New member - Oil Concerns

[TunedPortZ28]

Hey folks!
I just spent over $60.00 at the parts house for some Royal Purple 10w-30 oil for my 1985 Z28 Camaro because of all this talk about which oil I should be using for a flat tappet cam. I have read the material on this site and others, have seen some published results about ZDDP content.
Now I read that RP oil shears....

I would like to hear from the other long time flat tappet cammed car owners on the matter, and to what they have done about this as I am about to install a Comp Cam with 981 springs. Thanks.

 

[NHHEMI]

There has been some talk here that RP 5W-30 shears to a 20 weight but I have never had that issue personally. The 10W-30 is not known for it. It is a good choice for your vehicle. Use it and don't worry.

 

[TunedPortZ28]

I am usually over at thirdgen.org and there is a pretty popular debate about this. Also a debate about Valvoline Vr1.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: TunedPortZ28
Hey folks!
I just spent over $60.00 at the parts house for some Royal Purple 10w-30 oil for my 1985 Z28 Camaro because of all this talk about which oil I should be using for a flat tappet cam. I have read the material on this site and others, have seen some published results about ZDDP content.
Now I read that RP oil shears....

I would like to hear from the other long time flat tappet cammed car owners on the matter, and to what they have done about this as I am about to install a Comp Cam with 981 springs. Thanks.


My recommendations for a factory to mildly modified American V8 flat-tappet engine would M1 0w40, Rotella T6, or M1 5w40 TDT. All of those have >1000 PPM of good old Zn/P plus newer EP additives that don't necessarily show up on oil analyses. I use the above oils in all the cars in my .sig except the PT Cruiser, which doesn't need them and gets M1 0W30 AFE. The Jeeps could probably live on ordinary 10w30 just fine because of the mild cam and valvesprings, but 4.0s love 40 wt oil anyway so I use T6 or TDT for them.

IF you've got monstrous valve lift with enormous dual valvesprings, then consider something along the lines of Royal Purple's XPR series (not just the ordinary RP oil), or maybe Joe Gibbs oil, Redline, etc. Just a flat tappet cam *alone* isn't cause for a racing oil. Its the high contact pressures of rapid lift rates and very stiff valvesprings that make you need the high doses of extreme pressure additives.

 

[oggb]

Rotella T6 5w-40, Mobil 1 Turbodiesel and Truck...

Heck, since you live in Austin, TX you could get by with some 15w-40 HDEO with no trouble at all.

 

[MrMeeks]

I like a petroleum 10w-40 in warm weather for an engine of this type.Something thinner for cool weather. That ZDDP is one of several anti wear adds. in use today.Name brand petro. based oil should have all the anti wear adds needed.

 

[TunedPortZ28]

Good to know info. Thanks guys!

I just wanted to make sure I was not venturing in to some mass told [censored] about RP being a good flat tappet cam oil. It doesnt even say its got ZDDP content on the label and, I was told that it has 1300ppm or 13% which I know to be on the high end of whats being offered.

I would assume to just switch to a roller cam, but for something like a TPI 305 the benefits would be minimal. This car doesn't see anything over 5500RPM. Which brings me to the Comp Cams Xe256-14 or the Xfi260H13. I assume that RP should be good enough for both those grinds even with 981 springs (single) and 1.6" rocker arms for use with the XFI grind? I have been reading the Mobile 1 oils are fairly thin, and dont stack up to RP??

EDIT: MAX lift with the 1.6 rocker arms and XFI is .499".

 

[qdeezie]

There are ZDDP additives on the market such as zddplus.com. Also, break in additives tend to have higher ZDDP additives as well.

 

[TunedPortZ28]

Originally Posted By: qdeezie
There are ZDDP additives on the market such as zddplus.com. Also, break in additives tend to have higher ZDDP additives as well.


Yes sir, I am willing to try those as well.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: TunedPortZ28

EDIT: MAX lift with the 1.6 rocker arms and XFI is .499".


The cam that's in both my 440s is nominally .484 lift with 1.5 rockers, so you're not much more stressed, although you have smaller diameter lifters which works against you. You should still be fine without going to racing oil, IMO. HDEOs are a good pick unless you're worried that a 15w40 or even 5w40 might over-stress the oil pump drive when the engine's cold. That's why I went from RT6 to M1 0w40 in one of the 440s- same hot oil pressure but a bit lower pressure on initial startup than with RT6.

FWIW- my climate is exactly the same as yours... I'm also in Austin.

 

[TunedPortZ28]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: TunedPortZ28

EDIT: MAX lift with the 1.6 rocker arms and XFI is .499".


The cam that's in both my 440s is nominally .484 lift with 1.5 rockers, so you're not much more stressed, although you have smaller diameter lifters which works against you. You should still be fine without going to racing oil, IMO. HDEOs are a good pick unless you're worried that a 15w40 or even 5w40 might over-stress the oil pump drive when the engine's cold. That's why I went from RT6 to M1 0w40 in one of the 440s- same hot oil pressure but a bit lower pressure on initial startup than with RT6.

FWIW- my climate is exactly the same as yours... I'm also in Austin.


lol. Cool.. always fun to meet another local gear head!
So you have the XFI 260 H13? How do you like it? Most people tend to over cam TPI's with 268 being a border-line for modified TPI's so, I am sticking with the XFI260.
Do you ever venture to SAR? Also, where do you get your oil? I went to 4 different parts houses today! Oreillys had the RP and so did Pepboys.

 

[SteveSRT8]

You are oh so correct!

A TPI Chevy hasn't got a whole lot of flow capability if the intake is stock, so a bigger cam is a waste of money.

If the engine is still tight and doesn't burn a lot of oil stick with the lightest weight your ego can handle, as you'll free up a couple of HP.

The oil pump drive is a MOPAR issue, your Chevy has a regulator so pressure won't get excessive if you have the stock setup no matter what you run (within reason!).

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: TunedPortZ28
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum


FWIW- my climate is exactly the same as yours... I'm also in Austin.


lol. Cool.. always fun to meet another local gear head!
So you have the XFI 260 H13? How do you like it? Most people tend to over cam TPI's with 268 being a border-line for modified TPI's so, I am sticking with the XFI260.
Do you ever venture to SAR? Also, where do you get your oil? I went to 4 different parts houses today! Oreillys had the RP and so did Pepboys.


I think you missed the fact that my engines are big-block carbureted Mopars

The cams are Mopar Performance grinds- fairly primitive by modern standards but with Chrysler's larger diameter lifters they're still a little more aggressive than GM guys can get without going roller.

I generally buy my oil at NAPA, MallWart, or Pep Boys (although that's about the only thing I buy at Pep Boys). O'Reilly never seems to have a very big selection, MallWart and PepBoys usually carry gallon (RT6) or 5-quart (Mobil) jugs, which are generally a cheaper way to buy than a case of quarts.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8


The oil pump drive is a MOPAR issue, your Chevy has a regulator so pressure won't get excessive if you have the stock setup no matter what you run (within reason!).


Actually its a universal issue... Mopars have regulators also, but when you add a HV oil pump you can still spike pressures very high even with the regulator because it can't dump enough thick oil fast enough. A good reason to have a gauge and to keep your foot out of it until the oil is warmed up. With a hardened intermediate shaft you're generally safe from any failure, but there's no need to invoke that kind of stress on the system when modern 5wXX and 0wXX oils are available.

 

[TunedPortZ28]

Yep, the 305's dont suffer as much as the 350's do. There's actually another 5-600 RPM stock there for obvious reasons. The base is going to have a minor port job, and the plenum is going to be ported fully, then both matched to TPiS runners. I am not looking for a fast car, just to give it some "help" since the times have changed so drastically with power ratings.

 

[TunedPortZ28]

No I didnt miss the big block mopar fact. lol

Truth is there were some bad cam cores sold by comp and more than a few "other" manufacturers but im not sure if that spilled over to the big block stuff..