Stupid_fast Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 Have been searching, I must suck at keywords or something. I have been using 10w30 pennzoil(It was the stuff that was in there before I got it) on my toyota w/ 7MGE(3 liter inline 6 DOHC, 1992) and I heard from some people(on the ... internet...) they think its complete crap, so I'm curious what other brands you guys recommend, I was told on here to get royal purple for my datsun, would this work well for my toyota also? Synthetic vs regular? Also, about thickness compared to weather, this morning was very cold(below freezing the previous night), ice on the roof of my car, I started it up and it made a bad clicking sound(sounded like it was coming from the head/valvetrain) shut it off and checked the oil level, was fine, so I took the other car to work. I researched this and found some sources saying it was probably that the oil was too thick, and someone with a similar sounding issue that changed to 5w30 said that fixed it. I'm wondering if I should run that in winter/cold weather? Also, for my datsun its a rebuilt L20b, I know I'm not suppose to run synthetic for a while before its broken in. I was gonna use break-in oil for the first run then THIS royal purple oil. I'm curious what spec oil I should be using? 10w30? 10w40? Any comments are welcomed. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Depends on the max temp that you expect between oil changes. Straight 10 W would be good from 0 to 60F. Good for winter if temps stay below 60F. Thinner for easier cranking and oil pump can suck it out of the pan easier when cold. 10 W 30 from 0 to over 100F. Good summer protection. 20 W 20, 20 W 40, 20 W 50. Same as above but extends well above 100F. Tropical, too thick at lower temps. I spent some time in Ontario with a month of below 0 temps, sometimes hitting -20. My brand new B210 would turn over twice and that was it. Guy told me to run 10 W or even 5 W 30... what a difference that made. Would crank fast enough to start. Quote Link to comment
datsunaholic Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Oil brands are like religion. My personal belief is stick with something and don't switch brands or mix. The current EPA-regulation viscosity-enhanced water that's being sold as "Motor Oil" is about the worst thing to run in non-roller engines (like our Datsuns, which use direct-contact cam followers), and the additive packages each company uses aren't necessarily compatible with each other. Been reports of oil foaming due to oil mixing. Lack of ZDDP is what kills flat-tappet pushrod engines and direct-contact OHC engines like ours. And the ZDDP additives aren't compatible with type SN oil (2011 standard) from what I've been hearing from the builders. As for what weight... You're in Oakland which should be warm enough to run 20W50 year round in a normal year. But it does sometimes get a little chilly, so running 10W30 in the winter wouldn't be outrageous. That's what I run in the winter, then run 10W40 (or straight 30W) in the summer. I may start switching to 15W40 Diesel oil if these additive packages keep getting mucked with though. Being awful rattly on startup is generally a sign that the oil filter is draining back, due to bad anti-drainback valves. Cheap filters do this. I would NOT run thinner, 5W30 oil. That actually makes the problem worse. These aren't ultra-tight clearance engines, and that stuff is like water. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Never use 'break in' oil if there even is such a thing in this day and age. It offers inferior protection to promote wear to quickly break in a motor. 10 W 30 good quality oil is fine. Just drive it harder than you normally would for the first 500 miles. Accelerate and decelerate as often as possible, avoid steady speeds and idling, avoid very high and low RPMs, if in town 'give it' through the gears often. Think about body builders doing reps to build muscle mass. If you want a strong motor you have to exercise it. Ah you're in California. Quote Link to comment
datsunaholic Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Oh, and Datsun had a oil viscosity chart in the glovebox manuals. I'm somewhat bemused by the recommendation for straight 10W. I would never use that. This was for 1978: 5W20: 10°F and lower 5W30: 60°F and lower 10W: Between 0°-60° F 10W30 & 10W40: Above 0° F 20W20, 20W40, 20W50: Above 20° F The 1974 manual was a little more accurate: 10W: Between -4°F and 32°F 20W20: Between 14°F and 60°F 30W: Between 32°F and 90°F 40W: 60°F and above 5W30: Below 32°F 10W30 & 10W40: Above -4°F 20W40: Above 14°F. However, lots of those types aren't available anymore, or at least not in temperate climates. You might find 10W in Canada and Minnesota. Plus nowadays they have 0W30 oils and such. My unscientific belief is thus: 0W30 if you live above the Arctic/Antarctic Circle and never see temps above 0°F (and never go above 40MPH since there aren't any paved roads) 5W30 if you're never going to see temperatures above 40°F. 10W30 if you never see temperatures below 0°F nor above 90°F 10W40 if temps are never below 20°F but never above 110°F Straight 30W if temps are never below 30°F, or above 110°F 15W40 if temps are always above freezing 20W50 if temps are never below 40°F and generally above 50°. Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 I am more a fan of using straight weight oils in Datsun L- engines. I used Valvoline, this stuff in my Datsuns. The closest current equivalent is Valvoline VR-1 racing oil. It does have the high ZPPD the L engine camshaft needs. When using a straight weight oil, let the engine warm up before you drive. On second thought, let the engine warm up a little even with a multigrade oil. Quote Link to comment
Z Speed Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Been running AMS-OIL in my Z since the early/mid 70's. I swear by that stuff. When I had my motor balanced and blueprinted in the mid 80's the motor looked almost brand new.... The BMW is a whole diff. story.... Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 the only oil i have ever run in any vehicle is castrol gtx im my personal vehicles ( datto and truck) i run castrol gtx high milage its a synthetic blend i run 10-30w Quote Link to comment
Stupid_fast Posted March 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Alright, thanks for the replies. I have an idea of what to get now. The filters I have been using are the K&N wrench-off ones... Quote Link to comment
BRE_dAtSuN Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 i use vr1 its one of the few left that have zppd Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 My unscientific belief is thus: 0W30 if you live above the Arctic/Antarctic Circle and never see temps above 0°F (and never go above 40MPH since there aren't any paved roads) 5W30 if you're never going to see temperatures above 40°F. 10W30 if you never see temperatures below 0°F nor above 90°F 10W40 if temps are never below 20°F but never above 110°F Straight 30W if temps are never below 30°F, or above 110°F 15W40 if temps are always above freezing 20W50 if temps are never below 40°F and generally above 50°. My 2002 Ford Ranger uses 5W-30 as recommended. Pete Quote Link to comment
datsunaholic Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Yeah, Pete, but a 2002 Ranger has very different bearing tolerances. MUCH closer. Lots of modern cars can use 5W30, and it's the weight recommended by the EPA for fuel economy. Modern cars run somewhat higher oil pressure normally as well. But it's NOT something you want to run in a older vehicle with direct-contact rockers. Quote Link to comment
Laecaon Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Sounds like Im doing a oil change soon. 5W-30 in it currently. Quote Link to comment
ppeters914 Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Yeah, Pete, but a 2002 Ranger has very different bearing tolerances. MUCH closer. Lots of modern cars can use 5W30, and it's the weight recommended by the EPA for fuel economy. Modern cars run somewhat higher oil pressure normally as well. But it's NOT something you want to run in a older vehicle with direct-contact rockers. Ahhhhhh....gotcha. Knew about the ZPPD thang for our older motors, but didn't realize the weight related to the tolerances. Thanks, Doug! Pete Quote Link to comment
Guest DatsuNoob Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Castrol full synthetic 5w 30 (factory recommended) for the Cooper. Mobil 1 full synthetic for everything else FTW Quote Link to comment
RustyRat4x4 Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 I've always liked Castrol GTX for the smaller, higher RPM engines, but I run NAPA Premium Plus in all my engines now (same oil as Valvoline, with less cost per quart). I know that NASCAR and Datsun's are worlds/cylinders apart, but if NASCAR can run all day long at 9'200 RPM it must hold up OK for my daily driver.. 10W 40 here in my part of WA is safe to run year round in my mind... Of course it's only an opinion.... :frantics: Quote Link to comment
Dirk Diggler Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 You aren't really driving unless you're running at 9200 rpm all day :) Quote Link to comment
RustyRat4x4 Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 As long as the valves don't float, the rods don't fly apart, and there's still power.... I say keep on that right pedal!!! :hyper: There's nothing like the sound of a spinning engine :thumbup: Quote Link to comment
Stupid_fast Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 My toyota only goes to 6,000... I got the valvoline stuff(30w!!), a whole 12-pack! And the same pennzoil for my toyota that was in it before.(10w30) Quote Link to comment
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