wizard
Well-Known Member
Have a 73 imperial. What weight oil should I be using in the 440 motor?
What weight oil are you using in your imperial?
- Thread starter wizard
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10W-30 or 10W-40 would probably be fine, I suspect. Although factory allowances would also list 30 straight weight and 20W-50, if the ambient temps are consistently above 32 degrees F.
At that time, synthetics were first starting to appear, but they are an option, too, if desired.
Important to consider a shot of zddp additive in late-model-spec oils, possibly. But that's another discussion.
CBODY67
At that time, synthetics were first starting to appear, but they are an option, too, if desired.
Important to consider a shot of zddp additive in late-model-spec oils, possibly. But that's another discussion.
CBODY67
rkrochen
Senior Member
I agree with CBOYDY67 recommendations however I wouldn’t recommend the use of synthetic oils in a used engine. Older engines have lots of tarnish and sludge buildup that synthetic oils can remove and deposit in the oil pan eventually clogging the pick up screen. If it is a relatively fresh build you can go with synthetic and I recommend that.
Oil and tires...where you will get many different opinions...Assuming you drive your car under normal conditions with no racing or Towing, off roading LOL
Here's mine;
I run 10w30 oil with STP or Lucas additive in all my fleet.Easily obtainable anywhere when traveling and affordable.
I agree that synthetic oils in an older engine is not a good idea.
I tried synthetic before rebuilding the wagon engine. It consumed it and leaked worse than before.
Hope this helps
Here's mine;
I run 10w30 oil with STP or Lucas additive in all my fleet.Easily obtainable anywhere when traveling and affordable.
I agree that synthetic oils in an older engine is not a good idea.
I tried synthetic before rebuilding the wagon engine. It consumed it and leaked worse than before.
Hope this helps
Yep, that is a can of worms (opinions) topic.
Short answer, in PA I'd run 10w-30 or 40, assuming your engine is healthy and not excessively worn/burning oil, at which point I'd switch to 20w-50.
I run VR1 10w-30 here in NC driving good weather year round.
Short answer, in PA I'd run 10w-30 or 40, assuming your engine is healthy and not excessively worn/burning oil, at which point I'd switch to 20w-50.
I run VR1 10w-30 here in NC driving good weather year round.
From what I've read and experienced, weight depends on weather/oil pressure. Use oil with zinc, do not add any additive. People have had luck with no zinc oil and proper amount of additive ( me also)
The balance of additives is important, so I now use oil w zinc
The balance of additives is important, so I now use oil w zinc
twostick
Senior Member
wizard
Well-Known Member
10W-30 it is then. No synthetics for me. Thanks to all.
Wizard
Wizard
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
What's the best oil?
Ed Naughton
New Member
15-40 rotella in my 3 imperials
I favor Valvoline conventional VR1 racing oil especially when living in warm climates like you and I do where a deposit control additive in the oil isn't so important but zinc is and done in proper fashion by Valvoline rather than just some questionable zinc additive placed separately in an oil. I use the 10-30 on fresh engines and 20-50 in ones with higher miles on them when in warmer climates especially.
I run the Valvoline 15-40 "All Fleet" oils in mine. The off the shelf zinc additives have an annoying habit of dropping out of solution and collecting at the bottom of the pan on engines that sit over the winter, not a good thing. The Shell Rotella and Chevron Delo oils also have plenty of zinc from the manufacturer. As more and more diesel engines switch to roller camshafts, it is likely that the ZDDP additives will go away in diesel rated oils, so it is important to check the technical specs on whatever oil you use. Also agree that synthetic oils are not a good idea on anything but a fresh engine. If the engine is in severe service, the 20w-50w oils is what the factory suggested, but today's oils are considerably better that they were 50 years ago when these cars were new.
Dave
Dave
That's pretty much exactly how I see it. Valvoline, Brad Penn, etc know how to mix an additive package better than I do or can at home. And VR1 is available on the shelf locally for me.
LeBaron1973
Old Man with a Hat
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Apart from possibly having more detergents than non synthetic oil and thus revealing the "truth" of that engine- in terms of being clogged up with !@#$ and necessitating frequent oil changes until the !@#$ is removed, why would a synthetic oil not be as good for an old engine?
Just want to learn from those of you experienced guys.
Just want to learn from those of you experienced guys.
Synthetic oils are more stable and have less viscosity breakdown that conventional oils. As noted, they do tend to break loose all the accumulated crud in the engine. They are only bad for an old engine in that sense. As long as the old engine is relatively clean inside, the synthetic oil will usually provide superior service. If the engine is loose enough to be burning oil or blowing it past the valve guides, those problems will probably get worse with synthetic oil because if the carbon around the rings or valve guides gets washed out it will leave more space for the oil to get away. Synthetics also have a higher flash point than conventional oils and do not burn off readily in combustion chambers and that leads to more frequent fouled plugs as a result.
As a side bar, years ago, when we got in an engine that failed a DEQ inspection because of smoke, we would put in synthetic oil to run the vehicle thru the test site and it would pass the smoke test. Then the vehicle would come back and the synthetic oil would be replaced with conventional oil. One of the many ways those tests were defeated.
Dave
I am one who is not afraid to run a synthetic oil with the proper ZDDP levels, which in my case would be the VR1 synthetic. But that oil is typically not stocked locally and has to be ordered, which is why I generally don't run it.
In my experience the synthetic oils tend to "slip by" easier, so if you have some wear and are burning a little oil, it will be more so with a synthetic as compared to the same conventional oil. I had one vehicle that would burn 1 qt running synthetic over 5K. Switching to the same oil in a conventional dropped that down to about a 1/2 qt. If I understand things right, synthetic oils have a cleaner, more homogeneous molecule size, while conventional oils are more sporadic. Maybe that's why more conventional oil is retained.
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