what oil would you tell me to use from then on after the break in ? or just stick with the 20/50 valv racing oil ?
they said they use it in all their race engines and always do well with it. but i trust YOU the most on this stuff obviously.
thanx again,
Phil
If you don't gag at the thought of diesel oil, that's the way to go and what I use. It's a mineral oil 15W40, so it's thick enough when hot and thin enough when cold. Lots of additives for cleanliness and wear protection - made for 80,000 mile drains rather than 5,000 miles. And it's not expensive, found at Walmart, comes in gallons. Any major brand is fine - Chevron Delo, Shell Rotella T, Mobil Delvac 1300. It has similar wear protection as the race oil, and lots of budget racers use it anyway.
If that's too much a stretch, then pick any oil that meets European car requirements - the ACEA specs. Mobil has a bunch in different viscosity grades, and all the majors will have one or two. Because there are lots of diesel passenger cars in Europe, these oils are also additive boosted, and many are synthetic.
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my engine is on the way home from the engine builder today.
for break in he told me to use racing valvoline 20/50, change oil after it gets up to operating temps and put more 20/50 valvoline oil back in.
he said NOT to bother with synthetic. does that make sense to you ? he said there's no need for it.
and is that racing valvoline 20/50 any good ?
Yes, Valvoline Racing oil has more anti-wear additive that gasoline engine oil, so it will protect parts during break-in. It's a little thicker than I'd like, so you could also use 15W40 diesel oil, which also has more antiwear than gasoline engine oil. It's more expensive, but Joe Gibbs Racing makes a break in oil also.
If he's saying to warm it up once and change oil, that's a little (well, a lot) extreme. New cars don't tell you to do that. Unless he has another reason, I'd use the Valvoline for as long as it takes for break-on and then switch.
Synthetic oil is overrated. The additives make the performance difference - for example, the Valvoline and diesel oil have more antiwear additive. Diesel oil also has more detergent and dispersant. The high temperature protection is provided by additives instead of the base oil, so unless you are starting the car at -30C, I don't think you will ever see a benefit vs. a diesel oil or a Euro-car oil (one with ACEA performance specs.)
-Tom
