Redline 10-40 in my 308. too thin, or ok?

We put Redline 5-40 in all 4 valve and newer cars for street use. Some of our clients cars have more than 100,000 miles and we have had zero issues.

Temps here run from 30-110 degrees.

 

I know you are looking for the venerable RD's opinion, but here's mine anyway .

I really believe, for the most part, it doesn't matter. Your choice will cover the basics:
- reduce friction by preventing metal to metal contact
- seal between piston rings and cylinders
- cool engine parts
- clean away dirt, carbon, varnish

On the farm we ran "reprocessed" oil in the tractor. My father, who grew up speaking Gaelic and learned English later had trouble with some words. He used to call it "repossessed" oil which I always thought was very funny as I imagined the repo man taking oil from someone who got behind on their payments .

I ran an '87 Rx-7 215,000+ miles (and going strong) on Castrol 20W-50. I run it now in my '85 Rx7 and my 308. From what I can tell around here lots of 3x8 owners run it. What's wrong with "old" oil for an "old" car?

I am curious about what turned you off Castrol 20W-50?

Seamus

 

I've noticed that none of the Amsoil have Zinc New or old.

I thought Ansoil is suppose to be good even for older cars

that uses flat tappet. Anyway I don't use Amsoil anymore

I switched to Castrol Syntec 5-50 and it's beem good so far.

 

From what I've read, Brad Penn has plenty of ZDDP and is the best oil for older cars with flat tappets or roller cams www.bradpennracing.com

 

I think I got redline 10-30 in mine(which I think might be to thin),I was using kendall 20-50 which the temp was running cool,but when I had the major service done all my fliuds wre changed to redline,and I mean everything down to the coolant (water wetter),and I'm very happy

 

I don't know where that info came from but the red-line oil does have ZDDP in it, the 10w30 I use has 0.6~1.2% and the straight 30w racing oil has 2%. just read the MSDS sheets off the site.

I've been using 10w30 and the straight when tracking with zero problems and now have 36k on the motor even with the blower heat and stress the engine doesn't run hot.

 

we used 10w30

 

I wasn't sure,thanks,but I'm very happy with the car and the service you gave my car thanks

 

I have been running the 5w-40 Redline oil in all the Ferrari's now and am seeing higher hot idle oil pressure than when I was using 15w-50 Mobil 1 under the same conditions.

We did a lot of dyno testing on race engines many years back trying various oil weights and logging the effects. As predicted there was a noticeable differance in HP when the thinner oils were used. The real shocker was when the oil was drained and Stoddard solvent mixed with a little kerosene was used as the lubricant. Cams didnt last very long but Damn did that make some power! Its the reasoning behind the "Qualifying Oil" being straight 5w or 10w. There are power gains to be had with the thinner oils (with in reason) and I have seen no ill effects.

Dave

 

I have been using Castrol 20W-50 in my old Jaguars for just about ever. I have had a series of Jaguar XKEs and XJSs, and run the same oil in all of them with great success. I used it in my Mondial QV, and use it in my '78 308 GTS, and it seems to be working just fine. The engine runs nicely, it's quiet, I don't have a lot of leaks, oil pressure is always good, even on long trips, and it holds up well.

When it comes to things like this, I'm of the opinion: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The Castrol has worked fine for me all these years, I see no reason to start experimenting with other oils. Some folks favor synthetics, like Mobil 1 or Red Line. But I've also heard many folks complain about oil leaks that suddenly appear with synthetics. Things are good as they are, why change them?

YMMV, but I'm sticking with what's worked for me.

 

I contacted Mobil today, as I severely doubted the above post stating that there's no ZDDP in their products.

Here's my question to them:

Good morning,

I service almost exclusively older Ferrari automobile built in the 1970-1980's. My oil of choice has been Mobil 1 15-50. All of these cars have "flat tappets" with the camshafts running directly on the tappets. With the reduction in ZDDP, should I now be concerned with excessive wear on the cam lobes? What is the ZDDP level in the Mobil 1 15-50 oil?

Thank you.

Regards,
David

ferrariservice(at)comcast.net



Here's their response:

David,

The 15W-50 has 1200 ppm ZDDP. The oils that are affected by the reduction are energy conserving oils. So basically 10W-30 and lighter. The heavier oils, by there nature, are not energy conserving so they did not have to be changed. What levels are you looking for in the oil? We do have diesel oils that have higher levels, but the 15W-50 should have enough.

mobilproducts(at)ourdataworks.com

And there's the rest of the story....

David

 

Hmmm, OK, where? Are you saying GTX comes in two different styles now?

Sheesh, how many additives do I have to add to my oil for the classic cars now?!

 

My engine plate calls for 10-50W...

Royal Purple offers 20-50W I use in summer....when it's colder maybe a 5-50W, but I always thought the 50W number was required.....?????

 

Why not read what the oil man himself says..

http://www.supramania.com/aehaas/

Dr. Haas, he is a Ferrari owner, racer and poster here...

Quote from Dave:

I have been running the 5w-40 Redline oil in all the Ferrari's now and am seeing higher hot idle oil pressure than when I was using 15w-50 Mobil 1 under the same conditions.

We did a lot of dyno testing on race engines many years back trying various oil weights and logging the effects. As predicted there was a noticeable differance in HP when the thinner oils were used. The real shocker was when the oil was drained and Stoddard solvent mixed with a little kerosene was used as the lubricant. Cams didnt last very long but Damn did that make some power! Its the reasoning behind the "Qualifying Oil" being straight 5w or 10w. There are power gains to be had with the thinner oils (with in reason) and I have seen no ill effects.

Dave


Response:
We used to drain the oil out, put the drain plugs back in, put in the equivalent amount of #2 diesel, start the engine, watch until the oil pressure just started to drop, shut it off, drain the solvent and sludge, put in the plug, put on the new filter, new oil, and then go for a drive. It sure keeps the inside of the block nice and clean and it didn't seem to hurt anything either... I have done this on old Chris-Crafts, Chevy's, Diesel Tractors, Maserati's, etc...

 

I use Castrol GTX 5W-30 in my 328. At temp., the pressure holds at 85 psi while running and 40 psi while at idle. I use the 5W-30 because the temp here in Chicago doesn't get into the 100s and the oil flows better at cold start in the fall, winter and spring.

 

I use redline 10-40..... I think 1330 ppm zinc is adequate...no?

Here is the link from previous discussion..(someone here have a brother in law who works for Mobil?...LOL)

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=205226

 

Shell Rotella T 5w-40 synthetic in my '76 308 gtb. Great stuff, and it has a very tough additive package which I believe these engines absolutely require considering the beating they can take at times. I drive the car pretty hard once it is warmed up completely and I know this package will keep things protected remarkably well. I still have a couple months more to go on it until I change it then I am sending a sample to Blackstone to have it checked. I will post the numbers on here once it is completed. The piece of mind I get knowing there is good flow at start-up temperatures is priceless.

 

Not to be off-topic, but what do you think of the Euro QV compared to the '76-'77 US carb cars? I thought they were both about neck and neck speed and power wise but very different power-band wise.