Motor Oil Zinc Content

[jkskinsfan 19]

I was doing a little reading about Oil on the Internet and thought this might be useful for those of us who have Flat Tappet Motors. From what I could find out, Oil for these engines should have a ZINC CONTENT OF AT LEAST 1200 PPM. The old Rotella T that was rated CI-4 had Zinc levels over 1300. Now that the rating has been changed to CJ-4, the Zinc content is now only 1014 PPM. If you like the Oil you are now using there are additives you can get. GM used to carry EOS #1052367, but it has been discontinued. It was replaced with AC DELCO EOS #10-106. It comes in a 16 ounce bottle and has 6221 PPM of Zinc and 5763 PPM of Phosphorous. I'm sure there are other additives around that have similar content. Below is a Table that I made showing the Zinc and Phosphorous contents by API Rating and also for some Brand Name Oils.

 

 

 

[S code 69 13]

Good information, I don't take it for granted ANY oil has enough zinc so I use additives to make sure I OD on it.

 

I bought a bunch of the old GM EOS and use that in all my old engines, like you say they's no longer made but there is an additive called ZZTP or something like that? it's cheap insurance and then you can use any a good quality oil.

[chillininnh 21]

I was watching "My Classic Car" recently and on the show as a guest was a rep from Valvoline. They spoke in depth about this very subject and he recommended his own oil ofcourse, VR1 Racing oil.

 

http://www.valvoline.com/downloads/2008-003a.pdf

 

Looks like good stuff.

[Grabber70Mach 107]

I was looking into the zddp, but then saw this recommended and have put some thought into going with this.

 

http://www.cam-shield.com/

[opie_803 14]

this is the very reason i am rebuilding (kinda) my engine right now. i had a cam lobe round off and concave a lifter due to lack of lubrication. the motor had been rebuilt by the previous owner but i dont guess he ever used additives in his oil.

[S code 69 13]

Just remember even with plenty of zinc you have to break the cam in properly, but without the zinc you're toast. if you have valve springs with over 350 lbs over the nose you'll need to break the cam in on lighter springs then go back to your heavy ones. almost all cam failures are the result of not enough zinc, improper break in, too much spring pressure or a combination of the three.

 

I haven't seen that cam shield before but I'm sure it's good stuff . by the way I guess zinc was removed from modern oils because it screws up catalitic converters, so don't run it in your newer cars and they don't need it anyway.

[69again 10]

I use the Valvoline VR1 Racing oil in my 302 with the Edelbrock performer rpm top end package so far so good (big cam, car shakes pretty good at idle, probably should have gone smaller). The engine shop that broke the cam in and dyno'd my engine uses some special oil that is really high in zinc. I will see if I can get info on it from him. He had me leave his oil in for the first 500 miles. then I swithced to the VR1. Anyone else use the VR1 and any issues with using it? Would you still use and additive as well?

[mcgirr455 10]

There was some good article about zinc and oil lately and the vr1 oil is one of the ones recomended to use with no additive needed.

[stangme428 33]

interesting thread... so any of the additives is just added insurance if we are running retro hyd roller setups etc.... :whistling:

 

i will preach for a moment, i had two instances where i am convinced that mobil1 synthetic saved the motor in my 96 Cobra.

1) bad oil filter seal - pumped out all of the oil at one time...from the motor after @80 miles after an oil change. (no i didn't change it-- one of the few times)

had it towed home, replaced the oil filter and oil myself.. no problems.. no damage.

 

2) bad oil cooler adapter (factory) pumped all the oil into my radiator.

had the oil cooler sandwich adapter replaced. water system flushed. replaced oil.. mobil1 no damage.

:biggrin:

[stangme428 33]

interesting thread... so any of the additives is just added insurance if we are running retro hyd roller setups etc.... :whistling:

 

i will preach for a moment, i had two instances where i am convinced that mobil1 synthetic saved the motor in my 96 Cobra.

1) bad oil filter seal - pumped out all of the oil at one time...from the motor after @80 miles after an oil change. (no i didn't change it-- one of the few times)

had it towed home, replaced the oil filter and oil myself.. no problems.. no damage.

 

2) bad oil cooler adapter (factory) pumped all the oil into my radiator.

had the oil cooler sandwich adapter replaced. water system flushed. replaced oil.. mobil1 no damage.

:biggrin:

[Jayru 17]

Roller cams don't need to be broken in do they?

 

I had a supercharged roller 306 years ago, the engine builder was like, "drive it like you stole it from day 1." That's what i did and never had any problems (until i split the block in half making upwards of 600hp!:biggrin:)

 

But i have read/heard other people say otherwise. Do i need the high Zinc oil and break in with my roller 302 running an E303 cam? Or am i good to go with Conventional oil for the first 1K to seat the rings then just switch to synthetics after.

 

What's the consensus?

[Jayru 17]

Roller cams don't need to be broken in do they?

 

I had a supercharged roller 306 years ago, the engine builder was like, "drive it like you stole it from day 1." That's what i did and never had any problems (until i split the block in half making upwards of 600hp!:biggrin:)

 

But i have read/heard other people say otherwise. Do i need the high Zinc oil and break in with my roller 302 running an E303 cam? Or am i good to go with Conventional oil for the first 1K to seat the rings then just switch to synthetics after.

 

What's the consensus?

[coz 108]

Break in for roller cams - pull to the line and smack it....

 

No break-in required and in most cases smacking the throttle will actually help seat and seal.

 

For the flat tappet crowd - VR1 and ZDDP are what is recommended. I think Royal Purple also markets a oil high in zinc for break in.

 

I ran 10W40 conventional for 1k and the went to 15W50 (as safe middle ground between 10w40 and 20w50) Mobil 1 syn. Seems to work fine as I run 70-80# of oil pressure through the whole throttle range (900-6800 rpm)

Edited May 12, 2009 by coz

[coz 108]

Break in for roller cams - pull to the line and smack it....

 

No break-in required and in most cases smacking the throttle will actually help seat and seal.

 

For the flat tappet crowd - VR1 and ZDDP are what is recommended. I think Royal Purple also markets a oil high in zinc for break in.

 

I ran 10W40 conventional for 1k and the went to 15W50 (as safe middle ground between 10w40 and 20w50) Mobil 1 syn. Seems to work fine as I run 70-80# of oil pressure through the whole throttle range (900-6800 rpm)

Edited May 12, 2009 by coz

[Pakrat 1,043]

Roller cams don't need to be broken in do they?

 

I had a supercharged roller 306 years ago...........

 

That's not a fair comparison, roller cam technology has come a long way in the last 306 years!:whistling:

[Pakrat 1,043]

Roller cams don't need to be broken in do they?

 

I had a supercharged roller 306 years ago...........

 

That's not a fair comparison, roller cam technology has come a long way in the last 306 years!:whistling: