Motor oil study

[kjphilippona]

I do not wish to start a big debate over the age long question over "who make the best motor oil". I only would like to know if any one has come across a more recent study of motor oil. I have the 2003 Motor Oil Bible and from the searching i have conducted, it seems that everyones opinion on oil quality comes from that study. This has been a very long time ago and many new oil's have come on the market.

Edited December 25, 2010 by kjphilippona

[Gary in NJ]

This has been a very long time ago and many news oil have come on the market.

Time marches on...but not for our 30/40 year old cars. They a locked in a 1970's time-warp. It's for that reason that "modern" oils do not work well with our engines. The oil companies simply aren't investing in the products we require. It's all about energy conservation now.

The closest oil you will find to what was available in the 70's and 80's is Shell Rotella T.

I can't believe I just threw the first salvo in an internet oil debate...please forgive me.

[kjphilippona]

No problem, i thought everyone had blackballed me for some reason

[doradox]

I do not wish to start a big debate over the age long question over "who make the best motor oil". I only would like to know if any one has come across a more recent study of motor oil. I have the 2003 Motor Oil Bible and from the searching i have conducted, it seems that everyones opinion on oil quality comes from that study. This has been a very long time ago and many new oil's have come on the market.

There's a lot of debate about what our engines require and it comes down to this. Nissan recommended an oil that met certain performance specifications, not chemical specifications.

Here's one they do today on a flat tappet engine.

http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/IVAtest/default.htm

There are some modern oils that perform quite well on this test even with low levels of the additive many will claim is a "requirement".

Mostly there is no one "best" oil as none outperform all others on the many tests required to be certified.

http://www.swri.org/4org/d08/GasTests/home.htm

You may want to research your oil choice and pick one that performs well on the test or tests you believe to be most important to the life of your engine.

Steve

[kjphilippona]

Thanks Steve for the info, i am sure most are thinking i have lost a few screws as to why i am looking for this info. I have gone down this road with my 95 turbo eclipse and has cost me quite a sum of money repairing the damage. Same as the z it called for GL-4 gear oil, i paid no attention to this and went with what everyone was using BG Syncroshift and within 6 months i had to replace my transmission. All the brass syncros were gone causing me to grind in 2nd and third and it would pop out off gear in 4th. Now i use Redline MT-90 a GL-4 gear oil. I the engine i thought more money meant better oil for my engine, used Mobil 1 and spun a bearing, got all that fixed $$$$$, tried Royal Purple, after 1 week the car smokes when i first start it up and when i step on it very hard. I have gone back to Castrol GTX.

[ajmcforester]

Sometimes I wonder about what I hear about oil. A great example is ZDDP for flat tapped cams like the Z's and FJ Cruiser (yes it has flat tapped cams actually two different types also). Now it is said that you need ZDDP for these cams well it really isn't found in most oils and I don't hear about ruined cams in FJ Cruisers and Toyota does not say you need it.

The big question and one that might lead to longer life for our Z engines or less waist on additives we don't need. Did Toyota do something to make solid lifters and flat tapped cams work without ZDDP or has modern technology made that chemical less needed?

I was contemplating this and looking for data on why, and have found little to no information about why. Then I thought about technology that we have now that they didn't have in the 70's. One thing I keep coming back to as an idea is cryogenic treatments, but I can't find information if Toyota did this. The treatment make metals more durable without changing a lot of the steel type's properties. So if we strengthen the steel this way would that make enough of a difference? I have heard of people doing cryogenic treatments on these parts for durability and longevity in racing.

[Oiluj]

You mean I should be putting oil in my engine? So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong! *grin*

Seriously, I've always had good experience using Catrol 10-30 in my current and past Z's. Probably better alternatives, but it's worked well for me with no unexpected engine wear issues.

Caveats: Outside of the ocassional autocross, I don't race my cars and live in a moderate climate. No snow and it rarely tops 100 degrees F.

YMMV...