Oil Weight

-
Q

QuickDart360

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2014
Messages
1,707
Reaction score
1,010
Location
San Antonio
What oil weight and type of oul do you guys use in your 340 and 360's? Multi weight single grade? Synthetic or conventional. I am especially interested in flat tappet cam oils choices! :popcorn::steering:
 
I'm currently using 10w-30 VR-1 in a LA 360 and 10w-30 Quaker State High Mileage with ZDDP additive (i buy it off of ebay) in the rest of my flat tappets.
Not the only oils that work, but both are affordable, over the counter, and do the job :)
 
QuickDart360 said:
What oil weight and type of oul do you guys use in your 340 and 360's? Multi weight single grade? Synthetic or conventional. I am especially interested in flat tappet cam oils choices! :popcorn::steering:
Click to expand...


Never run a single grade oil. Don't do it.

Buy the best oil you can afford. I gladly pay 24.00 a quart. My cam, lifters and rings love me for it.
 
yellow rose said:
Never run a single grade oil. Don't do it.

Buy the best oil you can afford. I gladly pay 24.00 a quart. My cam, lifters and rings love me for it.
Click to expand...



can you explain why not to use a single grade oil please .
 
Penrite 15-50 which has zinc full synthetic in summer switch to a 10-40 cooler times only switched over to synthetic after 10k on engine , I always check pan for any metal particles when I drain and its spotless. I drop the oil every 3000 miles regardless . Call me anal but its cheaper than a engine rebuild. Sorry forgot to mention 318 Zero Decked, solid flat tappet Comps 268s ,EQ Mag heads bowl ported, MP valves, Crane 1.6 rollers with Jolmar rocker stud Girdle kbs 167s ,scat I beams A very healthy 318. Broken in and used Joe Gibbs mineral based oil for the first 10k than switched.
 
Last edited:
PEP BOYS house brand 10-30 ($1.90 per qt) in every thing I own. Wix oil filters. Toyota pu wth over 400,000 miles, and race cars. Never had a oil related failure.
Let the flaming begin.
 
There is going to be a lot of different answers. Mine in Valvoline VR1 in 10w-30. Used this oil in all my projects
 
Since the OP mentions flat tappet, then he needs very much to learn about ZDDP and ZDDP additives.

Most of the lighter weight range oil are now too low on ZDDP for reliable flat tappet operation, around 800 ppm. These are the 5W-20's and 10W30's, and this applies to many/most of the newer SN rated oils. It has been well established now that you need 1200-1400 ppm for flat tappets to live reliably with heavier valve springs and non-stock cams; your stock engine may survive with lower ZDDP pressures on low pressure stock valve springs and cam; the were lots of older engine that lived a long time with stock springs and the older low ZDDP oils.

Once you get higher in weights then the limits on ZDDP set by the EPA are relaxed, and you find the higher ZDDP levels more commonly in them.

Post #3 here shows 2 examples of an oil with the adequate ZDDP (VR-1) and one with additives put in by the user (QS 10W30 + ZDDP additive).

There are specific ZDDP additives and products like Rislone (1/2 can per oil change) can be used too. You have to be careful with ZDDP additives and not overdo it; too much may cause problems like surface spalling and ZDDP will fight the detergents in the oil.

Synthetics can have high or low ZDDP levels just like non-synthetics. Synthetics will lower bearing, ring, and piston wear dramatically. I have used them for 40 years from /6's to hard racing, and cannot say they nearly as much to lower lifter wear, and hydraulic lifters seem to me to be noisier with synthetics. Synthetics oxidize at a far low rate than non-synthetics so will last much longer under hard use.
 
Currently have VR-1 30 straight as well seems to do fine! Just looking to see what other members use. So far pretty interesting!:thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
brad penn racing 10w-30 semi-synthetic with off road amount off zinc, .550" flat tappet, wix racing long filter. change every 100 hours. viscosity you use depends on your climate temps
 
Conventional Mobile 10W30 w/Edelbrock ZDDP additive and WIX filter. 65'
 
Royal Purple HPS 10w-30 has zinc in it. Royal Purple shortie oil filter. Seems to work fine in my 340.

Jeff
 
j par said:
There's going to be as many answers as oil.
Let's do spark plugs next....:popcorn:
Click to expand...
Yes. And they will all be correct. But some of us know better than to the question literally.
 
jimjimjimmy said:
can you explain why not to use a single grade oil please .
Click to expand...

Wyrmrider said:
single weight only if you pre heat your oil for a race
Click to expand...
Exactly. Short explanation is:
Oil viscosity is very temperature dependent.
The colder the oil, the thicker it gets. The warmer the oil, the more easily it flows.

A multi-weight oil and a single grade oil will have about the same viscosity at operating temperature.
For example, at 212* F, a straight 30 and a 10w-30 will both have viscosity around 10.5 - 11.5 CentiStokes.

A multi-weight oil will flow better at lower temperatures than the equivalent straight weight.
Using spec sheet for Havoline's oils at 140* F for example;
30 wt has a viscosity of 40 centistokes
10W-30 has a viscosity of 32 centistokes.

As rpm increases, more volume is needed to support the bearings. When the oil is thicker than design viscosity, less volume will flow through the engine itself. The working viscosity range depends on bearing clearances and so forth. A worn engine or one built 'loose' may need a higher viscosity at the same temperature compared with the same engine blueprinted to factory spec. on the tight side.

If the links to Wyrmrider posted to Widman's website aren't working right, this one should take you directly to the pdf.
Selecting Oil for Flat Tappet Engines, Widman pdf.
 
Last edited:
20/50 Lucas hot rod oil. Lots of zinc, lots of cling for cold and infrequent starts . My aggressive flat tapper likes the stuff
 
Wyrmrider said:
single weight only if you pre heat your oil for a race
Grafico de viscosidades: Motores
I use Eurospec 0W-40 Mobil-1, Penzoil Platium, Castrol made in Europe, etc if it meets the Mercedes .29 spec the natural gas base oil has tremendous film strength
read his corvair oil paper if you have not- hyd flat tappett
Oil selection | Widman International SRL
Widman International SRL
straight 30 even in san antonio is going to have more wear
Click to expand...

I've run 30 wt in street cars, no pre heating from Florida to South Dakota, never a problem. Both the Chrysler and Chevrolet racing manuals say straight 30 will give the least wear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top