Can Motor Oil Really Make aA Difference In Nascar
- Thread starter buster
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looks like marketing to me.
Sure.
"If you ever get a chance to watch the teams change oil, it looks like water pouring out," Stewart said.
In the old days, we use to use 50 wt oils in race engines. Mobil's AFEs advertise a 2% increase in fuel mileage and racing engines only have to last about 1000 miles. They may be running super light oils now (lighter than 0W-20) which also helps the engine maker prove it for street use.
Plus, with XOM as a sponsor, the crew chief doesn't have to hang out on BITOG to get answers about what oil to use!
"If you ever get a chance to watch the teams change oil, it looks like water pouring out," Stewart said.
In the old days, we use to use 50 wt oils in race engines. Mobil's AFEs advertise a 2% increase in fuel mileage and racing engines only have to last about 1000 miles. They may be running super light oils now (lighter than 0W-20) which also helps the engine maker prove it for street use.
Plus, with XOM as a sponsor, the crew chief doesn't have to hang out on BITOG to get answers about what oil to use!
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Yes, it can make a small difference. But with the rules so tight, any small difference is vital! Might not even be chartable, but when you put several things together that make a small difference you could have a winner!
Originally Posted By: robshelton
Yes, it can make a small difference. But with the rules so tight, any small difference is vital! Might not even be chartable, but when you put several things together that make a small difference you could have a winner!
Have you have been drinking the kool aid again? I know its hot outside , but let me get you a gatoraid, coke, pepsi, mountain dew,or 7 up.
Yes, it can make a small difference. But with the rules so tight, any small difference is vital! Might not even be chartable, but when you put several things together that make a small difference you could have a winner!
Have you have been drinking the kool aid again? I know its hot outside , but let me get you a gatoraid, coke, pepsi, mountain dew,or 7 up.
Every detail makes a difference. One mistake = fail. lol
Originally Posted By: troyb43
Maybe a little off topic, but lubrication qualities must be better today, as you do not see the rear end coolers like there was at one point
You might not see them in Cup, but I have seen them on other purpose built road race cars. I have seen a couple 03-04 Cobras where they use the stock engine heat exchanger, mount it in the rear and use it as a radiator for the diff fluid. The IRS setup with the exhaust running under it heats the fluid up a lot. I have even seen some cars with manual transmissions come from the factory with trans fluid coolers.
Maybe a little off topic, but lubrication qualities must be better today, as you do not see the rear end coolers like there was at one point
You might not see them in Cup, but I have seen them on other purpose built road race cars. I have seen a couple 03-04 Cobras where they use the stock engine heat exchanger, mount it in the rear and use it as a radiator for the diff fluid. The IRS setup with the exhaust running under it heats the fluid up a lot. I have even seen some cars with manual transmissions come from the factory with trans fluid coolers.
Sure there's hype involved in this article, but I do agree with Rob Shelton's comments. Those small advantages do add-up to a more competitive car. For years, you'd see F-1 lubrication engineers mixing custom blends before qualifying, the race, etc. I remember some top-sponsored SCCA racers using 30wt oil in their Jag & Porsche gearboxes just to gain a slight advantage (of course they had a virtually endless supply of fresh boxes on the shelf.) My point is, if you can just slightly reduce friction on moving parts and, let's say, gain 1/100 of a second per lap, you've just improved your track position at some of the super-speedways, especially if all other avenues of tweaking the car have been exhausted.
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Bill
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Bill
I went to Joe Gibbs Racing back on the 20th of April for an AERA Conference and engine oil was one of the main topics of discussion. It is very important and they look for any advantage that they can. The oils used in Sprint cup are special formulas that the teams have made. They talked about how they didn't have the formula just right and how they wiped out several engines. It definitely isn't an off the shelf oil. They qualify with a 0w and run a 10w for the race. The specifics of the oils chemical makeup were not provided and a trade secret.
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