Classic cars and oil guru's step on in..

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stickshift

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I have a 454/640hp pump gas motor that I drive on the street, race occasionally. This latest version of the engine has been together now for about 10 years.

I always ran VR1 Valvoline 20W-50 racing oil in it. Liked the extra viscosity as I was always worried about break down or shearing (4.10 gear and no overdrive) so I buzz this thing down the road at 3500 for long periods of time.

I changed the oil last year with Valvoline Synpower full synthetic 10w-30 because I had some extra at the time and thought I'd give it a shot. A couple things happened.

1) Oil pressure dropped about 10 psi accross the board. Nothing scarey, still 25-30 psi hot at idle after a long high rpm drive, and it holds 60-70 while cruising.

2) My idle actually jumped up about 200-300 rpms. Guess the thinner oil is allowing the engine to spin more freely, probably freed up a few ponies, and I don't mind that.

This is a roller motor so no worries of flat cam lobes. It's time to change the oil again and I'm curious if I should stay with this synthetic, another synthetic, different viscosity, or stick the VR1 racing back in?

Maybe switch to the new Amsoil hotrod oil, possibly go with a 15w-40 mix? Anyone have thoughts on this?
 
Valvoline makes a VR1 SL rated synthetic 10W30 for classic cars, IMHO 25-30 hot idle is pretty good with 10W30-my worn-out 350 TBI motor is usually 10-15 PSI hot (does have 220K+ on it). 454s usually aren't super hard on oil, except for burning it, unless you really run it super hard at the track, I'd keep doing what you're doing now.
 
Zrod by Amsoil is a great choice. 10w-30 and 20w-50 weights.

You could blend it. It even has additives for when you're sitting.

That's terrific oil pressure, no need for any higher than that.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Zrod by Amsoil is a great choice. 10w-30 and 20w-50 weights.

You could blend it. It even has additives for when you're sitting.

That's terrific oil pressure, no need for any higher than that.


^ This.

I run Amsoil Z-Rod 10w-30 in my 500HP Supercharged & tuned GTO. 11.5 cSt, so it's way up in the grade. Engine sounds & runs fantastic with it in. Highly recommended.
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Zrod by Amsoil is a great choice. 10w-30 and 20w-50 weights.

You could blend it. It even has additives for when you're sitting.

That's terrific oil pressure, no need for any higher than that.


This!
I went with Amsoil 20w50 in a show car '69 corvette I owned for many years and sold a few years ago.
 
Can I ask what car this is in? Pics?

If it were me, I'd run a 10W-30 HDEO - Rotella, Delo, Delvac...
 
Does VR1 *last* as long as a regular street oil,or is it a short term race oil?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Does VR1 *last* as long as a regular street oil,or is it a short term race oil?


I thought of it as short term many years ago, but it seems the formulation has changed within the last couple years.
It used to be a SH/CD rated oil, I never left it in more than 1,000-1,500 miles.

Now it's simply an SM rated oil. I believe that is telling me it now has a cleaning additive package that it didn't have before. I haven't done any new OA's on this newer version of VR1. However, I'm told at the same time the SM rating came along that the ZDDP level also dropped.

Because of this I'm more skeptical of the oil and I'm not 100% sure I want to keep using it. I have it in 2 other cars at this time (one flat tappet and one roller cam engine).

Ironically when I bought a new GM crate 502 from Scoggin/Dickey for another vehicle, their warranty paperwork suggested that I break the engine in with Valvoline VR1 20W-50 racing oil. Not sure why, it's a roller cam engine.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Valvoline makes a VR1 SL rated synthetic 10W30 for classic cars, IMHO 25-30 hot idle is pretty good with 10W30-my worn-out 350 TBI motor is usually 10-15 PSI hot (does have 220K+ on it). 454s usually aren't super hard on oil, except for burning it, unless you really run it super hard at the track, I'd keep doing what you're doing now.


I haven't seen a valvoline VR1 that was SL rated, I'll have to check out that synthetic version you speak of.
As I mentioned above,,,the old dino VR1 used to be SH/CD,,,it's now simply just SM.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
I'd assume (but am asking)...

Do you change the oil annually?

And how many miles are you putting on over the oil change?


Usually change it bi-annually, sometimes more often if I feel inclined to change it before a day at the track. Annually I put about 2-3,000 street miles on the car.
 
In the Arizona climate I would use Shell Rotella 15w-40 year round and be done with it.

Rotella 10w-30 semi-syn if you want to experiment with a 30wt.
 
Look at the OA's. The Amsoil Z-Rod has a more stout add. pack. That's your ticket.
 
You could think about Valvoline's VR1 Synthetic racing oil in 10w30 viscosity. It is basically Synpower with extra zddp. And it comes in a nice sapphire blue color...

Or mix VR1 conventional 10w30 and 20w50.
 
Thanks for all the help guys.

I guess I should point out why the VR1 conventional race oil is bothering me nowadays,,,and maybe someone could shed some light on it.

It's now rated SM,,,which if I'm not mistaken makes the oil satisfactory for new cars up to the 2005 model year. Now how can this oil still contain a high ZDDP solution if it's now an SM rated oil? The whole reason ZDDP was reduced was due to new cars and their cat converters.
When you look on Vavoline's website this VR1 conventional race oil is still listed as having 1200-1300 ppm's of ZDDP. I wonder if that's a typo or misinformation,,,because that seems contradicting of the SM rating.
Has anyone done a new oil annalis of this oil to see exactly what's going on?
 
Amsoils ZRod 10W30 has 1440 ppm ZDDP....that's directly from Amsoil. It also provides outstandng corrosion protection for
engines that sit idle for a period of time. We also use Amsoil
HDD5W30 in a few of our muscle cars, 1380 ppm ZDDP. Both have been excellent.
 
Originally Posted By: stickshift
Thanks for all the help guys.

I guess I should point out why the VR1 conventional race oil is bothering me nowadays,,,and maybe someone could shed some light on it.

It's now rated SM,,,which if I'm not mistaken makes the oil satisfactory for new cars up to the 2005 model year. Now how can this oil still contain a high ZDDP solution if it's now an SM rated oil? The whole reason ZDDP was reduced was due to new cars and their cat converters.
When you look on Vavoline's website this VR1 conventional race oil is still listed as having 1200-1300 ppm's of ZDDP. I wonder if that's a typo or misinformation,,,because that seems contradicting of the SM rating.
Has anyone done a new oil annalis of this oil to see exactly what's going on?


The lower zddp levels of post-SH oils apply only to 20 and 30-weight oils. 40 and above do not have zddp limits. So the VR1 20w50 can be labeled SM. The 10w30 is labeled SH, but even it exceeds SH levels of Phos. I'm still trying to figure that one out.
 
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