General Tech Oil question

I imagine this has at least been posted, if not debated to death, but with my new GP2 cam and flat tappets, what oil do people run? Are there some with more zinc? I like Shell Rotella T as it has good properties that help an engine that is used only part of the year, anti-corrosion properties, as well as detergent properties. What is a good oil for break in?

Perry

You don't want a lot of foaming, so high detergent oils probably would not be a good choice right away.
Back in the day, before all these specialty oils 30 weight Non-Detergent was favored by a lot of people.
Nowadays you can buy 'break-in oil' but I don't see anything wrong with 30 wt ND adding a ZDDP supplement

Valvoline VR1 Dino 'Racing oil' comes with the proper amount of ZDDP for flag tappet engines...I use it in my MGB and Bugeye Sprite and will in my TR4a once it's running.
Rut

I use the VR1 Synthetic Racing oil with all the same comments as the standard VR1.

Just don't use an oil with a higher Zinc levels in any cars with Catalytic Converters, it will result in a slow Cat death. Around the time catalytic converters first started to appear is the same time oil with lowered zinc levels came out for this reason.

I use 30 weight also for break in then change it at 100 miles to VR1 dino oil, I would not use synthetic for break in ok after few thousand miles.

Agree with mallard. 2000 rpm for 30 minutes or 100 miles varible speed.

Check out BRAD PENN oils, they have what you need for breakin as well as after with ZDDP in the correct amounts.

+1 for Brad Penn and Valvoline VR1. Typically I use VR1 because I can buy it locally without problem. We had to order Brad Penn.

While ZDDP is a good thing to some extent for these cars, some of the specialty oils - some of them meant for racing - go overboard and it has become a marketing buzzword. The stuff is there for wear protection but there are compounds other than ZDDP present in the oil for that purpose as well. I understand that too much ZDDP (phosphorous and sulphur rather than the zinc are the actual anti-wear components) can cause ash buildup.

Particularly with break-in or running in oil, some is good but it should be less than in the regular oil you use later on. Too much ZDDP will interfere with the purpose of running an engine in, which is to allow the machined surfaces of new parts to mate properly in order to form a better seal and lubricating surface. That's also why you don't want to use synthetic oil for running in. It is too slick, will not allow proper mating and will form a glaze which will be counterproductive to good lubrication later on. After market ZDDP additives may be tricky too, in my opinion. Good oils with ZDDP included have the other protective additives balanced to compliment the ZDDP. That balance might go out the window when using an additive applied after the fact.

One more observation about running in oils. I have checked out numerous products here and abroad. Two of the UK's major independent oil companies that cater to classic cars with special lines of oils use less ZDDP in their running in oils than do the US products I have checked. Mainland european companies I contacted are no higher, perhaps a bit lower, than the US. A major Aussie company, on the other hand, goes a bit higher with its ZDDP. Concerning the UK based Castrol Classic oils now available in the US, I have never gotten an answer from their customer service folks concerning ZDDP content; in fact, no answer at all.

For those who really want to get into oil, here is an interesting read: https://www.amazon.com/Which-Oil-Ch...UTF8&qid=1438878985&sr=1-1&keywords=which+oil

Regards,

+3 on Brad Penn in my TR6. Must be 8 or 9 years ago that there was a rash of cams wearing out on the TR forums. It was about that time when we started to pay attention to the ZDDP levels. I installed a GP2 cam and lifters at that time and did the break in according to Richard Good's instructions. For oil I made sure it had the recommended amount of ZDDP and added a bottle of GM's break in additive. That GM product has not been available for several years but other sources have a similar product. That engine is now close to 60,000 miles and does not use any oil between changes. Several others had premature failures with their GP2 cams. I don't know about all of them but I do know that one of them used an expensive oil with very little ZDDP.
Last Fall I started my MG Midget engine for the first time and used the same oil and additive as I did for the TR6. This engine had similar mods. Now with 4,000 miles it is running great and oil use is nearly down to zero.