oil recommendations for 3 older cars

[Pantdino]

With the reduction/elimination of ZDDP from oils and their "reformulations" lately, what would be your recommendations for these 3 cars?:

1) 1973 DeTomaso Pantera, 351 cu in Cleveland, 35,000 original miles, Sunday evening pleasure use. Original owner's manual specifies 20-50 wt oil. Does not burn any. Car is very rarely started or driven at air temp less than 50 or over 80 degrees F. One good Pantera specialist uses only Delo (400 I believe, which is 15-40?).

2) 1972 Ferrari Conventional 246GT. 2.4 liter, four overhead cams, 10,000 miles since rebuild at dealer. Does not leak any more with the Mobil 1 15w50 RED top in it now than it did with Castrol GTX conventional 20w50 oil. Same use/driving conditions as Pantera.

3) 1995 BMW M3, 3 liter engine with low-friction oil control rings and hence burns more oil than a typical Bimmer. Does NOT have roller cam followers. 144,000 miles, burns about 1 qt in 3000 -4000 mi of either 20w50 conventional or the Castrol High Mileage 20w50 in it now. With M1 red top 15-50 it burned about twice that much. Owner's manual specifies 20-50 for my Southern California climate.

With all the reports of engine failures at race tracks using M1 gold-top, elimination of ZDDP from almost all oils, etc, I'm so paranoid I don't want to change my oil until I know what I should use.

Thanks in advance.

 

[surfstar]

Read about SLOB (Street Legal High Performance Oil Boost by CD-2) in the additives forum. Its a cheap ZDDP additive found at Big Lots for $1-2.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

I would use the Amsoil 20-50 in all of them and buy a 30 gallon barrel of this oil. Change the oil in all of them in the Spring.

 

[marco246]

Nice stable of cars!

For these cars, especially the Pantera and the Dino, the recommendations in the owner's manuals are historical curiosities. The oils on the market today are superior in every way to those specified 30-odd years ago. You may have to experiment to find what's right for your cars from he standpoints of usage, leakage, operating oil temperatures and pressures--but here's a start:

For the Pantera, your specialist's choice of Chevron Delo 400 in 15w40 seems sound. You might want to check with him and see if he recommends the older SL/CI-4+ formula or the newer SM/CJ-4. They are both on the market. The latter has less ZDDP than the former, but it's still plenty. The Delo is a mineral oil instead of a synthetic and would be preferred if your engine has not been rebuilt with new seals. In the future you might even consider Delo in a 10w30.

For the Dino, my default position would be Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40. They have not reformulated it lately, so it is SL/CI-4+ rated. I can't imagine a better oil for this application.

For the BMW I am less sure of my recommendation, but I would think here's another opportunity to use an HDEO in a sporty car. Chevron Delo 15w40, or if you want to stick with Castrol, their Tection 15w40 would do.

Just so you'll know I take my own advice, I'll shortly be changing from Castrol 20W-50 to Delo 15w40 in my recently acquired 71 Alfa.

Let us know what you decide.

Cheers, Mark

 

[bmwtechguy]

The recomendations above are all good, staying with a stout (heavy duty) 5W-40 or 20W-50. You could also consider several oils from Schaeffers which would also do very well in your application. Consumption with their oils is very low. They offer a series 7000 blend in 15w40 and 20W-50. Both are very good. Also 2 full synthetics, a 5W-40 and 5W-50. At under 5 dollars per quart for the full synthetics and even less for the others, these are a great value, while offering excellent protection for those engines. Available in:

15W-40...gallons or quarts
20W-50...quarts
5W-40...gallons
5W-50...5 gallon bucket.

If intersested, I would contact the Schaeffers BITOG site sponsor.

 

[Merkava_4]

Yeah, a 15w40 HDEO would probably work in all of those cars.

 

[Pablo]

As stated, I would use either:

Amsoil 20W-50
or
Amsoil 15w40

Both have fairly great room temp flow properties to minimize start-up wear, plus high enough vis to meet your requirement. Plus both have great seal conditioners.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Another option is the Amsoil 60 weight oil. It is a straight grade oil without VI improvers. I believe it works like a 20w60w oil like the Amsoil 30 weight works like a 10w30. In California, the 60 weight may be the ticket to what you need.

 

[Drivebelt]

I also think a 15w40 HDEO would be good in all those applications.