So, all this discussion of oil and ZDDP raises 3 questions for me:
1. Which viscosity to use? I've used conventional 20/50 oil in the past. I
am planning on draining the current oil (less than 100 miles) since it is
not one of the ones recommended in this thread, and replacing with one that
is. But which one? I have, BTW, about 600 miles on the engine since the
rebuild. Eric Grunden at Absolutely British recommended 20/50 after the
rebuild. I'm in Southern CA, so temps below 40 degrees are rare. I've also
just changed to a Dennis Welch high capacity oil pump, which immediately
brought my pressures up significantly.
In looking at the manufacturers' websites, I find that Redline recommends
synthetic 10/40 normal street use. They recommend 20/50 only for racing
applications and street use where oil temps are typically above 225 degrees.
No mention of ZDDP on their website. Penrite recommends HPR 30 for 3000s,
saying it is a 20/60 oil (so why don't they call it 20/60?) and a substitute
for traditional 20/50, though they also sell a Classic 20/50. Also no
mention of ZDDP. Valvoline VR-1 comes as either a 10/30 or 20/50. They
note the
presense of ZDDP on their website, but make no application recommendations.
Royal Purple's website is not terribly helpful, as it does not always state
which oils are SM and which meet older standards, though I was able to see
that their 10/40 is API SL and their 20/50 is API SJ. Nor do they give any
indication that MaxCycle, for example, would be appropriate for vintage auto
applications. The info that Michael Oritt passed on from Royal Purple was
more helpful.
Your thoughts and recommendations, please. 10/40 or 20/50?
2. Where to buy Penrite now? Redline, Valvoline, and Royal Purple are all
indicated to be available at my local NAPA, as I'm sure is the Valvoline and
Castrol.
3. If the API donut does NOT say Energy Conserving, can you assume the oil
has the "old" amount of ZDDP, even if it is API SM?
Bruce Steele
1960 BN7
Brea, CA
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