Best Engine Oil for Road Course Racing & Weekend Driving?

[BaylorCamaro]

My car is a 2013 ZL1, I've got an upcoming HPDE the end of this month, so I'm looking at changing the motor oil before then. This car isn't my daily but I do drive it about three times a week (Fri-Sun) and because of that I don't want to go with an extreme racing oil like Amsoil's Dominator series. However I am thinking about going with maybe Amsoil's 10w30 or 10w40.

Just looking for suggestions on a good oil to use for the track and for the street. As I get more into HPDE events I'll consider going to a more race focused oil.

[wakespeak]

HTHS 3.6 to 4.2 is the range you should shoot for IMO

Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-30 (NOT regular Ultra - buy on Amazon)
Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-40 (NOT regular Ultra - buy on Amazon)
Mobil 1 ESP 5w-30 (European formula - buy on Amazon)
Mobil 1 ESP 5w-40 (European formula - buy on Amazon)
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck (TDT) 5w-40 (Also SN gasoline rated awesome oil Walmart)
Shell Rotella T6 5w-40 (gasoline rated Walmart)
Mobil 1 0w-40 (ok but I have seen reports of viscosity breakdown)

.................................................. .................................................. .......

HTHS < 3.6 but still good
Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30 (new base oil is excellent)
Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30

Also consider 10w-30 synthetics as many have 0 viscosity improver since straight synthetic 30 can perform like a 10w.

Diesel rated oils are designed for high compression, forced induction, high bearing loads -- sound familiar?

Chevy did a 24 hour enduro with the LSA with 5w-30. Also the marine version of the LSA, which is worked very hard in surf/wakeboard boats is spec'd at 5w-30...but I think 5w-40 ok in warmer temps. The diesel oils have low enough ZDDP now that cats not a worry. I have 125K on a Land Rover with steady diet of Mobil 1 TDT and passes smog test. The racing oils can have much higher additives compared to the current diesel rated oils.

Sic 'em

Edit: see this thread for Mobil 1 15w-50 vs Mobil 1 TDT 5w-40:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344840

[X25]

Originally Posted by wakespeak

HTHS 3.6 to 4.2 is the range you should shoot for IMO

Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-30 (NOT regular Ultra - buy on Amazon)
Pennzoil Ultra Euro 5w-40 (NOT regular Ultra - buy on Amazon)
Mobil 1 ESP 5w-30 (European formula - buy on Amazon)
Mobil 1 ESP 5w-40 (European formula - buy on Amazon)
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck (TDT) 5w-40 (Also SN gasoline rated awesome oil Walmart)
Shell Rotella T6 5w-40 (gasoline rated Walmart)
Mobil 1 0w-40 (ok but I have seen reports of viscosity breakdown)

.................................................. .................................................. .......

HTHS < 3.6 but still good
Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30 (new base oil is excellent)
Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w-30

Also consider 10w-30 synthetics as many have 0 viscosity improver since straight synthetic 30 can perform like a 10w.

Diesel rated oils are designed for high compression, forced induction, high bearing loads -- sound familiar?

Chevy did a 24 hour enduro with the LSA with 5w-30. Also the marine version of the LSA, which is worked very hard in surf/wakeboard boats is spec'd at 5w-30...but I think 5w-40 ok in warmer temps. The diesel oils have low enough ZDDP now that cats not a worry. I have 125K on a Land Rover with steady diet of Mobil 1 TDT and passes smog test. The racing oils can have much higher additives compared to the current diesel rated oils.

Sic 'em

Edit: see this thread for Mobil 1 15w-50 vs Mobil 1 TDT 5w-40:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344840

Would you pick Rotella T6 or Mobil1 TDT? People tend to favor T6 based on my research. Here is one of the threads:

Mobil 1 TDT has virtually no moly and very little boron. Mobil Delvac 1300 Super for example has the latest patented trinuclear-moly technology. Shell Rotella also has similar levels of moly but I don't know what kind -- likely trinuclear though as Infineum additive co. is co-owned by Mobil and Shell.

TDT is more intended toward light-truck applications and therefore doesn't seem to have the best CJ-4 additive package. It's probably a good oil but Rotella T6 is a better and cheaper choice.

For flat tappets, having moly in addition to ZDDP helps, as moly is an extreme-pressure additive that prevents scuffing. So, for those applications, Rotella or Delvac are better than TDT.

You really don't need synthetic 5W-40 in warm climates if you have access to quality 15W-40 like Delvac 1300 Super or Rotella (with Delvac 1300 Super being superior). More the spread in xW-y, more the oil will shear, even the synthetics. Although, shear of 5W-40 (starting HTHS viscosity ~ 3.8) is not a big concern for xW-30 gasoline applications, since it won't shear much below the non-CJ-4 xW-30 levels (starting HTHS viscosity ~ 3.1). (It could be a concern for heavy-duty diesel applications, which require a minimum HTHS viscosity of 3.5 or so.) The only time you would really benefit from synthetic oil in warm temperatures would be if you're running long OCIs or perhaps in gasoline turbo engines.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...pics/2301129/1

[SPCBA]

BOB!!

[woodside783]

Joe Gibbs driven oil ls 30

[X25]

I ended up buying Mobil1 0W-40 myself. It is the oil that has most certifications, including GM's and Mercedes' longe interval oil change standards, and the newer formula (that has SN approval) is supposed to shear less than the former formula. I almost went with Rotella T6 again, but the fact that this oil will have less friction (and generate less heat at the track) swayed me to choose the Mobil1.

[Anthony @ LG Motorsports]

Going with a thicker oil like a 5w40 or 10w40 is a good idea to help keep things safe on track under extreme conditions.

My first two top rated oils would be Motul 300V or RedLine high performance street oil. Both of these have detergents and cleaners in them so you can run them for extended amounts of time. They are also both an ester based oil which has a much better base stock than anything else on the market.

This is something that everyone needs to read, if you are racing your car or just taking it to car shows your engine oil is the life blood that keeps your car running.

The more aggressive your setup, or the harder you drive your car, the oil you use becomes even more important.

Over the last 10 years, We have recorded approximately 10 failed lifters from customers in the US with our cam kits. We sell on average 150-200 cam kits per year, and more cams by themselves. 6 of these have been in the last 12 months.

Doing testing and research with oil companies, Comp Cams, and also with some of our partners in the turbo production the newer 'EPA approved' oils are reducing the anti wear additive packages more so every year and are increasing the amount of detergents in the oil. While this might sound good to keep the inside of your engine clean it is not helping on keeping the oil protecting like it should.


That is why it is more important now more so than ever for those of you tracking your car, installing bigger cams, turbo's and superchargers that you run an oil that will hold up and protect your investment.

With any of our cam kits we highly suggest the use of a quality oil with a high content of Zinc and Phosphorus. For those racing the car, a racing oil should be used. Do keep in mind most racing oils are 100% detergent free and will need to be changed frequently.

Some oils to use would be RedLine, Amsoil, Joe Gibb, Brad Penn, Valvoline VR1 series.


Further Reading...
http://www.joegibbsdriven.com/trainingcenter/tech/streetoils.htm

http://www.redlineoil.com/techinfo.aspx

http://store.forcedperformance.net/m...otor%20Oil.pdf

[wakespeak]

X25, T6 is good also from the research you highlighted. I have been a member of bobistheoilguy for over 10 years. There is just something different with TDT in my own experience.

Here is my take on all this:

If you have ever worked with engineers, you know the method is to design something around a set of requirements. Nothing more, nothing less.

T6 and TDT are designed for high compression (ie bearing load) diesel engines, while enduring the heat of turbos over hundreds of hours. They also are designed not to ruin catalytic converters and are rated for gasoline engine use (their SL rating). Commercial diesel engines run near full output, say 80%, all day long. That is much different than the average US car.

GF-5 requirements are for regular use cars that weigh fuel economy significantly, so I would expect them to start to fail in engines pushed harder and/or with higher internal forces because they are not designed for it. Anthony's real world results appear to confirm this.

Point is pick an oil that meets an engineering standard = your own requirements.

I have found oils meeting ACEA A3 are right for me. The significant requirement for A3 oils is a minimum film strength (HTHS) rating of 3.5 or better. They are designed for sustained high output use, are available in a 30 grade, so not quite as much a drag on the motor as a 40 grade. There are no US GF-5 oils that have this rating to my knowledge. GF-5 seems more like a CAFE oil spec to me, allowing for that extra .1 mpg fleet average. If your driving includes mostly just cruising, then by all means go for a GF-5 oil.

[BaylorCamaro]

My first HPD event I was using fresh Mobil 1 5w30. I just sent that off for analysis. My second HPD event I switched to fresh Pennzoil Platinum Ultra 10w30, I'm going to keep it in for my next event as well and then send it off for analysis. We'll see what's going on.

[shibbs]

Many, many miles on a track in several different cars.

I used to have a Subaru. It was a pain to keep oil in it on HPDE day/days what with the sideways cylinders and huge (25+ lbs) boost. Always ran into issues until I switched to Rotella T6 5w40. My oil consumption issues disappeared.

I've used it in every car since.

[Merc]

Can't go wrong with Redline.

[hcsi99]

I see the new C7 Corvette recommends 15W50 Mobil One for track use. Would that be a good oil for the Camaro for track use?

[X25]

Originally Posted by hcsi99

I see the new C7 Corvette recommends 15W50 Mobil One for track use. Would that be a good oil for the Camaro for track use?

I wish there were a 10W-50 Mobil1 variant available; I could then use it for my cars with peace of mind. 15W might be too thick especially for the colder states. I also wonder if LT1 would tolerate thicker oil compared to LS3, but I doubt it; if it is good enough for LT1, it should be good enough for LS3.

[BullF-16]

My motor is no where near stock, not a single part actually. But, i have chosen Amsoil Dominator 15w50 for track days, swapped out promply to either Amsoil ZRod 20W50 or Valvoline VR1 20w50 synthetic for the street due to the anti corrosion additive package.