• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

What motor oil to use

Share this page

Bayless

Bayless

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Offline
What motor oil do we like to use in our LBC flat tappet motors? I have been told that diesel oils are now phasing out the zinc additive but don't know if it is true.
 
This is what I use...

PennGrade_1_Synthetic_Blend_High_Performance_Oil_SAE_20W50_QUART.png
 
Unless the formula was changed recently, Penzoil racing oil has ZTTP
 
You can also get zinc additives to add to your oil. I run valvoline VR1 with zinc in my SBC powered LBC with a hydraulic flat tappet, and for the break in period on the cam I add extra zinc additive from comp cams.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. Meanwhile, I checked with our local LBC mechanic and he also uses VR1, even for break in. I have read about Penn Grade but don't see it or the Penzoil racing locally. And I was hoping to find the right thing for the VW too. It wants 10W-30 and I can't find anything locally at least. I have read that there are some but most likely would have to order it seems. So I just got the usual GTX and a bottle of ZDDP additive. Guess that will work for now.
 
Best to find an oil with ZDTP already in it. The additives in oil are balanced to work together. An additive might upset that balance. I use VR1 20W-50, but it does come in a 10W-30.
 
That's a good point John. I have never seen VR1 in anything except 20W-50 and straight 50. I'll have to do some internet search.
 
Didn't take much of a search. That quick, found it at Walmart. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Since I am not racing anymore, i don't worry about the zinc. Have not seen tappet wear in my street LBCs in 100,000 miles. Maybe some coking, but wear was minimal.
 
I've had no trouble finding VR1 at Wal Mart or Autozone. I gather the reduced zinc is not much of an issue for engines with broken in cams and stock valve trains, but the VR1 isn't overly expensive so I've been using it for years.
 
I got on slick deals about a year ago and they had cases of it heavily discounted. I bought about 5 cases and still have 3 in the VR1 10w-30. Anytime I see it go on sale I snatch up as much as I can
 
After seeing it online at Walmart yesterday, I went to the local store and they "never heard of it." So, I went back to O'Reilly and asked for it think they could probably order it for me as they do not stock it on the shelves. They have a large warehouse here in town. Well, it was in the computer and after several minutes of searching, the young fella found 4 quarts in the back room. So now I know. Thanks for the education. That's just one of the things I love about BCF.
 
Local Walmart "super store" has VR-1 and about any Castrol blend made, most in five quart jugs. Petrochemical smorgasbord.
 
Doc, that was my Walmart super store that never heard of the stuff but O'Reilly's came through. Walmart did have many versions of Castrol as you say though. They even had one called Castrol Classic that claimed to have extra zinc but saw it in 20W-50 only.
 
They had a sale on GTX at PartSource (kind of a Canadian equivalent to Autozone) Kid didn't even know 20W50 was a thing. :scared:
 
Bayless said:
Doc, that was my Walmart super store that never heard of the stuff but O'Reilly's came through. Walmart did have many versions of Castrol as you say though. They even had one called Castrol Classic that claimed to have extra zinc but saw it in 20W-50 only.
Click to expand...
Strange. Apparently some stores are more super than others.
 
Back
Top