Flat Tappet Lifter Oil ??

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cecil4speed

cecil4speed

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Location
Bridgewater,Nova Scotia
What is everbody using for flat tappet lifter oil these days? Is it the SL rating that I have to look for on the oil specs? Can I use an additive in my regular oil to make up for the lack of ZDDP? I now use Shell 10W30 in my 340 eng. Thanks guys.
 
I use the ZDDP+ additive with my regular oil, Castrol 20W50 in my 408. After the cam is broken in and you have about 2,500 miles you supposedly shouldn't need it anymore, but I'll continue using it just to be on the safe side.
 
use the valvoline racing only oil. it has the required 1200ppm's of zinc. i don't like to mess additives. use the valvoline stuff & forget about the others. i have been using it for the past 4 years, no problems at all. i run a hughes solid cam that requires stiff valve springs. i have no wear concerns at all.
 
Valvoline racing is a good choice I use it, as stated you need the required ZDP amount and it works fine. I run 20-50.
 
Ive rum Mobil 1 10w30 High Mileage in my (gasoline) flat tappet engines for a couple years now with no problems. It's an ACEA A3 rated oil. I send a sample in for analysis at each drain interval, and my iron numbers have been well below average.

For break-in, I use dino oil with an additive and switch to the synthetic at first drain.
 
I run Joe Gibbs Driven Hot Rod oil. The problem with additives is that the detergents in most modern oils tend to attack the zinc additives, negating the effectiveness of the zinc additive.
 
This is what I was wondering about additives. I'd like to use an oil that I could get locally and that I would not have to run an additive, but maybe there is nothing left on the market like this. No speed shops in my town so I would have to go elsewhere to get something. Thanks.
 
I switched over to Amsoil. The one I'm running has ZDDP of 1200ppm already in it
 
cecil4speed said:
Sure had a lot of views, but nobody wants to share what oil they use. Thanks to all you answered.
Click to expand...

If you do a search on here you find a bunch of threads about oil. This subject has been discussed many times is the reason no one has commented on your thread that much. Do a search and you will see what most of the members run.
 
I picked up a case of the hughes oil additive at the indy show. I have yet to run my engine for more than an hour but I will be using it in it after break in.
 
I just joined this site, I think it's pretty cool so far so good. You might call me crazy! but I just built a 273 and installed a Crower Racing Cam in it, very close to stock spec.s I have driven the car for almost 1500 miles or so and I first clipped a sharpie pin lid to the bowl of the carb so the butterfly wouldn't shut all the way and adjusted the carb so it would always start up on a higher step of the choke fast idle cam. After about 2 to 3 minutes the choke opens and the engine idle's down. Great for breaking in the cam. I used conventional 30 weight non detergent oil and the oil is still clean, and everything sounds great! I just removed the sharpie pin cap and adjusted the choke and all is normal now. I will change the oil to Valvoline 20 50 Semi Synthetic as usual. I know it sounds strange, but it worked very well and back when they built these cars they were using this straight weight oil effectively. Also I did put a magnet right in front of the oil drain plug to release as I drain the oil.
 
I use the Shell Rotella T 15W40 and STP. Did a cam swap last winter and didn't see any wear on the old solid cam and lifters (3 years) Comp Cams 263/267 @ .050 648/660 lift. I went with another cam with more duration. Did lots of local car shows, cruises, and no more than a 100 1/4 mile passes at the strip.
 
I use Penzoil with a bottle of ZDDP+, but am thinking about starting to use Valvoline racing oil
 
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