Need helping picking which oil to use!

[David6910]

I'm Looking for an oil recommendation. I have a late model Camaro SS with an A6 automatic my car has been given an LS3 conversion. Its been Cammed , milled heads ( higher compression ) Ls7 lifters , 3200 stall and etc



just 8 months ago with 9K miles on the odometer I had a lifter failure sending needle bearings into the oil pan through out the engine. This resulted in having to redo the engine.



block had to be honed to clean up scratches

heads had to be milled a little more to clean up surface scratches ( compression is now 11.5.1 )

New Cam

New Lifters

New oil pump ( Stock )

Etc



The guy who built the engine happens to work with a lot of force induction cars therefore he recommends Mobil1 15w50

im guessing he buys it in bulk and recommends it for everyones builds ( I dunno )



So im using 15W50 mobil1



I live in Texas in the DFW area we have HOT ( 100+ ) temps in the summer Winters that range from 20's to 30's for 2 months out of the year at night with 50's to 70's during the day every so often we get some temps in the 30's however thats not to often.

Spring is mid 70's to lower 80's



My car was driven daily for a year now its a weekend toy. It visits the track 4 times a year other than that its driven back roads and across the state of Texas. When I do drive my car I do tend at times to DRIVE it with its tongue hanging out but thats not everytime I get behind the wheel.





My wife told me the other night her company gets a discount on Redline and Royal Purple. I thought about changing over to Redline since it has a lot more Zinc in it. I have asked a few people who have told me to go back to the factory 5W30 however I often wonder if going to a 10w30 would offer a little more protection with a thicker film.



obviously my engine builder wants a thicker oil ( something that will coat the internals while under use )





Here is my questions





first off



1. REDLINE synthetic would I be doing a good thing for my motor changing over to that from Mobil ?





I change Oil about 3K-5K miles. yes I know im probably getting rid of good oil but it makes me feel more comfortable especially since I went through a engine failure.



2. is 5w30 probably a little to thin for a motor with aftermarket cam with higher compression going through the engine ?



I know w30 means 30 weight and the first number is the cold number....



3. would I be ok with running redline 10W30 year around being given Great protection?





I had an oil filter magnet on my car when the castrophe happened my engine builder said he doesnt like those as they sometimes may remove to much out of the oil..... im wondering if thats the truth and mobil 15w50 isnt bad at all.



If I were to switch to redline what oil should I put in my car? I would like to stay with the same weight year around however if I have to switch in the summer as I do go to the track a few times then I can.



What are yalls thoughts ? Feel free to give your opinion no matter if its negative lol







Thanks for everything I look forward to your responses.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I've killed a lot of these over the last few years, they are not hard on oil even at outrageous power levels.

Consider a nice 40w like M1 0w-40. Forget the boutique oils unless you track the car at a road course.

Do you know the oil temp and pressures hot?

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: David6910
I'm Looking for an oil recommendation. I have a late model Camaro SS with an A6 automatic my car has been given an LS3 conversion. Its been Cammed , milled heads ( higher compression ) Ls7 lifters , 3200 stall and etc

just 8 months ago with 9K miles on the odometer I had a lifter failure sending needle bearings into the oil pan through out the engine. This resulted in having to redo the engine. block had to be honed to clean up scratches
heads had to be milled a little more to clean up surface scratches ( compression is now 11.5.1 )
New Cam
New Lifters
New oil pump ( Stock )
Etc
The guy who built the engine happens to work with a lot of force induction cars therefore he recommends Mobil1 15w50
im guessing he buys it in bulk and recommends it for everyones builds ( I dunno )
So im using 15W50 mobil1
I live in Texas in the DFW area we have HOT ( 100+ ) temps in the summer Winters that range from 20's to 30's for 2 months out of the year at night with 50's to 70's during the day every so often we get some temps in the 30's however thats not to often.
Spring is mid 70's to lower 80's
My car was driven daily for a year now its a weekend toy. It visits the track 4 times a year other than that its driven back roads and across the state of Texas. When I do drive my car I do tend at times to DRIVE it with its tongue hanging out but thats not everytime I get behind the wheel.
My wife told me the other night her company gets a discount on Redline and Royal Purple. I thought about changing over to Redline since it has a lot more Zinc in it. I have asked a few people who have told me to go back to the factory 5W30 however I often wonder if going to a 10w30 would offer a little more protection with a thicker film.
obviously my engine builder wants a thicker oil ( something that will coat the internals while under use )
Here is my questions
first off
1. REDLINE synthetic would I be doing a good thing for my motor changing over to that from Mobil ?
I change Oil about 3K-5K miles. yes I know im probably getting rid of good oil but it makes me feel more comfortable especially since I went through a engine failure.
2. is 5w30 probably a little to thin for a motor with aftermarket cam with higher compression going through the engine ?
I know w30 means 30 weight and the first number is the cold number....
3. would I be ok with running redline 10W30 year around being given Great protection?

I had an oil filter magnet on my car when the castrophe happened my engine builder said he doesnt like those as they sometimes may remove to much out of the oil..... im wondering if thats the truth and mobil 15w50 isnt bad at all.
If I were to switch to redline what oil should I put in my car? I would like to stay with the same weight year around however if I have to switch in the summer as I do go to the track a few times then I can.
What are yalls thoughts ? Feel free to give your opinion no matter if its negative lol
Thanks for everything I look forward to your responses.



I would stick to a major brand high Zn content race oil, but you will get more info as regards the viscosity range on a Camaro forum. It could well be the oil you are using is the best one.

 

[3putter]

M1 is the gold standard. Heck, Honda uses 5w30 right out of the bottle in their Indy engines as does the Corvette racing team. Why would your appln be any more severe than these?

 

[David6910]

Only reason why I figured I would change is I saw a test of oils where Mobil 1 failed due to the added cleansers but lack of zinc.

 

[bigjl]

If the guy that built the engine suggests using it there is probably good reasoning behind the decision.

I would stick with that or another oil from your preferred brand that closely matches the viscosity of the builders recommendation.

Never used Redline and unlikely to due to cost in the UK but never heard anything negative about them and many rave about them.

Another oil, if you can find it, used by folks with performance cars here in Europe is Silkolene Pro R 15w50 or Silkolene Pro S 10w50. Both Ester synthetics, S stands for street/sport and R for race.

Now part of the Fuchs brand but a very good oils.

 

[Chris142]

I don't think having lots of ZDDP will do much with roller lifters.

I'd be inclined to run M1 10w30 or the other brands you mentioned if those are cheaper. Doesn't the new Corvette have lots of HP and runs on 5w30 don't it?

 

[David6910]

I thought zddp was good for cams and lifters?

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: David6910
I thought zddp was good for cams and lifters?
It's great for Flat tapit cams and lifters. Not nearly as important with Rollers as those don't slide across the cam they roll.

 

[David6910]

Thanks for explaining this Chris

 

[spasm3]

Do you know the valve spring pressures? If they are not that much more than stock not a problem, If they are really strong then your will need the high zddp oils and heavier films. I don't use castrol oil much but castrol edge 5w-50 might work well here.

 

[toneydoc]

Did you ever consider Valvoline VR1 racing oils? They tend to have a good additive package. But all the oils mentioned would probably do well unless abused. Maybe it was engine abuse that caused failure.

 

[Ibrahim]

If you be changing oil that often, then I suggest you look for a 40 grade synthetic oil on sale! you can have T6 year round for a decent price as well as MC/Syntec 5W50! Personally I would give M1 0W40 a try, I really think it will meet your needs well!

 

[Brons2]

The reason for the heavier oil may be that your builder put the bearings together on the looser side, which used to be a popular setup back when I was working in a machine shop (admittedly, a long time ago). With wider bearing clearances your engine would benefit from an heavier oil.

However, you only need a thick enough oil to establish a hydrodynamic film of oil on wear surfaces. I would talk to your builder, and get oil pressure and temperature gauges.

 

[Clevy]

Racing oils don't contain any detergents so unless you plan on changing the oil every time you drive it I wouldn't even bother looking at them.
Now you mentioned red-line and royal purple. Red line makes the best oils on the planet and royal purples hps line is awesome. I'd go with either or in the 5w-30 flavour.
Just because a corvette uses regular Mobil 1 doesn't mean anything more than Mobil and Chevy made a deal.
I'd run red line oils forever but 20 bucks a quart eliminates that idea.
I don't understand why anyone would even suggest a racing oil,unless of course it's a race only car and the oil is changed after every event,and never driven on the street or highway.
Stick with your 2 original choices. And 15w-50 is insane,unless its an air cooled engine driven in bumper to bumper traffic.

Flame away.

 

[mechtech2]

You had bad luck with those needle bearings - something was faulty.
I really doubt it was oil related.

BTW, I think you got ripped off for having the heads milled again.
There is no possible way that debris in the engine could affect the sealed mating surfaces.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: David6910
I thought zddp was good for cams and lifters?


True, but most of the engines that suffered were classic race car engines that were built using poor quality parts or not run in correctly. A lot of folks blamed the low Zinc oils, but they were only partly responsible.

 

[skyship]

I should have said re-built using cheap non OEM parts. Some of those engines would have worn out rather quickly anyway, but lack of Zinc during the break in phase in particular seems to have been a factor in many of the early failures. Blackstones did have some UOA reports that showed flat tappet engines that were not effected by Zinc content, but at the end of the day Zinc is a very important anti wear additive and the engine oil companies always seem to use the maximum amount permitted by the required approvals folks, although 1000 ppm seems to be good for any more modern engine.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

Originally Posted By: bigjl
If the guy that built the engine suggests using it there is probably good reasoning behind the decision.


I don't know about that. I had a long talk with a retired engine builder. He said the only criteria for the oil he spec'd was whether or not he had an endorsement deal with the company. He had a deal with Valvoline at one time, so Valvoline was the best oil. You never wanted to use any other oil. Then he cut a deal with Castrol. Castrol was the best oil. He couldn't believe he'd ever suggested that awful Valvoline. Then he got a deal with Valvoline again. Etc, etc. He also admitted he only said to use 20-50 because that's what his customers seemed to want to hear, even though he believed 5-30 was more than sufficient for all but the most extreme engines he built.