my engineering friends that the truly independent SAE tests basically mirror Amsoil's results.

Either way, I, like you, because I own a car with a flat tappet cam, want all the ZDDP I can get. That's why I use Mobil 1's 15w-50, which has the old formula of zinc and phophorus.

[GRB]

Wouldn't diesel syn contain even more anti-wear agents? That's why I am interested in it for a new engine that is not a crate or OE engine.

[Chevy454]

Last I heard diesel oils were taking the hit as well...and while we're on the subject, you'd better stock up on some of the older diesel fuel supplements because low sulphur diesel is here to stay...I think I'm gonna buy stock in an injector/pump reman business... http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Mr. T]

Here is some comparitives between some of the oil brands. Scroll down about half-way.

http://www.micapeak.com/info/oiled.html

[Mr BB Chevy]

I did a google again, a few months ago...

The Original Synthetic Motor Oil...The First in Synthetics...
amsoil.
http://www.JPsynthetics.com has more info, dealer / retail signup info , test results, etc etc

[ANDY M]

Tony, the info on that link is from '99.
Lots of changes since then.

[tirebird]

Since most of us don't care about the cold cranking or other cold weather tests, I thought the most interesting comparison posted in the AMSOIL test was the "four ball wear test". It's where, at high temperature and pressure, the scientists measure the wear on four ball bearings over a set period of time. Even with the new oil formulations without ZDDP, AMSOIL and Mobil 1 test pretty well.

Also, back in April, I wrote to Mobil 1 asking which of it's oils still had high levels of ZDDP. Here's it's response:

"Mobil1 MX4T 10W40 and Mobil1 V-TWIN 20W50 motorcycle motor oils, Mobil1
15W50 Extended performance and Mobil1 5W40 diesel motor oils contains
the higher levels of zinc and phosphorous for your cams. The new energy
conserving motor oils do have reduced levels of zinc/phos however, they
typically do not have any adverse effects on cams unless you are
running
higher valve spring pressures. I would suggest you stick with the
product listed above if you are concerned about the phos/zinc issues."

[GRB]

So what is the diff between motorcycle oil and car oil? Just the anit-wear pkg?

[Chevy454]

Look at the link (http://www.micapeak.com/info/oiled.html) Mr. T posted, and pay attention to the last column on that chart...