Which weight VR 1?

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DART66GT

62 Lancer GT - B Body 8 3/4
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I just put a low mile 318 in my Dart. The motor sat in a garage for 4 or 5 years its from a 75 cordoba. It will be started a few times this winter and then will be a daily driver in the summer. I can get VR 1 from NAPA in 20w 50 and 10w 30. and straight weights. Should I use the 10W 30 now and switch to 20W 50 in the summer? One of the reasons I ask is I have never used any 50 weight oil in my cars? The motor is stock with 4 barrel and dual exhaust and will not see any high RPM duty.
 
The weight of the oil is not really the issue.

You do not want to use a motor oil rated as API "SM" in an engine with flat tappet lifters. Valvoline VR1 comes in two different versions one that is "SM" rated for use in street vehicles and another that is intended or "off road use only". the difference is easy to tell, the "SM" rated oil is $2.50 -$3.00 a quart and the real racing oil is $4-5 a quart. I checked at my local auto parts store and found VR1 in various weights all of which were "SM" oils , so they were "WORTHLESS" for my needs!!!

The major difference is the levels of ZDDP additive in the oils. The "SM" rated oils have ZDDP levels below 1200 ppm which will cause significant camshaft/lifter wear in engines with flat tappet camshafts. The "for off road use only" real racing oil has the proper levels of ZDDP that flat tappet camshaft engines need.

just my $.02

Bob
 
The weight of the oil is not really the issue.

You do not want to use a motor oil rated as API "SM" in an engine with flat tappet lifters. Valvoline VR1 comes in two different versions one that is "SM" rated for use in street vehicles and another that is intended or "off road use only". the difference is easy to tell, the "SM" rated oil is $2.50 -$3.00 a quart and the real racing oil is $4-5 a quart. I checked at my local auto parts store and found VR1 in various weights all of which were "SM" oils , so they were "WORTHLESS" for my needs!!!

The major difference is the levels of ZDDP additive in the oils. The "SM" rated oils have ZDDP levels below 1200 ppm which will cause significant camshaft/lifter wear in engines with flat tappet camshafts. The "for off road use only" real racing oil has the proper levels of ZDDP that flat tappet camshaft engines need.

just my $.02

Bob

I would like ot hear more on this. Demon Seed's link doesn't make a distinction between SM or non-SM.
 
simply speaking of oils weight, Terry (Demon Seed) is right.
A 10-30 oil is more than OK for year round use. 20-50 will suck up HP. It'll be a little tuffer of an oil, but it isn't really needed for your case.
You have a cruiser, something to enjoy.
 
Here is the product info link from Valvoline for VR1 Racing oil that shows the content of the ZDDP package at .13/.12 wt% or 1300/1200 ppm which is why I use it.
http://www.valvoline.com/products/VR-1 Racing Motor Oil.pdf

The API Service rating SM requires the oil have a reduced amount of ZDDP to ensure that the cat will last the the new government mandated mileage. The 1300-1200 ppm content would only before the offroad only versions of the oil not the SM rated versions. That Valvoline spec sheet is very confusing the way its written.
 
Thanks for the replies. The ones I found were "sm" rated. Where do you get the "off road" type?
 
The new bottle of VR1 10-30 I have in front of me is actually rated for API Services SM/SL/CD if that helps ya.

Terry
 
If you are running the stock 318 valve springs, you should be fine with any reasonable quality 10w30 oil. Especially on an engine that is already broken in. The worst oil you can buy today is far superior to the best oil available when that engine was made. A 15w40 "diesel" spec oil might be a good compromise, as they tend to still have some zinc, and will help remove the sludge the old oil has certainly turned into. You face far worse damage by starting an engine which has sat for 4 years than by using a low zinc oil. Personally, I would pull the intake and valve covers, clean and re-lube the your cam and entire valvetrain. If the engine still has the original cam sprocket, I'd replace that now too while it's easy, but thats just me.

Yes, I understand the purpose of zinc compounds in oil, but I think the whole think is getting blown out of proportion. Zinc has been gone for a while now, and all of those flat tappet engines running around out there didn't suddenly self destruct following an oil change. They said the same thing about unleaded fuel, and engine life went up dramatically because of the lead removal. On a stock engine, or any cam that uses stock or near stock valve spring pressures, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. That being said, if I was breaking in a new cam I would certainly use a zinc supplement in the break in oil. After break in, I would use the same synthetic I use in all my flat tappet engines (5w40 Rotella Synthetic) and not sweat it too much. Many cam manufacturers now recommend using a "break-in" spring or just the outer spring to keep pressures down while the lifters and lobes wear in, giving them a fighting chance with the low zinc oils.
 
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