Interesting oil test write-up

[Paul Workman]

This oil analysis is posted on the CF C3 forum. And, since we have flat tappet motors too, I thought y'all might want to have a look-see.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...test-data.html

P.

[Schrade]

Is there any new thing in oil?

I think intro of polymers of poly-flouroethanes into oil might have been a 'new' thing (Slick 50), but are any longevity studies available for it?

Can't find corporate/subsidiary info on Stavely Labs who did the study???

[scottfab]

Originally Posted by Paul Workman

This oil analysis is posted on the CF C3 forum. And, since we have flat tappet motors too, I thought y'all might want to have a look-see.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...test-data.html

P.

Good stuff. Thanks for posting !

[Dynomite]

I know I am probably smoking dope (as many think) but I have to say this in regard to all the recent technical dialogues on Oils (engine and transmission) and Coolants. Lots of great reading for sure and that dialogue is appreciated.

SO.......here goes.
I have a 1985 Toyota 4x4 with 275,000 miles that runs like new with no real engine issues (I did replace timing chain and heads at one time) for which I have always used Penzoil 10W 30.

The BIG secret on engine and transmission life is frequent oil and filter changes (on that Toyota I changed oil and filter every 2,000 miles). Same on Transmission oil (much longer oil change intervals) which for the ZF S6-40 the ZFdoc recommends oil changes every 10,000 miles. Using synthetic oils I go about twice as long on oil changes.

So as you can see.....I enjoy the discussions but stick to basics and just keep on running with these fluids LT5/ZR-1 Fluids

Ya...I maybe pay a bit more but then getting 275,000 miles on a single engine is saving a whole lot more.

[XfireZ51]

I have a Vibe GT w. 2ZZ motor and 175k miles. Never a warranty claim. Oil change and filter every 3k.

[Hib Halverson]

Our LT5s do indeed have flat tappet camshafts, but the none of the alarmist beliefs about flat tappet cam and lifter wear apply to our engines, because they use flat tappets and direct-acting bucket tappets rather than pushrods and rocker arms.

Yes, an LT5 has flat tappet cams, but its cam lobes are much wider than those you'd find on a camshaft in a pushrod V8, thus the load bearing area on the lifter face which is swept by lobe as the cam rotates is greater. In addition, our engines do not have the higher loads at the lobe/lifter interface which are typical of pushrod and rocker arm valve trains.

Bottom line: the loads are far less and because of the width of the LT5 lobes, that less load is spread over a greater area.

Engine oils which meet or exceed the old GM 4718M (previously applied to 93-95 LT5s) or the current "Dexos 1" specification will provide more than adequate lubrication of the LT5 valve train. No special engine oils or fortifying additives are necessary.

That said, no harm will come to the engine if one chooses to use an engine oil with higher zinc/phosphorous content as long as the phosphorous content does not exceed 1600 ppm. Long term use of an engine oil with more "ZDP" than 1500-1600-ppm is likely damage your engine.

Those who use one of the many "ZDDP", "ZDP" or zinc additives need to be cautious with such productds. Few of them specify their ZDP content, thus, it's impossible to know how much more zinc your putting in your oil. Some of those additives can be 10% or more (that's 100,000+ ppm) ZDP.

With ZDP, the belief "if some is good more is better" absolutely does not apply. Over 1600-ppm phosphorous for extended periods will cause engine damage as well as greatly decreasing catalytic converter life so...buyer beware.

[efnfast]

[rkreigh]

Originally Posted by Hib Halverson

Our LT5s do indeed have flat tappet camshafts, but the none of the alarmist beliefs about flat tappet cam and lifter wear apply to our engines, because they use flat tappets and direct-acting bucket tappets rather than pushrods and rocker arms.

Yes, an LT5 has flat tappet cams, but its cam lobes are much wider than those you'd find on a camshaft in a pushrod V8, thus the load bearing area on the lifter face which is swept by lobe as the cam rotates is greater. In addition, our engines do not have the higher loads at the lobe/lifter interface which are typical of pushrod and rocker arm valve trains.

Bottom line: the loads are far less and because of the width of the LT5 lobes, that less load is spread over a greater area.

Engine oils which meet or exceed the old GM 4718M (previously applied to 93-95 LT5s) or the current "Dexos 1" specification will provide more than adequate lubrication of the LT5 valve train. No special engine oils or fortifying additives are necessary.

That said, no harm will come to the engine if one chooses to use an engine oil with higher zinc/phosphorous content as long as the phosphorous content does not exceed 1600 ppm. Long term use of an engine oil with more "ZDP" than 1500-1600-ppm is likely damage your engine.

Those who use one of the many "ZDDP", "ZDP" or zinc additives need to be cautious with such productds. Few of them specify their ZDP content, thus, it's impossible to know how much more zinc your putting in your oil. Some of those additives can be 10% or more (that's 100,000+ ppm) ZDP.

With ZDP, the belief "if some is good more is better" absolutely does not apply. Over 1600-ppm phosphorous for extended periods will cause engine damage, so...buyer beware.

yup. with the really nice hard cams, big cam lobes (wide), huge direct acting lifters, and small light valves with light valve springs we're not dealing with 240 lbs of seat pressure with a pushrod engine that will wipe the cams real ez.

the LT5 valve train is pretty bullet proof and wears really well with decent and clean oil. the really high amounts of zinc will do more to "kill the cats" than it will help the engine.

other than a few bad batches of "soft" cams (aftermarket) stock LT5s typically don't have much in the way of valvetrain problems.

we just pulled apart an LT5 with only around 30k miles on it and the lifters and cams almost looked new. very little wear at all.

[Fully Vetted]

Since mileage has been brought up what is the highest mileage ZR-1 on the original motor that anyone here is aware of and what kind of problems, if any, came up due to those miles?

[Dynomite]

Originally Posted by Fully Vetted

Since mileage has been brought up what is the highest mileage ZR-1 on the original motor that anyone here is aware of and what kind of problems, if any, came up due to those miles?

bdw18_123 (Ben) of Fresno restored a 90' with 144K original miles Ben's 90' Restoration

As I recall he had a Timing Chain broken which is really rare.

See Highest/Lowest mileage

There are two in that poll that are over 200,000 miles.