So I made a discovery I’m not too pleased with. I noticed just about every oil company is touting reduced phosphorus on their main oil grades which means greater catalyst life but reduced anti wear additive. Mobil 1 is the only company that openly shares their zddp information which I highly respect them for. Looks like you have to get a high mileage oil just to have the mediocre 800ppm we’ve grown accustomed to. The regular oils now have about 760 +\- . Again it isn’t just Mobil that’s reduced it, they ALL have. I’m glad I recently switched to M1 HM, because at least it’s got the same zddp as I’ve been using previously. Just food for thought here.
ILSAC GF-6A ZDDP specs
- Thread starter CJ Dubya
- Start date
I’m concerned about older engines that need zddp for wear protection.
One reason I use SN+ A3/B4 oil. M1 Euro oils have ~1000ppm zinc, and M1 15w50 has 1300ppm.
ZDDP has been replaced with other/newer anti-wear additives. Modern oils have to pass wear tests's just like oils of the past. Normal flat tappet engines (not HP) of the past don't require high levels of ZDDP.
EDIT: Modern high mileage oil doesn't have more ZDDP than standard oil. ZDDP limits are governed by the oils rating. ZDDP (in all grades) were not limited with API SL. ZDDP levels were reduced (in grades xw-30 and lower) with SM and all PCMO grades with SN.
EDIT: Modern high mileage oil doesn't have more ZDDP than standard oil. ZDDP limits are governed by the oils rating. ZDDP (in all grades) were not limited with API SL. ZDDP levels were reduced (in grades xw-30 and lower) with SM and all PCMO grades with SN.
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Lots of previous posts by people on this subject so perhaps you could search for them and see those first. Maybe you’re already familiar with them. Pretty much a non-issue for most people as the oils still have to meet specific wear requirements. If you have an engine with demanding needs such as high spring pressures with flat tappet then finding a different oil as you have done is appropriate. Other blenders publish ZDDP levels for oils intended for specific applications.
Valvoline Advanced has Zinc at 940ppm and Phos at 800ppm which is higher than most.
sharena21.springcm.com
US_Val_AdvancedFullSyn_5W30_MO_EN.pdf - Docusign CLM
sharena21.springcm.com
Well it's an additive that gets "used up" like butter on grilled corn on the 4th of July, so you will be down to below 800ppm after a few hard romps on that 232 six'er in your '70 Javelin
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OVERKILL
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This isn't something that started with GF-6/SP, it was imposed way back with API SM and it isn't ZDDP that's limited, technically, it's phosphorous, which is part of the ZDDP compound, but the balance of the two elements can vary depending on who made the compound and its application.
There are oils that are exempt from this, such as the xW-40's/xW-50's which, as long as they don't claim to be Resource Conserving, don't have to adhere to the limit. That's why M1 0w-40 and other 0w-40's have much higher levels. Same with HDEO's like Rotella and Delvac.
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