george44

There is a brief note in the November issue of Excellence, Bruce Anderson Technical Questions & Answers about engine Oil and a reference at the bottom of the article to LN Engineering - www.lnengineering.com. What it basically says is that newer oils are formulated with much lower contents of phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) to protect the modern catalytic converters. Unfortunatelly this has a negative effect in particular on the longevity of older air cooled engines according to Bruce and the information posted on LN Engineering (click on Oil at the bottom of that page). Highly recommended there are Brad Penn Penn Grade 1 Racing oil 20W50 and Swepco 306 15w40. There is also a pretty comprehensive list of oils tested, click on "For a listing of oils tested, click here" in the http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html description. The question is obvious, what does the collective wisdom of the forum say about all this? second, if that is true, where can one buy these two recommended brands, Brad Pen and Swepco? I have never seen them for sale in Canada where I live, I have heard about Swepco but that was for grease not oil; in the US where do you buy them? I have Valvoline VR1 Racing in my '79 911 which does not have a cat and according to the test results in that list it seems an OK oil at least from the P and Zn content point of view. Thank you all,

George

theiceman

Well George here we go again

This has been discussed to no end.

I am sure George you will turn it up in a search try searching "Zn and P"

theiceman

ps I use vr1 racing 20w50 I get at the farm supply place. I should add GM EOS but can't find any local.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

George:

As you have wisely noted, this is a VERY complex subject,.....

My very best advice to you would be to drain that VR1 and replace it with either Brad-Penn 20w-50, Swepco 15w-40 (or their 20w-50), Royal Purple 20w-50 motorcycle oil, or Mobil 1 V-Twin oil.

All of these products serve your needs very well and not cause you any problems aside from the inconvenience of ordering those products,..

theiceman

some good reading here.

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...highlight=zinc

theiceman

oh by the way George i migt be able to find you the contact for buying swepco, I think he lives in guelph. I might have his number tucked away.

george44

Well Steve, I was hoping you will reply, it came faster than I thought, thank you for that. There are a couple of motorcycle places where I live, I will stop by and see what oils they carry. Now for the Brad-Penn and Swepco, who carries that in the US, basically where can I order it from? and last, for summer drive as we normally drive our cars only during the summer months up here, what is the recommended grade for Swepco, 15W50 or 20W50? temperature in a torrid south Ontario summer day can easily exceed 100 F. Thank you very much,

George

old man neri

Canadian Tire and Walmart stock the motorcycle oils mentioned, it's not cheap though.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

George:

I would contact American Refining Group in Bradley Pennsylvania on the internet and they will give you the name of the closest distributor for Brad-Penn oil. Contact Southwest Petroleum Corp for the same info for their products.

Both companies make a 20w-50 oil which is appropriate for your summer weather.

GothingNC

From what I've been reading Brad Penn, Swepco & Royal Purple seem to be the oil of choice.

Castrol just came out with a new oil enginred for older cars

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/gener...tentId=7032644

"Today's engines face different demands than those of yesteryear. Now classic car owners who are particular about what they put in their vintage vehicles can receive modern wear protection from a high–zinc formula specially engineered for classic engines. "

John

theiceman

I run 20/50 all summer and in the fall put her away until next april. ( tires are not rated for freezing temperatures anyway )

Mike Murphy

There are a lot of good oils out there, but it is nice to have only a few as recommended by Steve to choose from. Otherwise, the debates continue to occupy countless pages on this forum. I like the idea of having only a few top oils to choose from.

Edward

Haven't tried them yet ...some care to give it a whirl and report back? It certainly is cheaper than Swepco's (depending on shipping, that is).
http://www.lnengineering.com/store/catalog/index.php

Steve,
What about Mobil1 for our older cars? Out of favor for the older beasties (like my rebuilt SC)? Or what about Mobil1 plus an improver, say Swepco's 502 or the like? I'm just thinking of the most cost-effecient oil for my trackmeister (which is about 90% track use). Thanks!

Edward

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Edward:

We are no longer using nor recommending any Mobil 1 engine oil for our customers with the exception of the V-Twin product in air-cooled engines.

The water-cooled VarioCam cars are a different story, altogether.

Don't get me started on Castrol products,...

Edward

Thanks, Steve! I assume that's because Mobil changed their recipe with the new stuff?

Now I gotta try and find the V-twin oil ...or maybe the Brad-Penn as I indicated on the link ...just a bit more money and hassle as opposed to the convenience of Walmart.
Any thought on additives to "save" the use of the Mob1?

Edward