Dodge Viper- Which Motor Oil

[BlackMoon]

I have a supercharged Dodge Viper with 16,000 miles. The SC has been on for about 2,000 miles. 670 rwhp, 650 rwtq. I'm looking for the proper engine oil and possible additive to use.

Here's why I'm considering the change. I recently had an oil dipstick and an oil pressure sensor break on the same day causing me to panic. I got the car home and once in the air discovered the oil pressure sensor had broken. Bear in mind neither was broken the day before when I checked the oil and drove the car. I decided to pull the pan and check some rod bearings. The first to fail in these V10's is usually #2 and #3. To my surprise all the rod bearings had much more wear than expected. The crankshaft was untouched. I installed new bearings and we're back on the road with great pressure 100+ psi cold and 75 psi hot.

Several knowledgeable people have looked at the old bearings and said 'Heat and oil starvation' (I'll try to post a photo). I have always used Mobil 1 in the motor and change it every year whether I've driven 100 miles or 1,000 miles (cheap insurance). Everyone has a different opinion about what to use but I was told all the answers could be found here. GREAT Website by the way. Wish I had seen it years ago!

Obviously what I'm using isn't giving the engine enough protection or the wear happened before I bought the car with 10,000 miles on it. I don't drive the car much but every drive I take is hard and fast.

I tried searching this site but didn't see any close comparisons so here I am asking questions.

Thank you in advance for any recommendations that you might have.
Sal

Now I'll try to post pics.

 

[JD4440]

Welcome to BITOG!

 

[BlackMoon]

Thank you. I've been reading for hours. Love the site! Trying to paste photos from Photobucket. I car fix about any car but have trouble with uploading photos to websites.

 

[BlackMoon]

Look at this! An old dog can learn new tricks.

 

[dparm]

Have you tried asking the supercharger manufacturer what they recommend? Does the car have an oil pressure gauge?

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Have you tried asking the supercharger manufacturer what they recommend? Does the car have an oil pressure gauge?


Dude he said 100psi cold and 75psi hot.


Speculating that pushing that extra hp/tq might be asking for a thicker oil than stock...

 

[901Memphis]

Mobil 1 0w40 or 15w50.

What are you using now?

 

[BlackMoon]

Sure does. Recently changed gauge to 100 psi and sensor. 75 Hot 100 cold.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Kuato
Originally Posted By: dparm
Have you tried asking the supercharger manufacturer what they recommend? Does the car have an oil pressure gauge?


Dude he said 100psi cold and 75psi hot.



Thanks, I missed that in the original post.

 

[BlackMoon]

Switched to Valvoline VR1 but now others are saying stay with synthetic. Most prefer Castrol to Mobil 1. That's why I came here for some facts and not others guesses. A rebuild for this motor is around 8k and I don't want to go there because I'll have to build it and forge it like I would want it, new fuel system, clutch, turn up boost from 7psi to 12 psi to get 900 to the wheels and that will be around 18k.

 

[BlackMoon]

That's alot of wear for 16k miles isn't it?????


Originally Posted By: BlackMoon
Look at this! An old dog can learn new tricks.

 

[BlackMoon]

Some car porn!!
http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/xx285/asalvatoretn/ViperatWestTown2.jpg~original


Now I can't get it to post pics.

 

[mcrn]

There are people on here that know boat loads more than me but if it was mine I would run redline.

 

[mene]

Originally Posted By: BlackMoon
Sure does. Recently changed gauge to 100 psi and sensor. 75 Hot 100 cold.


Would you mind giving us more info? Oil type, brand and viscosity? When you write "hot" is the oil hot or the water temp? If it is the oil, How hot?, from the FSM How high should the oil pressure be and at what RPM?; it sure does looks like the oil is not able to keep the parts separated, I'm sure the answer can be found here but besides that I would be lurking and asking in a more focused group like a good Viper enthusiast forum, believe me you are not the first one supercharging the engine and I'm sure whoever did it had the same problems and perhaps already found the solution. Having said that, my shot in the dark will be a thicker oil but we need to know more I think, but then again 75 PSI seems high, too high viscosity and too cold oil will not flow well. I understand that you run the car hard too, but how hard is hard for that car? it was designed for endurance racing basically so if you are running it in a circuit for several laps at at time you are running it hard otherwise is not that hard. JMO

 

[Bandito440]

There's a synthetic version of VR-1 that's pretty stout. I have six quarts in the garage waiting to go in the bike.

You have a pretty heavily modified and high performance motor there. If you like the brand and can afford it, there is a racing version of Mobil 1. The VOA shows it to be a pretty darn strong formula. That's what I would go with in that motor. Amazon has it, but it's pricy.

Red Line is another favorite of mine. They're a pretty good small company and they have an engineer on staff (Dave) who answers questions thoroughly.

 

[BlackMoon]

No problem. I had always run the recommended Mobil ! 10-40 but after this issue just put in the Val VR1 20-50.

When hot the car runs right at 200-210 (water) but the oil stays down at 185-195.

I'll have to check but the pressure should be 80 psi under normal driving.

I only went to the track a few times. Now it's only street driving but it's pretty aggressive. Alot of curves and room here but even on major roads I usually accelerate pretty hard. Many shifts between 5,000 and 6200. If I have room I'll do an occasional 80-180 pull just to get my older blood flowing.

Honestly Viper forum members (for the most part) are pretty uneducated when it comes to their cars compared to others I've been on. Maybe most of them just use the dealer for their maintenance. I do all my own work in my garage so I like to learn what's best rather than relying on others. If you talk to the Viper builders they all have their own preferences. Like they say opinions are like (*), everyone has one and they are all a little different.

My main questions are 1. Synthetic or Dino oil? 2. Any good additives, friction modifiers, etc. recommended? 4. Am I changing my oil too frequently? 5. If Synthetic which is the best?
6. If conventional which is the best.

Thanks Mene,
Sal

 

[Chris142]

How bout a 15w40?

 

[subaroo]

Originally Posted By: BlackMoon
No problem. I had always run the recommended Mobil ! 10-40 but after this issue just put in the Val VR1 20-50.

When hot the car runs right at 200-210 (water) but the oil stays down at 185-195.

I'll have to check but the pressure should be 80 psi under normal driving.

I only went to the track a few times. Now it's only street driving but it's pretty aggressive. Alot of curves and room here but even on major roads I usually accelerate pretty hard. Many shifts between 5,000 and 6200. If I have room I'll do an occasional 80-180 pull just to get my older blood flowing.

Honestly Viper forum members (for the most part) are pretty uneducated when it comes to their cars compared to others I've been on. Maybe most of them just use the dealer for their maintenance. I do all my own work in my garage so I like to learn what's best rather than relying on others. If you talk to the Viper builders they all have their own preferences. Like they say opinions are like (*), everyone has one and they are all a little different.

My main questions are 1. Synthetic or Dino oil? 2. Any good additives, friction modifiers, etc. recommended? 4. Am I changing my oil too frequently? 5. If Synthetic which is the best?
6. If conventional which is the best.

Thanks Mene,

on public roads yeah that's using that "old" head of yours.
Sal

 

[BlackMoon]

I need to check out the Mobil 1 racing oil and Redline. My best friend has been a mechanic for years and he hates Mobil 1 but loves Castrol. Like I said everyone has their preferences.

I need 12 quarts for a change but that's not bad since I'm only doing once a year. I may even wait longer since I don't drive it much. I just don't want to see rod bearings like that again.




Originally Posted By: Bandito440
There's a synthetic version of VR-1 that's pretty stout. I have six quarts in the garage waiting to go in the bike.

You have a pretty heavily modified and high performance motor there. If you like the brand and can afford it, there is a racing version of Mobil 1. The VOA shows it to be a pretty darn strong formula. That's what I would go with in that motor. Amazon has it, but it's pricy.

Red Line is another favorite of mine. They're a pretty good small company and they have an engineer on staff (Dave) who answers questions thoroughly.

 

[BlackMoon]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
How bout a 15w40?


15/40 what?