Alternative to Motul 300V 10-40 in road race bike?

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I recently picked up a Yamaha R6 which has a "supersport" build engine in it. Basically it's a blueprinted & balanced factory build with a lot of head work. Engine redlines at 15,500-16,000rpm. The builder recommends Motul 300V 10w-40 and a K&N KN-204 filter. However, as much as they know about engines, I'm sure there are some here that know more about oil. Motul is always a safe bet, but it's certainly pricy!

Before anyone jumps on me, yes, road racing is expensive. $60 oil changes every weekend are inexpensive compared to the $400 of tires, $100 of fuel, and $300 of entry fees I'll be dropping.

BUT, with such a short OCI, if there was a less expensive oil that still protects the engine as well for the ~100-200 miles it's going to be in it, then I'm all for it. It's the same reason I'll be running pump gas in some classes vs. the oxygenated MR-12 - Why spend the money if it's not needed?

From the searches I did today, seems like some might recommend Valvoline conventional 10-40 or Rotella T5 15-40, but I'm open for suggestions.. It probably doesn't need to be said, but after being warmed up gently, I will be beating on the engine and clutch like it owes me money.
 
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Give Redline oil a try. Ester base oil that is extremely shear resistant with very robust additive packages. Do a couple of UOA's after races to find out if you can extend the OCI beyond just one race weekend. Just my $.02...
 
He's after price point with frequent changes, and I don't think Redline is going to improve that much.

Personally between 15w40 diesil verses Valvoline 10w40 mc oil.

I give the nod to the Valvoline, simply on performance and function, although 15w40 diesil is usable. Rotella has a huge amount of clutch grip you may not like.
 
I have run T6 in my race bikes for the last 7 years and have never seen any wear I would call oil related when they have been rebuilt in the off season.

Some of my competition who have serious money in their engines have also been using T6.

I was changing oil every race weekend but after it kept coming out like it went in I have moved to dumping it every 1.5 race weekends.
 
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redline oil is cheaper than that engine for sure. my friend has club raced + now does track days on his 1099 duck, he always ran mobil one but as it was changed to a cheaper formulation he wasn't satisfied, enter redline 10-40, he really raves about this stuff! he races but was a dealer + tech, swear he could assemble an engine blindfolded-almost!!
 
Well, it's your bike, and you can use whatever you like. I've tried pretty much every oil available over the years. Based on how the bikes have run, I like the Motul 300V 4T best, followed closely by Redline M/C oil.

My 'streetbike' is a built all-motor Hayabusa. Billet forged stroker crank. MTC +3mm pistons. Crower Ti rods. Ferrea Ti valves, retainers, and performance springs. Web cams. Cylinder head work, Akrapovic Evolution full Ti exhaust, etc, etc.

Lots of people claim such an engine can't survive on the street. But it's been running great on the street and the occasional roadracing tracks for 7 years now, on Motul 300V 4T, and on a few occasions, Redline M/C oil.

I've tried the Rotella variants in this bike, but the shifting always quickly becomes notchy.
 
Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
A great alternative would be to run a 30 weight 100% synthetic of your choice and pick up 2 to 3 more HP...


Such as? Going thinner doesn't concern you for wear/protection?
 
Rotella t 15w-40 conventional. If your changing the oil every race I'm sure this'll hold up.
I use it in my Harley bits a 106,cams,headwork,propipe,etc. oil gets real hot. No problems whatsoever.
 
Clevy - I don't want to lose horsepower to a conventional oil though.

The 600 class is VERY tight, and if I'm willing to pay $22 a gallon for gas that gives me 5hp, (and burn 10 gallons a weekend) I can't afford to lose 2hp because I wanted to save $40 on oil, if that makes sense..
 
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Originally Posted By: Eskimo
Clevy - I don't want to lose horsepower to a conventional oil though.

The 600 class is VERY tight, and if I'm willing to pay $22 a gallon for gas that gives me 5hp, (and burn 10 gallons a weekend) I can't afford to lose 2hp because I wanted to save $40 on oil, if that makes sense..



That makes no sense. You are already using an Xw-40. The second number 40 means all oils with the second number 40 are roughly the same thickness at operating temp.
So how you get at thinking its thicker is beyond me.
 
Originally Posted By: Eskimo


Such as? Going thinner doesn't concern you for wear/protection?


Such as 0w30 Mobil 1 and no I'm not concern for wear...

If there is one thing an owner has control over its the viscosity of their oil...
viscosity of oil is rated in ctS which describes a fluid's resistance to flow... it ain't
a thinner or thicker measurement of the molecular size of oil... if you think of oil as
freer flowing or not then you can judge the benefits of a 30wt over the 40wt which are:

1More HP to enjoy because there is less oil drag...
2Lower operating temps because the oil flows more...
3Less wear at start up because the oil pumps quicker...
4)The higher flow works harder to separate the engine parts that are
under very high stress because the relationship between pressure and
flow is in opposition. If you change your oil to a thicker formula the
pressure will go up. It goes up because the resistance to flow is
greater and in fact the flow must go down in order for the pressure to
go up. They are inversely related. Conversely if you choose a thinner
oil then the pressure will go down. This can only occur if the flow
has increased.


Less flowing oil DOES NOT automatically provide better wear protection
than freer flowing oils. Extensive dynamic wear testing under load of
dozens and dozens of motor oils, has shown that the base oil and its
additive package as a whole, is what determines an oils wear
protection capability, NOT its viscosity. For example, some 5W20 oils
have proven to provide OUTSTANDING wear protection, while some 15W50
oils have only been able to provide MODEST wear protection. So, do not
run so called "thicker oil" under the false assumption that it can provide
better wear protection for our engines.


RC45 Oil System
RC45OilSystem.jpg


Mobil 1 0W-30
MrRC45MobilOne0w30.jpg
 
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Originally Posted By: sunruh
eskimo,
if you are so concerned with hp from oil loss, explain why you are not using Maxima Extra4 0w10 ?


I just bought the bike, and it currently has the motul in it, as delivered from the builder. That's why I'm not running anything else.

I came here seeking options from those who like to analyze things in great detail and have the knowledge to understand it better than I, so I could hopefully make a decision on what to safely run.

So to answer your question, if a 10w oil would protect this rather pricey engine for a season, free up power, and last a race weekend, I would.
 
Anyway.. Larry, I am following your logic on viscosity. I'm not baiting when I ask this, but why not a 0w-20 then? (my guess is the additives packages and base stocks used for them are not desirable for this application, not because of anything inherent with the viscosity?)
 
Why do you need to change the oil after just one weekend? Have you had the oil analyzed to know it's ready to be changed after just one race weekend?

Have you found wear particles in the oil or filter?

An R6 properly built to SuperSport spec, shouldn't be that hard on oil. I'd be surprised if the oil is in fact ready to be changed after just one race weekend.
 
O2SE,
i think rraiderr has proven that in a weekend of being at the track his gixxer can whip the oil pretty dang good.
now how much the r6 diffs from the gixxer is certainly a factor (or not) in how they kill it.

eskimo, you talk like you want to be a racer, but are already acting like a weekend warrior. which is it?
are you gonna pony up for the oil and teardowns to match the fuel or not?
 
sunruh- This is my first year racing a 600, which spins the crank a helluvalot faster than my stock 1000 v-twin racebike did, with higher specific hp/L, and this one has more exacting tolerances. It's also 5k to replace if I lunch it in the middle of the season, so I'd like to do what I can to make it last.

Not sure what you mean by "weekend warrior", but if you're baiting or just trying to be generally condescending, I'm not interested. Thus far, both of your posts here have been laced with it.

02SE - I'm totally willing (and planning) on doing some UOA on the Motul that's in the bike, but I won't have it on the track until March.
 
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