Rotella is a good oil, but, it has been reformulated to meet the new emission requirements for heavy equipment and now has less zinc and phosphorous. It should still perform well, but, I've stopped using it. I have found that high mileage engines love it. If you're running high spring pressures, which you are, you need an oil with a high shear resistance. Amms and Joe Gibbs mention high shear resistance and flat tappet use. I'm Running Amms synthetic 10w40 it carries the SJ rating and is specified for flat tappet use. It's been nine mos. but only bout 600 miles. It seems to be holding up well, I plan on having Blackstone test it at twelve mos.

 

There are only a few oils manufavtured these days that have any significant amount of zinc in them. Valvoline VR1 has more than most but still not enough IMO. I love valvoline oil, use it in my diesel and wifes car. I have two high hp performance motors that I would use it in if I was in a pinch and couldn't get what I really like to run. Even if you use the oils that claim to have high zinc content, ie: VR1, you should still add a zinc additive such as Comp Cams break-in additive. It is almost pure zinc. Then ther are the oils that I prefer that acrually have the zinc that they advertise. Those are Brad Penn (my favorite) and Joe Gibbs racing oil. They are a little more expensive than say the VR1 but how much does it cost to replace a cam and lifters or worse yet a crank added to the others. I say buy the better oil (about a dollar more a quart or less if you search for deals online) and have the extra insurance and not worry about your oil wiping out a cam or bearings!

 

Stay away from syn oils and pennzoil products. My dad was a hardcore drag racer his 69 camaro ran 10s all day. Said he ran pennzoil one time and at high rpms when it gets hot it becomes super thin like water. He always calls it penzwater lol. Also he claims that syn oils are way to thin and he will refuse to use them in any car. He has preached nothing But castrol GTX. He ran it all day shifting at 10000rpms all day and never lost a motor. I dont like syn oil either. My oil pressure is lower with syn then reg oil because of its thin weight. Castrol GTX All day regardless of what anyone on here wants to claim. I used Mobil 1 one time. every since then my car uses 1qt every 2k. Before that my 98 ls1 had 150k used NO oil with castrol. Every since the syn it messed things up. I should of did what my dad said and stuck with castrol and stop believing all this syn crap people preach on the forums. My car is back to castrol and still uses oil but not as much now

 

I'm in the same boat- 383 stroker and need to change oil. I don't have a ton of documentation on the motor so I'm not sure on lifter type. I know it's running roller rockers and it sounds like hydraulic lifters (not loud like solids).

I'm thinking I should run Joe Gibbs just to be safe- anyone disagree or have any other suggestion?

If I run joe Gibbs and they are not flat lifters, is there any disadvantage?

Thanks

 

i run mobil super 10w40 with a half bottle of lucas oil break in additive to get the zinc i need. mobil super is getting harder and harder to find, but i love using it

 

I have been using Amsoil 10W40 synthetic, it has zinc added. Recently found Brad Penn oil, its a semi synthetic and has the zinc and other additives for the flat tappet cams. They sell 10w30 or 10w40, and its $80 for 12-1 quart botles. I was paying $55 a gal for the Amsoil.. Dont know if you can get it down in the USA. From what I heard it produced in the old Kendall oil building..

Shane.

 

First off, oil pressure isn't due to just the viscosity of the oil. It is also due to bearing clearance and the condition of the oil pump. With that said, 5w-30 (example since it's the most common type) oil is 5w-30 oil no matter if it's synthetic or conventional or what brand makes it. All engine oil must meet SAE and ILSAC standards, as well as many others, before they can even start mass producing it. But, synthetic has been proven time and again that it can withstand the higher temperatures longer than that of conventional and can be run longer say 5000-7500 miles without a change. Now, is synthetic necessary? By all means no. If you plan on drag racing every weekend in 75+ degree weather, then I'd opt for it. If this is going to be DD or weekend cruiser than you will be fine with conventional oil. As far as brand goes, that is up to you to decide. As others have stated, I'd add the zinc additive if you're running a flat lifters.

Second, a little background info on engine oil. There is no "weight" when it comes to engine oil. It is viscosity and there is a difference. The "W" does not stand for "weight" either. It designates the winter viscosity of oil. In other words, in the case of 5w-30, the 5 is it's winter viscosity which makes it very thin in cold temperatures in order to allow the car to start easily. The 30 is the viscosity of the oil when weather is hot and can be thought of has "honey" like in that it is thick to prevent thermal breakdown and damage to critical parts.

My personal opinion. I used conventional Pennzoil 5w-30 when I had my Buick Century. In the final months of owning it, I switched to Pennzoil Full Synthetic 5w-30 and then to Mobil 1 Full synthetic 5w-30. Between the Pennzoil conventional and the synthetic I did notice that the synthetic was much cleaner when I did my oil changes. Now that I have an actual sports car, I've run nothing but Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5w-30 year round with 116k miles on the car. My oil pressure holds steady between 15 and 20 psi idling and at 5k rpms I've had it near 70 psi. And although I know I can surly go up too 7500 miles with the Mobil 1, I still opt to change my oil every 3000 miles as cheap insurance. Also, the oil is only as good as it's filter and there lies an even bigger comparison.


From what has been passed down from work, Mobil is phasing out their Super lineup. A shame really, because it is a good oil. Just not very many people bought it I guess.