best motoroil?

[Schober Motorsports]

No such thing as "the best motor oil", it seems that its more of a persons opinion then anything, except royal purple, I hear that stuff is GOOD but expensive as all hell!
For a more practical use, I use valvoline...

 

[bigjoenvegas]

I use Valvoline but Royal Purple is the best if you have the money for it!

 

[84cutspreme]

yup royal purple is the best...but it will destroy a hydraulic flat tappet cam, so I can't use it.

 

[2fit661ca]

i use 10w-30, but my friend whom I bought my 307 from ran 15w-40 through it and the amount of gunk we found inside the engine when we tore it apart was sad, and I'm suprised any oil could even flow through that engine... but who knows if it was his oil or just from years of use....

 

[84cutspreme]

Eh, my opinion is it's all how you maintain it. On a fresh build if you do oil changes religiously, should have no problems. My buddy has an 84' camaro with a worked 305. He pulled just the intake off the other day and you could eat off of it. When he pulled the valve covers off there was barely any residue, which stunned me because the 305 was notorious for burning oil.

 

[jay_GM]

yup royal purple is the best...but it will destroy a hydraulic flat tappet cam, so I can't use it.

now see my brother has been using that no his altima se-R and he says it feels "smooth" on my magnum ive always used either mobile1 or castrol and never found build up or anything like that in my opinion they seem to do the same to me, but maybe for older engines i know the requirements are a little different-with that i changed my buicks oil with 5w-30 i didnt use any of the 40s i dont go out in the heat or cold infact the car just sits there (for now)

but yeah alot of people have different choices heck even chevron oil not bad too.

 

[84cutspreme]

Yup, really just preference. My motor guru says that in my motor with hydraulic flat tappet cam...the synthetic doesn't allow the lifters to rotate like they should and causes the cam to literally grind away at one spot in lifter. I will say that in race motors royal purple is the way to go, tested and proved.

 

[dogsht]

Hmnn guys this topic really should be a sticky. Many readers do not understand the difference between a flat tappet cam engine and a "roller motor" and why that has become important in "whats the best motor oil" for most of our g-bodys. My definition & explanation might not be the best but I will try to explain.

An old design flat tappet cam engine has lifters that slide on the cam while the cam turns and the lumpy parts of the cam push the lifters & pushrods up squishing the valvesprings while opening the valves and then as the cam turns it allows the valvesprings to push the valves shut in turn shoving the pushrods & lifters back down all along sliding on the cam. Such would be the case for the Buick 3.8s, Olds 260 & 307s and the Chevy 4.3s & 305s etc that they put in our g-bodys.

A few years ago our government decided to make the oil companys take the zinc & or ZDDP lubricant pack out of our motor oils & a year or so later took it out of our diesel motor oils. Actually some of its still there only its no longer in a significant enough amount to properly lubricate a flat tappet cam engine. The government was able to do this because auto manufacturers had stopped putting flat tappet cam engines in production cars years earlier in favor of engines with a slightly more efficient roller lifter setup that coincidentally did not require the harmful anti environmental lubricant zinc. Most of the time for the remainder of its life on a well broken in, weak valve springed (sprung?) garden variety engine its does not make a big enough difference quick enough to matter. Even if it does can you prove it? However some of us like and rebuild our flat tappet cam engines which causes a problem especially if we opt up to a performance cam that in turn uses stronger valve springs. So what used to be fine "we used it for years and never had a problem" is no longer, even if catastrophic failure does not immediately ensue. For a flat tappet cam engine its recommended that you either buy separately a "ZDDP" additive to add to your oil each oil change or what I do is use Valvoline VR1 "racing oil". Valvoline VRI racing oil is commonly available and was allowed to keep the proper zinc or ZDDP lubricants because its not approved for highway use or commuter travel but rather is exempt because it was & is market as a racing oil for off road use. Most auto parts stores carry it in 15-40 but many can get it for you or can carry it if their is enough call for it in 10-30. Hope this explained it well enough and that it helps someone.

Now about synthetic hmnn apples & oranges. Its very slick only in a different way. It may work fine for sufficiently lubricating a flat tappet cam but may also provide other problems such as oil leaks or the spinning lifter thing. Its definitely in the good stuff category but may not be cost effective depending on your needs goals & budget.