Vintage Speedster 2004 -Engine type? Type 1?

Brad Penn 20/50

I recommend adjusting the valves while you're at it.  Also, be VERY careful when retightening sumo plate bolts.  Very easy to strip.

Thanks guys!

 

 

Brad Penn oil is really great stuff.  A little disconcerting when you pour it in (it's really, really green) but it works well in these 60-yr-old technology engines.  Personally, I lean more towards 10W-40 Brad Penn, but either will work, although using the thicker 20W-50 may induce higher oil pressure and cause the high pressure oil-bypass valve to open.  I used to use Rotella Diesel-grade oil, but have recently moved to Brad Penn because the Rotella folks have been messing with their mix formula.  

 

Can't find Brad Penn oil in your local Autozone?  Try looking for dealers on their web site in your area.  

 

Why Brad Penn?  Because the makers of modern oils have been reducing the "slippery" additives to make them more eco-friendly.  The newer oils work well in newer engines (designed for that oil) but the newer oils are a semi-rapid death for our old engines.

 The Brad Penn Racing series still retains the slippery stuff you need in your engine.

 

Educate yourself at the LN Engineering website.  It is important for you to know WHY we use the oils that we do.  It's a lot of reading, so scroll down to the FAQ's, and there you'll find a table of acceptable oils for your engine.  It should look like this:  

 

Brand	Viscosity	API	HTHS	Porsche Approved
Mobil 1	0w40	SM	3.6	x
Mobil Delvac 1 / Mobil 1 Truck & Diesel	5w40	CJ-4/SM	4.1
Mobil 1 Synt S Special V 505.01 (Europe only)	5w40	SJ	4.67
Mobil 1 (Canada)	5w50	SM	4.3	x
VW 505.01 Castrol	5w40	SL	4.5
Castrol Syntec	5w40	SL	?	x
Castrol Syntec	5w50	SM	?
Motul 300V	5w40	SH	4.51
Motul 8100 X-Cess	5w40	SL	3.92	x
Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic European Formula	5w40	SL	3.9	x
Redline	5w40	SL	4.6
Quaker State Q European Formula	5w40	SL	3.9	x
Schaeffer Supreme 9000	5w40	SM	4.57

 

Hope this gets your research juices flowing.

 

gn

BAM! That is educating right there! So the Brad Penn looks to be "partially synthetic"? My head's about to spin off and it's only an oil change! Lol

There are several schools of thought on proper oils for these engines.  I tend to be a little more "old school" and used to shy away from the synthetics because, remember.....these  engines are old designs from the 1960's.  I have now learned the ways of the VW Jedi and will tolerate a synthetic blend, as long as it has the proper additives.

 

The important thing to remember is that you have a solid lifter base sliding directly upon the cam lobes.  These are not overhead cam engines with "roller" rockers, so you need something really slippery to keep the cam from wearing against the lifter.  Modern engines do this by eliminating the lifter and essentially putting a roller bearing at the cam end of the rocker arm, lubricate the bearing with an oil spray and everthin's hokey-dokey. VW engines are not grown that way and need the extra-slippery oil.

 

BTW:  Just to show that we're not alone, Harley Davidson V-Twin engines (in fact, almost all of their engine line) are also 60 year old technology, so whatever oil is good for a Harley V-Twin is OK for your VW.  The Harley guys tend to run 20W-50 in the summer, but their oil passages are wider so their pressure doesn't get much over 40 lbs. no matter what (and big-bellied Harley guys typically don't rev much over 2,500 rpm, anyway).

Interesting chart from Gordon. When I picked up my new Type IV from Jake Raby I got a lesson in oil 101.  I don't know anything about slippery additives but if you will google Brad Penn racing oil (GREEN ONLY)  you can read that what "modern" oils have done is to reduce or almost eliminate the anti-wear additives which are zinc and phosphorus from their oils.  This is critical for engines using a flat tappet type system like our air cooled engines.

 

When I first got my Speedster with the 1915 in it, I just dumped in any oil that seemed ok meaning highly advertised and higher-priced.  Now it's strictly Brad Penn Green;  20w50 in summer and 10w40 in winter. I can't buy this oil locally so I order off the internet and gladily pay the shipping. 

 

Good luck with your new Speedster---exciting times for sure!  Half the fun is owning and driving one of these cars but the other half is attending the Speedster gatherings like the upcoming "Mountain Madness" event in the Smoky Mountains near Asheville. Join us in September!

It's not complicated. Run Brad Penn 20/50. Be happy.

Jack, Next oil service I want an 8 ounce sample from you. I'll send you some flush oil and a case of this and we'll do some comparisons after the same mileage. All the comparatives I have carried out with my latest generation engines show decreased TBN and better viscosity after the same time in service when compared to Brad Penn.

 

I have also had great luck with oil pressure increases, most engines pick up 3-5 PSI at every RPM using this blend with as much as a 7 PSI increase average over a data log that was 3 hours in duration. Nothing ever stays the same, because of that it was time to have ultimate control over the oil inside my engines. The development behind the DT50 started in 2006.

Jake Raby: Is this a single a SINGLE viscosity oil?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

No, multi-grade 15W50

I also have a 5W40 with the same additive packages.

Hi Jake---sure, I'd try that.  The Brad Penn is a "semi synthetic" and I don't ever see a drip of oil on my garage floor.  Is there a semi-synthetic in the DT50 or is this something that's not an issue with my engine?

 

I'm due for an oil change before the Smokies event and will send 8 oz of the drained oil to you.  I still have some of those oil sample shippers you gave me.

 

Why are you working on the 4th of July??

Jack, I have had zero oil leakage issues with this group 2 synthetic blend. One reason is the sealants that we use on our engines as well as the excellent crankcase breathing arrangement that helps fend off oil leaks.

 

We have gotten completely away from Brad Penn oil. Its still a quality choice but it seemed that it was changing 4-5 times per year and I don't like those variables. The DT50 is a blend that is made 3,000 gallons at a time and since I carry out development for Joe Gibbs we have direct control over what changes in the formulation, if anything.

 

Last week I finished gathering UOA and dyno charts from 337 Dyno Runs with 14 different oils, all Gibbs products except 3 that we were comparing different future Gibbs offerings to.

Here is a shot of all my samples before sending them out to the Gibbs laboratory.

 

BTW- I am not working and haven't been all week.. I am currently sitting on a dock trying to catch bait for my shark fishing expedition this evening. Just goofing off here and browsing the new site :-)

 We went out Monday and I hooked this Red Snapper..

Jake.

 Shell Rotella diesel oil ? Their oil still retains a decent amount of zinc . That's all I use in aircooled... your thoughts? ~Alan

Alan,
Rotella hasn't been the same since 2010. When cleaner diesel engines came about the API started impacting diesel oils much like passenger car oils. Anything bought over the counter is compromised these days.

If adequate protection was available over the counter I would never have been forced to carry out this level of development.

 

But this is only my opinion, if something is working stick with it.. Just realize it might not work next week because somewhere up the line something changed that no one told you about.

Jake, is that a Subarugears tranny you refer to orsomething of your own ?

David,
This was a Berg 5 kit that I built in 2002, it was not a Subygears unit.

The Subygears units are selling like hot cakes, will be even hotter now that the AirCooled adaptor plates done.

I'm I the only one still using Swepco in there air cooled vehicles?

10/40 Dino.

I run Brad Penn 10/30 in all my other vehicles.

Ron

I tested Swepco 10/40 back in 2007 and it was impressive..  don't know how it may have changed since then.

Joe Gibbs oil link:

http://www.joegibbsdriven.com/index.html

Jake--you are definitekly "livin' the life!"  Good on ya.