Question about racing oils vs street oils.

[aquariuscsm]

I read the post over in the atf forum about a guy asking if racing tranny fluids` additives deplete and get used up faster than street tranny fluids. Is that something that happens? I don`t see how. Additives are additives imo.

My question..........in light of that post in the atf forum,what is the difference between racing oils and street oils? Additives in racing oils don`t "go away" any faster than in street oils,right? That seems absurd. The way I understand it is more anti-wear additives (higher zddp,etc which some say isn`t emissions friendly) and less detergency,which would only mean it`s not designed for extended oci`s.

For example,is VR1 basically Valvoline wb with more zinc and less detergentcy,as Pennzoil GT is probably their yb with the increased zinc and less detergency?

 

[CATERHAM]

I don't think it's anymore complicated than that.

 

[wiswind]

Someone correct me if I am wrong.....
Racing oil is designed to be used for a very short Oil Change Interval.
Racing vehicles get their oil changed......each race.
So, racing oil is not recommended for "street" use, where oil is left in for a longer time/mileage.

2 different applications.......and a oil appropriate for each.

 

[Rp1990]

Royal purple xpr racing oil can be used as a street drving everyday.

 

[KW]

I'm not really sure but I understand that racing oils don't have the detergent additives to keep a street engine clean inside. Newer synthetics might be a different story.

 

[txrhino]

Racing oils definitely not geared towards long OCI, for one they usually have much lower TBN. I used VR1 for a good while in my classic car that doesnt get much mileage, I wanted to change it yearly or so, but Valvoline told me by email, 6 months as a MAX for their racing oils.

 

[mechtech2]

The less detergent additives, the better the other additives work.
Racing oil is not a long term street oil.

 

[addyguy]

Amsoil may be an exception to this.

Amsoil's Dominator racing oil only has a TBN of 7 or 8, but Pablo got the 5W-20 version to go 9.9k in his minivan comfortably.

If you NEEd a race/HP oil that also has to do street duty, this might be the one.

 

[shpankey]

Pretty sure Royal Purple's XPR (Extreme Performance Racing) can do street duty as well. I like their 5w20 and 10w40 as they handle other fuels well (methanol alcohol nitrous) and I will be installing my meth injection kit someday.

 

[bluesubie]

Motul 300V has a good amount of detergents for street use also.

-Dennis

 

[aquariuscsm]

I saw this on a description of Redline`s racing 15W50:

To reduce the chance of detonation, Red Line's race oils contain very few detergents


I don`t understand how oil could have an effect on detonation? I thought detonation was a fuel issue (using a low octane gasoline in a car that`s made for high octane).

 

[postjeeprcr]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I saw this on a description of Redline`s racing 15W50:

To reduce the chance of detonation, Red Line's race oils contain very few detergents


I don`t understand how oil could have an effect on detonation? I thought detonation was a fuel issue (using a low octane gasoline in a car that`s made for high octane).


The cars that should use Red Line race oils are different then a typical car.

 

[BBDartCA]

sulfated ash in oil can contribute to detonation

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I saw this on a description of Redline`s racing 15W50:

To reduce the chance of detonation, Red Line's race oils contain very few detergents


I don`t understand how oil could have an effect on detonation? I thought detonation was a fuel issue (using a low octane gasoline in a car that`s made for high octane).


Lots of later model Hi Po cars with dry manifolds suffer from oil in the intake due to poor PCV setup.

The oil actually causes excessive knock. I know it seems counter-intuitive but it is a very real problem for a car with any serious blow by going on.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: postjeeprcr
The cars that should use Red Line race oils are different then a typical car.


I agree. RL's race oils are serious, RL's street oils are comparable to Amsoil Dominator, RP XPR, Motul 300V, etc.

 

[CATERHAM]

I've used RL's race oils and a mixture of their race and street oils with Dave's guidance.
According to Dave their street and race oil's have similar formulations (ratio of POE to PAO) with the TBN limited to 2 for their race oils, have double the ZDDP level and of course the race oils contain no VII's.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
TBN limited to 2


Is a limited TBN good or bad? Is a higher TBN better,or a lower one? I have three different oils in my stash,and am trying to decide which one I`ll go with when my oci comes up.......Royal Purple 20W50,Pennzoil yb 20W50,or Pennzoil GT 25W50.

 

[Ben99GT]

Higher TBN is good for longer drain intervals, but detergents can compete with anti-wear.