for the 1100th time what oil do you use?

[butch86]

i am sure this has been asked 1100 times or so, but i have been reading about what weight and brand different people run.

i have used rotella t 15w 40 for years and years. the problem is the formulation has changed so much in the last few years its no better than bottom shelf oil ( store branded from the lowest bidder) i have been thinking of using moble 1 20w50 or amsoil high zink 20w50. i use zddp additive in everything flat tapped i own. the amsoil is very expencive about $11.50 a quart this would run 90 bux every oil change with the wix shorty racing filter i use on all my motors. i use melling select oil pumps and the cheap filters have been known to colaps with this pump.

most mechanics i know prefer moble 1 to most other oils. i am just looking for opinions on weight and brand yall like.

ps halvoiline and penzoil are a no go with me never will again. i would trust walmarts store brand first.

[harleyhouser]

I use Royal Purple with a Wix filter. No problem so far (knock on wood).

[wyattglock]

I run Amsoil 10w-40 with zinc in my 454. Honestly, if you spent the extra on the Amsoil stuff, it is good for one year or 25k miles. The Wix filter is very good, wouldn't last as long as the oil, but it would definitely last 4-6 months. Then you could change it, add a quart and keep going.

[Dunenutt]

Was running castrol syntec ( formulated for older engines), Wix filters, and Eastwood ZDDP additive.

Switched to Royal Purple, Royal Purple filter, And Eastwood ZDDP.

The only reason I switched, is to see if the royal purple would transfer a little more heat. Plus, I have Royal Purple in the trans, and diff's on everything I own.

[tucsonjwt]

Whatever 10W40 oil is free on sale at the auto parts stores - 36 qts. of various free oil in the shed now + various free oil filters - 454 still running with this approach for the past 10 years in the desert heat.

[Firebirdjones]

Do you monitor your UOA's???

That's really the critical question that would tell you what you need to be doing. It will even tell you when your air filter needs changed or cleaned Helps with oil change intervals and tells you if the oil you use is doing the job.

I use several different viscosity oils for different cars here with different purposes. Most of my cars are roller cams now, but I have 3 that are still flat tappet.

Mobile has also changed their oil package and they are no longer as good as they used to be. Oils seem to change every few months so it pays to stay on top of it.

Ironically I bought a new 502 GM crate engine for my pickup through Scoggin Dickey and in the warranty paperwork it recommended 20W-50 Valvoline racing oil for the break in (even though it's a roller cam).
I always ran 20W-50 in the truck anyway with the old 454 because I do alot of towing and it runs warm, so I try to avoid thermal breakdown with the heavier oil. VR1 has a higher zinc/phospherous content which I believe is why they wanted it for break in purposes. I also run this stuff in another flat tappet cammed car I have with no issues and the UOA's look good. It doesn't carry some of the cleaning additives that conventional oils do, so you really have to stay on top of oil changes. I usually don't run it much more than 2,000 miles, could probably go longer according to the UOA's but the cars sit alot too so.....2,000 miles usually gets me through a whole summer season in the classic cars so it works out okay. I run it in my 454 chevelle and my 70 formula, as well as my 69 Z. I've played around with these 3 cars switching from Synthetic and back to conventional and vice versa. I've seen no real difference in UOA's, but like I said, oil isn't in the crankcase very long with these cars. So I went back to conventional oil to save a little money. UOA's told me I was wasting money on these cars with synthetic.

I simply use the cheap Rotella Deisel oil in my 69 SCJ mustang since it still runs a flat tappet cam. It's been hibernating for 30 years and I recently got it running and driving. Until I get the bugs worked out I'll continue with this cheap oil, and upgrade to a better solution once I'm sure the car is 100%.

I run Synthetic in pretty much everything else. For the LS engines (my 72 blazer and my wifes camaro) I use a 10W30 synthetic. Brand doesn't matter too much to me (valvoline, pennzoil, mobil, any of those synthetics do the job). I buy the 5 quart jugs from Walmart because it's cheaper that way (usually saves $5). The prices vary, sometimes Valvoline is cheaper but lately Pennzoil Platnum synthetic has been about $2 cheaper so I've been running that for the last 4-5 oil changes. I'll go back and forth depending on the price that week. Been averaging about $25 for a 5 quart jug.

As far as the oils like Amsoil or Brad Penn,,,,,they are great oil, I especially like Amsoil. I use Amsoil in rearends and transmissions simply because those aren't changed as often so it's easier on the pocket book.
Since oil doesn't stay in my classic cars engines for many miles and they still recommend changing Amsoil after a year, Amsoil just isn't economical from a price standpoint for me as far as engines go. But if you can afford it then it's definately better than anything else I've used.

If I had money to blow, I'd experiment with it and run some UOA tests and see if it's any better than the stuff I currently use. $12 a quart and 9 cars in the stable would be a little excessive for me though. For now I'm happy with my UOA's.

[1BadAction]

Royal Purple. Still debating if I should go to RP in my roller cam 454 after it's first few oil changes...

[Malo83]

Pennz High Mileage 10W40 and a FRAM 2 qt filter, with 214K original miles

[butch86]

when the amsoil rep talked to me about running it in my dirt car he said the oil was good for a year and change the oil filter every 3 nights. if you look at it in the fact of running the amsoil for a year thats 90 bux for 1 year of running. i just have an issue with trusting the oil for a year of driving. my 85 will not be so bad seeing it will be only used for cruize ins and car shows mainly. i have some valvoiline 20w50 i am gonna get the motor started and running 100% on. then may go vr1 20w50, brad penn 20w50 or mobile 1 20w50 all will have zddp in them. maybe comp cams camshat break in additive for the first few changes.

[355bullet]

rotella... i have a roller in my step side
straight 30 for my fleetside..motor is ready to give, so i dont care..lol

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by Malo83

FRAM 2 qt filter

Good ole' PH373 (or that used to be the number) I ran those for years, local store used to keep them in stock for me. Doesn't fit anymore with headers though

On filters now, I've switched over to Fram Extended Guard because the quality is better (better filter media). I can only use those on the LS engines because they don't make that line of filter for the other cars. I run Wix filters on the other cars.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by butch86

when the amsoil rep talked to me about running it in my dirt car he said the oil was good for a year and change the oil filter every 3 nights. if you look at it in the fact of running the amsoil for a year thats 90 bux for 1 year of running. i just have an issue with trusting the oil for a year of driving. my 85 will not be so bad seeing it will be only used for cruize ins and car shows mainly. i have some valvoiline 20w50 i am gonna get the motor started and running 100% on. then may go vr1 20w50, brad penn 20w50 or mobile 1 20w50 all will have zddp in them. maybe comp cams camshat break in additive for the first few changes.

Yeah all of Amsoil engine oils claim a year running time, which is nice, and I believe up to 15,000 miles. Problem is I don't put but 2-3,000 miles on my classics in a years time, so I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth. I much rather prefer to change it one extra time throughout the year on the cars seldom driven, and it's still money saved. I don't mind the year long wait so much,,,,but I'm a little skeptical of the 15,000 mile change interval. I don't see a filter doing it's job that long,,,but who knows. Guess if you took samples every couple thousand miles to check your UOA's and see how it's doing, then I'd be okay with it. I'm just not willing to experiment with my stuff like that.

On the VR1 Valvoline, it's been on sale at Autozone for the last few days (just picked up 2 cases) and got $48 off. It's down to $3 a quart from it's regular $5 a quart price. Seems once a year about this time O'Reilys or Autozone has the same sale ($2 off a quart) so I buy enough every spring to get me through the season.
They are now making the VR1 Valvoline Racing oil in synthetic too. Something I didn't see last year. It's $8 a quart and wasn't on sale So I stuck with the good ole conventional version.

[beamn7]

I run Schaeffer 10w30 with a delco PF1218.

Alot of our fleet customers are beginning to run this stuff and thats how I heard of it. Had a meeting with them, took a tour of their plant in St. Louis and was very impressed. The fleets using this are delivery step vans running 4.8L and 6.0L GM engines. Some are bumping oil changes upwards of 16k with oil sample testing every 3-6k. Still scares me but all seems well and that adds up when your fleet is 3,000+ vehicles.
I have NEVER been a believer in snake oil, etc and I've been in OEM automotive field service 13 years and was shocked when this stuff did two things: A. got rid of the piston slap in pop's 01 4.8L which they are well known for and B. raised his mpg and my mpg in my 5.3L crew cab by 3 mpg. Haven't bothered checking it in the 85 as she loves fuel no matter what.
In today's world, most oil manufacturers make a good oil as their base stocks are much more refined than they were 20 or so years ago. The key now is their additive packages they add when finalizing the refining...

20 years ago I was a Castrol 20w50 guy. Now, with today's tighter tolerences, etc I'm a Mobil 1 guy right up until I found out about this stuff. Oh, and NO, I don't work for them....

A side note, I used to also be a Fram guy but I can't tell you how many times I've taken a GM 8.1L or even the 6.0L that had a complaint of low oil pressure, removed the Fram and threw on a Delco and raised the oil pressure 12psi without changing the oil. Honeywell (owns fram) denies the validity of the claim but if you ask me, proof is in the pudding....

[butch86]

on filters now i wouldnt put a fram filter on anything i drive every one i have ever put on a motor i built the dang thing colapses on the inside. i dunno about the upper brands of fram like the tripple guard or extra guard. i am only refering to the orange regular fram ph8 and ph5.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by butch86

on filters now i wouldnt put a fram filter on anything i drive every one i have ever put on a motor i built the dang thing colapses on the inside. i dunno about the upper brands of fram like the tripple guard or extra guard. i am only refering to the orange regular fram ph8 and ph5.

You would be correct. The regular Frams use a subpar paper filter media and an overall bad design.
If you want to run a Fram, the new line of "Extended Guard" filters is what you want to use. They are identical inside to the higher quality filters like Wix and Mobile 1.

The problem though is that you won't find all of the numbers available in the Extended Gaurd line. They don't make the PH8 (ford) or the PH5 (chevy) in Extended Guard. They also don't make the PH25 (Pontiac).
For these cars (because I have some of each) I switch to a Wix filter.

[asphaltburner]

Geeze,...I run NAPA Gold filters and their 10W-30 Ashland (Valvoline) oil in all my vehicles.
Keeps my '42 JD BN running perfectly, as well as my 350 ci HP engines I've built. Even the Wankel gets NAPA oil and filters regularly. I run my '98 V6 Toyota 4Runner Limited and my wifes' 2004 5spd Turbo Forester on the same stuff to protect them properly. Excellent protection, relatively cheap.
Todd.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by asphaltburner

Geeze,...I run NAPA Gold filters

Napa Gold is a good filter,,,,,it's a reboxed Wix All the same construction as the Fram Extended guard and Mobile 1.

[Number21]

I just use whatever I have around, generally cheap stuff changed at 3000 miles. I'd rather run cheap stuff and change it more often than expensive stuff and go with long change intervals. But I only drive about 5000 miles a year.

Definately stay away from the Fram filters, they are crap! Even the latest Purolator commercial shows the inside of a fram next to their filter, no comparision. I generally use Purolator filters.

I also run a little bit of outboard 2 cycle oil in my gas, at about 100:1. It helps lube the fuel pump, valves, and upper cylinder area. Doesn't cause any noticeable smoke. Don't tell the EPA.

[Keith Seymore]

Valvoline straight 30 w. For the last 50 years.

Or (lately) - Valvoline VR race oils.

K

[butch86]

yeah the wix, napa and if i am corect car quest filters are all one in the same. napa oil is valvoiline. napa is one company that rebrands quality goods. car quest is a close second. if i am corect advanced oriellys and autozone rebrand the cheapest bidder, whoever that may be.

on another note i may be wierd but i use the elcheapoest oil i can find with a good filter when i prime a motor. i know the motor is built as clean as it possibly can be but there is that chance there is a small amount of trash somewhere in the motor. it may seem a waist but lessons learned in the past cause you to do some percautionary things.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by Number21

Definately stay away from the Fram filters, they are crap! Even the latest Purolator commercial shows the inside of a fram next to their filter, no comparision. I generally use Purolator filters.

Depends on which Fram you speak of. The new Extended Guard line is the same thing as a Wix or Mobile 1,,,,all good filters. The other Fram line of filters leave alot to be desired though.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by Number21

I also run a little bit of outboard 2 cycle oil in my gas, at about 100:1. It helps lube the fuel pump, valves, and upper cylinder area. Doesn't cause any noticeable smoke. Don't tell the EPA.

I also do this as well in all the cars. Make sure it's TC-W3 rated as that is a better quality 2 cylce oil.

I mix 1 ounce per every 5 gallons of gas I pump in, and just carry around the 5 quart jug with a measure bottle. I buy a 5 quart jug from Walmart for $11 and it treats in the neighborhood of 600 gallons.

Alot cheaper than any other store bought fuel additive and it works better. Cleans and lubes the entire top of the engine just as you said, as well as the fuel system, injectors, pumps etc....

I've had excellent results doing this with a slight gain in fuel mileage as well. An added benefit I've found too,,,,if you bother to test the fuel you are pumping for ethanol content.
Some stations carry more than the 10% they advertise. I've found as much as 17% with my little test kit. The 2 cycle oil cuts down on the corrosion caused by alcohol ingested fuels, and it seems to stabalize the ethanol content. I'm getting a smoother idling, smoother running engine with quicker starts by mixing in 2 cycle oil.

[crazeetxn]

Ran Castrol GTX for years. Then my other half likes to be green. So I switched to NexGen in both my truck and her suburban. Haven't seen any problems yet.

After reading all this though, may switch from the Fram Orange filter to something else. I'm just curious how ya'll know what happens on the inside? Did you cut it open? I'll be curious what mine looks like when I change it out again.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by crazeetxn

Ran Castrol GTX for years. Then my other half likes to be green. So I switched to NexGen in both my truck and her suburban. Haven't seen any problems yet.

After reading all this though, may switch from the Fram Orange filter to something else. I'm just curious how ya'll know what happens on the inside? Did you cut it open? I'll be curious what mine looks like when I change it out again.

Yep, I cut them open.

[Squareforceone]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Valvoline straight 30 w. For the last 50 years.

Or (lately) - Valvoline VR race oils.

K

Same minus the 50 years part