New member here but old timer when it comes to hot rods.
Good points how some engines with hyd lifters need a certain light weight oil to work as they should. It was long known that solid lifters worker better at higher rpms but due to emission reasons all engines today use hyd and lately the lifters are used to deactivate a cylinder.
I question thou the "fact" that most engine wear takes place as the engine is first started and as it is warming up. If that was really true, then how come pro racers have their engines torn down and rebuilt after every big race ? The engine's are only run a short time while cold yet they are worn out after a 500 mile race.
Maybe pro racing engines are unfair to compare to passenger car engines but I can think of no other comparison. Certainly saying that most wear to a engine happens when the engine is cold is not correct when it comes to engines used in racing. I would think for those engines, the most wear happens when the engine is cranking out max hp and that is when the engine is fully warmed up.
Long ago it was explain to me that oil prevents metal to metal contact and the thicker the film of oil, the better the oil protection. That too thin of an oil film would breakdown and get squeezed out and the engine would spin a bearing. It was always better to use a thicker oil, like straight 30 or 40 weight vs something like 10w-40 or even 20w-50 when the engine is used in high performance use.
As for today engines being "better" cause they can last 200,000 miles or more. You should also thank OD transmissions and today's better motor oils. The rpm engines run today is far less then it was 50 years ago. New engines spin at under 2,000 rpms for most all of the time running expect ,maybe when taking off from a turn or first getting on the freeway and some drivers rarely spin their engines past 3500 rpms expect once in a great while. 50 years ago, cars could come with rear axle ratios of 3.55 or higher. Even 4.10's were used on some HP muscle cars. Those engines spun at 3,000 to 4,000 on the freeway going 65-75 mph. Motor trend in 1970, I forget the month, March or May 1970 might be it, I know it was in 1970, MT compared two Mopar Roadrunner cars with the 440 engines, one with 3.55 gears vs one with 4.10 gears. They said in print, that the 4.10 gear car was safer on the freeway because it had much better power at speeds of 90 to 110 mph. Those 440 engines were screaming yet the engines lasted sometimes up to 100,000 miles and when they did break it might have been cause the timing chain got loose and jumped a tooth and smacked the valves on the pistons. If the owner would have put a new timing chain on before the chain got loose, those engines would last over 100,000 miles if the oil was changed every 3 months or 3,00 miles. "PS" I still try to change the engine oil with in 3 months, maybe its waste of oil and time but its lot cheaper then a rebuilt engine. All my cars last well over 150,000 miles, the trans might go out before then but not the engine
What oil do I use in mine new engines that call for 5w-30 oil, why 10w-30. I do so cause it think it gives a tad better performance. I'm sure if the engine has cylinder cut off, then I would use a thinner oil so the lifter worked as they should. Really I don't want an engine that shuts off any of its cylinders. Gasoline is "cheap" and is likely to stay that way. My 2014 GM 3.6 engine gets around 25 mpg, that is a far cry of the old muscle car engines that got 10 to 15 mpg. I recall "bragging" how my 1970 340 engine could get 16 mpg if I went 55 mph. The 3.6 engine would get 30 mpg or more, why does it need any more by shutting off when stop or cutting off cylinders, no thanks, GM can keep its 2017 and later 3.6 engines. I want all the cylinders firing at all of the time,less stuff the break later on.
One more thing, there are lots of engines in limited use today that are 50 years old and have been in use--with rebuilts- for 200,000 miles or more. I have a hard time believing today new engines will last that long. The engine blocks are so thin and now made of aluminum. They work good now but they aren't going to be around "forever" like the old cast iron engines.
I'm so happy i got to enjoy real muscle cars and now today's newer stuff. Today cars are much easier to drive, I will say that, maybe too easy, why new drivers today want to text and drive, ugh.
