best oil for this 400 small block?

[Slick_Sammy]

i have a camaro with a 400 small block chevy in it, bored .030 over. its a fresh build with maybe 500 miles on it and some track passes. from here on out it will be a drag car only. mild build, i'd estimate 400-450 hp. i won't turn it over 6,000. running 110 cam2 gas now but may eventually switch to 93 octane with the Torco Accelerator additive. Compression ratio is about 11:1. i have no clue what the bearing tolerances in it are and not sure of cam type (hydraulic roller I think but not 100% sure). unfortunately it has a leak either at front of pan or timing cover, not sure of source yet and not ready to fix that yet. I want to stick with a readily available dino oil at least for now. i was thinking of running a heavy duty diesel oil like Shell Rotella T 15w 40 or Delo 400 15w 40. What oil would you folks recommend for this motor?

also, does that weight sound about right... ambient racing day temps will generally range from 40-95 degrees F. was thinking about the VR1 valvoline 20W50 but that's just too think in my opinion. The engine builder had recommended straight 30W or 40W in summer. But I tend to concur with Valvoline's site which I was reading, that said they will be phasing out their straight weights b/c multi viscosity oils do everything straights do and more. thanks.

 

[Steve S]

I don't think your choice of Delo or Rotella can be improved on .There is no need to ever run a syn it your engine. The 20w/50 would be fine if the oil pressure drops too much when the oil gets hot. Change the oil often as well as the rest of the driveline.

 

[Slick_Sammy]

good to hear, i picked up 2 gallons today of Shell Rotella T 15W 40.

thanks

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

If it really is a drag race only car and will never be driven on the street I would suggest a synthetic mono grade. I have a BBC that I was racing for a while and ran an engine diaper on (just in case) and we had problems with high oil temps. After some creative processes to cool the pan in pits and a switch to RP 50wt I was able to run the oil about 16-18 passes as opposed to the about 5 on dino oil.

You are running a bit less HP than I was, and if you are going to change the oil frequently then the Delo or Rotella is a great idea. Less money than the VR1 and the HDEO has many of the qualities that the VR1 has. I don't really consider VR1 a real racing oil as it's able to be run on the street with "normal" OCI's, it really fancy and overpriced HDEO.

 

[Rickey]

Something to think about: If you were to run a leaded racing fuel,and yes I know these leaded types are fast disappearing.

A few years back some aircraft engines had problems with the combination of leaded avgas and a synthetic engine oil. IIRC this was supposedly due to the synthetics lack of solvency for tetraethylead and its combustion byproducts resulting in deposits in unwanted places.Engine failures followed. This particular synthetic oil was removed from the market because most (all?) piston aircraft engines at that time required leaded fuel.

I realize that the connection that I have made may be stretching things a little. However I believe this occurance still would make some folks wonder about synthetic oils compatability with leaded fuel. Maybe the shorter drain intervals used in racing would negate this effect.

I agree that a 15w40 diesel/gas rated oil will serve you well.

Good luck with your toy sir!

Rickey.

 

[JustinH]

Another vote for rotella or chevron delo.