Motorcycle oil and old cars.

I was talking to a Redline oil distributor the other day about our old cars and the problem with modern oils not having enough zinc for the flat tappet cams. He said that Redline made oil specifically for these engines; it’s called ‘Heavy Duty Motorcycle Oil’. Harley still uses flat tappet cams in their engines and because motorcycles are exempt from pollution laws they can run the needed additives that cars can’t.
The only downside is that I’ve only found it in 20-60wt. I live in Florida so that’s not a problem here but it might be a little thick for the north.
Another issue is the price, $100 per case but that is a year’s supply for me and my car is worth it.

You may want to dig a bit deeper. We do not use car oil in motorcycles because most have wet clutch packs. This requires the formulation to be less slippery in order that the clutches grab. I've not done any research to see what that difference is, but you'd do well to find out I think, before making that switch.

I was going to post this but did not because I thought everyone had enough about oil but I will anyway.

I called a tech at Citgo a few days ago and explained our flat tappet/cam needs and lack of ZDDP problem with the new oil products.

He recommended CITGARD® 500 Engine Oil which comes in several weights. It is also a heavy duty motor oil and has .135 ZDDP which is a good level for our cars.

I have been finding that generally heavy duty oils recommended for both trucks and farm tractors and rated "CI-4" or "CI-4 Plus" have the additives we need. If in doubt about your choice of oil, it might be a good idea to call the oil company tech line.

I contacted Redline about the wet clutch friction modifiers that are in motorcycle oil. Acording to them there is no problems with running this in a car engine. They also said the additional additives for the cams would be an improvement over the regular car oil. They feel that their normal oil is better than the other regular oils on the market for these cams because they have higher than normal ZDDP levels.

Tom,

I not the kind of guy that worships or bad mouths any particular brand of oil but I have had really bad luck with CITGO oil in the past. Their 10W30 seems to really thin out when hot. I spun a main bearing several years ago on a Ford 302 and the oil analysis showed the oil viscosity was closer to 0W than what the bottle said.

Plus the fact that our friend Hugo Chavez runs the company is enough to make me stay away.

Hi Rick,

Good information, AND I did not even think of old Hugo.

Thanks