Technical Just how long will I have to use the high zinc oil

I hope to install a new cam over the winter and was wondering if I will have to use the high zinc oil forever or just long enough to make sure its well broken in,I broke in the present cam right before the oils changed and had no problems since with the low zinc oils.

 

What does the cam manufacturer say?

 

Well, depends.
Mild street cam and matching springs on a hydraulic cam, you might be ok with regular oil after break in.
High lift cam with matching springs on a hydraulic cam, I'd keep throwing zinc at it.
Roller cam, you're fine with just straight oil.
Cam failures are hit and miss, you hear stories both ways.

Get some miles on it and it's up to you. Talking oil is like talking politics.

 

Hyd and solid flat tappet cams.... Forever

 

ABSOLUTELY !!!!!!! You will need to either run something like Lucas Hot Rod and Classic Car oil, or dump in a zinc additive............forever. There are other high zinc oils on the market, but I've only used Lucas and various zinc additives.

Oil today ain't what it was in the past. If you cheap out, you will pay the price eventually.

Don

 

Look around, all those older Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokees have the 4.0 6 with flat tappets... The engines go 300K miles with no special oil....Low stress valve train...

 

Valvoline VR-1 Racing Oil and WIX filters for me. Best protection and least expense of any Hot Rod.

 

Zinc is cheap insurance.

 

I like brad penn oil
Never had a problem with older style engines!
Better to spend a little more on good oil, then lose an engine

 

As already said, any flat tappet cam, needs Zinc. A failed cam lobe and lifter doesnt stop there, the metal will go thru the oil system and cause damage to all other internal parts.

 

Um, not to be rude, but the word "than" without the comma makes your last sentence work better.

 

So let me get this straight.
According to what you have written.
1) It's better to spend a little more on good oil.
2) And then you will lose an engine.
Even after spending money on good oil ?

 

The dreaded spelling police.

 

Isn't an education a grand thing?

 

It's a poor mind that only knows one way to spell a word.

 

I would stick with the zinc just to have one less thing to worry about.
For any oil questions you might have, and perhaps information you had not even thought to think about visit
bobistheoilguy.com

B

 

Watch out for the zinc additives that say zinc on the front but when you read the back it says " contains no zinc ". I had 3 cam failure's in a row. One ran for 15 miles and flattened 7 lobes. We now use Edelbrock break in oil and add zinc to that, we have not had a problem since.

 

"Let's eat, Grandma!"

"Let's eat Grandma!"

Punctuation matters, folks.

 

Cornfield Performance X2. VR-1 the cheapest and best way to go.

 

Is there a product I can buy without any drama, pour the contents directly into the crankcase with the oil, and forget about it till the next oil change? I'm just a simple guy, trying to do a simple job.

 

if you always use Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Oil - API CJ-4 , you will have no worries

 

naw, too old and stringy...

 

STP blue. Not only that, but you can still buy oil that has zinc in it for the same price as regular oil. Shell Rotella T comes to mind, and I know there are guys that are going to say Rotella removed the zinc, but the truth is that they removed some, not all. I run Rotella plus STP in my flat tappet engines.

 

Me too. Along with Synthetic oil. For years and no problems.

 

Stock camshaft, Ok without after break-in, anything else, add additive of your choice. Very mild camshaft, but not stock, go for half a bottle each oil change.

Mostly comes down to how radical the cam is and how much do you want to spend at each oil change. Comp Cams makes a good additive thats not to expensive, can be had about anywhere, and you can use it with any quality oil brand you like.

joe

 

http://zddplus.com/ I have used this product in all my flat tappet cars and old tractors, never a problem.

 

do a search here, debate on zinc has been covered over & over. need to know more about a motor than putting in a new cam, what year/condition of motor, what cam/lifters type, etc

 

Forever

 

Wal-Mart Supertech 15-40 and 20-50 (heavyduty) has the right zinc-phosphorous already. Works great!

 

Someone touched on high lift flat tappet cams and I think there lies the rub. With your higher lift cams and the spring pressure that comes with them you are going to need a better buffer to keep things from wearing out. But once you go past the point of no return even roller cams have a tendency to knock the lifters out. And there is no amount of zinc in the world that is going to cure that.

There is no pat answer to the question it depends on the various parts that are being used. I lean toward older cam grinds that relied on ramps and duration as opposed to lift to get mix into my combustion chambers and I get by just fine on off the shelf oil. I have been told by more than one cam guy that it is the break in that is important, so I do use a good quality break in lube then after that I use a good quality oil and run with it no problems, knock on wood. I don't run store branded oils they are generally second rate and I do keep fresh oil and filters in my stuff.

But I think the key is with me that I use the best quality bit n pieces that I can afford to start with and I am not running mega spring pressure. So what works for me may not work for you.