E36 BMW race car oil - Castrol vs Redline vs Vertex

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Oct 20, 2021
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I race a 1993 BMW 325i with the M50B25TU engine in a series here in New Zealand. We have to keep our engines standard but are allowed baffled sumps and we can remove catalytic converters (mine has none).

Anyway, I've been using Castrol Edge 10W/60 but I'm considering moving to Redline Race 40WT or Vertex EXPERT RACING ZP 10W40. I've attached the product sheets for all these oils, does anyone have any real world experience or advice for me? The motor has over 130,000 miles on it so I want to use the oil that will keep it going under race conditions the longest haha. I can't really see major differences in the product sheet other than the race oils having a lot of zinc type additives.
 

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  • Castrol Edge.pdf
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  • 40WT_RACE_PROD_INFO.pdf
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  • Expert-Racing-ZP-10W40-TDS.pdf
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How long is the race? What is your oil temperature during race? What is altitude and ambient temperature?
Without this it is hard to gauge what you need. My initial thinking is that 10W60 is too thick. You have to take into consideration that thicker oil means more parasitic drag.
 
Races are 15min long. I don't have a oil temp probe yet, I am looking to add one.

Our tracks are at sea level and temps range from 20 - 30 degrees celcius. And yes I've been told that the 10w60 is probably
 
Races are 15min long. I don't have a oil temp probe yet, I am looking to add one.

Our tracks are at sea level and temps range from 20 - 30 degrees celcius. And yes I've been told that the 10w60 is probably
Go Motul 5W30 300V or Redline 5W30.
Motul has HTHS of 3.5 and Redline 3.7. You really don’t need more than that.
IMO you could run Castrol Edge 0W40 or Mobil1 0W40FS without any issues.
Do you have oil cooler? Sea level means less cooling issues. If you don’t have oil cooler, think about adding as that opens oil choices.
 
If you want race oil, here is good stuff:

But, your engine not being modified will do good on reputable street oil in such short races. I ran Castrol Edge 0W40 on track for 47 laps, one session 1 1/2hrs long, and than ran it 5,000miles on street. Returned excellent UOA.
You not having cat’s can use high ZDDP oil, if affordable. Nit sure for how much this Nulon, 300V etc. go for in NZ?
 
Yep that's number 1 the racing oil @edyvw suggested.

Nulon has a few you could use that are a bit cheaper:

1. Nulon Full Synthetic 10W-40 Hi-Tech Fast Flowing Engine Oil
2. Nulon Full Synthetic 0W-40 High Performance Engine Oil - pao n ester
3. Nulon Full Synthetic 15W-50 Street & Track High Performance - cheapest about 50 AUD on ebay AU

If you want to use a 30 the racing oil is the best choice.
 
Not allowed to run an oil cooler in my series unfortunately.

The Redline race 40WT seems to be liked by a bunch of BMW racers just hard to know if its right for my car? I can get hold of the Vertex Expert Racing ZP 10W40 for a reasonable cost, I was hoping that would be equivalent to Redline Race 40WT as the Redline oil is super expensive in New Zealand.
 
Yea the 10W-60 does seem to be performing ok the last UOA from 28th June 2021 is below using the 10W-60.

1634854761583.png
 
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Not allowed to run an oil cooler in my series unfortunately.

The Redline race 40WT seems to be liked by a bunch of BMW racers just hard to know if its right for my car? I can get hold of the Vertex Expert Racing ZP 10W40 for a reasonable cost, I was hoping that would be equivalent to Redline Race 40WT as the Redline oil is super expensive in New Zealand.
What is your OCI?
Again, it is a race not a track day to go have fun. Which means drag is an issue. 15min long race is nothing for that engine. Go regular street oil like Mobil1 0W40 or Castrol Edge 0W40. Change it frequently. But they will have much less drag.
If you want racing oil go Motul, Nulon. But, again, IMO no need.
 
What is your OCI?
Again, it is a race not a track day to go have fun. Which means drag is an issue. 15min long race is nothing for that engine. Go regular street oil like Mobil1 0W40 or Castrol Edge 0W40. Change it frequently. But they will have much less drag.
If you want racing oil go Motul, Nulon. But, again, IMO no need.
I aim to change the engine oil around every 1000miles. I do a tiny amount of road driving to and from the track but the vast majority is track only. I just worry that the 0W40's will be to 'thin' once the engine is hot.
 
I aim to change the engine oil around every 1000miles. I do a tiny amount of road driving to and from the track but the vast majority is track only. I just worry that the 0W40's will be to 'thin' once the engine is hot.
Oh but it won’t. It is all about HTHS and additives.
Mobil1 0W40 is regularly used in racing.
I used Castrol Edge 0W40 on track and 1 1/2 hours session. No break.
And left it in for 5,000 miles and did exceptionally well.
And this was at 38-39c ambient temperature and 1,600m altitude. Extremely challenging conditions to cool off engine.
Here is my UOA. Right UOA is from oil that didn’t see track, left is one that did track.
FD13F7C9-3CB7-4812-95B7-4D6FD4AA57CB.jpeg
 
Lubenz distributes Elf oils, and Vertex is a bulk workshop brand. I don't know what Vertex is, and the reps would never tell me...but it seems to corelate to some Elf oils. Same as Oilpro is to Pennzoil.
 
For 15 minute races without an oil cooler 10w-60 isn't necessary. More aggressive racers use thinner oils still and get away with it.

Id use a 40 grade like delvac extreme, rotella t6, delo xsp, or just reliable M1 FS.

The full syn diesels have an hths of 4.0-4.2 and are pretty stout in additives. I'd have my money on delvac extreme esp 5w-40. Also has some pao in it I believe.

I really with they sold the even higher end 16 tbn delvac shc version here in the us. Stuff is supposed to be mainly pao.
 
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