Who's got the best Oil...

[jcharliem]

Hey.......you asked

Ditto. Reminds me of a "TC thread"... let's ask a lame, general question just to stir up some shit. Sheesh.

[dieselhead]

I've been using synthetic oil since 1976 after I read an article in Popular Science about it. In the article an enginner with Ford drove his Lincoln 100,000 miles with the same synthetic oil changing the filter every 12,000 miles. When they tore the engine down for inspection they found that all the clearances were within the range of a brand new engine. I started using synthetic oil in my new 1978 Chevy 4wd pickup at the first oil change. I used to hunt mule deer in Colorado and my truck was the only one that would start right up in the morning when it was real cold. Everybody else had to put 2 batteries in their trucks so they'd crank fast enough to start. I drove this truck daily untill 1999 and put about 300k miles on it. The only parts I replaced on the engine were the the timing gear/chain and the valve seals. I used synthetic in the auto trans too and the only problem I had with was that the reverse gear broke. I sold this truck to a friend and he's still using on our deer lease. I use Amsoil in my Dodge diesel (switched to Amsoil at 30K) along with a bypass filter and I change the oil and filters every 10k. There is one product I wish I had remembered when I bought this Dodge. A company called FilterMag makes a magnet that attaches to the oil filter. It traps the metal circulating through the filter and would be great during breakin. I recently bought one with 600lbs of magnetic pull for my Dodge and I plan on putting one on every vehicle I own.

[pdub]

Ditto. Reminds me of a "TC thread"... let's ask a lame, general question just to stir up some shit. Sheesh.

Now wait a minute - That's Keith you're talking about. THE Keith. Be careful. Motor oil is as good of a subject as any, after all. And it's a whole lot of fun! <<<No, I'm not sucking up, I swear I'm not>>>

[Ron Ward]

When we raced the Valiant, we used Mobil 1 0W-30 synthetic oil. A lot of people gave me shit about using such a thin oil, but I don't think 2700+ passes on the original shortblock is too shabby. Yep, 8 years of racing, a points championship in 1998 and 5 consecutive years finishing in the top 5 at TWO separate race tracks tells me our oil was not a problem.

An old, dear racing buddy of mine who owned a local machine shop for years and years turned me on to it - and with good reason. Think about it... a bracket racing engine never really gets hot for extended periods of time. What it needs the most is oil pressure immediately when you start. The thin oil travels quickly to the bearings. Thinner oil also cools off quicker than thick oil, thus allowing for quicker cooldowns between rounds.

Just stuff I learned..

For my daily driver, I just use O'Reilly's 5W-30 and a good quality Wix filter. Nothing fancy.


Ron

[bishir]

I like this oil the best.. great for Italian Engines too.

[Dan Barlow]

I mostly agree with Keith . I run Napa oil in my stuff. I normally buy cars for 1500 or less ......so , there you go. If it dies after a couple of years or I want something different ,I move on. Where I differ from Keith is I will not put any waxy oil in my car which seems to be anything that come out of the ground near Pa. So, I don't use Pennsoil or Quaker State. Now the Trans Am it gets Valvoline 10-40 and change it regularly.

[Russell]

Since y'all know so much about what car is best... I can't wait to hear what you think the oil of choice is...

Here's my opinion first...

The Best Oil is that which you change at regular intervals... Brand, type, spec's... mean virtually NOTHING if you don't change it often and if you do.... Brand means virtually nothing....

I don't care if it's Valvoline, quakerstate... so on and so forth.... just change the junk and life is good....

Racing Oils are different and frankly we try and run a synthetic simply because David's proven it's better for HP and he likes it for durability.... ( his engines, he gets to pick )

What say you guys.... Remember... Be Civil....

Keith you been stiring the pot lately!

I like to use the same oil, (I agree does not really matter which one) I don't change brands. I buy it at what ever store has it on special so often I end up with a diffrent oil filter each time, what do you think of that?

[Monk]

Keith you been stiring the pot lately!

I like to use the same oil, (I agree does not really matter which one) I don't change brands. I buy it at what ever store has it on special so often I end up with a diffrent oil filter each time, what do you think of that?

You might be on the wrong side of the decimal point........

[Russell]

You might be on the wrong side of the decimal point........

Is that like treading on thin ice?

I might be....... I never said there is anything wrong with stiring to pot. I like to do it every once and a while. And for all means Keith has just as much or more right to stir this pot any time he wants. I normally don't see Keith post much he is a very busy man. I just wanted to add a little spice to the soup.

[JOES66FURY]

oh no! I hate being on the wrong side of that damn decimal point...I put whatever Dodge and Ford put in there for free every 5k miles...if I do it myself it is whatever is cheapest. When I did the heads on my old Ram I would go 5 to 8k between oil changes...that motor was spotless inside and there was no wear on the cylinder walls....still had cross hatch marks on the walls and never used a drop of oil....

[BBR]

Ran Pennzoil for years in my 86 Ranger with a 2.9L v6. By and far the ABSOLUTE CLEANEST engine inside I have ever taken apart. Had to replace a piston after I torched one with the turbo set-up. Swapped that long block to a buddy's Ranger after his died and as far as I know it's still alive and kicking.

Ran Pennzoil in the Durango for years. Stopped when it started leaking out the rear main and just run Walmart/oreilly/whatever oil in it now. It has 150k-ish miles, does not burn any oil and still gets the same gas mileage it did when it was new, give or take a mpg.

[Orange65]

I won a 1990 Geo Prizm in a divorce.

I know times were probably hard, but really- is that considered a win?

[Thumpin455]

I use Mobil 1 in the 98 with its LS1 and in the 79 Formula since its 467 has roller everything and is built like a newer engine tolerance wise. The other V8s get anything that has zinc in it since they mostly have flat tappet cams, been switching to hydraulic rollers lately though. Two flat cam lobes justifies going to a roller because of the work involved is about the same as the $1000 to put the roller in. I change it every spring in the LS1, mainly because its rare I put more than 6000 on it in a summer. I just dont drive as much as I used to. When I was in the AF I would put about 40k on any given vehicle in a year, and that is with three or four of them being legal and driven regularly. Made lots of long ass road trips for training, leave, and whatever else.

I dont use Pennzoil or Quaker State, every engine I have torn down that has run those is full of gunk. My dad uses nothing but Pennzoil in his Dakota work trucks, he puts 300k on them in less than three years. I havent torn one down to look inside, but when he has pulled a valve cover it hasnt been completely clogged. Might have something to do with the Dodge v6, might be his change interval of 3000. Doesnt matter, I still wont use it after pulling apart all those old Pontiac engines that had run it.

[Deaf Bob]

From Ron Ward:
An old, dear racing buddy of mine who owned a local machine shop for years and years turned me on to it - and with good reason. Think about it... a bracket racing engine never really gets hot for extended periods of time. What it needs the most is oil pressure immediately when you start. The thin oil travels quickly to the bearings. Thinner oil also cools off quicker than thick oil, thus allowing for quicker cooldowns between rounds.


This gives me food for thought, and maybe I have been thinking on the wrong track....
I once ran a gallon of Power Punch in my derby motor, thinking it will help keep it lubed and running when it gets HOT.. With this from Ron.. I remember it stayed hot between qualifying and the finale.. I checked the oil and it was clear and as thin as water.. Burned my fingers... One trick also was adding diesel to the gas to keep the cylinder walls from seizing.. Works if you want to tractor around... Nowadays they fly like jets!

[KeithTurk]

Yeah I'm pot stirring a bit... also chatting about the things we ALL have opinions about... Honestly.... you have to know that EVERY car guy has an Oil story.... it's good stuff... " I Use this Because".... doesn't matter if it's actually a correct statement.... it's just their story... and that has Value... I knew .... one or two good stories would pop up.... ( normally I'd have expected it to be about the high quality oils that come from Pennsylvania area )....

I don't really have an oil story... other then I change the junk often... Unless it's a Jet Turbine like in the Helicopter... that NEVER gets it's oil changed.... ( okay almost never ).... simple because the oil isn't ever contaminated with the Combustion process....