I got this as part of a Motorcycle group I'm in, and I thought I'd bring it up here, as it's basically saying new Oils aren't as good as the old ones.
I know for a while everyone was losing cams in their 914 rebuilds, Is this partly or mostly the cause of those problems? I know there are some good oil guys here and would like their comments.
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From another website comes this distressing news.
zinc dithiophosphate (ZDDP) in the oils supplied with API approval was the major component to reducing engine stress and promoting long life. However, it seems this miracle product is also responsible for destroying the life of those precious catylitic converters and so has been gradually reduced or eliminated foe the good of the environment but at the cost of your engine.
A full description is given in the link below. Suffice to say that you must be very careful in the oil you use in your engine. Apparantly, those oils prepped for use in diesel engines are OK as these are non-API approved. Some oils are OK, such as Valvoline that is offering an "Off Road 20W-50". And Castrol 20W-50 GTX is ok.
Absolutely NOT GOOD for any oil (Any Brand) that is marked "Energy Conserving" in the API "Donut" on the bottle, these oils are so low with ZDDP or other additives that they will destroy our cams. Virtually all "Diesel" rated oils are acceptable.
http://www.ttalk.info/Zddp.htm