Built and supercharged Challenger Oil Recom?

[Speedy!]

2009 Challenger R/T 6speed manual

Forged motor built by Arrington Engines, 9:1 compression, cam, valve job, etc stroked to a 6.0L from a 5.7.

Magnuson Supercharger at 12lbs of boost

Shop that built the motor says to run 15W50 however, they're a race shop so I'm not sure they think outside of track use and I just street drive this beast. 15W50 seems too heavy for a street car especially in winter.

I notice Ford calls for 5W50 in the GT500.

What do you guys think? I run Penzoil Platinum 5W30 in my other cars. It looks like there's PP 5W50 but I've never seen it.

What say you? Got recommendations on viscosity?

 

[SteveSRT8]

The builders recommendation would carry a lot of weight with me.

Arrington is a great builder.

Strokers are HARD on oil. I'd use Amsoil Dominator 15w-50 if it was mine.

 

[Speedy!]

Thanks Steve. The motor just has a very small stroke to it. May still be tough on oil, but it's not like going from a 5.7L to a 6.4L via stoke like some folks have done. I almost went that route but Arrington talked me out of it (too much torque to be manageable).

I'm going out to check the local parts stores now to see what 50W oils I can find. I'd really like to find one that Wal-Mart carries though to save a few bucks. The car takes 7 quarts!

 

[Drew99GT]

Is the builder basing his recommendation on bearing clearances and oil pressure?

 

[panthermike]

I believe Walmart's usually carry M1 15w50, not positive though.

How much power is that beast putting down now?

 

[VNTS]

What do other folks run on SC Hemis

BTW, The Challenger RT is beautiful car. Brother bought one, hands down rides better than most of the fodder junk sold today and gets great gas mileage for a real car which can cary 5 adults comfortably with a huge trunk.

Only bad part was having all the people gawk at it and asking so many questions.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Is the builder basing his recommendation on bearing clearances and oil pressure?


They are one of the few 'big boys'that I would pay attention to.
Back when people with new gen Hemis with stroker cranks were experiencing issues they were the only ones who stood up and fixed them.

And a big X2 on the sweetness of a Challenger. It may be a bloated whale of a car but it rides and handles so nicely and has a great deal more 'content' than its competitors.

 

[bmwtechguy]

I am using Schaeffers 5W-50 racing oil right now and it is excellent! This is the smoothest/quietest running oil I have had in my chevy motor, and while I do not need a racing oil, I really don't mind the additional anti-wear and viscosity for my high mileage engine. The 5W-50 would make a much better year-round oil than the 15W-50, although the M1 is a good oil too. I like the moly and Penetro in the Schaeffers oils.

http://schaefferoil.com/supreme_9000_racing_oil.html

 

[engineerscott]

15W50 does to me sound like a recommendation for the track. I think that oil is going to be a tad thick when you get down to the low 20's and 10's degrees F, which you will see in your area. If this is a frequent driver I think I'd probably run Redline 5W40 in it. If you want to jump up a grade in the summer so be it, but I probably wouldn't.

If Redline appeals to you and you want to get some more comfort, call or email them. They have some very knowledgeable guys on staff that are very familiar with the requirements of high performance engines.

 

[panthermike]

Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
I am using Schaeffers 5W-50 racing oil right now and it is excellent! This is the smoothest/quietest running oil I have had in my chevy motor, and while I do not need a racing oil, I really don't mind the additional anti-wear and viscosity for my high mileage engine. The 5W-50 would make a much better year-round oil than the 15W-50, although the M1 is a good oil too. I like the moly and Penetro in the Schaeffers oils.

http://schaefferoil.com/supreme_9000_racing_oil.html


This oil would be perfect for this engine.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

I would run an Ester type oil such as Redline 15w50 and change out every 7or8K. Neo has a great Ester type oil as well. You could buy a case online delivered too your door with a filter and skip WallyWorld altogether.

 

[rslifkin]

15W-50 should be fine in the summer, and 5W-50 would work fine in the colder months, or even year round.

 

[Speedy!]

Car puts down about 550RWHP and 627RWTQ. I have lots of info on the build on my website linked in my signature.

I'm not sure why Arrington suggests 15W50. I will give them a ring to find out.

I was trying to stick to an oil I could easily find locally. I just got back from two different auto parts stores and neither had anything in a 50W but Mobil1 15W50 and couldn't order anything else either :/

I did see a 0W40 Mobil1 as well as a 10W40 "high mileage" not sure if that really matters.

 

[Drew99GT]

Mobil 1 15w-50 would work well as I believe it's not phosphorous limited. Mobil 1 turbo diesel 5w-40 would work great too if a 40 weight was warranted.

Both are easily found locally.

 

[addyguy]

Bit of a tough one....

Generally, deferring to the builder of the engine makes sense.

However, a lot of engine builders tend to be old-fashioned in their thinking, and 'thicker is better' is a mantra that has been handed down for decades. 50wt, either 15W-50 or 20W-50, tends to be the rec.

Unless you are REALLY thrashing it on a drag track or road course, I can't see a reason something like Mobil 1 0W-40 wouldn't work - good flow at start up, and enough 'cushion' at high rpm's.

It is a fairly easy to get oil, that is used in a lot of HP applications - ask your builder about it.

 

[Gearhead113]

I would get with the builder and ask what the bearings were spec'd to and pick an appropriate viscosity to meet the requirements based on your average oil temps/pressure. For a street car a 50 weight might not ever get hot off enough to "thin down" to the correcty viscosity, and you might be best off with a 30 weight. FWIW, I would probably feel comfortable with a good synthetic 40 weight. Mobil high mileage 10-40 comes to mind, if your looking for something readily available.

 

[Speedy!]

Thanks everybody. It sounds like M1 is the way to go in either the 15W50 or 0W40.

I'll check with the builder to see what they say. I ran the original fill for 500 miles, then put Penzoil Platinum 5W30 in it for the last 1000 miles as a second break in.

Now that I'm ready to put in the final fill and settle in to an oil for this car I wanted to find something easy to get that fit the bill.

 

[engineerscott]

Originally Posted By: panthermike
Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
I am using Schaeffers 5W-50 racing oil right now and it is excellent! This is the smoothest/quietest running oil I have had in my chevy motor, and while I do not need a racing oil, I really don't mind the additional anti-wear and viscosity for my high mileage engine. The 5W-50 would make a much better year-round oil than the 15W-50, although the M1 is a good oil too. I like the moly and Penetro in the Schaeffers oils.

http://schaefferoil.com/supreme_9000_racing_oil.html


This oil would be perfect for this engine.


That is a good oil, but there is one thing I'd check into. That oil is labeled as a "Racing Oil". Often times racing oils will have low or no detergents as typically the oil is going to get dumped after a day at the track. That's good if you are in fact using the oil at the track, however if you are going to put it in a daily driver where you are going to dump the oil only after say 5000 miles, you really do want detergents to hold contaminates in suspension. A low or no detergent oil is a danger to sludge up a motor if you are running it for normal oil change intervals.

I didn't look at that particular oil in enough detail to determine whether it is appropriate to run in a daily driver for a normal oil change interval. It may well be fine. Perhaps someone here can give you a definitive answer or you could contact Schaeffer.

 

[Steve S]

Run what the builders recommend. You have to realize that they see the insides of more engines than most internet experts read about. You have to consider what the builder did to the engine.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
Run what the builders recommend. You have to realize that they see the insides of more engines than most internet experts read about. You have to consider what the builder did to the engine.


I would agree with that idea. Winter might be a concern, but how much winter driving will it see? In the winter, I'd say try a 0w-40 perhaps, but I suspect it won't be driven hard or often in the winter. Then again, winters there aren't -40 like they are here.