Official "What oil / additives should I use" topic

[Vayabroder]

[CobraDriver]

I would like to add my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

I used to fly corporate jets and we had a fleet of 10 that catered to the NASCAR guys. My engines idled at 25,000 and at altitude much higher.

We used synthetic, never replaced it and each engine was worth $250K

They flew real high and lasted a long time plus they never quit.

That sold me, I use synthetic in everything mechanical I have including my tractor.

Just wanted to give another view. EXCELLENT site and great folks

CD

[SRP1]

BTW, the GM EOS lube is now being phased out of california. So get some while you can or look for it out of state! This told to me by the local chevy dealer, they are out are not allowed to order any more in due to gov regs.

[Glenn]

I just bought 2 pints of GM EOS yesterday.
_________________
Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[SRP1]

Well maybe you should go get two more if your in CA. What I was told is that the dealers will sell out what they have in stock and thats the end of it for CA. I also found some locally at the GMC dealer, I bought a whole case.

[Towel Rail]

Is it illegal for you CA guys to order part #1052367 from here directly?

- Scott
_________________
1974 Thing -- under the knife
1967 Beetle -- spring/summer/fall driver
1996 Subaru OBW (EJ22, 5-speed, AWD) -- winter car, 3-seasons "don't feel like biking today" car

049 > 070 > 053 > 009

[Herby]

I don't see how anyone could enforce a law like that through mail ordering. I mean, radar detectors and jammers are illegal in most states but people can easily obtain them by mail order.
_________________
62 Beetle
73 Super Beetle German Look project
03 TDI Jetta
Airspeed
www.airspeedvwclub.com
"Do not assume that there isn't room for improvement just because VW didn't do it."

Samba #34091

[Vayabroder]

I found a gallon of Rotella in 40 W in a store here but it seems to be new old stock since it complies with CF-4 so I nabbed it right away; I figured if it's the earlier standard the contents of zinc and phosphorus are there. 40 W is a perfect weight for the ambient temps here. Did I do the right thing?

[Vedauwoo]

Hmmm, is there a further background topic on all these oils and the zinc and phosphorus issues?

I feel a little behind, I've been using Castrol 20w50 for 20 years and never noticed any real issues that I could say came from the oil.....well, other than it leaking out through various bad gaskets...but that is another story...

[thesesimplewords]

Just to clarify... I've heard that climate can affect which oil you should choose. Can someone eplain how? For hotter climates, which oil would you choose and why? colder? more or less humid?

I really appreciate all your advice.

I just picked up my first VW (1977 super beetle, 1600) and I live in the mountains of North Carolina where it rains a lot.

thanks,

[Vayabroder]

The colder the ambient temperatures the thinner the oil needs to be at startup to make it flow better. As the engine warms up the oil needs to get thicker to meet the increasing lubrication needs. If it gets really hot where you live you can use an oil that gets up to 40W or even 50W (multigrades). For regular temperate climates you can use 30W. Obviously the lower end of the spectrum on multigrades depends on how cold your ambient temp is at startup.

[Nitty]

Years ago I used the 25W50 Pennzoil GT Racing oil. Had to be the sliiperyest stuff in existence. Still available? How doe it measure up?

[pocdragon]

ive been told that using an older oil (just in age not used) is the best way to go. just check the back of the bottle for the "doughnut" of approval. there should be some letters on it, like: sa sl sj sh sk sm. the lower in the alphabet the second letter is, the older the oil is. the older oils have different ingredients in them according to laws that have been passed for emmisions. to keep this response short: during the years that SJ oils have been made there was an abundance of nickel in the oil. giving it a supiorior lubrication and wear protection. but this is only true for older cars, cars made after 2001 should use SL and higher grade oils. SM being the current highest grade out there.

my bus uses sae 30W sj oil

hope that helped

[zerotofifty]

From what was reported in the LN Engineering website on oil, and the 356 Regisrty magazine, the new API rated "SM" oils do NOT contain enough ZDDP (zinc/phosphorus compound) to protect the cam/lifters

the SM oils contain a MAX of .087 % wt Zn, the old SL was .110 (2004 year), the old SH was .130% (1996 year).

so the newest SM oils should be avoided unless an additive to replace the zinc is used. Other options are motorcycle oils, and racing oils that do not have the API SM standard.

The LN Engineering webpage is at www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

It is a very well written 19 page paper (well worth printing up and saving) with lots of analysis results, scientific references, and it makes some recommendations.

The Shell Rotella oil sold in my area in nazi california is now SM compatable, so it to is not the same as it used to be.

With all this happening, be sure to read your API rating . Your old standby oil may not be what it used to be.

good luck to us all!!! happy VWing for all!

[Herby]

So now that Rotella is pretty much cj-4 for the most part, what about delvac 1300 super? Its still a CI-4 and on the LN engineering site, it shows that it has more zinc than rotella anyway. Anyone have any experience?
_________________
62 Beetle
73 Super Beetle German Look project
03 TDI Jetta
Airspeed
www.airspeedvwclub.com
"Do not assume that there isn't room for improvement just because VW didn't do it."

Samba #34091

[Towel Rail]

[Herby]

Sorry, I meant 15w- 40 only since thats what delvac 1300 is and rotella 15w-40 is only CJ-4 now.
_________________
62 Beetle
73 Super Beetle German Look project
03 TDI Jetta
Airspeed
www.airspeedvwclub.com
"Do not assume that there isn't room for improvement just because VW didn't do it."

Samba #34091

[LittleThunder]

After reading all of this I decided to get Brad Penn oil. I called them direct and they gave me the number of the distributor in Tampa, Newmann oil. Unfortunately, they had no dealers here in southwest Fl. but they sold it to me direct and set it up so I could pick up my two cases at a repair shop about 30 minutes drive north of me. Both Brad Penn and Newmann were very cool and helpful. If you're in Florida give them a call and they'll figure out a way to get you the product.

[WB9SLW]

Had to make a comment or two, I was told by a lot of VW owners NOT to use anything except dino oil, well after about 15,000 miles of using RP 20/50 oil in my 1776 engine, and have found a very slite increase in fuel economy, but not enough to start another discussion, no leaks, cleaner oil and "feels" like it runs better, faster, and more happy than staockers..

Next, I am building an engine and was suggested to me to pick up a book at Barnes and Nobles called "Maxinum Boost" By Corky Bell, I did and after reading it two times,,, I am glad of the knowledge I have obtained with Royal Purple oil and what he say's about the Turbos with the heat and dino oil... Makes for a lot of good info.

Oh,, btw,,, Shell Rotella "T" 15/40 in all my big trucks and in my CAT in the motorhome,, love it...

[craigman]

Fellas,
with all this oil talk and eating up camshafts, why can't we just break our motors in with synthetic oil? I know, all our dads told us as well as the old time mechanics say it will "never" break in. But a lot of the new car manufactures, BWM, Benz, some GM cars, come with synthetic from the factory. So why can't we do it?