Best Oil for Classic Car with Flat Tappets

[NormanBuntz]

Originally Posted By: ammolab
Valvoline VR-1. It comes in 10W-30 and 20W-50, Dino or Synthetic


Problem with VR1 is little or no detergents. Brad Penn is a good option, and Kendall GT-1 High Performance 20w-50 has .120 zinc content.

 

[DR Racing]

Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
Originally Posted By: ammolab
Valvoline VR-1. It comes in 10W-30 and 20W-50, Dino or Synthetic


Problem with VR1 is little or no detergents. Brad Penn is a good option, and Kendall GT-1 High Performance 20w-50 has .120 zinc content.


Only the not street legal VR-1 is a problem for street use. The regular stuff is fine. Brad Penn is good choice and so is defy but the seal conditioners for a new engine is iffy. I don't like using diesel oils for a gas engine because they have additives that a gas engine does not need or has more of the add than it needs. Additives compete with each other and a single purpose oil designed for a specific app is best.

Anything dual purpose is always a compromise. I say Brad Penn or VR-1.

Dan

 

[ammolab]

Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
Originally Posted By: ammolab
Valvoline VR-1. It comes in 10W-30 and 20W-50, Dino or Synthetic


Problem with VR1 is little or no detergents. Brad Penn is a good option, and Kendall GT-1 High Performance 20w-50 has .120 zinc content.


The VR-1 is an SL certified oil (for 2004 cars and older) More than enough detergents, Zinc, etc..This is a 1974 engine!

 

[ARCOgraphite]

VR1 10w30 syn is in my generac and it likes it. No oil pump, no water cooling and almost constant load - a good test for oil. 10w30 Ilsac oils start clattering in 1 hour and did not work.

The street API rated vr1 have adequate detergency.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Originally Posted By: DR Racing
Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
Originally Posted By: ammolab
Valvoline VR-1. It comes in 10W-30 and 20W-50, Dino or Synthetic


Problem with VR1 is little or no detergents. Brad Penn is a good option, and Kendall GT-1 High Performance 20w-50 has .120 zinc content.


Only the not street legal VR-1 is a problem for street use. The regular stuff is fine. Brad Penn is good choice and so is defy but the seal conditioners for a new engine is iffy. I don't like using diesel oils for a gas engine because they have additives that a gas engine does not need or has more of the add than it needs. Additives compete with each other and a single purpose oil designed for a specific app is best.

Anything dual purpose is always a compromise. I say Brad Penn or VR-1.

Dan


My bad. I was going by a Valvoline VR1 oil my Alfa mechanic used in 2008. Also Castrol apparently still offers a Classic car multi-grade but it's hard to find.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Cams still wore out in under 100K with high ZDDP oils in the 60's and 70's - so the cam wear in during the first 10 hours will be most critical. Since you are running a stock cam and hopefully stock springs, the tappet loading should not be excessive. A synthetic (EURO SPEC) API SL ACEA A3-B4 should be fine, and if you want to save some dough and buy something at an autoparts store for around 3 bucks a quart, 4T motorbike oil (10w40)are usually rated with an obsolete API SH/SJ service cat that had allowed high levels of ZDDP.

This aint a BB Chevy L88 running solid cam and tappets with 400+ lb open spring loading

Except have you seen a VOA from oil from the 60 and 70's. High ZDDP was not the norm at all. Many VOA's show 300 to 400PPM of ZDDP compared to typical API SN/GF-5 600 to 800PPM. Crazy ZDDP levels did come into vague into the 80's. Whom started this false higher ZDDP myth did not research facts before creating a snake oil niche market for themselves.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: dltowers
I thought that most of the ZDDP had been removed from Shell Rotella T 15w40?
ZDDp has been lowered, but it is still is more than enough to support an aggressive flat lifter cam:
http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/HDEO SUMMARY.html

~1100 PPM zinc.

However, if you read that list, you can find other 15w40 oils with more zinc and other additives. Chevon Delo and Walmart Supertech have a higher zinc content, and aren't expensive, either.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: dave1251
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Cams still wore out in under 100K with high ZDDP oils in the 60's and 70's - so the cam wear in during the first 10 hours will be most critical. Since you are running a stock cam and hopefully stock springs, the tappet loading should not be excessive. A synthetic (EURO SPEC) API SL ACEA A3-B4 should be fine, and if you want to save some dough and buy something at an autoparts store for around 3 bucks a quart, 4T motorbike oil (10w40)are usually rated with an obsolete API SH/SJ service cat that had allowed high levels of ZDDP.

This aint a BB Chevy L88 running solid cam and tappets with 400+ lb open spring loading

Except have you seen a VOA from oil from the 60 and 70's. High ZDDP was not the norm at all. Many VOA's show 300 to 400PPM of ZDDP compared to typical API SN/GF-5 600 to 800PPM. Crazy ZDDP levels did come into vague into the 80's. Whom started this false higher ZDDP myth did not research facts before creating a snake oil niche market for themselves.


From Blackstone, Ryan Stark "The Ebay Oils", April 2012:

Havoline 1968 SAE 20 Zinc 1205 / Phos 1664 Ca 1664

Kmart 10w40 API SE (1970s) Zinc 1540 / Phos 1522 Ca 2953

ArcoGraphite 10W40 API SE Zinc 1433 / Phos 1441 Ca 2013

Sunoco DX SAE 40 API SB(1960) Zinc 796 / Phos 776 Ca 00-04

 

[ARCOgraphite]

ZDDP is something that requires replensishing. I don't think the absolute % is as important as replenishing every 1 -2K miles depending on how hard you hit it. And MoDTC can help prevent galling and sparring but leaves ring deposits. A mix of HD and PCMO with high moly use dto work in our Subaru which had V8 size bores(4") and 2.x" stroke in a shorty slipper skirt piston -That EJ253 could protest weak oil but made big power at 5 grand. for a NA conservative engine.