What are the best high ZINC oils in 2024? High performance application.

Those rockers show some pitting. Using a high zinc oil won't hurt...other than your catalyst, maybe.

I agree with the others in that the W oil rating is not overly important. 0W, 5W, 10W, are interchangeable. W is the 0C flow rating. The nice thing about 0W-40 oils, is that they are formulated for Euro cars (for the most part), and they tend to have a robust additive package.
 
There's a lot of cars using VR1 and going 3-5k mile intervals in more radical engines. That oil contains a standard DI pack with top treatment. There's no reason it can't do that, and it puzzles me why Valvoline said otherwise. I'm guessing you probably spoke to some marketing desk guy who doesn't know engine oil from olive oil, just spewing the same internet myths with no consultation from the engineering department. It happens a lot, unfortunately. The only commercially available "race" oil that doesn't contain sufficient detergent for street use is Driven XP series.

You don't need high levels of ZDDP for your engine. Flat tappet V8s need it because of the inertia and forces seen in their valvetrains. They have bigger, heavier valves with higher spring rates multiplied across a high rocker ratio with a lot more inertia. Plus, the flat tappet lifters spin in the bore and don't have the best oil splash to the lobes. Thus, you need higher amounts of ZDDP. Your cam lobes don't see nearly the load of even a stock 350 SBC so there's no need for high amounts of ZDDP.

If it was mine, I'd use High Performance Lubricants Bad Ass Racing 5W-40 and change it every 5,000 miles or 1 year. That's being conservative as I've gone 10,000 miles on that oil and still had a bit of life left. Even though detergents aren't the focus of the formula, the use of top shelf base oils makes it quite resistant to oxidation and degradation.

For something off the shelf, a Euro A3/B4 0W-40 or 5W-40 is still an improvement over Rotella for near the same price. Mobil 1 FS Euro 0W-40 is a fairly universal workhorse.
Excellent post as always! Merry Christmas! 🍻
 
I've been using Rotella T6 but I'm curious if there are better options out there.

The engine in use is a turbocharged flat tappet high revving Honda B series 4 cylinder with a "larger" camshaft.

So my main goal is to keep the wear down on the rockers. With that being said who out there is offering the best high Zinc oil that is easily able to obtain? I've been running the T6 because it is easy to get from the local Walmart and I have been changing my oil around 2,000 miles. Should I stick to the T6 or go to another option? Also worth mentioning is that this is a daily driver. So I don't know how much I should put in detergents since its a street car (but I also change my oil sooner than most)

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I would run Valvoline VR1 for no more than 3k in street driving conditions. I'm a Valvoline fanboy. Truth be told, there are some guys on this board with good recommendations and knowledge on the proper SAE grade and type of lubricant you need. From what I've read, Stay away from the HD diesel oils. Mobil 1 grades with the higher zddp content or the Valvoline VR1 syn or conventional will be good for your application. I would run shorter OCI with VR1. Both of these are easily obtainable for reasonable cost.
 
Rotella isn't, nor was it ever, a good choice. People who know little to nothing about oil just like it because it's cheap and perform a lot of mental gymnastics to make it out as this great thing. In truth, it doesn't even meet CK-4 standards for low rpm diesel, much less a high revving gas engine with a fraction of the sump capacity. It foams like a beer, and per some recent UOAs, the ZDDP content is down to <1000 ppm. That oil is formulated as cheap as possible. It fails D892 foam testing horribly, producing 2.5x the max allowed by API. There's good reasons nobody is recommending it.

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As for engine builders, they're not tribologists. Many of them don't even know that viscosity is determined by bearing clearance. They tend to blindly recommend the same oil for everything, usually based on some anecdotal nonsense. One near me hurt $1.5 million worth of LS race engines, switched parts suppliers multiple times, before finally switching the oil. He hasn't had a failure in those engines since.

There's a lot of cars using VR1 and going 3-5k mile intervals in more radical engines. That oil contains a standard DI pack with top treatment. There's no reason it can't do that, and it puzzles me why Valvoline said otherwise. I'm guessing you probably spoke to some marketing desk guy who doesn't know engine oil from olive oil, just spewing the same internet myths with no consultation from the engineering department. It happens a lot, unfortunately. The only commercially available "race" oil that doesn't contain sufficient detergent for street use is Driven XP series.

You don't need high levels of ZDDP for your engine. Flat tappet V8s need it because of the inertia and forces seen in their valvetrains. They have bigger, heavier valves with higher spring rates multiplied across a high rocker ratio with a lot more inertia. Plus, the flat tappet lifters spin in the bore and don't have the best oil splash to the lobes. Thus, you need higher amounts of ZDDP. Your cam lobes don't see nearly the load of even a stock 350 SBC so there's no need for high amounts of ZDDP.

If it was mine, I'd use High Performance Lubricants Bad Ass Racing 5W-40 and change it every 5,000 miles or 1 year. That's being conservative as I've gone 10,000 miles on that oil and still had a bit of life left. Even though detergents aren't the focus of the formula, the use of top shelf base oils makes it quite resistant to oxidation and degradation.

For something off the shelf, a Euro A3/B4 0W-40 or 5W-40 is still an improvement over Rotella for near the same price. Mobil 1 FS Euro 0W-40 is a fairly universal workhorse.

Holy crap what informative posts! Thank you everyone for trying to help but I guess these replies here are the ones that I can make sense of since just about all of you are above and beyond my comprehension for the details of oil.

I do have a couple of things I'd like to get clear concerning the 0W-40 thing.

My biggest concern with weights of oil is the obvious, I do not want to spin a bearing. I've read in the past 0W oil is "like water" and is used to basically increase emissions and gas mileage and has little to no concern on wear (granted this was I believe 0W-20).

However I see what is being suggested is 0w-40 which going back to my argument earlier (right or wrong) of 5W-30/40 should be better because cold, it is thinner and will get to the valvetrain faster. And at the end of the day, at operating temperature when you will be beating on the motor, it will be at the 40 weight oil that the motor wants.

But I guess my question is with the 0W will that be bad for initial wear? I did read in a thread I had research here that 0W-40 actually is as thick as some 5W-40?

Also my last question, living in SC where the temperatures reach 100+ degrees in a parking lot...Will 0W be too thin?
 
I would run Valvoline VR1 for no more than 3k in street driving conditions. I'm a Valvoline fanboy. Truth be told, there are some guys on this board with good recommendations and knowledge on the proper SAE grade and type of lubricant you need. From what I've read, Stay away from the HD diesel oils. Mobil 1 grades with the higher zddp content or the Valvoline VR1 syn or conventional will be good for your application. I would run shorter OCI with VR1. Both of these are easily obtainable for reasonable cost.

Thanks and yes, this will be the last round of Rotella that I run in a vehicle. I'm glad I asked here though! I'd have never known had I not joined.
 
Holy crap what informative posts! Thank you everyone for trying to help but I guess these replies here are the ones that I can make sense of since just about all of you are above and beyond my comprehension for the details of oil.

I do have a couple of things I'd like to get clear concerning the 0W-40 thing.

My biggest concern with weights of oil is the obvious, I do not want to spin a bearing. I've read in the past 0W oil is "like water" and is used to basically increase emissions and gas mileage and has little to no concern on wear (granted this was I believe 0W-20).

However I see what is being suggested is 0w-40 which going back to my argument earlier (right or wrong) of 5W-30/40 should be better because cold, it is thinner and will get to the valvetrain faster. And at the end of the day, at operating temperature when you will be beating on the motor, it will be at the 40 weight oil that the motor wants.

But I guess my question is with the 0W will that be bad for initial wear? I did read in a thread I had research here that 0W-40 actually is as thick as some 5W-40?

Also my last question, living in SC where the temperatures reach 100+ degrees in a parking lot...Will 0W be too thin?
The number in front of the W is the "Winter" grade of the oil, which means the oil meets the performance requirements of that grade at a specific temperature. For 0W-40, that means it will pump at -40C and is below the threshold for cranking speed impact at -35C. It's not a viscosity figure like the SAE grade, just a set of thresholds/limits.

All oils get thicker as they cool. A 0W-40 is heavier than a 5W-30 at 40C for example, and will continue to be thicker until some crossover point is reached as the 5W-30 base oil/PPD combo get overwhelmed by wax crystal formation and the viscosity spikes past the CCS (typically) or MRV limits.
 
The number in front of the W is the "Winter" grade of the oil, which means the oil meets the performance requirements of that grade at a specific temperature. For 0W-40, that means it will pump at -40C and is below the threshold for cranking speed impact at -35C. It's not a viscosity figure like the SAE grade, just a set of thresholds/limits.

All oils get thicker as they cool. A 0W-40 is heavier than a 5W-30 at 40C for example, and will continue to be thicker until some crossover point is reached as the 5W-30 base oil/PPD combo get overwhelmed by wax crystal formation and the viscosity spikes past the CCS (typically) or MRV limits.

So I had it backwards? I always thought oil got thicker as they heat up. But now that I think about it, that makes sense. That's a reason to change your oil while it's hot.

So then with that said, I had it backwards. 10W would get oil to the valvetrain faster than 0w/5w?

Still curious about the question of 0W in the heat of summer in the south.
 
So I had it backwards? I always thought oil got thicker as they heat up. But now that I think about it, that makes sense. That's a reason to change your oil while it's hot.

So then with that said, I had it backwards. 10W would get oil to the valvetrain faster than 0w/5w?

Still curious about the question of 0W in the heat of summer in the south.
A lot of people have it "backwards", where they think the oil starts as a "0" and thickens up to a 40, but the W is the important differentiator there, as it denotes Winter, and a whole separate grading system under J300.

So, all oils get thicker as they cool and thinner as they are heated. The number in front of the W just indicates better extreme cold performance when the oil is cold a thick.

The 10W-xx won't get to the valvetrain faster, and it would get to it considerably slower if we got down into the temperatures where it started to matter, but that's unlikely to be the case in your application.

If we were to fudge some numbers here for the sake of illustration, let's say we have two oils, a 0W-30 and a 10W-30 and they are the same viscosity at 100C. However, the 10W-30 KV is 5,000cP at -25C, while a 0W-30 is 5,000cP at -35C. They both are thickening as the temperature drops, it's just that the 0W-30 thickens more slowly, allowing it to still pump and not impact the rate at which the engine can be cranked at lower temperatures. Does that help?
 
A lot of people have it "backwards", where they think the oil starts as a "0" and thickens up to a 40, but the W is the important differentiator there, as it denotes Winter, and a whole separate grading system under J300.

So, all oils get thicker as they cool and thinner as they are heated. The number in front of the W just indicates better extreme cold performance when the oil is cold a thick.

The 10W-xx won't get to the valvetrain faster, and it would get to it considerably slower if we got down into the temperatures where it started to matter, but that's unlikely to be the case in your application.

If we were to fudge some numbers here for the sake of illustration, let's say we have two oils, a 0W-30 and a 10W-30 and they are the same viscosity at 100C. However, the 10W-30 KV is 5,000cP at -25C, while a 0W-30 is 5,000cP at -35C. They both are thickening as the temperature drops, it's just that the 0W-30 thickens more slowly, allowing it to still pump and not impact the rate at which the engine can be cranked at lower temperatures. Does that help?

This is starting to make more sense.

So I guess that begs the question, why do people (mostly everyone really) stress over running 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer? A lot of people (mid to south US) have "summer oil" and "winter oil".

So referencing ^^^ does 0W/5W/10W even matter in the summer months?
 
This is starting to make more sense.

So I guess that begs the question, why do people (mostly everyone really) stress over running 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer? A lot of people (mid to south US) have "summer oil" and "winter oil".

So referencing ^^^ does 0W/5W/10W even matter in the summer months?
Because most have no understanding of the numbers themselves or even know what they mean.
Just as they are as clueless as what this all means stick around and learn.
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This is starting to make more sense.

So I guess that begs the question, why do people (mostly everyone really) stress over running 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer? A lot of people (mid to south US) have "summer oil" and "winter oil".

So referencing ^^^ does 0W/5W/10W even matter in the summer months?
For startup protection nope.
 
This is starting to make more sense.

So I guess that begs the question, why do people (mostly everyone really) stress over running 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer? A lot of people (mid to south US) have "summer oil" and "winter oil".

So referencing ^^^ does 0W/5W/10W even matter in the summer months?

There's no reason to do that. In fact, the 10W-30 variant is likely worse off than the 5W-30. A 10W-30 is easy to achieve with cheap, junk base oils and VII, and since all of the major brands are in a race to the bottom, they gladly exploit that. (with no corresponding drop in retail cost, of course) The people doing that simply don't understand what the oil grade stands for. The winter rating doesn't matter in the summer months. They could just run the 5W-30 year around and likely be better off.

As stated, the first number in a multi-grade isn't the actual oil grade. It's just an extraneous winter rating, hence the "W" stands for winter. It's a representative figure for the coldest temperature at which that oil is still pumpable, measured in dynamic viscosity (centipoise). This does not change with the second number so 0W-20 and 0W-50 oils have the same winter rating.

Per SAE J300

0W-xx = <6,200 cP @ -35°C (-31°F)
5W-xx = <6,600 cP @ -30°C (-22°F)
10W-xx = <7,000 cP @ -25°C (-14°F)
15W-xx = <7,000 cP @ -20°C (-6°F)
20W-xx = <9,500 cP @ -15°C (4°F)

The second number is the actual oil grade based on a kinematic viscosity (in centistokes) range at 100°C (212°F, often abbreviated as "KV100") and dynamic viscosity (HTHS, in centipoise) minimum threshold at 302°F. Kinematic viscosity is often also measured at 40°C (104°F, often abbreviated as "KV40") to get a viscosity index which is the rate at which the oil thickens as it cools, but this is unrelated to the oil grade. Like above, this does not change with the first number. A 30 grade is a 30 grade, regardless if it's a 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30, or straight 30. The only exception with this is the 40 grade figures where a 15W-40 must meet a higher dynamic viscosity than 0W-40, 5W-40, and 10W-40. Like the 10W-30 example I gave above, a 15W-40 is dirt cheap to make with bottom shelf base oils, viscosity index improver, and additive chemistry, hence it's held to higher standard in dynamic to at least keep it from being a total dumpsterfire.

xW-20 = 6.9 - 9.2 cSt @ 100°C and >2.6 cP @ 150°C
xW-30 = 9.3 - 12.4 cSt @ 100°C and >2.9 cP @ 150°C
0/5/10W-40 = 12.5 - 16.2 cSt @ 100°C and >3.5 cP @ 150°C
15/20W-40 = 12.5 - 16.2 cSt @ 100°C and >3.7 cP @ 150°C
xW-50 = 16.3 - 21.9 cSt @ 100°C and >3.7 cP @ 150°C

So a 5W-30 oil must be <6,600 cP @ -30°C and fall between 9.3 - 12.4 cSt @ 100°C (plus >2.9 cP @ 150°C). A 0W-40 must be <6,200 cP @ -35°C and fall between 12.5 - 16.2 cSt @ 100°C (plus >3.5 cP @ 150°C).

Note, what I stated above about companies going cheaper on the narrower multi-grades only really applies to the common major brands under the API certification umbrella. The API certs have the side effect of a ceiling on performance with no incentive to formulate the oil to anything more than the bare minimum. Hence, you get junk like Rotella. This usually isn't the case with boutique oil companies (HPL, Amsoil, Red Line, Driven, etc...) as they're more performance oriented, not shackled by API certs. They tend to put as much pride in their 10W-30 and 15W-40 oils as they do their 5W-30, 0W-30, 0W-40, etc...

I also live in SC (Edgefield), and use HPL PCMO 10W-20 in 2 of my vehicles, HPL HDMO 10W-30 in the other 2. Also, HPL Bad Ass 0W-12 in the drag car.
 
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Recently saw 5 quart jugs VR1 10W-30 and 20W-50 conventional on the shelf at WM. Also Mobil 1 15W-50 all under $30. Mobil 1 classic 10W-30 $$$ and not easy to find.
 
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about here and are only jumping to conclusions. Try again

a.) My engine builder said to run 5W-30/40 or 10W-30/40. People on here are telling me to jump to 0W-40

b.) Valvoline suggested not to run VR1 on the street due to not having as much detergents as other oils. However they also, same day, same rep, suggested that it could be ok if oil was changed more frequently.

So you are incorrect on both of your accusations. However thanks for the friendly welcome and Merry Christmas to you as well.
You also have M1 15/50
 
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