Let’s talk about… OIL

[Turbo6inKY]

Ttype6 posted that article a while back. Miss that guy, he really helped me a lot... Here it is MOTOR OIL ENGINEERING TEST DATA Take it for what it's worth. Many old timers here get bent over oil threads like this, and I get it, but oil formulations change and new products enter the market all the time. I think it's a good thing to have these discussions from time to time and if you don't want to read another oil thread then maybe just don't open it?

It's actually not useful to have these discussions, because they're almost always carried out with nearly every participant in complete ignorance of the actual condition of their engine or the state or contents of their oil.

Those of us that do have actual data and try to share it get drowned out in a sea of meaningless speculation, and the OP ends up doing whatever they were going to do anyway.

The long and short of it is modern oil is oil. Even the cheapest parts-store mineral based sale item is way better than the best crap available in 1987. The "high mileage" labelled products do have more high-pressure additives like ZDDP and molybednium we think we need, though most of the non-high mileage oils will also work fine in a flat tappet motor that still has stock-ish valve springs.

Ramp up the valve spring pressure and you'll need more high pressure lubricant additives in your oil.

So, buy those, and then get a sample of your oil checked by a lab and that'll tell you everything you need to know. If the valvetrain is wearing, it'll show up as elevated iron and carbon, because those parts are usually made of steel. If it's piston rings you'll see chromium spike. If it's bearings, you'll see lead and copper. If you see aluminum, it's the pistons ablating or the oil pump eating itself. If you see silicon, you need to service your air filter. If you see fuel, you need to check your tune. If you see coolant, you have a leaking head or intake manifold gasket. It all shows up.

It's the only way to know for sure, and knowing for sure is how you avoid spending money on stuff you don't need.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

Link and test info is really long but...

#1 in wear = Quaker State " Full Synthetic", $22 Walmart.

 

[turbocamino1]

Something from the 540 Rat's "oil test data "
So, it’s quite clear by looking at these results, that high zinc levels, high detergent levels, and heavy viscosities do NOT play any particular roll in how well a motor oil does or does not provide wear protection. The only thing that matters is the base oil and its additive package “as a whole”. Looking at zinc levels, detergent levels, and viscosities on an oil’s spec sheet, will NOT help you choose a motor oil that provides the best wear protection. If that is all you go by, you will be kidding yourself about how good any particular oil is.

And keep in mind that the oil industry is fully aware that there is alternate chemistry available besides zinc/phos, which can be used for extreme pressure wear protection, that is equal to or better than zinc/phos. And that alternate chemistry is just what they use to reduce the zinc/phos levels in modern API certified oils. So, you do NOT need to have high levels of zinc/phos in order to have outstanding wear protection, no matter how loud someone screams that you do. Because they simply DO NOT know what they are talking about, and are only repeating that same old incorrect wives tale. That high zinc thinking is only a MYTH repeated a million times until everyone just “thinks” it’s true. But, that MYTH has been BUSTED by real world “dynamic wear testing under load”.

 

[TurboTGuy]

I just use what I think is best for my car and came to that decision by asking my builder, other builders, and many, many fellow Turbo Buick enthusiasts.

I am comfortable with my choice, which I will keep to myself, as I don't need a bunch of yahoos coming in here and shitting all over that choice.

Carry on.

 

[corsair231]

It's my opinion that Guy is right. His oil is 100% the best oil... for Guy.

Of course, opinions will vary, lol.