It would be like that video game in the 80s where you drop oil slicks to make the bad guys begin you spin out!
Great for racing cars but as Mr Haas has said for street cars, especially those in colder climates, 0W or 5W is where you want to start. I look for 0W- 30or40 if I can find it.
Nope you want to use exactly the oil that the manufacture says you should not the oil reccomended by someone who feels they know more than the car manufacturer does.
+1 When I know exactly what the clearances are in an engine (which I know in my own engine I rebuilt), I run precisely what I know works well with those clearances. Amazingly, I recently spoke with a fellow who has been wrenches on Ferrari's forever and is a former consultant here who was telling me he has seen Ferrari's new from the factory running .003 bearing clearances (!!!) making some sort of 50w not an option at that point! For most 308,328, TR, 288, F40, pre-90 cars in general though, 40w per recommended by Ferrari is just fine and I would never ever go thinner than that.
While you can't argue with that point of view there are numerous reasons not to blindly adhere to or recommend it. Obsolete oil specs, a very high mileage or abused engine, unusual operations resulting in very hot or very cold oil are but a few. The mfrs are most interested in normal use of a low mileage (warranty period) car. While I don't subscribe to all Dr Haas has to say on the subject, it certainly dispels many of the commonly held but errant views on oil selection, particularly as to viscosity.
About ZDDP. New oils even Mobil 1 are 800-900 PPM for regular use. Street/racing M1 is around 1100 PPM. Rotella T6 5-40 is 1200 PPM. Lots of people are using this on the street as well as the track. M1 racing not recommended for the street formulation but used in Nascar etc is 1700-1800 PPM. GTS Bruce
All--Just received a call from Castrol US, as a result of e-mails I have sent them on this subject. Yesterday's e-mail was 2nd or 3rd, I think. Anyway, we have "stumbled" on the solution to the mystery of "Belgium" (Orange label with A3/B4) and "German" (Red label) Castrol SAE 0W-30. Castrol is in the midst of "swap-over" FROM "German" TO "Belgium" manufacturing/packaging sites. They are the SAME formula. This was verified here with arrival of July 2014 Road&Track, which shows (pgs 35 and 37) only "EDGE" with graphic of oil streams flowing thru a series of rings. The "old" Made in Germany Castrol 0W-30 is left-over stock in inventory only until it gets sold.
Castrol Update: Just changed FROM 0W-40 Mobil 1 TO Castro 0W-30 SPT (labeled "Made in Germany) and was "dazed and amazed." On two (2) overnight cold start "spin-ups" of our 2013 Murano V-6, the Castrol was MUCH quieter! No "rattle and clatter." I am going to Castrol 0W-30 in '89 Porsche 928 GT AND '97 MB SL 500 !! Why do I need 10W-50 in a 400i GT that NEVER gets driven HARD...just long...as in touring ???!!!
Wonderful article ! The article assumes an engine maintaining a relatively constant temperature because of water cooling. I have a vehicle with a boxer engine (oil/air cooled) so do all the observations of the above article apply or is the manufacturer (BMW) correct in recommending a 20W50 weight oil ?
1973 was my first year running at the World Speed Championships on the Bonneville salt flats. I was introduced to the "drive line warm-up" concept by pitting next to an over-300 MPH AA/ blown nitro-methane fueled car. The SOP seemed to involve high RPM "blips," while dumping unburned Nitro into our pits - and on us - out the zoomie headers. I had wondered why that particular pit was available....
