oil change

[tychain99]

i know everyone has their own pref. in oil type , brand, and weight ratios, is there a general consensus on what to run, or can someone recommend something ? going to pick up oil tomorrow , wanted imput before i just went with whatever was cheapest

[MPDano]

If you want good cheap Dino Oil, go with Rotella T 15/40. I you want some badass Synthetic Oil, go Royal Purple 15/40. There is no general consensus with oil, you should know that. Everyone has their own opinion on what works well in their neck of the woods.

[gbgastowers]

Mystik JT8 15W-50 Synthetic Blend Motor Oil

You can get it at O'Reilly Auto Parts.

[Damstrom]

Walmart carries Mobil1 15w-50 for $26/5L jug...decent deal if you look around at other synthetics.

[XLR8928]

Originally Posted by MPDano

If you want good cheap Dino Oil, go with Rotella T 15/40. I you want some badass Synthetic Oil, go Royal Purple 15/40. There is no general consensus with oil, you should know that. Everyone has their own opinion on what works well in their neck of the woods.

I agree 100% with Leo. I use 15/40 diesel blends with good success. I also have been using a quart of Risolone with every O/F (quiets noisy/sticky lifters)
-Kerry

[laneyamps]

I've been using Mobil 1.....Seems to work just fine. (5W40) I always find that it (almost always) comes in at the best price (Local Auto Parts Stores & Wally World).

I've used other (more expensive) brands, but, frankly, I seriously doubt that the other synthetics are "that much better" than Mobil 1.

Chris

[Pete R]

I think you'll find that nothing is "that much better" than anything else, just change it regularly with the recommended viscosity and you'll be fine.

[steve322s]

Valvoline 20-50 VR1

[AirtekHVAC]

so, for a 1978, what is the recommended viscosity?

[dcrasta]

Originally Posted by MPDano

If you want good cheap Dino Oil, go with Rotella T 15/40. I you want some badass Synthetic Oil, go Royal Purple 15/40. There is no general consensus with oil, you should know that. Everyone has their own opinion on what works well in their neck of the woods.

+1 on Rotella.. 15-w40 is pretty easy to find at truckstops. The diesel formulations tend to have high ZDDP and low ash. I use it in Rotary motors with good results also. (Clean and low wear).

Cheap enough to change frequently.

[SeanR]

I tell all my customers, who have 32v cars to use either M1 15w-50 red label or Royal Purple 20w50. If you can get it, Brad Penn 20w-50. They have the proper amounts of ZDDP for our engines.

For your 16v cars, you can use the lower viscosity oil but keep an eye on hot idle oil pressure.

[Maleficio]

Originally Posted by steve322s

Valvoline 20-50 VR1

I recently tried this oil. I will never use it again. I'd say it's good for actual racing, in that it should be changed out before every race.

I will never use it again for everyday driving.

I drained it out a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen oil drain so slowly. It looked like maple syrup coming out of a tree spigot. It took several hours to finally stop draining.

Replaced it with Castrol Syntec 10w30 on sale at O'Reilly's for $15/jug (4.1 qts). Car's running much better.

[SeanR]

Originally Posted by Maleficio

I recently tried this oil. I will never use it again. I'd say it's good for actual racing, in that it should be changed out before every race.

I will never use it again for everyday driving.

I drained it out a couple of weeks ago. I've never seen oil drain so slowly. It looked like maple syrup coming out of a tree spigot. It took several hours to finally stop draining.

Replaced it with Castrol Syntec 10w30 on sale at O'Reilly's for $15/jug (4.1 qts). Car's running much better.

You do realize that oil, as it heats up, get thinner right? 10w-30 is way too thin for our cars in any temperatures over 50f

[Maleficio]

Originally Posted by SeanR

You do realize that oil, as it heats up, get thinner right? 10w-30 is way too thin for our cars in any temperatures over 50f

Yes, I do realize that oil thins as it heats up. But that VR-1 was way too thick for everyday driving, especially as it aged. And I think you are wrong about 10w30 being too thin for temps above 50F.

[Maleficio]

One of the very cool things about modern oil formulae is the oil's ability to be thin when cold for better cold start flow, but then gets thicker as it gets hot for proper oil pressure at temp.

The "10" designates the oil's cold flow in winter, the "30" designates the oil's base viscosity at temp, and 30 weight oil should be fine.

[19psi]

According the '82 owner's manual, 10W30 is good up to about 70° F. Although certain energy conserving oils go much higher, but the manual doesn't go into any details.

I use Rotella T Synthetic in all my motorcycles and considered the Dino Rotella for the 928 ($13 a gallon at my Wallyworld) but ended up buying Castrol GTX. Just had a nagging feeling that oil formulated for a diesel might have an adverse effect on the cat. Maybe next time around I'll go with Shell.

Anyone switch to a synthetic without leaking issues?

[Maleficio]

Originally Posted by 19psi

According the '82 owner's manual, 10W30 is good up to about 70° F. Although certain energy conserving oils go much higher, but the manual doesn't go into any details.

I use Rotella T Synthetic in all my motorcycles and considered the Dino Rotella for the 928 ($13 a gallon at my Wallyworld) but ended up buying Castrol GTX. Just had a nagging feeling that oil formulated for a diesel might have an adverse effect on the cat. Maybe next time around I'll go with Shell.

Anyone switch to a synthetic without leaking issues?

The only issue I've ever had from switching to syn is with an '87 Golf I bought that ran like a striped ape. Pouring in syn had a powerful cleansing quality that seemed to strip away all of my compression. Rings got cleared, and their looseness was revealed. The car ran well, but it didn't have the crazy power it had before I switched.

I tried Rotella 15w40 in my 82 when I first bought it, but it quickly showed a drop in overall oil pressure that made me nervous. The best I've tried yet in the '82 was Redline 10w40. If I could afford it, I'd run Redline forever.

[laneyamps]

Originally Posted by Pete R

I think you'll find that nothing is "that much better" than anything else, just change it regularly with the recommended viscosity and you'll be fine.

Exactly!

[laneyamps]

Originally Posted by Maleficio

The only issue I've ever had from switching to syn is with an '87 Golf I bought that ran like a striped ape. Pouring in syn had a powerful cleansing quality that seemed to strip away all of my compression. Rings got cleared, and their looseness was revealed. The car ran well, but it didn't have the crazy power it had before I switched.

I tried Rotella 15w40 in my 82 when I first bought it, but it quickly showed a drop in overall oil pressure that made me nervous. The best I've tried yet in the '82 was Redline 10w40. If I could afford it, I'd run Redline forever.

I agree about Red Line on both counts...hehe Expensive....but, very good quality!

I've used Red Line a couple times in my 84', and really like it, but, my wallet doesn't always allow me to use it! So, I generally stick with Mobil 1...no issues, and the engine seems to run strong.

I use Swepco for the trans fluid, which I got right here at Pelican...I found that to be a good product, as well. Really made the shifts noticeably smoother.

[924CarreraGTP]

Castrol GTX 20W50 or burst. It's tried and tested in my book! I use Rotella in my 911 and I've used it for a decade in Mercedes Diesels.