Idemitsu (Honda) 0W-20, 3614 kms, Caterham

[Trav]

But here he says..
Quote:
65 psi is the minimum OP I'm comfortable with at high rev's so as long as my oil temp's don't run much higher than 80C the Sustina 0W-20 is a perfectly optimized viscosity. But I do see oil temp's of 95C at the track so my OP will be at some level below 65 psi. I had room to add half a quart of oil so I topped up to the full level with a pint of Sustina 0W-50.
This jumped the OP up to 75 psi at 80C which provides me with more of a viscosity cushion when the oil temp' will be higher. (The oil pump by-pass point is 93 psi.)
So I'm running 88.5% 0W-20 and 11.5% 0W-50 mix. HTHSV should be around 2.75cP with a VI of 226.

And here he says..
Quote:
No PCV and no catch can on my Caterham. The vent hose from the cam cover extends down and back exiting near the gearbox. Since the car has side exhaust the fumes leaving the hose won't burn but it does leave a film of oil on the rear undercarriage but not enough to leave a single drop of oil on the garage floor.
Technically it's not legal for the race track but no tech' inspection has ever called me out on it yet...don't tell.


So cars behind him have a windshield full of oil mist and track officials don't check?
Oil is going out the back as he is racing?

 

[Trav]

Quote:
But I guess it begs the question as to what would it take for you to to sheepishly agree that this car during this OCI did experience very vigorous track use?

Well first he said this..
Quote:
The spec' oil grade is 5W-50 but that's for all engines regardless of state of tune for this engine family that ranges from 165 hp to 250 hp.

But in another thread he said..
Quote:
My track car is my Caterham and yes I run a 20wt oil. The engine is spec'd for a 40wt oil. Recommended OCI is 3,000 miles but I frequently it out before that.
This car is his supposidly his pride and joy yet he doesnt know what weight it specs? He claims to be an expert.
And..
Quote:
For the track I like a streetable dedicated race oil for the higher AW additives, but I won't give up a reasonably high VI.
That why I like the FUCHS Titan GT-1 0W-20 I'm currently running in my track/fast street toy (Caterham). It's a heavy 20wt, VII free (still has a 172 VI), Zn free, ester based long drain oil.
But it's not perfect. It's a bit heavier than necessary for the track and definitely so for the street where the oil temp's are lower.
I'm thinking of thinning it out a bit with some Toyota 0W-20 to optimize the oil pressure for the track but I'm hesitating since the FUCHS oil chemistry is so unique

That was in July 2012

There was another post i was searching for that would really be a hot hand grenade but thats enough to show why i take it with a grain of salt so i wont even bother because i'm a nice guy.

 

[demarpaint]

I'm curious how a person can get away with misting other people's windshields with oil while racing? Sounds like a dangerous situation to me?

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'm curious how a person can get away with misting other people's windshields with oil while racing? Sounds like a dangerous situation to me?

It happens, particularly if the sump is overfilled a bit.
But anyone with track experience knows you can pick-up a lot of fluid film of one sort of another if one is following another car very closely. The big issue for track officials is actually dropping oil on the track which actually happens a lot. I spun out at 100 mph on the back straight of Mosport last year when a fellow Lotus Club member in another Caterham blew his oil filter gasket and dumped a sump load of oil on the track. Yes he ruined the engine.

As mentioned the Caterham specified oil grade is 5W-50 for the modified Vauxhall based engine. The base engine in it's original Vauxhall, Opel and Holden applications spec'd 40wt oils.

 

[dave123]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'm curious how a person can get away with misting other people's windshields with oil while racing? Sounds like a dangerous situation to me?


I am curious if it bothers u so much go to the track and pont it out u could then point out that he runs 0w20 putting other drivers lives at risk also.

 

[Sayjac]

Off topic but as this is Caterham's topic'd thread I'll go ahead. Unfortunate, even sad imo to see the integrity of a long time respected member/poster being questioned here. Then again, upon further inspection, it's more like deja vu.

 

[Oil Changer]

Typical of Trav to call people liars when results and experience contradict his theory and opinion.

He did the same to me when I provided a real-life example of my experience with dino 5W-20. I wasn't DOWNTOWN Death Valley on the HOTTEST DAY ON RECORD, so my experience don't count. I wasn't in an exact spot in Alaska on a record -40 day but Minnesota at -20, so that didn't count either. Much too drastic of a difference.

So CATERHAM posts a good UOA but according to Trav, there is no way the car was driven as hard as mentioned, otherwise the oil would have surely failed! So take it as a grain of salt! Cars on the Autobahn are driven FAR harder than this car is tracked!

And Trav calls other members trolls. Someone needs to look in a mirror.

 

[Obos]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'm curious how a person can get away with misting other people's windshields with oil while racing? Sounds like a dangerous situation to me?


I'm curious - how do you know this? Were you there?

If yes, perhaps you can also confirm if he was racing or cruising like Granny.

Otherwise I think you should apologize for casting serious aspertions on the Op's regard for the safety of his fellow racers when there is simply no evidence of that

 

[Obos]

Originally Posted By: sayjac
Off topic but as this is Caterham's topic'd thread I'll go ahead. Unfortunate, even sad imo to see the integrity of a long time respected member/poster being questioned here.


I agree with these sentiments

I thought this was a site about optimizing oil choice. The OP seems to be doing that and sharing his factual experience. He is optimizing oil to give him a racing advantage. Quite fascinating really.

And suddenly a couple of posters appear and attack him with claims he is not being truthful and that he is spraying oil on his fellow racers. Why the hate?

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: dave123
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I'm curious how a person can get away with misting other people's windshields with oil while racing? Sounds like a dangerous situation to me?


I am curious if it bothers u so much go to the track and pont it out u could then point out that he runs 0w20 putting other drivers lives at risk also.


Did I say it bothered me? Did I comment about what oil he was using? I asked a question, then commented how I thought it was dangerous and got an answer. CATERHAM claimed to have an open hose allowing the oil to vent. I would think they might not allow it, and require something to catch it. That's it, sorry if those questions offend anyone, asking questions is how we learn isn't it? I think some people might be reading too much into this.

Sorry my racing experiences date back to the late 1960's when I'd watch my cousin run 1/4 mile runs in a 62 Impala, then later on into the mid 70's with a 428 Cobra. I don't recall any of the rules.

 

[Oil Changer]

There's a difference between asking questions and questioning one's actions or motives.

 

[Obos]

....... and then claiming innocence

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: JOD
The TBN listed is higher than on the VOA's I've seen with this oil! I realize that there's some variance between labs, but it's still surprising.

I pulled a sample to send in from my last oil change with this oil, because I'm a bit lost on how long to run it--and I have a lot left!

Regardless, it looks good.
Originally Posted By: JOD
The TBN listed is higher than on the VOA's I've seen with this oil! I realize that there's some variance between labs, but it's still surprising.

I pulled a sample to send in from my last oil change with this oil, because I'm a bit lost on how long to run it--and I have a lot left!

The TBN is surprisingly good but the oxidation level is also very low. I suppose I could send in a VOA as I still have some of the original oil presumably from the same batch but the main point for me is simply that the TBN is good.

This is one of my longer OCIs and I've moved on to other oils since. I'm always trying something new that strikes my fancy in this car. I've had OCIs as short as a week-end and as long as 2.5 years.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Obos
....... and then claiming innocence


LOL Two days here............LOL

 

[martinq]

I've been in this car, on the track and it was balls-to-the-wall all the way. Great car, excellent (and very smooth) driver.

CATERHAM, what can you tell us about your experience with the Toromont analysis kits?

 

[LeakySeals]

You've probably done this before, but can you please post a picture? I would like to see CATERHAM.

 

[Obos]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Obos
....... and then claiming innocence


LOL Two days here............LOL


Whatever dude. It would be nice if you commented on the OP's UOA instead of imagined oil spray and my time here.

I mean you say you raced in the 60's. And you are on an oil site for 7 years and over 16k posts. You don't find what he is doing with racing and oil optimization interesting?

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: martinq
I've been in this car, on the track and it was balls-to-the-wall all the way. Great car, excellent (and very smooth) driver.

CATERHAM, what can you tell us about your experience with the Toromont analysis kits?

Thanks marting.

It's too bad that the Dunnville track has been shut down, I actually preferred it to Cayuga (TMP). The good news is that the new Fort Erie multi-million buck track looks like it's going ahead.

Toromont is fine. I actually had to send in a second sample since they forgot to perform a TBN test on the first sample.
Interestingly enough, they redid the second test completely and there are some small variations in the readings to the first.
The main thing I don't like is that they don't do a KV40 test which means no VI calculation.
On balance I don't think there is any lab that is consistently spot on in there measurements.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Trav
My mother drives 70 and she claims to be racing.


That's the extent of my racing, Trav. Don't diss your mom or I'll tell her you said that.

My F-150 gets about 3 mpg (or so it seems) at 70 mph, so I have an excuse.

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
You've probably done this before, but can you please post a picture?


Yes, pictures would be nice!

 

[yonyon]

Are you asking for pictures of Trav's mom?