TheSamba.com :: View topic - Official "What oil / additives should I use" topic

Sat Sep 11, 2021 3:17 pm

what about zinc/phosphorous content?

Sun Sep 26, 2021 1:45 am

Apparently this dropped in March but we were too busy driving our Volkswagens…

https://www.castrol.com/en_us/united-states/home/m...assic.html

From the product data sheet, zinc levels say “1400ppm maximum”

https://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/F...BYBE6A.pdf

Go nuts.
Robbie

Sun Sep 26, 2021 7:06 am

airschooled wrote: Apparently this dropped in March but we were too busy driving our Volkswagens…

https://www.castrol.com/en_us/united-states/home/m...assic.html

From the product data sheet, zinc levels say “1400ppm maximum”

https://msdspds.castrol.com/bpglis/FusionPDS.nsf/F...BYBE6A.pdf

Go nuts.
Robbie

20w-50?? :shock: Is it formulated for only worn out classic car engines Robbie? What is Castrol thinking? I wonder if they make it in 10w-30?

Talk about road tar. I like my oil pressure to be low enough to allow the oil through the oil cooler which is why I run 10w-30 Valvoline VR1 racing oil.

Sun Sep 26, 2021 10:50 am

They make 10w30 for your garage queens.

Sun Sep 26, 2021 1:57 pm

airschooled wrote: They make 10w30 for your garage queens.

Pfffttt... Garage queens? Come on.. They get a few hundred miles a year put on them! :wink:

Tue Sep 28, 2021 9:26 am

airschooled wrote: They make 10w30 for your garage queens.

Doesn't look like it-

https://www.castrol.com/en_us/united-states/home/m...assic.html

Only see the 20W50 listed. It's not terribly new so surprising to see it's all they offer in it.

Looks like it may be a choice for worn out engines that literally require thick oil to make adequate pressure, but for a fresh engine rebuild it's a poor choice.

Still haven't found an alternative to VR-1 that works well at a lower price. I'm running 10W30 and don't care to run hotter and higher pressure than needed by going to a 20W50.

Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:18 am

daos wrote: what about zinc/phosphorous content? A few pages back in this thread there were links to sites mentioning improvements in the ZDDP being use in today's motor oils. By selecting less volatile types of ZDDP then less ZDDP is needed to give the same amount of protection.

Sun Nov 07, 2021 2:33 pm

very long thread. Read several pages at the beginning and the end.

I've been using the full synthetic VR1 oil, but in 20-50. How bad is this?
Bus has a 1915cc T1 with hydraulic lifters, dual Weber 48s, and external oil filter/cooler system.

I couldn't find the old oil bottles I used. It's been a few years since I drove the bus a lot, ie needed to change oil. The bottles I got this time are black, and I don't think that was the color in the past. I've always preferred Valvoline, and used VR1 in the VW always.

Sun Nov 07, 2021 7:15 pm

Why 20-50? Is the engine worn out or having issues making pressure?

Mon Nov 22, 2021 2:06 pm

Lingwendil wrote: Why 20-50? Is the engine worn out or having issues making pressure?

That's all Napa had when I went to get oil.

I couldn't find any of the old oil bottles, so I can't recall exactly what I had.
I know it was VR1 full synthetic.

I'll source some new oil before my next oil change.

Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:55 pm

On page 229, Lingwendil wrote: I tried to order 10W30 VR1 on Amazon, and they will not ship the conventional to my location in California, but they will ship the synthetic. I just ordered 6 quarts and it should be same day delivery.

Just an FYI for anybody that's trying to get it in California but striking out locally. My local Napa can no longer order it.
In July 2021 I made an O'Reilly website order for 6 quarts of Valvoline VR-1 10W-30 Non-California Conventional Motor Oil. The price was only $5.99 per quart. As you can see, I live in SoCal but they still sent it to me via UPS. I have no idea what the difference is between Non-California and California approved oil.

Here is part of my email order confirmation:
Valvoline Non-California Conventional Motor Oil 10W-30 1 Quart | VAL RACE1030 | Qty: 6 $35.94

I checked the O'Reilly website today and they sell the same oil for $8.99 which is $3 more than I paid.
https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/non-californi...n/race1030

Walmart sells it for only $6.78.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Valvoline-VR1-Racing-SAE-10W-30-Conventional-Motor-Oil-1-QT/196957962

Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:29 pm

This thread made me more confused, haha. I've been running VR1 20/50 for years in my VW, thinking about putting it in my original 914 1.7L. Seems to be popular for nor cal.

Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:29 am

If I wanted to try Brad Penn oil in 10W-30 is this the correct one? I can only find that weight in a partial synthetic, which is fine, but what do you Brad Penn advocates use?

https://www.amazon.com/Brad-Penn-Penngrade-10W-30-...amp;sr=1-2

Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:07 pm

Jimbug57 wrote: If I wanted to try Brad Penn oil in 10W-30 is this the correct one? I can only find that weight in a partial synthetic, which is fine, but what do you Brad Penn advocates use?

https://www.amazon.com/Brad-Penn-Penngrade-10W-30-...amp;sr=1-2
That is the weight most often recommended. I still have three unopened quarts that look like the one in the link below:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0473/6640/6302/p...1609860786
--- different looking container, same company, same oil.

I bought a complete unassembled engine from Gene Berg Ent. in 1997. In the early '90s Gene was one of the first to notice that camshafts were failing because of the changes in oil formulation by the oil companies. He recommended that people use 10W-30 oil that had the right amount of ZDDP in it. He chastised me for using 20W-50 even in sunny California. Oil has to get through all of the galleries all the way to the rocker arms; every engine is cold if it has been sitting for several hours. 10W-30 flows faster on start-up than 20W-50, thus reducing wear.
http://www.geneberg.com/cat.php?cPath=5_3051

Thu Dec 23, 2021 6:20 am

Randall wrote: Jimbug57 wrote: If I wanted to try Brad Penn oil in 10W-30 is this the correct one? I can only find that weight in a partial synthetic, which is fine, but what do you Brad Penn advocates use?

https://www.amazon.com/Brad-Penn-Penngrade-10W-30-...amp;sr=1-2
That is the weight most often recommended. I still have three unopened quarts that look like the one in the link below:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0473/6640/6302/p...1609860786
--- different looking container, same company, same oil.

I bought a complete unassembled engine from Gene Berg Ent. in 1997. In the early '90s Gene was one of the first to notice that camshafts were failing because of the changes in oil formulation by the oil companies. He recommended that people use 10W-30 oil that had the right amount of ZDDP in it. He chastised me for using 20W-50 even in sunny California. Oil has to get through all of the galleries all the way to the rocker arms; every engine is cold if it has been sitting for several hours. 10W-30 flows faster on start-up than 20W-50, thus reducing wear.
http://www.geneberg.com/cat.php?cPath=5_3051

A 20w-xx oil has a cold pumping temperature of -4°F so will flow just fine at the ambient temperatures most people fire up their air cooled VWs at. The ZDDP used in today's oils is also much improved over the ZDDP available in the 1990, so Gene Bergs article is badly dated. Note that I am not an advocate of running 20w50 in most ACVW engines in normal use, nor do I think going to the other extreme and running 0w20 or 0w16 is necessary.

Tue Dec 28, 2021 1:15 am

Opinions on Amsoil z-rod synthetic engine oil? From what I’ve read the flat tapped V8 community absolutely love the stuff.

Fri Jan 07, 2022 2:57 pm

Very good parts protection. Upper medium heat dissapation.

Or use the more local Motul 300V 10W30 or the Ravenol counterpart.

Sun Jan 09, 2022 1:03 pm

Alstrup wrote: Very good parts protection. Upper medium heat dissapation.

Or use the more local Motul 300V 10W30 or the Ravenol counterpart.

So you’d recommend it? I can get Amsoil pretty easy.

Sat Jan 15, 2022 9:02 am

k@rlos wrote: Opinions on Amsoil z-rod synthetic engine oil? From what I’ve read the flat tapped V8 community absolutely love the stuff.

I’ve used it for years no problems

Sun Jan 23, 2022 11:56 am

k@rlos wrote: Opinions on Amsoil z-rod synthetic engine oil? From what I’ve read the flat tapped V8 community absolutely love the stuff.

I've been using Mobil 1 15w-50 in all my old flat-tappet vehicles for many years, since they included plenty of ZDDP.
But I've decided to switch to Amsoil with my next oil change, all because I ran across this YT channel. The guy methodically tested a variety of oils, head-to-head in a championship bracket. The following link is the last video in the series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWuKvnCq1js

I realize the test is for 5w-50, and that different weights usually have different formulations, but I suspect that kind of quality spans the product spectrum.

It doesn't get too terrible heat-wise, where I live, or anywhere I'd take my non-AC van, so I'm looking more at Amsoil 15w-50
https://www.amsoil.com/p/dominator-15w-50-racing-oil-rd50/
but their z-rod is advertized expressly toward "classic vehicles" with its high-zinc
https://www.amsoil.com/p/z-rod-20w-50-synthetic-motor-oil-zrf/?code=ZRFQT-EA

I'd be curious to hear more from folks familiar with both of these.