Oil reco needed for Ford pushrod V8

[zeng]

Originally Posted By: Mesozoic
Rod bearing clearance: 0.0024"
Side clearance: 0.022 - 0.030"
Main bearing clearance: 0.0025"

Piston/wall clearance: 0.0035"
Top ring gap: 0.022"
2nd ring gap: 0.022"

Deck height: -0.009"

The engine builder used Rotella 15W40 for its first fill and break-in oil. Since I have some on my shelf, I think I will continue to use this oil for about 5000 miles. Since the engine is full roller, do I really need to be concerned about using an oil with higher levels of ZDDP?

Don't care about the power output of the engine, it's a strong street/highway car and that's all it's for. For blown motors you definitely want less overlap, even a stock HO cam will do nicely. Just cut some brackets on the waterjet to make a Sanden compressor work with the blower snout bracket and should have updated A/C in there by the end of this week. Looking forward to that as it was 112*F today!


Not sure about your main/rod journal size, appears to me the clearances are nice.
Why not , if the ZDDP doesn't cost you extra over. Besides AW properties at cylinder liners and cam lobes/followers etc, it also has anti-oxidants and anti-corrosion properties;thus increased engine oil life and better protect against sludge/soot etc ...... all for free!

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: Mesozoic
There's a lot of details on the combination, can't even recall everything without consulting the datasheet from the machine shop. The base is a Dart Iron Eagle 8.2" block, SRP 0.030" forged pistons, Crower billet steel rods, Cola forged crank, ported Edelbrock Victor Jr heads (2.08/1.60 valves), Gaterman roller lifters, Comp 1.7 ratio steel roller rockers, Crane 2031 roller cam, ported GT40 lower intake, the Blowzilla with Flowzilla manifolds, Accufab 90mm throttle body... I had it professionally assembled by Larry's Engine & Marine; he's done very good work for me in the past. With water/meth injection, I would estimate over 700 hp around 13-15 psi of boost.

I did all the computer tuning and harnessing work myself, as I've updated the engine so that it uses Ford's EDIS8 ignition (no distributor), along with computerized e-fan control, Siemens Seka 80 lb/hr fuel injectors, and water/meth injection control (AEM).

Someone asked about a bypass valve, yes, there is an integral bypass valve to help cool the air charge when not using the boost. The compression ratio of the engine is 8.5:1. Not sure of the rod bearing clearances or deck clearance, although they are written down on a datasheet filed away. Pistons and rings were all manually and individually fitted, file fitted.




I asked about the supercharger bypass valve because that would effect load on the front main bearing. If the supercharger didn't have a bypass valve, the front main bearing would always be subjected to the supercharger belt load. But if the supercharger is bypassing when high power is not demanded, then the front main bearing is operating with basically the same load as naturally aspirated.

A good 40-weight synthetic such as AMSoil AMO, Redline 10w40, Joe Gibbs DT40, or Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40 is what I would recommend.

 

[901Memphis]

You could probably even run Pennzoil Ultra 10w30 if you have an oil pressure and temp gauge

 

[Mesozoic]

So I've been driving the car as much as practical and I've noticed that the 15W40 Rotella conventional had been getting a bit thin at hot idle. I ended up dumping it and running Castrol 20W50 conventional instead and the engine really seems to like that. The engine is approaching the 5000 mile mark and I'm looking at finally running synthetic. Is it true that M1 is no longer a group IV? What about Valvoline VR1 synthetic? My other options would be to run a Castrol full synthetic or Redline. I'm looking at 50W multigrade, in any case.

 

[FCD]

Has the engine got a flat tappet lr a roller cam? I'd run VR1 20W-50 or Mobil 1 15W-50 with confidence.

 

[Mesozoic]

Engine is a full roller as described in earlier post. Factory style roller cam, roller lifters, roller rockers, etc.

The VR1 20W-50 seems hard to find. Is it a group IV oil? Mobil 1 15W50 appears to be group III/IV, not a bad choice either and a lot more readily available.

 

[FCD]

VR1 20W-50 is a conventional oil, with a roller cam the need for a high zddp oil goes straight out the window, Run Mobil 1 15W-50 and forget about it.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Mesozoic
So I've been driving the car as much as practical and I've noticed that the 15W40 Rotella conventional had been getting a bit thin at hot idle. I ended up dumping it and running Castrol 20W50 conventional instead and the engine really seems to like that. The engine is approaching the 5000 mile mark and I'm looking at finally running synthetic. Is it true that Mobil 1 is no longer a group IV? What about Valvoline VR1 synthetic? My other options would be to run a Castrol full synthetic or Redline. I'm looking at 50W multigrade, in any case.


All Mobil 1 oils are a blend of base stocks for better performance, which include PAO, esters, and other proprietary base stocks. This is typical of oils now.

 

[SilverC6]

Redline 10W-40 or, if you're value conscious, Mobil 1 15W-50.

I would run both those by your builder though.

 

[BrocLuno]

Those clearance numbers mean standard oils to me. 5W-40's or 10W-40's would be my preferred. I'd get the best base stocks locally available. Some of the Castrol products are a bit on the thicker side within grade. I'd look for low NOAK, as you said the blower can make big heat fast.

Red Line would be fine, but a bit pricey. However, that is not a cheap motor, so why go cheap on oil. Change once a year.

Run good filter and magnetic drain plug to keep an eye on things. Send old oil in for UOA.

 

[Mesozoic]

I was curious how you folks feel about Motorcraft 5W50 synthetic which is factory fill for the late model high output Mustangs (including a supercharged variant). Who actually makes this oil?

I'm seeing less than 25 psi at hot idle with the Castrol GTX 20W50, so I'm hesitant to drop the oil weight. I'm using a standard volume pump, however... I had a pump failure in another engine a few years back from running a high volume part on the Ford small block.

 

[FCD]

I would not use it, Motorcraft 5W-50 has been shown to go down in viscosity a lot, stick with the GTX 20W-50 for now, maybe try out Mobil 1 15W-50.