Are you getting enough zinc dialkyldithiophosphate?!!!
Maybe I have been living under a rock, and you people all know about this, but oil companies have been reducing the amount of zinc in motor oil over the past four or so years. So who cares? Well, anyone with flat tappet lifters in their vintage cars—me and probably YOU! So, no more off-the-shelf motor oils for me. I am going to do some extensive research on the Web. I haven't taken my prize Morgan highly-tuned engine all apart to put it back together and have almost instant wear because of the wrong oil. Join in on the discussion!
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6 comments:
I'm using Shell Rotella T, formulated for diesel engines,in my Rover v8. Some people I know use Castrol GTX with a bottle of ZDDP additive at each change, others are using Valvoline Racing Oil with higher levels of ZDDP. A link to their site:
http://www.valvoline.com/faqs/motor-oil/racing-oil/
Quaker State has announced a new oil for older cars to be available in early 2012, called "Defy", with high levels of zinc.
Phil
I've been using Irving Diesel Premium 15W40 since my engine rebuild. I contacted Irving (ie Coastal Blending & Packaging in Portsmouth, NH) and received the following spec information from them about their diesel oils.
Irving Diesel Premium Plus 15W40 has a Phosphorus content of 1100 ppms and Zinc content of 1100 ppms.
Irving Diesel Premium 15W40 has Phosphorus at 1200 ppms and Zinc at 1400 ppms. I use this product with the higher Zn and P, and yes, the "Plus" has the lower Zn and P content.
The catalytic converters in cars can not tolerate the Zn and P - not an issue with diesels.
As to the oil's weight, one of John Twist's videos indicated that the 15W40 oil is suitable for a B. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7mVVvWnR34
Dwight
Why not to use diesel oil:
The ZDDP that is generally used in diesel formulas is primary ZDDP (which activates at higher engine temperatures) since a diesel engine runs predominantly at operating temperature. In a gasoline engine, we must have both primary and secondary ZDDP (which activates at lower temperatures) since the engine will experience a significant number of cold starts. Also, the viscosity modifier polymers that are used in multi-viscosity engine oil to prevent viscosity loss at operating temperature (to protect the bearings) are different for diesel oil and gasoline oil. Diesels operate at essentially the same rpm all day long and need polymers that are shear stable to protect the bearings. Gasoline engines experience many large ranges of rpm during operation and require polymers that have both shear stability and thickening efficiency capability to protect the bearings.
Why not to use racing oil:
Race oil formulas are typically designed with reduced levels of detergency and dispersency to improve performance of the anti-wear and friction modifier chemistries. Race oil is typically changed very frequently and race engines are typically re-built frequently. For a street driven gasoline engine, the correct levels of detergency and dispersency are required to prevent deposit formation (particularly at the piston rings), and sludge formation, from contaminants. This becomes more important to classic car owners who may only drive the vehicle occasionally and who change the oil once or twice a year.
If you want more info there is a good tech article on the MOSS MOTORS web site. They sell a Collectors Choice engine oil specific for classic brit cars and if you go to Shop Supplies you can then link to their info page which describes all the oil specs right back to the 60s . It appears that too much ZDDP is as bad as too little and that levels in the region of 1200 to 1400ppm is the optimal but read and make your own decision.
Kelvin
Excellent information, Kelvin. For those of you who would like to read the two articles, the links can be found on this page on the Moss site:
http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=65894&SortOrder=1
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