Recommended Oil, brand and weight? Reg. or Synthetic?

[oldskoul]

74 2002 Automatic.

Which motor oil is best?

[Chamonix72]

20W50. Brand is up to personal preference. I've used RedLine and Castrol Syntec synthetic. When my motor got too leakey and oil-burney, I switched to dino oil, in this case Valvoline VR-1. But just plain Castrol GTX works great.

Use a quality filter though: Mann, Mahle, Wix. Mann and Mahle are easily obtained if you're willing to buy online. If you just gotta use the local parts place, go with Wix.

[Mike Self]

not a mosquito fogger, synthetic is good stuff--lengthens change periods and is a lot slipperier than conventional oil.

I started using Amsoil in my 73 after its rebuild and have been very happy with it; I still use conventional oil in my 69 with 223k miles on the original engine....Pennzoil 20W50 since new. Pennzoil used to make a synthetic 20w-50 but apparently they don't any more--can't find it at stores or on their web site.

cheers

mike

[jrhone]

Valvoline VR-1 20/50 for me. I use it because its on of the only oils with zinc in the oil still which for old cars is great. Newer oils must adhere to a newer standard for new cars and the new cars dont like zinc in the emission systems. So out it went from the oils. Older cars use zinc to protect the engine from wear. Diesel oils also have this additive although I cant find any in 20w-50, the closest was 15w-40. The Diesel oil also has cleaners to help keep the engine clean. The Castrol, Pennzoil, etc dont have near the same zinc content. I think Brad Penn makes a high zinc oil...BUT the bottom line is if you change it regularly then a good 20w-50 is good. Synthetic is fine, unless your car burns oil...if so its a waste of money...Dino oil is just fine, just change it more frequently.

[jscaptura1]

I have used straight 40w dino oil since 1984. 1600 now has 175K on original motor. Started with Kendall GT-1 then had to go to Valvoline when Kendall was no longer available. I could probably use others but that seems to work well. I think it is really up to what modifications have been done to the motor and your personal preference. As stated here earlier, the older motors seem to like the dino oil. (My whole motor is original, as in everything except plugs and oil & still runs great so I stick with what I have always used). Good Luck!

[mike472]

Amsoil has a high zinc 20w50 synthetic that Is made for older cars like ours that need the zinc. Have been using it in my 74 with good results.

[DavidLMM]

Kendall GT-1 is now available as Brad Penn-labelled oil. We get it from our local lubricant distributor - never seen it anywhere at retail.

David

www.lanemotormuseum.org

[jscaptura1]

David, Thanks for the info, I will look into it in our area to see if any of our distributors carry it.

Joe

[Napes]

I use BradPenn 20W/50 in my rebuilt motor. It's available where I live at a long-time Speed Shop.

Bob Napier

[Guest Anonymous]

the search on "recommended and oil"

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,search/mode,results/?search_keywords=recommended+and+oil&search_author=&search_forum=-1&search_time=0&search_fields=all&search_cat=-1&sort_by=0&sort_dir=DESC&show_results=topics&return_chars=200

[robsanab]

Amsoil has a high zinc 20w50 synthetic that Is made for older cars like ours that need the zinc. Have been using it in my 74 with good results.

Is that the 'new' Amsoil 20w-50 Z-ROD? “high zinc, high phosphorus formulation engineered specifically for classic cars and performance vehicles. Provides extra protection for flat-tappet cams” etc. Also “unique blend of rust and corrosion inhibitors ensure maximum protection during long term storage”.

Have been using Castrol syntec 20-50 and just found they don’t make it anymore… emailed their tech line and they said it’s replaced with their new EDGE 5W-50… probably OK since I am in the pacific NW but I think I’ll stick with 20w-50 and try the Zrod. What do you think?

[TobyB]

Mobil 1 15-50 is also pretty high ZDDP still- we use it on the race cars...

(but not the other weights, just the 15-50)

t

[c.d.iesel]

+ 2 Mobil 1 15w-50

[robsanab]

A good reference that seems to be kept up to date... and an interesting read for you oil purveyors and those concerened about ZDDP...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-tech-performance/2484100-list-of-flat-tappet-oils.html

[jgerry2002]

Joe Gibbs racing HR-3 15W-50. Synthetic, plenty of zinc.

Not a fan of Mobil 1 synthetic any more, doesnt seem to hold up well with track usage. Not quite the same as it was years ago...