Need Synthetic Oil Recommendation

[SD73]

Hello All, first time poster, long time lurker. I hope I'm posting in the correct forum. If not please move to where appropriate.

I'm looking for a suitable replacement for what I've been using a long time in my muscle cars. I was a huge (and still am) fan of Redline's 5W40 Synthetic, but their pricing is getting pretty painful. I use Mobile's premium M1 oil filters in each as well and plan on sticking with them unless their is an overwhelming reason to change.

I'm in SoCal so I have access to a lot of the other brands out here. Recently, the Royal Purple 15w40 and Shell's T6 5W40, and the Delo 5w40 have caught my eye, but I'm open to any suggestion you oil experts have on the matter. I'm especially interested in an oil with high zddp.

The oil chosen will be used in two of my muscle cars. Both flat tappets. One's a 1970 Challenger R/T convertible with a 383 Magnum and 10k since the rebuild, and the other is a 1973 Trans-Am with a Super Duty 455 with 5k since the rebuild. They are both built fairly close to stock. I tend to get less than 3k a year mileage on each as well, but when I do drive them sometimes I give them a little more abuse than I should. Looking forward to hearing your opinions and recommendations!

Thanks!

 

[electrolover]

HDEO like T6 would be my choice, or VR1

 

[CATERHAM]

First welcome to BITOG!

If they're stock, why are you using a 40wt oil? And BTW RL 5W-40 is really a 50wt oil in terms of it's HTHS vis?

Firstly I'd be using a 30wt HDEO.
Rotella T5 10W-30 is one inexpensive option.

Or just use any 5W-30 syn on sale and increase the ZDDP content with some RL Break In Additive which isn't expensive.

Another option is Joe Gibbs 10W-30 Hot Rod oil.

 

[qdeezie]

T6 5w-40 or Delo 5w-40. Since both are HDEOs, they would be ideal. Edelbrock and Comp Cams have engines oils specifically for flat tappet engines. You might want to look into the pricing on both of those motor oils as well.

 

[willix]

Both those cars are kind of the same although the 73' TA has government mandated stupidly engineered pollution controls and will generate more heat in the heads & intake. Have you considered Shaffer? they have many flavors to choose from just as Amsoil has many options. You would do well sticking with a coventional HEDO with that few a miles driven.

 

[Dupree]

T6 is hard to beat for flat tappet motors

 

[Durango]

SD73,

One of the interesting and talked about is the Kendall synthetic oil I've been seeing at my local PEP BOYS lately. It's made by Conoco Philips and is said to be a good oil to use. I myself am planning to get 6 quarts for my Dodge Durango tomorrow at a cost of $4.99/quart I consider it to be a great value at half the cost ofthe Mobil 1 version. Since your OCI's are around 3K I feel this oil is most suitable for your needs. Check out their website and see if your weight is offered.

Durango

 

[Hemi426]

1. Mobil 1 TDT 5w-40 (Synthetic)
2. Brad Penn Penn Grade 1 40wt. (Conventional)

 

[Thax]

Rotella T6 would be a excellent choice for your flat tappet cam motors.If you want a lighter weight in the crankcase Rotella T5 10w-30 is another excellent choice.

 

[Astro14]

T6 is a great choice...but frankly, ANY of them would be an excellent choice - light-years ahead of what the engines used to run on.

I would recommend you check out the shelves of your local auto parts store (like Pep-Boys) and see what's on sale...pick one that is locally available and affordable.

I like the 5W40 synthetic as a good replacement for the "ol' 10W40" that they originally ran on...

 

[bullwinkle]

I would add as a CA resident, if you never see temps below 40F or so, the "Big 3" 15W40 dino oils would also work fine-Mobil 1300, Delo 400 LE, Rotella T original. I'm looking at a boat that has a flat-tappet 454 I/O that would see summer use only-that's what I'm going to run in it.

 

[hate2work]

If I had those cars with built engines and I ran them for 3k per year, sometimes hard, I would spend the extra few dollars and run Red Line oil. M1 filters are top notch, good choice.

 

[SD73]

Hey guys, thanks for the thoughtful answers! I just found this from Redline at another site and corroborated it by using their online application for picking oil. It looks like I'll be making the switch to a 10w30 in my future. My concern with even Redline at this point is their ZDDP is below the 1300 mark.

I'd prefer finding a synthetic with the zddp already set at the correct levels, and staying with a synthetic not only for the extra protection over conventional, but also for the extended lengths of time of duty the synthetics provide. I tend to do a yearly oil change but some years I've driven them considerably less and have gone beyond the year mark.

I should also add that while both cars are close to stock, the Trans-Am came factory with forged pistons and I've added a good amount of lift to my cam selection and the springs to match. The Super Duty engines are known to use up to a quart of oil every 500 miles or so and their cold start piston slap. Hopefully, that won't color the oil recommendation too much because I'd prefer to stick with the same type for both cars.

----------------------

Guys, every quart of Red Line motor oil (with the blue label...) has around 1200ppm of ZDDP and has for many years. Our race oils have more like 2200ppm, but we don't recommend those oils (red labels) for road cars. Also, like GM, we don't recommend more than 30WT for your engines due to the power losses from windage--dyno testing proves it. Even the LS9 runs on 30WT oils...

We also have an Engine Break In additive, but use the ratios from our landing page very carefully. Adding 3200ppm to your LS engine might get to the cat.

Hope that helps, dig your site,

Cameron Evans
Red Line Oil

 

[Blaze]

I saw a Trans Am about the year and it said SAE 30 on the valve cover. I'm using John Deere 10w-30 in my flat tappet 460. The John Deere oil has a great ad-pack for flat tappet motors.

 

[Steiner]

I'm a little late to the party but don't blame you for wanting to run a little more zinc if you upped the lift on your new build. I personally use the Summit Racing conventional 10W-40 even with a roller cam in a '69 Camaro. ZDDP is good for more than just flat tappets but it's bad for catalytic converters. As for cost, it's gotten to where even with ordering oil an oil change is the cheapest thing I do to my car. Even filling up the tank costs more now and I do at least a dozen of those for every one oil change.

Here's a few more to look into. All of these listed below are available through mail order or local distributors in various weights.

Synthetic
Amsoil High performance 1379ppm
Amsoil Heavy Duty Diesel 1379ppm

Semi-Synthetic
Summit Racing (Spectro) Premium 1800ppm

Conventional
Summit Racing 1800ppm
Brad Penn High Performance 1500ppm
Classic Car Motor Oil 1600ppm
Joe Gibbs HR High Performance 1270 ppm