My First Post!! Which Oil For My Hot Rod???

[Mooosman]

Okay, I've been surfing this site ever since I was linked here from Moparts.com, and WOW, have I learned a bunch about oil and filters (I already knew about the FRAM thing).

I want to switch over to synthetic oil in my freshly built engine, but thought that I would throw the question to you guys first.

The engine is a Chrysler 360 in my 72 Dodge Dart. The engine is freshly rebuilt, moly rings, and HV oil pump.

I've run Castrol GTX 10w-40 for the break-in + one change, then switched to Shell Rotella 15w-40 Diesel oil. The engine has only ever had WIX filters on it.

The commonly available synthetics around here are Mobil 1 and Castrol SynTec. I was thinking of Mobil 1 15w-50, would this be a good choice now that it is starting to warm up? Vegas summers are around 110+º.

Sorry for the long post, and thanks guys!!

Nick

 

[therion]

Stick with a good 40 weight. No need for a 50. If you have Mobil 1 Delvac 5W-40 available than use that it is a good oil. Then again, a synthetic 15W-40 may be all you need if you don't see cold temps.

 

[Amkeer]

I would go with the M1 15-50 in that racer!

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, Impulse Red, Peppy 2.7 Liter 4 Banger, Running Mobil1 Synthetics SS 5W-30.
ODO 7100 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner, Evergreen, 3.0 V6, Running Mobil1 Synthetic SS 10W-30.
ODO 83110 Miles. (Switching to GC next)Nope sticking with M1.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[therion]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amkeer:
[QB] I would go with the M1 15-50 in that racer!

Daily Drives:

---

Oh i thought he meant for his other car, sorry i got confused. Yeah 50 weight for the hot rod, 15W-40 HDD for warm weather normal use.

 

[Steve S]

The 15w/40 heavy duty oil should work fine. How is the oil pressure when the oil warms up? If it seems low run the M1 15w50 you can't go wrong with the M1 imo.

[ February 25, 2004, 11:23 PM: Message edited by: Steve S ]

 

[KW]

You can mix the M1 15W50 with 5/10W30 to thin it down some. The Rottela T 5W40 would be a good choice if it is in your area.

 

[mikep]

Howdy Mooosman!

Very cool sounding car you've got there. I had a 360 Express engine in my Lil' Red Express back in my youth and it was a blast to drive! The best thing was seeing the look on the faces of guys in Camaros and TransAms when they realize they just got beat by a guy in a pickup

.

Anyways, I used Castrol GTX 10w-40 but I used to be nuts about changing oil back in the early days. I would change at 2,000 miles most of the time. I'll leave the recommendations to the experts here so I just wanted to say I like the idea of a 360 in a Dart! Now, imagine a Hemi-Dart!

Mikep

 

[Mooosman]

mikep, no HEMI in this one, not on a college guys budget. The 360 scoots pretty well, so well that I need to squeeze bigger tires out back.

I installed a high volume pump in this engine, and oil pressure is holding at about 75-80 pounds cold, 40-50 pounds warm (idling). It's probably a little high right now because of the tight clearances on the fresh engine.

The engine has about 500 miles on it now, is it too early to switch to synthetic?

Thanks for the replies guys

Nick

 

[Silverado]

I'm running a 383 (but a Chevy) and I ran conventional dyno oil in it for the first 4,000 miles. Then I switched to synthetic. I would run the dyno for at least that long. I changed my oil after 20 minutes, 100 miles, 500 miles, and then another 2000 miles.

Just make sure to send in a used oil analysis.....cheap insurance that your engine will run good. I can relate, I'm in college also!

 

[Michael SR]

i will dissent.

since you have that HV oil pump, it's in bypass by 2000rpm. so using a thinner oil will give you a lot more oil flow before the pump bypasses. oil flow is really good for the bearings, and to splash as much as possible onto the cylinder walls and the cam lobes.

-michael

 

[Michael SR]

sorry, i didn't mean to imply using a starburst oil. but, i also forgot your statement about using either syntec or M1 due to availability.

why not mailorder from a site sponsor? schaeffer's 5w30 has a really high HT/HS. ditto redline.

i just don't like the idea of the pump being in bypass all the time. it doesn't bypass back to the sump, instead it bypasses internally. this works and heats the oil pretty good!

-michael

 

[hirohatamerc]

I ran M1 15W50 in a built 289. Make sure that the rings have seated and the engine is truely broken in, as mine burned a good bit of it (1,000 miles on motor) so I switched to Pennzoil 10W30 for winter storage. Under racing and heavy duty use, Mobil 1 should do the trick.

 

[JohnnyO]

Cool screen name, hirohatamerc. There may be a handful of folks besides me who know what it is.

 

[hirohatamerc]

Thanks! I see you are in my neck of the woods, too!

 

[Mooosman]

Okay, my oil knowledge may not be the best, but here is what I have heard about the thinner-weight "starburst" oils.

I have a flat tappet cam, and I had heard that the newer starburst oils don't have as many scuffing agents in them as they used to have, and that my cam wear will go way up if I use them.

Any truth to this?

Also, if I should run a thinner oil, what would you recommend? 10w30? 5w30?

Thanks
Nick