What kind of oil?

What is everyone running in there motors? I remember Castrol was good but what weight 10w30????

Thanks
Tom

Right now I am using 20-50w. Here is link on it

https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=8080

Far as I know, 30 wt is it. Have had advice recently that for cooler climes (winter) can use 20w-50. Generally you see admonitions against multi-viscosity oils like 10W30. Anxious to see what the resident experts have to say.

So long as it's not snowing, 20-50 is great oil for an air cooled engine. I've been using Castrol 20-50 for over 40 years with no lubrication problems. By the way, everyone has their own opinion regarding oil brand and viscosity and just because I've had 40 years of good luck doesn't mean that I should be your only source of recommendation.

Today's oil is crap, Govt. regulations have forced the oil blenders to remove zinc and phosphorous, and although this chart has appeared on virtually every VW and Porsche board, here it is again.

http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html

Rotella CI-4 rated 15W-40

Info on Synthetic oils here: http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/synthoil.htm

Larry's link below is the best one I've found on oils.

Years ago, I would only use Kendall, but even THAT has become "ordinary" now due to Gov't regs on Zinc removal.

Read Larry's Link, wade through the chart, and see which of those with high Zinc content are available in your area...Hint: Diesel or Motorcycle oils are still good for aircooled VW engines.

CI-4 is just about, if not, all gone.

It's now CJ-4 API. Low in zinc and phosphorous

GM EOS additive was some great stuff as it add's zinc and phosphorous to oil but it too is almost gone from the dealers shelf.

The last I heard, Jake Raby, builder of Type IV engines, only recommends Brad Penn oil for his engines.

Then there is synthetic oil, in most cases, it provides the necessary lubrication that zinc and phosphorous provides for blended natural oil. As of late, Porsche only recommends 0-40 Mobil 1 for their engines.

I choose SUNTAN

Suntan ""OIL"" or Suntan the psycadelic band

I changed to V-Twin 20/50 Mobil-1 this spring. It's a bit pricy and my motor better be loving it! It's loaded with ZDDP.

~WB

Valvoline or Castrol 20W-50 (non-syn) for me.

Mobil 1 synthetic 15-50 as directed by the nice engine builder guy... At $6 a quart and two gallons used, its a damn good thing it doesn't leak!

angela

I'm a Royal Purple Fan....I think it may be the best stuff on planet earth.

Air cooled motorcycle engine oil looks like a good alternative these days. I was lucky enough to find a gallon old spec (CI-4 or earlier) of Shell Rotella 40 W locally and put that in my last oil change but as other alternatives (such as supplementing your favorite oil with GM Engine Oil Supplement, which I heard is also being phased out) I'm seriously looking at V twin oil.

I think it's just another covert Government program to rid our highways and byways of all those pollutin' older cars.

Take away the oil they need to run, and they'll soon become backyard lawn ornaments.... |>(

In the early 1980s I used Duckman sp. in my 911. It ran 10 degrees cooler. I lived in the desert so temp was important. Can you still buy duckmans oil?

We have to buy oil for the diesel from the Ford dealer, I guess that there's something in it that makes the engine run. Whenever we tried to use another oil, we broke something . . . I suspect that it might have some of the additives for the diesel which were removed from the Castrol and such.

Could it be used in an aircooled engine? Would it be better than the local auto outlet oil?

Brad Penn is similar to Kendall from years ago. In fact, when Kendall became just another brand of another oil company, the Brad Penn people bought the old Kendall refinery.

Brad Penn is all we use anymore.

And Jake Raby too....

Pat Downs at CB Performance specified Kendall 20-50 for my motor.

I plan to use Brad Penn break in oil. I am wondering how long I should use break in oil before changing to regular oil.

Any suggestions?

I use Mobil 1 Delvac in everything I own right down to the maids 100cc scooter and even my lawnmower. Here in Thailand they just changed the name to "turbo pickup oil" but it is the same stuff. In the States Delvac is a bit difficult to find but look at commercial trucking sources.
Yes it is a "diesel" oil

Equally, if not more important is the oil filter (assuming you are not using a stock screen) I use only Purolator Pure 1 filters - read and decide:
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Filters.html#OilFilters

ACVW engines are a lot like bikes. Everyone has their own ideas re what oil is best. Read this and decide for yourself:
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html

Off to change the oil in the family car right now.........

Robert

For type1 vws with full-flow oil routing, you must use a high pressure capable filter. There are only two that I know of: the fram HP1 and the Wixx 51515R. Napa has the Wixx, make sure it is the "R" for Racing use. Regular filters can and will blow off a type1 due to extremely high pressures on cold startup. Others have wrote about this here and on spyderclub.com ad infinitum.

After 3 years of direct testing in the lab and the field from myself and LN Engineering we have gathered data from literally every oil on the shelf in most areas of the US.

I have mandated brad penn oil for my engines as of 8/1/07 and have released a bulletin about this on my forums.

Oil is killing vintage engines left and right and some people still do not know it.

Royal Purple max cycle 20/50 is the only alternative that we recommend. I have went 23K miles on ONE Royal Purple oil change in my 912E and seen it's data I still believe in it, but NOTHING is better for wear than Brad Penn and that is backe dup with tons of pre and post oil analysis as well as data acquisition and component eveluation after being ran at near 400F oil temp for 45 minutes in racing conditions at sub 8,000 RPM.

Is there a chain that carries it, or will the local parts store be able to order it?
There doesn't seem to be much call for it 'round here.

I'll second that. I've never seen it in a store, nor even heard of it until this thread.

I've been assured by a knowledgeable source that Swepco oil has all the zinc and necessary bits to keep our engines safe.

I'm with you guys, not too many chains that carry it. Fortunately we found a "sorta" local distributor (60 miles) that carries it. We have to buy 20 cases at a time, and it isn't cheap compared to conventional oil, but we're now well stocked up. Charles (LN Engineering) sells it through his website. Likewise, I can sell some to the club guys if you call/e-mail but won't advertise it anywhere... just not enough time for real parts support lately.

For anyone looking for BRAD PENN oil, contact "bradpennracing.com",give them your location and ask who the nearest distributer is. I received a reply within 2 hours. Turns out there is one in the town next to mine.

I am still wondering how long I should use the Brad Penn break-in oil.

Anyone? Jake?

You won't find Brad Penn oil over the counter- thats the ONLY way it hasn't been impacted by the EPA laws, we sell it in our store and ship it all over.

The Brad Penn break in oil should be ran for the first 200 miles or so.

if this oil was sold over the counter it couldn't be what it is-

This oil is nothing new, it is the OLD KENDALL from the 70-80s era and was just relabeled when the Kendall GT1 was introduced to meet new modern oil guide lines. Iyt is a well guarded secret among racers and engine builders and we knew about 18 for months before ever spilling the beans..

This oil is made in Bradford pennsylvania, hence the name "Brad Penn" it is refined in the oldest working refinery in the world, located on Kendall Avenue in Bradford- imagine that.

They also don't advertise- they don't have to.

Here is a followup to an old post from last year. It talks about the loss of zinc from todays oils, the reasons, and the potential problems if you have an older engine; either air coold or water cooled.
http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/photos/FlatTappetCamTech.htm

i use shell rotella, 15-40. but due to gov regulations, i went back to good old s.t.p. as a supplement. bill

Ok guys I felt I needed to include a post in here.

I've been doing this air cooled engine thing for over 20 years and built more then 50 engines for myself and friends. There was research done shortly after the whole synthetic oil thing came around with useing synthetic oil in air cooled engines. The finding where as follows. The oil temps came down but the head temps went up. This is caused by the fact that the synthetic oils do not absorb heat like regular oils. This helps the synthetic oils to stay stable and not break down as easy. The down side for us is our head temps go up (very bad for the valve train). So you may be able to use synthetic oil for the short term but the long term will not be very good. You may save the bearings, but you'll be spending money on head work. I checked this thing out buy running a motor on a dyno with oil and head temp gauges and came up with the same results. You can't always beleave what you read. Also oil presures stayed nearly the same across the board with both oils (same wieghts). What I also noticed that the warm you ramps on both oils where close but the regular oil became thicker faster (better for the bearings).....

Happy motoring, Kevin "Coolrydes" Zagar

Kevin, what oil R U running?

~WB

What Kevin says is what I've read by experts such as Gene Berg but there's a debate going on with regards to this due to the fact that since he passed away in 1996 some people argue his technical articles are outdated.

Apart from GM's EOS (engine oil supplement; which I've read is also being phased out) I've also read that STP 4 cylinder engine oil treatment (in the red bottle) is good. In fact I saw them at a display today and read the ingredient content in the back and it has the all important sacrificial zinc and phosphorus concoctions that flat tappet cam engines need.

Jake Raby did a study on oils some time back. His top recommendation was for Brad Penn, but Royal Purple came in second. I've used that for the last couple of oil changes, but it's expensive. I believe I'm going to order a case of Brad penn here soon.

EDIT: Just realized that he said the same thing in a post above dated Sept. '07. Guess this may be where I first heard of it. Oops.

I run castrol 10-30 in my ail cooled motors and full synthetic in all my water cooled motors.

I've tryed royal purple and was not impressed. It was actualy thick enough to fill my oil breathers on a couple of motors which became a source of oil leaks (coming out thru the breather).

I did infact dyno test the synthetic oils vs none and I for one will not run a full synthetic if you payed me.

Bottom line if you kepp your oil changed and don't run your engine too rich you won't have problems.

Also once you go with synthetic oil, you'll have to flush the engine before going back to normal none syn. oil. There is a cemical in synthetic oil that turns regular oil to sludge....

LANE I ORDERED A CASE LAST WEEK
I ALWAYS USED KENDAL IN MY BOATS AND WAS HAPPY TO FIND A SOURCE