z3bra

False.

It will possibly leak more and indirectly damage your engine if it were all to leak out, but by itself it's not going to damage the engine. (Provided it's the correct viscocity, and motor oil and all that type of assumed stuff of course).

FWIW, I started using the Rotella-T synthetic 5w-40 in my wife's car last night and so far it's not leaking a drop and that car has 95,000 miles on it. I'm not sure what it had been running, but it had a Quaker State filter on it so I'm assuming that's what it had been using since we purchased it. (Yuck). I also fixed the front valve cover gasket which was leaking and making a big oily mess on one cylinder bank. I guess the fact that the valve cover bolts were loose enough in most cases that calling them finger tight wouldn't even describe how loose they are probably had a bit to do with the fact that it was leaking. Given the engine in it is pretty reliable by design (simple and cheap pushrod V6 technology in action). I figured it would be a good test bed for the Rotella since even if I do blow it up I can always slap a new engine in that or rebuild it for next to nothing.

Ski

David, report on the Valvoline 20/50 after DE: we drained a about a 1/3 of a cup for the entire weekend, most of it being after the morning sessions on Saturday which had cool temps and the fluid was mostly milk - more water than oil. Sunday, 4 sessions, produced about a tablespoon. The front straight was seeing 5800 rpm shifts, top speeds of 140-142 before braking. Car was flawless except for my last session...the tires were toast.

turbinek

Still keen on Valvoline 20/50 racing oil?

kind regards

z3bra

Well since this old thread got resurrected, just thought I'd report on the Rotella-T synthetic (aka big diesel truck oil). In the D*dge having used it for about 10k miles now I haven't leaked so much as a drop of oil.

From a little research at bobistheoilguy.com, it's only a group III base stock oil so it should just be cracked hydrocarbons making it more of a semi-synthetic vs a Group IV like Amsoil or a Group V like Redline is.

I think that makes it a good compromise between a synthetic and a dino oil, probably on par with a synthetic blend, but I've heard of it being used for very long change intervals on diesel trucks as it's a high detergent oil. (Upwards of 20k miles with 5k filter changes) without problems.

If you've ever seen used oil from a diesel, that stuff is pitch black from all the soot in it. It will literally take a few days to get the black stains from it off of your skin even with repeated washing. Also if you look at the truck oils like that, they're rated for factory specs from Mack trucks and Caterpillar. Apparently these ratings are considerably more punishing than those used for oils designed for passenger cars are. I haven't tried it in my 951 yet since it's not back on the road but I'm very seriously considering using it vs regular dino oil. The slightly lower viscocity than a 20w-50 should be ok since it is a synthetic, but I may switch to 20w-50 dino in the summer since it's as hot as it is here in AZ.

LFA951

Forget Mobil 1, Amsoil Series 2000 20W50 is the world heavy weight undisputed champion out there, the first ever synthetic oil ever made back in March of 1972!

turbinek

O.k. got that. Valvoline not only has VR1 Racing 20W-50 but also VR1 Racing 10W-60: which is better for 951? Summer and winter?

hosrom_951

Ski is right, ever since the merge/deal between Exxon and Mobil 1, their oils are just not up to the standards like before.

I am currently running Shell Helix Ultra 15w-50, it is very good, car seem's to like it. However, i have 1,080kms left for my next oil change, where i am going for Shell Helix Super 20w-50.

Ski

rep, jwl, my partner in the track car, just rebuilt a 930 for his wife, after the break in oil of 30 wt for about 250 miles, in went Valvo 20/50. There have been two other cars that jwl rebuilt, both owners were keen on Mobil 1. One car went on Mobil 1, then switched to Valvo, the other owner, did break in and is now on Valvo. He had an issue with oil in his intercooler pipe. It turned out to be an overfilling problem. He wasn't just puttig just a bit over his dipstick, he was putting in almost a full extra quart! Got that straight and his pipes are dry as a bone now, as he just adds enough to get it about 1mm obove the notch.

daigo

The best syn oil for racing is ester based, bar none. Expensive of course. Motul is one manufacturer.

turbinek

what does that mean?

Ski

sorry, just that we talked him into Valvo instead of Mobil 1. The other thing with the Valvoline is that it is cheap enough you can change it often - we change it after every track weekend.

turbinek

Thank you. I'm still not too sure that 20/50 is better than Mobil1 5W-50. As I had my engine aoart there was nowhere oil stuck - everything was clean where the oil is supposed to be. I remember tiny holes where I personally could imagine that the oil is not supposed to be to thick. Refering to the Porsche owner's manual there's is just a nice overal explanation about motor oil but not really a recommendation.

JET951

there was a test on oils in an australian magazine i will post the results up in a few days. after reading these results i wouldnt be using mobil any more. there are a few other brands that did bad as well.

as for racing with synthetic oils it doesnt happen in australia. all v8 supercars run a straight 50 mineral oil. all the super boats( v8 twin turbo 1800hp) use straight 50 mineral oil. i could go on but you get the story. one of our reps owns a super boat and told us if you put synthetic in them they will chew themselves out within 10 minutes of full throttle racing( 18psi boost) the mineral oil which has been changed after every race( these races last for up to an hour) and there in no wear.

LFA951

20W50 is the best weight for summer, thicker, maintains viscosity, does not have thermal breakdown, anything less is too thin. Mineral oil is a things of the past, I don't know why so many people are still in the dark about synthetic oil. If everyone started using synthetic oil, we wouldn't depend so much on the Saudi's for their only contribution to the world, Bush wouldn't have his nose all the way up their asses and we would be helping the enviroment...

951North

All Politics aside ...

For a summer only street car owner who WANTS to use a synthetic oil that will be changed once a season (max 5000 miles driven) Whould you choose Valvoline VR1 20w50 or Amsoil Series 2000 20w50? or are the differences insignificant?

Jason