Oil Of Choice?

[ISPKI]

In my local CarQuest store, they have a Fram extra guard filter taken apart in a display case next to a carquest filter (made by wix). The difference is...terrifying. The Fram is just some pieces of cardboard in a can with a little sheet metal thingy holding it in. The carquest/wix filter has a fluted cylinder leading into a mesh weave held together by spring loaded steel discs. Carquest oil is also made by valvoline, and it is all I buy.

 

My 77 280z is getting it's first oil change in over a year tomorrow.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

That's why I buy Nissan oil filters, you ever heard of using diesel oil I heard over on HybridZ forum some use it and are pretty happy with it.

[datzenmike]

Most diesel oils are very very detergent to hold the carbon produced by diesel engines so it wont sludge up the motors and will flush with an oil change. I've heard that this can remove the carbon on the rings of old motors that actually contribute to containing the compression and oil control. Continued use will clean the motor only too well and the compression may drop slightly and it may burn more oil. Could be just an old wife's tail but does sound reasonable. Maybe today's diesels run cleaner and the oil is less detergent.

[68Datsun510]

Since my engine was a brand new rebuild, i used standard 10w30 cheap stuff for break in, then after over 1k miles, i switched to Mobil1, for summer ive been running the 15w50 racing formula, but for winter i use 10w30, no leaks, no burned oil, the engine doesnt lose ONE DROP of oil. Canby for me was 1300 miles, dipstick never moved there and back. Several racers I know also wouldnt use anything but Mobil1.

 

But an oil question is like asking whats the best color to have as your favorite, EVERYBODY has an opinion...

[metalmonkey47]

Valvoline VR1 with about 1/4 quart of Lucas Oil Stabilizer. I notice a HUGE difference in the valvetrain noise / oil pressure after using Lucas.

[Vitamin Pepsi]

In my local CarQuest store, they have a Fram extra guard filter taken apart in a display case next to a carquest filter (made by wix). The difference is...terrifying. The Fram is just some pieces of cardboard in a can with a little sheet metal thingy holding it in. The carquest/wix filter has a fluted cylinder leading into a mesh weave held together by spring loaded steel discs. Carquest oil is also made by valvoline, and it is all I buy.

 

My 77 280z is getting it's first oil change in over a year tomorrow.

 

 

FYI, Napa filters are also made by wix, and their generic oil is also made by valvoline.

 

Also, VR1 oil is great, but it's not synthetic. I used synthetic lubro molly + STP oil treatment because it has ZDDP

[DanielC]

All engines use oil. Just because the level on the dipstick does not change, does not mean you are not using oil. You are. The oil that goes away, is just being replaced by something else, mostly combustion by products. That is why you change the oil on a regular basis.

If your engine used NO oil, the cylinder walls would have no oil on them when the piston and rings went by them. They would wear out very quickly, and they would start to rust every time the engine was shut off. Likewise, the valve stems would be dry, and also wear out.

[FricFrac]

Oil is a hotly debated topic and when it boils down to it the most important thing about oil is regular oil AND filter changes (who in the world would try to reuse a $5-10 filter...)

 

You can spend hours or even days reading a lot of insiteful info about oil at bobistheoilguy.com where chemical engineers, etc hang out and debate. Lots of lab testing results, VOC, etc.

 

Personally I like the lab results for the Pennzoil Platinum. I run 5W30 in ALL my cars - from the '69 510 to my '09 370Z and I use WIX filters.

 

A few points about oil that get overlooked but are important to know.

 

Oil pressure - the important thing about oil in your engine is that it provides a protective barrier between two metal parts. In order to provide that barrier it needs to get to where it's going, hang out for a while and leave when the new oil arrives. To do that you need oil FLOW not pressure. Of course it's pressure that keeps the flow going but you can have plenty of pressure and no flow. For some reason people think high oil pressure is improving your oiling system. If that was the case then grease should give you some pretty good high pressures.... You should be more concerned about keeping your oil at the temperature it was designed to run at - about 180F. If you are using an oil cooler then you'll want to use a thermal plate to keep the oil from going to the cooler until it reaches 180F.

 

Start up - the majority of the wear in your engine particularly in the valve train is when you don't have oil flowing on the initial start up. There is oil on everything even if it's been sitting for years otherwise wear would be extreme. I will agree that ZDDP would help for start up to protect from wear but there are other modern protectants like Nissan's DLC that do the same thing. Personally I think that running the lowest first number (eg 0W30 where the first number is 0, 5W30, etc) which is the viscosity of the oil at initial start and the oil that is already there provides enough protection on start up. I'd rather have oil up in the valve train quicker with 0W or 5W than relying on ZDDP to protect until the 10W or 20W gets up there. I've never worn out a cam shaft, etc on any L series engines I've had in the last 20 years and who knows what the previous owner before me were doing to it. Almost every L series I've taken the head off of still has the cross hatching in the cylinder walls. These are tough engines and they wear well.

 

Synthetic - There are some misconceptions about synthetic oil when used on old cars. People will say when they change over to synthetic the seals started to weap and leak oil. This can be true but the problem isn't the oil. I'll explain why. Oil is just a bunch of hydrocarbon chains of a certain length to make it a liquid at room temperature (ok that's the simple explaination). As hydro carbon chains get longer they tend to become more solid (grease, wax, plastics, etc). Dinosaur oil tends to be a mixture of chains whereas synthetic is all one length chain (again simplifying). Lets just make up some numbers for illustration purposes. Let's say 10W30 dinosaur oil is made of a mixture of 10, 12 and 14 carbon atoms. Synthetic 10W30 is all the same - 12 carbon atoms long. That blend in the dino oil gives the 10W30 properties that the all-the-same 12 chain in the synthetic does to give it the 10W30 properties. So lets go back to the leaky seals. When your seal are old and should be replaced those 14 atom long chains will provide a barrier for the 10 and 12 chain molecules that would leak past. When you run synthetic they are all 12 atom chains with no 14 atom chains to keep them in. The issue is that the seals are old and the blend of oil dino keeps it from weaping. Replace the seals if your engine leaks with synthetic oil - the seals are the problem not the oil.

 

Here is why you want to use synthetic. It's more consistant and more rugged. I'm simplifying things when I say dino oil has 10, 12 and 14 atom chains. It actually has a whole blend of different stuff that will be different from batch to batch. They make sure it meets the 10W30 spec but it's just viscosity at certain temperatures. Synthetic is more tightly controlled because they are using a known chain of atoms with a specific property. It's more resistant to breaking down under presure and heat than dino oil's mish mash of molecules. I'd rather have all 12 chain molecules between my cam and rockers than some 4, 7, 10 and 14s and who knows what. Synthetics are less likely to break down under heat and presure than dino oil which is why in a turbo application you want to be running synthetic. I'm not sure what the story with Royal Purple and turbos is but I suspect it's and additive (anti foaming, detergent, etc) that breaks down under high presure/heat.

 

Oil has come a LONG way in the last 20 or 30 years. Detergents are a big one. Sludge was normal but how often in modern engines do you see sludge? No sludge is a good thing IMHO. I'm not an expert but I don't think sludge has very good lubricating properties ;P

 

Oh yea another thing to remember about synthetic is because it does lubricate so well in comparison to dino oil you don't want to use it when you rebuild an engine because it can prevent your rings from seating properly. Dino oil for break in!

[Z Speed]

I’ve been using Ams-Oil from almost day one of the Z's life. If my BMW didn't have a very specific synthetic of its own I'd be using it in that as well. Great stuff as I'm sure are many of the ones already mentioned in this thread. I swear by synthetic oil(s) however, I have to agree with the post above about using dino oil for break in. After that; it's synthetic all the way....

[Jdm720]

I use 10w-30 Redline in my 275k z24... 5k miles since the last oil change and still looks good... Been lazy lately too

[I'm BLUE]

L24/L28 stock engines.

50% city/50% highway ( sort of )

3,000 mile intervals or 4-months ... which ever comes first !

 

15w-40 Delo

Valvoline Maxlife 10w-30/40

Valvoline VR1

Valvoline Durablend

*Zddp additive (when I can spare)

MM47 is right ... ALL Lucas products are good !

 

Wix/Napa-Gold/Bosch Oil filters typically.

 

I was violated by a Fram filter once ...

gave it the chance to take me to dinner ...

it took advantage of me !!!!

[Dat Lurka]

I use whatever Advance has on sale. 5 quarts and a filter for 20$~

I run 15/45 but will probably go down after rebuild.

Oh yeah, those advance deals come with FRAM FILTERS

 

 

 

And I use them to spite you guys.

[I'm BLUE]

I've had a Fram clog and fail ...

even the back-up bypass valve failed :rolleyes:

almost efffed my valvetrain to say the least rest of engine :rolleyes:

 

How did I know this ?

Going to work = start-up ROD-KNOCK !!! :blink: ( thinking time for spare running engine at that point !!!! sealed deal ... )

decided I might have a clogged pickup or filter ... spun off the filter ... spun on a Purolator , Wix , and Napa-Gold ... tested each one ...

Solved the problem ... I change my oil quite often ... my engines are always clean looking inside ... :D

did a compression check afterwards GOT LUCKY !!!

looked for the problem like paranoid conspricay theory person thereafter ... nope nada !

 

up to you , but be warned :D

[Ranman72]

castrol 20/50 and never use fram filters

napa / bosch/ wix etc

[Dat Lurka]

I've had a Fram clog and fail ...

even the back-up bypass valve failed :rolleyes:

almost efffed my valvetrain to say the least rest of engine :rolleyes:

 

How did I know this ?

Going to work = start-up ROD-KNOCK !!! :blink: ( thinking time for spare running engine at that point !!!! sealed deal ... )

decided I might have a clogged pickup or filter ... spun off the filter ... spun on a Purolator , Wix , and Napa-Gold ... tested each one ...

Solved the problem ... I change my oil quite often ... my engines are always clean looking inside ... :D

did a compression check afterwards GOT LUCKY !!!

looked for the problem like paranoid conspricay theory person thereafter ... nope nada !

 

up to you , but be warned :D

 

Well I'm doing an oil change when I put it back together.

Considering my oil looks like thin coffee with lots of cream...

And the coolant is frothed milk with georgia clay :rofl:

I'm gonna see what NAPA has to offer.

[I'm BLUE]

Well I'm doing an oil change when I put it back together.

Considering my oil looks like thin coffee with lots of cream...

And the coolant is frothed milk with georgia clay :rofl:

I'm gonna see what NAPA has to offer.

 

eeeeewwwwwwww .... lol

Ask them when their deals go on ...

usually you can get 50% on like father's day weekend or something like that.

If budget = ask for the economy filter.

I usually change my filters/oil very often after internal engine work .. then back to regular intervals :D

[Dat Lurka]

eeeeewwwwwwww .... lol

Ask them when their deals go on ...

usually you can get 50% on like father's day weekend or something like that.

If budget = ask for the economy filter.

I usually change my filters/oil very often after internal engine work .. then back to regular intervals :D

 

While it's just a block I think I'm gonna pump some diesel through all the oil and water channels.

I'll be sure to run it through a strainer so we can see how much shit is actually in there.

 

Probably more oak leaves.

[I'm BLUE]

hot day + Pressure washer + gas chaser :)

Pop out all your core plugs ...

I prefer to use Brass core plugs

you're not having it dipped/bored/honed yet ?

 

 

also sort of off subject ... BUT ...

now is a really good time to repair/bypass your heater-core if troubles ...

some people buy CLR/vinegar and soak clogged ones/semi-clogged ( zerow told me this )

[MicroMachinery]

I run Schaeffer 15w-40 Supreme 7000. It's the cat's meow.

 

Zinc Content By Weight: .126%

Phosphorus Content By Weight: .115%

 

http://www.schaefferoilreps.com/03-08-12-flat-tappet-cams.html

 

/thread

[Dat Lurka]

Not doing the overhaul till I get to FL and can afford it.

My heater core and valve work flawlessly.

Speaking of off subject let's keep my issues in my thread lol

[I'm BLUE]

I run Schaeffer 15w-40 Supreme 7000. It's the cat's meow.

 

I'll have to try that ... thankyou sir !

[Dat Lurka]

I run Schaeffer 15w-40 Supreme 7000. It's the cat's meow.

 

My engine seems seemed to like the heavy oil.

[MicroMachinery]

Schaeffer makes different grades(alot people go for the 5w-30, which is a full sythetic), but I like the feel of the thicker oil. The 15w-40 is also a synthetic blend, rather than full synthetic.