Help with Oil choices for off road racing

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
Messages
4
Location
CA
Just found out about this forum and was looking for some suggestions on WT and brand. I'm planning on racing at least (4) 200-450 mile races this year. With my new drivetrain setup and lack of experience having much more HP/inve$tment I really need some help with a good starting point to help keep my vehicle alive And any suggestions with different weights to possibly change too for different outside temp. conditions(some races can be anywhere from 30*-110*)My engine was purchased new from a 2nd party and I have been getting pretty short answers to help with choosing the proper oil from the builder especially since adding a Dry Sump system. Here is a few of the vehicle specs

Vehicle specs
unlimited truck
120" wheelbase
4200lbs race ready
37" tires
5:80 gear ratio
3spd TH400 with 220 gear set 4100 stall converter
race speeds vary but with the 3 speed trans and low gearing your spending a fair amount of time in high RPMS

engine specs LS3 418CI N/A
700ish HP/TQ
ARE 4 stage dry sump
2.5 gallon tank
Spintric Air/Oil separator
Ron Davis heat exchanger
ARE valve cover oilers -4 feed line
The only suggestion I have as of now from the builder is AMSOIL 30wt break in oil to start, after dyno then switch to AMSOIL signature race oil fully synesthetic and "stick around 10w-40" I can not even find that suggested weight and label from AMSOIL and have not been able to get anymore info than this from him. I don't do anything without doing a fair amount of research and didn't feel to confident with his suggestion so I figured I would inquire here.

I assume I should be pulling my oil every race regardless to have lab tested so I am not too concerned with high millage service intervals as much as having great protection during the full race and shakedowns. I have some pretty decent discounts available to me with a racing program on AMSOIL so I think with that I should be fairly close to the cost of Mobil 1 for any cost comparisons. I hope I am not leaving any major info needed out but if anyone has any advise I would greatly appreciate some guidance

Thank you
Kevin
 
Run Amsoil if you are happy with it . Amsoil is top quality oil. See if an Amsoil dealer will sponsor you.
 
never have personally ran AMSOIL but there is definitely some support for racers through them.
 
Red Line race 40wt what I would look into call Dave in technical he will get you in the right direction. 15w50 M1 off the shelf might also be a good bet.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
Red Line race 40wt what I would look into call Dave in technical he will get you in the right direction. 15w50 M1 off the shelf might also be a good bet.


Dave will answer the phone at Red Line and is good at helping you make a choice. As always he tends to be a customer advocate and does not just try to sell what he's got but prefers to use his experience and your situation to help you make a decision that best suits your needs. He is not a commissioned salesman. He has been their a long time and is in direct communication with all the people behind the scene that design, make and test the products and you have direct access to him. What's not to like about that. Try that with any other oil company and see where you get.
 
I'd run Amsoil Dominator 15w50 in that.

It's quite a bit better than most of the 15w50's out there.

GM recommends a 50 for racing a bone stock LS motor. I wouldn't do any less in a racing engine that's guaranteed to see nothing but high revs for the entirety of its run.
 
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
We have built baja truck engines and the prerunner engines, Mobil 1 15w-50 is a great choice. Redline? NO!!!!!!!!!!


What is it about Redline Oil that you don't like?
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
We have built baja truck engines and the prerunner engines, Mobil 1 15w-50 is a great choice. Redline? NO!!!!!!!!!!


What is it about Redline Oil that you don't like?
O2SE: Im not here to debate oils, But this is what i witnessed: - My Background: Nascar Cup, Arca,NPTA Tractor pull national champions, trophy truck off road,offshore racing,NHRA national champs,NASA Factory five national champs, Many srva vintage racing wins...16 years sole engine builder for CART Indy lights, Lets start there: Lights: 425 hp sealed Spec engines, 120 engines in the fleet with nearly 3 million total miles on the fleet, Like i said engines were sealed and could not be tampered with whatso ever,returned to us at 1100 -1500 miles for a rebuild by me (and Crew)... Spec oil was to be Mobil 1 15W-50, each engine had a lengthy log sheet and specs were checked very closely,and each worn part indexed and stored to this very day. EVERY time a clever crew chief, would pour his "favorite" oil in the 10-11 quart dry sump, i could tell at teardown immediately, bearing wear was increased, gear drive wear,main bearings,cam bearings (which usually last 3-4 rebuilds before changing out) Cosworth oil pump wear,and scavenge pump wear was beyond normal limits, i could go and on...but i wont. Some of the "Favorite" NON Recommended SPEC: oils of the car teams,crew chiefs. Not in any order here: REDLINE, MOHTOL,<spelling Royal purple,..........The car owners would always tell us what oil and weight was poured,If i had a inquiry. Ive said enough, this is fact To the OP: just go to the auto parts store and get a case of Mobil one 15w-50,DONE DEAL,(sidenote Im not even a mobil one fan for my own cars,and DDs. That belongs to Valvoline Syn)
 
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
We have built baja truck engines and the prerunner engines, Mobil 1 15w-50 is a great choice. Redline? NO!!!!!!!!!!


What is it about Redline Oil that you don't like?
O2SE: Im not here to debate oils, But this is what i witnessed: - My Background:------


Ok.... It really seemed like a fairly innocuous question..

Without dropping a laundry list of names/organizations, I'll just say I have experience in some specific-use applications where some Redline Oil products have done a better job than any other alternative that has been tried to date.

So, based on those experiences, I thought I'd ask.
 
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
We have built baja truck engines and the prerunner engines, Mobil 1 15w-50 is a great choice. Redline? NO!!!!!!!!!!


What is it about Redline Oil that you don't like?
O2SE: Im not here to debate oils, But this is what i witnessed: - My Background: Nascar Cup, Arca,NPTA Tractor pull national champions, trophy truck off road,offshore racing,NHRA national champs,NASA Factory five national champs, Many srva vintage racing wins...16 years sole engine builder for CART Indy lights, Lets start there: Lights: 425 hp sealed Spec engines, 120 engines in the fleet with nearly 3 million total miles on the fleet, Like i said engines were sealed and could not be tampered with whatso ever,returned to us at 1100 -1500 miles for a rebuild by me (and Crew)... Spec oil was to be Mobil 1 15W-50, each engine had a lengthy log sheet and specs were checked very closely,and each worn part indexed and stored to this very day. EVERY time a clever crew chief, would pour his "favorite" oil in the 10-11 quart dry sump, i could tell at teardown immediately, bearing wear was increased, gear drive wear,main bearings,cam bearings (which usually last 3-4 rebuilds before changing out) Cosworth oil pump wear,and scavenge pump wear was beyond normal limits, i could go and on...but i wont. Some of the "Favorite" NON Recommended SPEC: oils of the car teams,crew chiefs. Not in any order here: REDLINE, MOHTOL,div>


Im curious, were the crew chiefs using a XXw-50 oil?

Im not doubting you whatsoever. Im currently using M1 15w-50 in a toy. And was considering using a "high end" boutique oil for its next OCI. But maybe I'll just stick with the Mobil.
 
Im curious, were the crew chiefs using a XXw-50 oil? Alot of the times a lesser weight was used and that was suspect for the ill effects.
 
Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
Im curious, were the crew chiefs using a XXw-50 oil? Alot of the times a lesser weight was used and that was suspect for the ill effects.


Thanks.
 
dear boss9,
just an fyi, o2se is a current wrench on a nhra top fuel team.

different apps require different choices. a blanket choice is not always best.

and also, this forum is exactly for debating which oil is best.
 
People have a hard time believing the engine builders know what they are doing and what oils work and not the marketing claims.
 
Copy what Indy cars use, which is the same as some Lemans24hours racers use, also same as what Porsche endurance racers use: M1 0w-40 off the shelf from Walmart. Those are high-rpm shredding tests, lots of heat and pressure you won't even reach.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top