343 SBF Twin Turbo - looking for oil suggestions

[TurboSN95]

Hi, I am new here and am looking for a suggestion as to which oil to use in my '95 Mustang GT. The motor is a 343 cubic inch small block Ford, A4 block, Eagle crank and rods, Ross pistons, TFS high port heads, and a solid roller 700 lift cam. I am running two 76mm turbos as well. Right now the car is not fully tuned, in the fall we started tuning it and from the 'seat of the pants dyno' it feels as if its making about 850 hp to the wheels on pump gas, when I am at 14 psi. I plan on making about 1000-1100 hp to the wheels once we turn up the boost.

Usually I run Castrol GTX 20w50, and recently I threw in some Marvel Mystery oil. For filters, I use Motorcraft, I generally try to stay away from Fram. Yesterday I removed my intake to fix an oil leak, and noticed a some puddles of sludge sitting in the intake valley. I do not know if it was water that possibly got in there from the gaskets leaking and then froze up, or RTV, or the 20w50 oil and the cold weather. Keep in mind, the car was not run at all in the extreme cold (I'm in CT and the car is garaged w/o heat). I did run it prior to removing the intake, and it was about 45 degrees out.

So I am looking for a suggestion on what oil I should be running. The car is 99% street driven, and will be taken to the drag strip on occasion. It has a Canton 8 quart pan, and the car does leak some oil. I am working on trying to get all the oil leaks resolved, but I am looking for a good all around oil to run that isn't too expensive. I can't afford to spend $70 on an oil change, and I usually change the oil every couple months, probably getting no more than 750 miles on the oil. Another thing is that I am not sure if I am changing the oil too soon, I usually go by 'if it looks black, change it'. But some people say that doesn't mean anything. One cause of the frequent oil changes is the fact that fuel does get into the oil, especially with 160# injectors and since we are still tuning.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sgtgeek]

The things we play with Nice motor there....those Stangs are fun as ****...anyway...well....I guess all the Amsoil/Royal Purple/Red Line oils are out.....Valvoline 20-50 Conventional Racing Oil
is some pretty stout stuff that can handle your conditions....good all around add package....
http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=94

 

[forcedtalon]

10/30 or 40 Redline on a daily driver. Spool up will happen alot sooner you will see over the 20/50.
The sludge you are seeing is possibly from the oil not getting up to temp or a bad PCV or venting problem. What are you using for crankcase veltalation? A thinner synthetic will keep the engine much cleaner get to temp faster and more HP from less drag on the crank/oil pump.

 

[TurboSN95]

The intake I have doesn't have a PCV. All I have is a breather tank with a -8 braided line off each valve cover.

I am thinking a thinner oil would be beneficial as well.

 

[forcedtalon]

Nice set up you have there. Do the filter breathers on top of the valve covers have any foam in them? If so I would remove all it since it will be a restiction and the oil clogs them as well.
I do have to comment on what you said in your original post about not spending alot on oil.
You have 15,000$$ + in that car making over 850 HP and tuned 1000+. The price of oil should make no diffrence to you.
Problem is like you said fuel delusion on the street. I agree. But that motor shouldnt be seeing that much street anyway.
I would run redline 10/30 or 10/40 in it and change it every season.
You can also do do an used oil analasis half way thew the season to see how the oil/motor is doing and to know if fuel delusion is a problem, but tuneing should really help with that as well. A street tune and a full race tune are totally diffrent.

 

[pastmaster]

We have Castrol as a new sponsor on BITOG, as well as Amsoil too. Maybe one of the guys from those sites would like to make a recommendation?

My personal choice with your costs in mind would be one of the fine HDEO Diesel Oils. 15w40 DINO or 5w40 SYN, Mobil Delvac, Chevron DELO, Shell ROTELLA, etc. With an 8 qt. sump, you can change these often to keep fresh oil in it. They are also designed to work with turbos and the heat of diesels, which I think are similar to your twin turbo V8. Cost aside, the Hi-perf. synthetics are what you should use, in my opinion.

Good Luck...Beautiful Mustang you Have!

 

[KW]

Pastmaster beat me to it. As I read down the thread I was thinking HDEO like Shell Rotella T or Delvac oil. So I'll second what he said.

Could the goop you found be assembly lube?

 

[Achilles]

Royal Purple Racing 41 or Racing 51.
he best oils offered on the market today.. Check Quick_16 UOA on Racing 41.
if you pushing that many horses, why not get some more and protect it like ****!!

 

[TurboSN95]

Yes, the breathers on the valve covers have a foam pad, more like brillo in them, perhaps I can take them out. They also have a metal ball in them to act as a check valve, but I plan on taking those out too for less restriction. You can see this product at www.shogunindustries.com

I do think spending a little more on oil is a good idea, especially with this motor for protection. I did use a synthetic blend at one point, and I don't mind going to a full synthetic, especially if I can extend my oil change intervals. I just need to eliminate as many oil leaks as possible first. Boost seems to find its way out of just about any seal.

We do plan on having two tunes for the car, one for the street, and one for the track. Especially if I want to run C16 race fuel at the track again. I drive this car to work (when its together), so I definitely get my use out of it. And finally about the assembly lube - I am thinking that this could be RTV from my leaky intake gaskets. I am willing to bet that I screwed up on my intake install a few months ago, and some RTV came off and went down into the lifter valley area.

 

[forcedtalon]

I do think spending a little more on oil is a good idea, especially with this motor for protection. I did use a synthetic blend at one point, and I don't mind going to a full synthetic, especially if I can extend my oil change intervals. I just need to eliminate as many oil leaks as possible first. Boost seems to find its way out of just about any seal.


Sounds to me like you have poor crankcase evacuation causing a pressure build up in the engine under boost causing the gaskets letting go.

 

[forcedtalon]

Also i think the parts you are using on the valve cover are for to be used with the pull in the headers opening the check valve up possibly. This I read on there site if I read it corectly.

 

[TurboSN95]

I think its meant to be used either way. Some people simply put screw in filters on their valve covers, but those tend to drip oil which isn't safe or clean looking. I used to have a fitting right into the valve cover that went to a hose, this is pretty much the same idea... its to keep the oil from leaking onto the valve covers and headers, and let it go to the breather tank. Although I really don't get any oil at all in the tank. Under those fancy things on the valve covers are metal plates that block the oil that is deflected off the rockers.

 

[sgtgeek]

What a minute...you said you couldnt/wouldnt go over $70 bucks...and that with a 8qt sump and changing every 3 months or so.....well ****....if you have changed your mind...then Royal Purple 41....I mentioned dino because I must have misunderstood your statement....Royal Purple Racing 41....

 

[TurboSN95]

I think I did say that, but later on figured if I can extend the oil change intervals then I'd consider it. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[Mitch Alsup]

There are a couple of point you did not mention that have a 'bearing' on this application.

Does the engine have an oil cooler?
Does the engine have an oil temperature guage? If so what kinds of temperatures are you seeing?
Does the enigne have an oil pressure guage? If so, what kinds of pressures are you seeing when the oil is hot as indicated by the temp guage?

In general, if you are seeing 280dF+ after a good hard run you need more cooling (rahter than a thicker oil).

 

[TurboSN95]

No oil cooler, no oil temp gauge, but i do have a pressure gauge. I believe the pressure at start up is around 60 - 65. When it warms up its around 35 - 40 at idle and more when the rpm's are up.

 

[jonny-b]

I am using Royal Purple 5/30 in my diesel engines. It performs better than any other oil I have used(included Amsoil series 3000, Mobil1,Castrol Magnatec and others). It also allows me to do 18000mile OCI. Another positive thing about RP, is reduced wibration in bearings. You should check out their website at www.royalpurple.com Also my BMW with petrol engine seem to like it.

 

[Steve S]

The engine with forged pistons ,turbos,700 lift cam with the matching springs and lots of feul, etc probably needs the oil changed a lot more then a stock engine in a crown victoria and there is no way the engine will last 250,000 miles, I would use a heavy duty oil 15w40 oil or 20w50 racing oil ,the crank has to take a pounding,Sure if you race for money run the thinnest oil and check the crank and rod bearings on a regular basis.Can't see any advantage in running a syn oil.Besides with 1,000 hp engine, will the few horsepower make any real difference or will the 3,000 more miles before overhaul be the best for you. The sludge may be from not having a pcv valve which may not be wanted in your engine. Nice engine,killer time and mph. great driving.

 

[TurboSN95]

Thank you all for the replies!! Right now, since its still cold out, I plan on going to the parts store and simply picking up a good thin oil. Mainly to flush out the motor and not run a super thick oil in this weather. When the temps get warmer, I will be trying out some oil that is much better for the motor and turbos. I do agree with where Steve S was going - that with all this power, is the synthetics worth it? I think for power, no, not really. But for protection, yes. The turbos alone cost about $4000 and if I can make those last longer and possibly spool up faster, that's what I need. And then sometime in the summer, I'll pull the oil out and send it to a lab for testing.

 

[Steve S]

TurboSN95,why I suggested the hdeo is that it is used in semis and earth moveing equipment they have hard working turbos these engines cost a lot,the oil will stand up to the turbos and protect yet the cost will allow frequent oil changes with oil guilt. If your turbo exhaust temps are 1300 after a long or hard run and the engine is shut down or quits running even the highest price syn oil will cook. I an a real fan of the boat drags .One of the nice things about the boat drags is you still can watch the crews tear down the engines ,I really engoy the damage done to the top feul engines.I have seen the insides of many top feul engines using all sorts of oils they all look the same . I have a high school bud who runs a top alcohol hydro "a professional" runs sponsered oil. There is alot of things I like about syn oil but if a hdeo oil can do the same job why spend the $$$ for the same results what does the engine builder?turbo mfg. recommend I would go by their recommendations as they are not bench racers and see more engines than we can dream about .