Free Horsepower

[Jack B]

The last issue of "Dragstrip had the results of a long term project. They took a large block engine and made dozens of modifications and dyno'ed the engine after each mod. The engine was in in the same hp range of a modified viper. They took the engine to a certain point always testing with a non-synthetic oil, they then switched to Royal Purple, the gain was a consistent 7 hp for several pulls. The question has to be, how does Mobil One compare to Royal Purple. The data on Royal Purple is very interesting.

Also of interest, there is a magazine called Mopar. It has very little on the Viper, however, the latest issue discussed the opening of Mopar high performance center in every metro area. They are picking one dealer and attaching the performance center to that dealer. They will be operated independently. There will also be several mega performance centers scattered selectively across the US. The magazine has a very good tech corner. The track testing of the SRT Neon was very impressive. The quarter mile trap speed was 101-103 mph, in comparison, the WRX was 93-94.

 

[Newport Viper]

Nice Avatar.
How deep is the snow?
I grew up in Chagrin Falls..

 

[onerareviper]

I don't think you can go wrong with Mobil 1. It is the 'recommended' oil, and even if you can pick up a few HP with other synthetics (I don't think you can), is it worth the cost/risk? I can get 10 quarts of Mobil 1 at Walmart for $35. (two 5 quart jugs). If memory serves, Redline and Royal Purple are around $8 a quart. Around $80 bucks for 10 quarts. Stick with Mobil 1 - My .02.

Later

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I second everything Brunt said.

 

[Jack B]

Maui:
only about a foot of snow.


Mike:
I was not trying to promote RP, just an observation from a credible source. It is obvious that seven hp was not a lot, however, this was repeated and substantiated. A large number of people on this board are spending a lot of money to get 7 hp, an example, T&D's on a NA engine.

I did a search about one year ago and at that time someone with a lot of road track time had a nice testimonial on RP. The two claims I remember were a drop in temp and an increase in oil pressure over Mobil One under the same circumstances.

 

[Mike Brunton]

The thing with oil is that it's not meant to add or remove horsepower, it's there to lubricate. In doing it's job, it produces drag on some engine components, and the engine does some "work" to move it around and keep it flowing.

If you were to put 50W oil in your car, and dyno it...then switched to 5W oil and dynoed it, the latter would almost certainly show a higher power number - because it's so much thinner. Likewise, dropping a couple (or a few) quarts of oil will also likely show a power improvement. Neither are things you want to do - especially in a street motor.

I've seen Vipers pick up or lose 25+hp just from being dynoed hot or cool, so in comparison 7hp isn't all that much - certainly nothing you'd notice.

Remember that a racing engine lives a different life than a street engine. A racing engine must hold up for a short period of intense use - oil change intervals mean nothing, and it's better to get a few more HP here and there, even if it means the motor will last half as long, that's ok. If your race motor lasts 2,000 miles with Mobil1 and 1,000 miles with RP, but picks up 10hp with the RP.... well, if you're racing 500 mile races and rebuilding after every race, then it's better to use the RP.

So, I think that's why you see RP so much in racing applications. I don't know much about it's applicability to street cars. I know some guys use it and love it - but I don't know all that many folk that rely on it for 50k miles of trouble free service like they do Mobil1.

Just some observations...

 

[Mike Adams]

All I use is royal purple. When I used mobile on I always had little filings on the drain plug. Then I switched to royal purple and now more filings. I currently use R21 it is a 5w30 oil