Oil for flat tappet racing engine...

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

FastFox

Joined
Sep 13, 2006
Messages
4
Location
Virginia
I currently drag race a small block Ford with a solid lifter flat tappet cam. The engine turns ~8400 rpm going through the traps...

With all of the talk regarding flat tappet cam failure due to reduced zinc and other additives in todays oils I am concerned about the life of my valvetrain.

I have browsed this site as well as others and don't have a real good grasp on what additives are best for protecting such an engine. From what I gather, zinc, phosphorous and moly are the most important. Please correct me if I am wrong...

In short, what I am asking, what oil would be best for such an application?

Thanks in advance!!!
 
A good diesel oil should fit the bill.
-
 
I wouldn't use Amsoil's diesel oil. Amsoil offers to many "one size fits all" oils. It would work, but would be your best choice. It also wouldn't be as friction modified as Royal Purple or Redline.

I would use anything from Royal Purple or Redline, both which are much better than Amsoil for racing IMO. With either one of those brands, you can get a lot of ZDDP, Moly and get away with using a lower viscosity oil producing more HP.
 
Any xw-40 synthetic should work fine....

If you want something inexpensive, the Amsoil 15w-40 will do well here. But I'd choose their 10w-40 Motorcycle oil since the formulation is optimized to have the best high temp properties like shear stability and resistance to foaming.

A xw-30 with a strong add pack could work also, but might be marginal in terms of viscosity. The Amsoil Series 2000/3000 or the Redline 5w-30/10w-30 would be my choices here.

TS
 
Amsoil has told me that they do not recommend any of their oils for racing other than the 20w-50 S2k, which is a very good oil. However, other companies make lower viscosity oils that will perform as well as thicker viscosity oils in terms of wear protection and film strength, Redline being one of them.
 
quote:
Originally posted by buster:
Amsoil has told me that they do not recommend any of their oils for racing other than the 20w-50 S2k, which is a very good oil. However, other companies make lower viscosity oils that will perform as well as thicker viscosity oils in terms of wear protection and film strength, Redline being one of them.
Click to expand...
Amsoil told you that simply cause it is the only oil they have automotive with no drain interval
recommendation. they recommend anything else you turn around and want to sue cause it says 25k on the bottle and ur engine blew up, waste of time for them.
racing oil is for racing want thinner?
depends on what your racing and bearing clearences
are.
 
The Series 2000 is "SM" rated and if what is being said in the racing crowd is true, as reported in Hot Rod magazine, flat tappet engines do need more ZDDP.

How well is the S3000 and MC oil friction modified? I would use an oil from a company that formulates more for racing, which RP and RL both do. The other options would clearly work however. Amsoil's 20w-50 S2k oil is very good and their best option for high hp engines. According to Amsoil, it contains a significant amount of esters.

Ted, do you sell the MC oil to any racing folks down there in redneckville? lol
 
A flat tappet cam running 8400 RPM must have some serious valve springs. I believe ZDP is the key additive. Run an oil or oil + additive combo that has at least 1600 ppm ZDP. I'd add GM EOS.
 
After thinking about this again, I'd probably run the Amsoil Series 2000, 20w-50 and not one of their xw-40's. When you're drag racing the engine is running under continous high loads, since you're accelerating the entire time. I suspect this engine also has very stiff valve springs and a radical cam. So the pressures in the valvetrain will be very high and you'll want a thicker lube in there.

If I spent thousands of dollars of my own money on a motor, I'd go for protection over tiny gains in performance. If I owned a Nextel Cup team and had money to burn, I'd set the engine up to run an SAE 0w-20, but I'd plan on replacing/rebuilding engines after every race.

sootyoil,

The most recent recommendation for the S2000/20w-50 is 25k/1 yr under normal street driving conditions, or 15k/1 yr under severe service. For racing oil changes should be done by experience or oil analysis testing.

TS
 
The most recent recommendation for the S2000/20w-50 is 25k/1 yr under normal street driving conditions, or 15k/1 yr under severe service. For racing oil changes should be done by experience or oil analysis testing

Tooslick try convincing anyone to use s20020w50 for one racing season let alone 15k.

I may go for it not many others will.
 
The Shell Helix Ultra Racing 10W-60 as around 1,100 of zinc and of phosphate. This is for the 650 BHP Enzo. Oils are not that simple to define.

aehaas
 
I run Royal Purple in an bracket car with good results so far. It has really helped with oil temps during the later half of the day. It's BB Chevy and turns about 8700 through the traps. Royal Purple makes several oil specifically for race cars, as does RedLine if I'm not mistaken. You might want to call one of those vendors and see what they recommend.
 
I would run Mobil 1 R, Joe Gibb's, Synergyn, Liquidcosworth and Redline over anything Amsoil has to offer. Amsoil is an "extended drain" first, "high performance" racing oil second...IMHO. I have an email I can post from Amsoil clearly stating that the SM rated oils are not intended for racing and ONLY the 60wt and the 20w-50 S2k.
 
Quote:

I would run Mobil 1 R, Joe Gibb's, Synergyn, Liquidcosworth and Redline over anything Amsoil has to offer. Amsoil is an "extended drain" first, "high performance" racing oil second...IMHO. I have an email I can post from Amsoil clearly stating that the SM rated oils are not intended for racing and ONLY the 60wt and the 20w-50 S2k.

Click to expand...


what scientific proof you have that "Amsoil extended drain first". oil wont meet racing standards?
I use plain ole 5/30 cheap Amsoil with my flat tappet
351W just fine for my application, any Amsoil product will
test better than M1 oil including the cheap 5w30 amsoil I have now. that talk of extended first and racing second what is that monkey in space theroy?
banana.gif

please get some test results to back up your poor choice in remarks
offtopic.gif
 
Quote:

any Amsoil product will
test better than M1 oil including the cheap 5w30 amsoil I have now

Click to expand...


WRONG. Amsoil will not outperform any M1 product.

Amsoil is fine for racing, but I think there are better choices for certain engines. The brands I listed, are more performance oriented. Ask Amsoil tech services what oil they recommend for racing on the track. They will tell you S2k 20W-50.

starwars.gif
 
This is from Amsoil's FAQ in the pref. customer section.

. What oil do you recommend in a sprint car running a 358-hp Chevy engine on alcohol?

A. The AMSOIL Series 2000 20W-50 Synthetic Racing Oil or SAE 60 (AHR) Synthetic Heavy Racing Oil are recommended for high performance racing applications


I'm referring more to track racing. You can race with any oil, but some oils are more suited for racing. Oil temps, engine type and other factors all play a role in what oil you should use.
 
Here is a link. http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/eb60652.htm

Quote:

There's a lot of confusion, according to some race oil manufacturers, between race oil and street oil. "For many of our customers there is confusion, and many race with our [API] 20W50. They're getting the zinc and the phosphorous that they need but not some of the other additives in our race oil."


Click to expand...


Quote:

"Most racing oils are formulated to provide better anti-wear protection and shear stability than standard American Petroleum Institute (API) quality oils on the shelf. Our racing oil was designed specifically with these two protection and performance characteristics in mind

Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
Ford FE with roller cam oil?
Replies
13
Views
630
kschachn
S
Will VR1 kill the Cat in my '87 911?
Replies
19
Views
940
930.engineering
H
Valvoline VR1 Racing vs Castrol GTX Classic (20/50)
Replies
5
Views
8K
OVERKILL
H
Here's a question for the Oil Gurus
Replies
9
Views
2K
hawkdriver
A
What is the right oil to use on a fresh flat tappet engine AFTER break in oil?
2 3
Replies
42
Views
10K
Randy_R
Back
Top