Switching to redline or similar, best price?

[MrWideTires]

My fun/track/rally car is a modified 2004 Se-r spec-V, it already has 107k miles of pretty much track miles. I used to run Edge 0w20, then I decided the engine had gone through too much abuse already and needs something thicker so I started using GC... it automatically dropped its times, it's sluggish.

So I want to try a thinner oil (than GC) that will keep it protected and get my power back (if not gain more), so I'm looking at redline, but not willing to pay $11//quart plus shipping, so what are other alternatives or cheaper way of getting redline?

 

[unixguru]

Why not to try M1 0w-30 racing oil. Don't know the price of it, but should be comparable or even cheaper than redline.

 

[MrWideTires]

Does anyone know why M1 0W30 Racing is not recommended for street use?

the zinc and phosphorus is not a problem for me, the car has no catalytic converter.

 

[hate2work]

Curious about Red Line, I called around and found the local Carquest would sell the 5W-30 oil to me for $7.98 a quart, far less than I thought I'd have to pay. I have no idea if that price is good at their other stores, but it might be worth asking about.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: MrWideTires
Does anyone know why M1 0W30 Racing is not recommended for street use?

the zinc and phosphorus is not a problem for me, the car has no catalytic converter.


I've heard that excessive ZDDP also causes problems in the valvetrain. Not entirely certain.

Only other oil I could suggest that's a step above Edge but cheaper than Redline is Royal Purple. You won't have to pay shipping since a lot of auto parts stores stock it.

Renewable Lubricants 0w20 is interesting too. It's not much less than Redline IIRC.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: unixguru
Why not to try M1 0w-30 racing oil. Don't know the price of it, but should be comparable or even cheaper than redline.


Mobil 1 0w-30 Racing is actually very, very expensive.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: hate2work

Curious about Red Line, I called around and found the local Carquest would sell the 5W-30 oil to me for $7.98 a quart, far less than I thought I'd have to pay. I have no idea if that price is good at their other stores, but it might be worth asking about.


That is a very decent price for over the counter. It really is amazing oil.

 

[unixguru]

If I'm not mistaken on amazon M1 0w30 Racing was around $11-15/quart. Expensive? Yes, 2x-3x the price of regular synthetic oil (on sale that is). But for the specialized racing oil I think this is an excellent price! Even Castrol Edge/Pennzoil Ultra/M1 EP cost over $8/quart in most auto parts stores (when it is not on sale).

I don't really think that M1 Racing would be suitable for the road engine though. I think engine needs to be engineered and build for racing application in order to take full advantage of racing oil.

Otherwise, I think, any good major brand synthetic will do just fine for a car with regular engine even on the racetrack.

 

[electrolover]

racing oils have less detergents and higher zddp levels.
the zddp levels wont hurt anything but the less detergents will over time. but you would not have to worry about foaming at high rpms.

have you thought about just running a Xw30 edge?

 

[A_Harman]

Redline 5w20: It's got the HTHS of a 30-weight, and the KV's of a 20-weight. For a track car, why worry about cost? In my opinion, nothing out there is better than Redline for high-temperature protection.

 

[ChrisJH]

Originally Posted By: hate2work

Curious about Red Line, I called around and found the local Carquest would sell the 5W-30 oil to me for $7.98 a quart, far less than I thought I'd have to pay. I have no idea if that price is good at their other stores, but it might be worth asking about.


Yeah thats a good price, my local CQ was quoting me 10.00/qt which is basically the going rate on Amazon, etc.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Mobil 1 0w-30 Racing is actually very, very expensive.


And with an amount of ZDDP to the point of being corrosive.

Originally Posted By: electrolover
racing oils have less detergents and higher zddp levels.
the zddp levels wont hurt anything but the less detergents will over time. but you would not have to worry about foaming at high rpms.


See above. Higher ZDDP levels are good for certain applications, but there is a limit as to how high one wants to go.

 

[A_Harman]

For a Nissan Sentra, I don't think a dedicated racing oil with 1600ppm of Phosphorous is required to get valvetrain wear protection. He hasn't indicated that the engine has been modified with killer valvesprings and high-lift cams. If the engine is stock, 1200ppm would be more than enough.

 

[dparm]

Playing devil's advocate here...what makes you think you need a better oil?

 

[pwr2tow]

No affilitation just passing on info.

www.[censored].com

opps looks like we can not give that kind of info.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: MrWideTires
My fun/track/rally car is a modified 2004 Se-r spec-V, it already has 107k miles of pretty much track miles. I used to run Edge 0w20, then I decided the engine had gone through too much abuse already and needs something thicker so I started using GC... it automatically dropped its times, it's sluggish.

So I want to try a thinner oil (than GC) that will keep it protected and get my power back (if not gain more), so I'm looking at redline, but not willing to pay $11//quart plus shipping, so what are other alternatives or cheaper way of getting redline?

Going from an Ultra light oil like Edge 0W-20 (HTHS vis likely not more than 2.4cP in service) to GC (HTHS vis of 3.5cP) is a huge jump so I'm not surprised you've noticed the increased oil drag.
If you track your car you should have an oil pressure gauge and quite frankly I'd be surprised if your OP wasn't on the low side when the oil gets very hot with the Edge 0W-20; it is after all the lightest SM oil on the market.
Anyway, assuming your OP isn't too low I'd recommend RL 0W-20.
Your OP will be about 15% higher with this oil, so you'll have more of a safely margin. And since it contains no VII's it won't shear; an excellent track use oil and one I'm considering trying myself one of these days.

 

[oldlugs]

Best prices I've found on Redline: MANNING FUEL, in Sun Valley, CA. Give 'em a call, and ask current price for whatever Redline oil you're after.