How little ZDDP is safe for a -98 Lada engine?

[ladaman]

Hello,

I'm thinking of using synthetic oil to keep troubles away from my dear Lada. It's only at 30 000 miles so I'm sure it won't be issues with the the dino-gunk-sealing-the-seals-problems and such. The only thing I worry about is that the ZDDP content of "modern car" oil won't be enough for my old school Lada, as it uses flat tappets rather than rollers. The manual says to use 10w-40 so here are the oils I've mainly been looking at:
Mobil 1 Super 2000 X1 10w-40 (1440ppm ZDDP, semi-syn)
Mobil 1 Super 3000 X1 5w-40 (900ppm ZDDP, full syn)
Mobil 1 0w-40 Protection formula (1000ppm ZDDP, full syn)

I feel safe buying Mobil 1 and it's available for a good price at my local oil place. But which one should I choose?

 

[addyguy]

You're worred about Zinc amounts and using synthetic to protect a 1998 LADA???

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

......sorry...yeah, I'm okay....OOOOOOHHHH that's funny! Good one!

IF you're willing to spend the $$$$, Mobil's 0W-40 formula is hard to beat, no matter where it is.

 

[electrolover]

its well broke-in and it should have pretty low spring pressure anyway because its stock. i bet any or the above would work just fine, but i would choose the super 2000 10/40. its the break in period when you will loose a cam from lack of ZDDP. but if you are worried you could run any HDEO 15/40 or an off road oil like valvoline vr1 (which is pretty much SL valvoline).

anything above 1200 ppm is good for zinc on a mild cam, but moly is something to look at as well. if you can find an oil with 1000 ppm zinc and 500 ppm moly it should do the trick. not to mention a healthy boron level like 300 or so will also help. right off the top of my head i think PU has good levels of all 3....maybe not quite 500 ppm moly tho

 

[d00df00d]

to BITOG!

Please excuse the above ridicule. It is not typical here.

I would be surprised if any of the oils you listed had any trouble protecting your engine. ZDDP content isn't the only thing that counts any more.

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
You're worred about Zinc amounts and using synthetic to protect a 1998 LADA???

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

......sorry...yeah, I'm okay....OOOOOOHHHH that's funny! Good one!

IF you're willing to spend the $$$$, Mobil's 0W-40 formula is hard to beat, no matter where it is.




thats a nice welcome.......

hey OP

to BITOG!!

 

[ladaman]

Hahahaha, thanks for all your replies - both mocking and helpful

So you guys think there won't be any problems even with the 5w-40 "3000 X1" which has the lowest ZDDP of the three?

About the first reply: what can I say? I like reliable easy to repair cheap cars, and this time around it just so happened to be a Lada

 

[RamFan]

Maybe the new Quaker State Defy is for you???

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: ladaman
Hahahaha, thanks for all your replies - both mocking and helpful

So you guys think there won't be any problems even with the 5w-40 "3000 X1" which has the lowest ZDDP of the three?

About the first reply: what can I say? I like reliable easy to repair cheap cars, and this time around it just so happened to be a Lada

honestly i would save the money and run chenron supreme if you can get it. good enough ya know?

 

[ladaman]

Sorry but brands like Chevron and QS aren't available easily here. With the Mobil 1 oils going for as little as $25 per jug here it's almost pointless to try and save more money on oil, I think. Seeing as this poor car will face over a hundred freezing cold starts a year it's not tactical to save money on oil.

 

[CATERHAM]

I believe the engine is a fiat copy of the time with SOHC which doesn't have a high ZDDP requirement.
Of the three choices I'd go with M1 0W-40.

 

[A_Harman]

The Super 2000 sounds good to me. It's got the maximum zddp that anybody could reasonably ask for in a pass car engine and is the correct viscosity according to the manufacturer.

 

[OpelFever]

I'd go for the 0w-40 given the cold winters here in scandinavia. It's been -20c or colder all week and if your worried about the valvetrain its wise to look for best cold-flow.

Camshaft failures where common in the past with sensitive designs (like the Opel SOHC-engines) and dino oils with bad cold properties, at worst the top end was without oil for several minutes.

 

[CATERHAM]

I agree, just because a 10W-40 mineral oil was what was spec'd back in the 90's doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the modern synthetic oils of today.

 

[addyguy]

Sometime in the mid-1990's, I went to a Lada dealership to look into getting a new Lada, as they were by far the cheapest new car you could get.

The car was the most awkward, uncomfortable, 'weirdest' new car I've ever been in - the plastic trim on the inside was LITERALLY the same material that is used in cookie bags to line up the cookies!

Like OpelFever said above, if you're willing to spend the money, you get the best of all worlds with the M1 0W-40.

 

[Ben Boyle]

My question would be what kind of Lada are we talking? One of the Fiat based ones like the 2107 or a Niva, or one of the later cars like a Samara.

Yes, I know these things. I live in Michigan and I own a Lada Niva!

For what it's worth, I run Rotella 15-40 in my Niva

 

[BullyT]

I'd cut "addguy" some slack on this one. I mean, Lada doesn't evoke positive images over here. I recall a road test in Car and Drive magazine back in the day when the first Ladas were imported into North America. They...uh...were pretty harsh on the car, but did say "It's only $3,000.00 which is the same price you'd pay for the rear spoiler on a Lamborghini." Several months later in the "Letters" section, someone wrote in "I'd rather have the rear spoiler of the Lamborghini sitting in my driveway." Please...no disrespect intended.

 

[ahoier]

If the vehicle specs 10W-40....you should have no problems with a 15W-40 HDEO in that engine....

 

[ladaman]

Well yes, the Ladas don't stack up very well as drivers cars, but they are very easy to repair and that's worth a lot in the long run. This model is one of the latest Samaras (2109) to hit the world outside of russia, and it has an updated interior so it's not actually that horrible a place to be any more

I don't think I'll be willing to pay the extra $$$ for the 0w-40, but the 5w-40 is right up my alley. 15w-40 HDEO in winter, with temps reaching -30c? Ah, you live in florida

IIRC the combustion chamber design was made with help from a Porsche engineer on this engine, giving it a high compression ratio and making it quite fun to drive at low speeds.

 

[Propflux01]

Originally Posted By: ladaman
...... it's almost pointless to try and save more money on oil, I think. Seeing as this poor car will face over a hundred freezing cold starts a year it's not tactical to save money on oil.


If it's pointless to save, and your having the temps that you are, while I am sure the 5w specs ok for the temp, I would think the 0W would be a better choice.

 

[dparm]

I think you'll be pleased with the 0w40. On cold mornings it will provide better protection.