What oil for my 302 Ford race engine??

[johnnydc]

Most of them use Mobil 1. Some Valvoline, Pennzoil, but Pennzoil only has 25/50 racing oil over the counter in usa that I know of. Some also use Joe Gibbs Racing oil but your gonna have to mortgage the house for that stuff and it's made by one of the major oil companys anyway.

 

[Are]

The only down side to the R40 is that I have not heard of any body that has used it on a high performance V8.. But it was specialy made for dry sump engines. And itcan not be mixed with other oils.

 

[Are]

Originally Posted By: johnnydc
That castrol R40 might be a good choice then. As for the goverment thing. We run light weight oils (to meet fuel milage standards) in our cars here with low zddp for long catalitic life.

But you can buy racing oils in normal stores?

 

[johnnydc]

Yes. we can buy racing oil at autoparts stores. Mainly the Valvoline VR1 racing line is what we have at the autoparts stores. Some of the speed shops carry Royal Purple and Redline oil. The Mobil 1 Racing formula we can buy online from Mobil 1 racing site. I have not seen this stuff at autoparts stores yet.

 

[Bandito440]

I'd get some real racing oil. Red Line and Mobil 1 both have racing lines that are top quality.

 

[OVERKILL]

Find out what grade they ran in that engine this side of the pond first.

What is the sump capacity of this engine?

Ultimately, if it has a HUGE sump, and oil temps are kept in check, there's nothing stopping you from running something like M1 0w40, which was/is used in some of the Daytona, LeMans and other cars.

If it gets the oil hot enough it needs a 50-weight or the bearing clearances are high enough to require it, the M1 15w50 is a good choice.

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: Are
Rob_Roy. I bought the engine with a damage from the US. It has been run in the modern Trans Am cup. I have done the repar my self. It has coated bearings and it has a little more bearing clearance than stock. It has a Bryant billet crankshaft. It is a Weaver 5 stage dry sump pump..


This note has me worried. What on the engine was damaged, and how did you repair it?

Since the engine has a little more bearing clearance than stock, that may push you toward 50-weight oils to get acceptable oil pressure. And by "acceptable", I mean in the range of 50-70 psi at max power, high oil temperature conditions.

 

[Are]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: Are
Rob_Roy. I bought the engine with a damage from the US. It has been run in the modern Trans Am cup. I have done the repar my self. It has coated bearings and it has a little more bearing clearance than stock. It has a Bryant billet crankshaft. It is a Weaver 5 stage dry sump pump..


This note has me worried. What on the engine was damaged, and how did you repair it?

Since the engine has a little more bearing clearance than stock, that may push you toward 50-weight oils to get acceptable oil pressure. And by "acceptable", I mean in the range of 50-70 psi at max power, high oil temperature conditions.

I work in a engine overhaul machine shop. We grind cranks, bore cylinders, head work++. I resleeved one cylinder, and had to repare the crank. To get it done right the first time I shipped it to Marine Crankshafts in Cailifornia. I allso changed all the conrods. When I say a little more clearance than stock I meen about 0,0003" more.. So it should be about perfect for racing.

 

[rodinator1234]

Is it a full roller motor? Roller cam/rockers. So you are saying the bearing clearance is .0003 more than stock right? Which would put it where .0004-.00055 range?

 

[Are]

Originally Posted By: rodinator1234
Is it a full roller motor? Roller cam/rockers. So you are saying the bearing clearance is .0003 more than stock right? Which would put it where .0004-.00055 range?


It is a full roller motor. Jesel rollers, Jesel y2k rockers, titanium valves, retainers++
I cant remembers the diameter of the jurnals, but as far as I can remember the max stock clearens on a 302 is 0.0028" and mine was just about 0.0034". The coat on the bearings add 0.00025" to each bearing shell so that meen that the total clearence in the bearing will be 0.0005" tighter. So my clearince will be about 0.0029" Witch is fine.
So my jusnals are a little smaller than stock, but the coat on the bearings makes up for the smaller jurnals.
http://www.calicocoatings.com/

 

[2004tdigls]

you cant go wrong with mobil 1 0w50

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Racing_0W-50.aspx

 

[rodinator1234]

"you cant go wrong with mobil 1 0w50" i agree

I'm a fan of Mobil 1 in the right grade, it has never ever failed me. With that being said, I'm not a expert engine builder, or driver but I try. I have a 97 Camaro LT1 full roller motor that I autocross and do open track days with, I show it no mercy. I don't turn the rpm's that you will, don't have a dry sump, nor do run as long, 20 min max. on big track. I use Mobil 1 5w40 TDT. With that being said, I wouldn't use anything from Lucas Oil or Royal Purple. I just don't see/talk to people who run the [censored] out of there cars use it. I don't see top level NASCAR teams, endurance racing teams anyone that is at a very high level use either one of these. I see people use Mobil 1 products, 0w40 5w40 15w50 0w50, and I see people use Shell Rotella 5w40 and Redline racing oils Amsoil, Castrol, Valvoline. In my opinion, it's going to be more about what you can get easily. You don't need a real high zddp oil, or have to worry about wiping a cam or anything. Heat and shear are what I would worry about. Sustained high rpm's generate heat in the oil, and managing that heat is a factor in choice as well. Is the car ready to run yet, I would be so excited I couldn't sleep if I was building something like that. I want a real race car so bad.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

Originally Posted By: Are
Hi. I am building a Ford Mustang road racing car. The engine I am using is a 302 Ford race engine bored and stroked to 363. It is a dry sump engine with about 800hp at 8500rpm with max rpm at 9200. I am trying to find the right oil in the jungle of oil brands out there.. Lol.. There are 4 types of oil I am thinking about, Lucas 15- 50 racing oil, Amsoil 15- 50 racing oil, Royal Purple 15- 50 racing oil and Castrol R40 (castor based). The Castrol is single grade 40 castor based, but I think it will be fine if I just keep the oil temp whereit should be. What to do, and what to use?????
Thanks guys!!


You can't go wrong with any of them...It's a coin toss up. Honestly, you will never know the difference except price difference.

 

[GilroyRacing]

I run royal purple racing xpr 10w40 oil in both of my 302 SBFs. One being a 302 the other a 347. I also use wix racing filters.

 

[Bill888]

Castrol R series (bean oil) was the only game in town back in the 50's and 60's if you had a highly stressed, high-temp racing motor. Aside from Kendal racing oil, you had little or no other choice.
The serious downside to this oil is that it has to be drained when hot. If allowed to cool completely, it will gum-up a motor very quickly with heavy deposits.
When I was young (early 1960's) I was low man on a pit crew for an SCCA nationally competitive E-type Jaguar and later a well-sponsored 911S. Both cars ran R40 or R50 and the Jag ran R50 in its gearbox. It was my job after every race to get under the cars, while hot, and dump the oil before it completely cooled.
There are much better choices available today and I think that the only reason vintage racers use it is because of the memorable smell it produces at a race.
JMO
Bill