oil additives

[daccarettfletez]

Hi,

I'm finally finishing the assembly of my 4.5 stroker, I was wondering what do guys think of running stuff like slick 50 or QMI, I've never been really fond of them but I've had a couple of people recommend using it to protect the engine from the abuse I put it through...I'll be running a 5 or 10w40 semi synthetic oil....

regards,

Ricardo Daccarett

[Djmack]

why not full synthetic? doesnt it leave less behind?

[SilverXJ]

Most oil additives are pure crap. Look in to ZDDP, there are a few additives that boost the ZDDP levels. Also, you need to know how much ZDDP your oil already has in it.

And don't run synthetic until at least after 1000 miles.

[cavaliers1323]

A lot of time and money is put into formulating oils, dumping in additives with unknown additives may have adverse effects. Some additives dont work well with others, and some have certian ratios that work well together changing these ratios etc could mess things up. IMHO slghtly boosting the levels of one additive isnt really going to hurt anything, but do keep in mind not all adds are created equal and there are different types of each additive. Having said all that, unless your willing to invest a good bit of time and money into reasearch your best bet is to find a fully formulated oil that meets your needs, and don't play chemist. Especially since there are a lot of snake oils out there. Just ensure proper break-in with the proper oil, and after that the extra adds are not necessary.



EDIT: I cannot stress enough how important break-in is, use an oil with high anti-wear to protect your cam. Although I havnt used it (wasn't out when I broke in my 383) royal purples break-in oil looks promising. I plan on trying it on my my 4.6. There are a bunch of other oils with decent as levels, as well as a ton of additves for break-in. But as silverxj said you need to establish a baseline before you dump in bunch of additives. Too much can be bad.

[shockcocker04]

i used rotella 15-40 to break mine in, and thats what i continue to use

[gmakra]

I used Valvoline 10-40 and I dump in a bottle of ZDDP plus and it works for me.

[cavaliers1323]

How do you know it works? How do you know it wouldnt work without it? You cant just assume! That stuff is very concentrated, and adding a whole bottle may be too much. I would send a sample of your frankenblend off for a VOA. Too much ZDDP can be corrosive!

[gmakra]

Your right maybe I should send it out for a spectra analysis. I have scoured the web for info and found many opinions but very little hard fact.There is the synthetic crowd, the racing oil crowd,the Diesel Oil crowd and they all state different oppinons.

But on the other hand after talking to Comp Cams, Clifford Performance and several engine builders plus scouring Web for info. The major fact that comes up is the EPA mandated that catalytic converters last longer than 100,000 miles which forced the car companies to switch to roller cams which allowed the Zinc to be removed from the oil.

I thought of Occums Razor which states that the simplest solution is usually the best solution (sic). So my thinking is if the ZDDP was removed put it back into the oil. It was in the oil before as a scrafical metal and rarely did you ever hear of camshaft failures.

ZDDP recommends one bottle per oil change and and I figure that should get in the me in the ball park.

[cavaliers1323]

Just consider your sources! Check out Bob Olree's credintials, then read SAE #2004-01-2986. If you don't have access to SAE papers just google "How Much ZDP is Enough?" you should find plenty of excerpts. Then research Sequence IIIG, and Sequence IVA, these are the two SM tests that are preformed on flat tappet motors.