How Do YOU Get Zinc In Your Engine Oil?

I had a galvanized boat trailer that I s****ed off all the coating... I put it all in a blender and add a half-cup of the powder with every oil change

 

A friend of mine recommended Brad Penn oil,it is by far the best oil I have ever used!It is especially designed for vintage Hot Rods and muscle cars.My engine runs smoother now I think it sounds better (valves sound quieter) to me.I love it!

 

where are you getting yours? you know it's the real Kendal right? they bought the wells, the refinery,everything, it's the old green Kendall, good stuff, kendall sold under the kendall name isn't the same. confusing isn't it? off topic, but my old import engine has flat rockers and no cam bearings, so on shutdown the zinc was very important after engine shutdown and the oil pressure dropped, but the cam was still spinning, the oil is the actual bearing, so you get a little contact between the cam and the journal, the zinc protected the metal during this contact. A lot of old overhead cam engines are like this.

 

I've actually seen flat cams.

 

I use vr1 40 in the flat engines. and 20w50 vr1 and joe gibbs in the overhead stuff. by the time you use rotella and a bottle of lucas its the same price as the high zinc stuff.

 

VR1 50w, ZDDP and Lucas oil stabilizer, work great in the old engines, I use all three at once, not cheap but effective.

 

I have a little different take on it then some of you guys, I don't think it was just an emissions deal, I think modern engines were just running to darn long to suit the Big Auto Makers, and they put the pressure on to lower the additive packages down to a minimum so the engines don't run 2 or 3 hundred thousand miles. A few yrs down the road and we will know if my theory holds any water. I have always been a fan of GM Super EOS, so I think I will stash a case or two of it back.

 

My take.

Zinc is an additive that will eventually coat the catalytic converter, causing failure and eventual replacement of said part. By lowering zinc levels to where they are now, one can expect higher mileage from a converter before failure. (We don't use a catalytic converter so for us, the question is moot).

I firmly believe that once you have broken in an engine, anything over 1000 ppm will keep an engine alive just fine. I personally know of a non-roller with over 50K on it using the cheapest **** you can find at auto-zone but changed regularly. The only thing I beat into the fat skull of that kid... and it still is running like a champ.

I personally use Valvoline VR1 Racing oil or Mobil 1 motorcycle oil for non-roller engines and Mobil 1 in my daily driver. No issues.

 

Thanks for the site. One of the distributors is about 15 minutes away.

 

From what I remember flat tappets went away about the same time the manufacturors made the oil companys pull zinc to prolong the life of the cats. No more american made flat tappets. Somewhat questionable flat tappets were failing right and left and no zinc was considered the reason. As mentioned above several times, there are a lot of opinions on this. I would say if you have a older well broken in engine with perhaps the oem american made tappets and oem valve springs, no worries. But beyond that why have that nagging doubt? I use diesel engine oil, Delo 400 or Rotella. But be advised the latest diesels have cats and zinc in the diesel engine oil may not be a given for much longer either.

B

 

I use Brad-Penn and that way I don't have to research ZDDP levels of the leading brands at each oil change. They (the leading brands) seem to lessen the zinc content without much publicity or label information.

Driving 6,000 miles a year and changing the oil and filter every 3,000 will require
about $50.00 worth of Brad-Penn or Joe Gibbs oil. That's only $20.00 more per year
than a leading over-the-counter brand costs that may no longer contain the higher ZDDP content required for your flat-tappet motor ..............."cheap insurance."

 

Now email Caseite and ask them about STP.

I understand that people that sell things have to make a living so if you are a salesman please don't misunderstand what I am about to say, but the bottom line is that if I am going to buy something I do not call the person that sells it and ask them if it is what I need.

Now take a look at where you are finding the information about zinc additives and your cam shaft. Do you understand what I'm saying here?

How many remember the older ads from a company that was selling an oil additive that was supposed to prolong the life of your engine. you know the one where they put the oil additive in a caddy. The ran it out in the desert drained the oil and ran it for another hour or so threw dirt on it and stuff?

Ok now ask yourself this how long will an engine with hydraulic lifters run without oil in it.

Its advertising.

OK I have kicked this horse enough. Doesn't matter what you do to one a dead horse just won't get up and run.

 

I'm real surprised to see people in denial about this...lots of do***ented issues are proof enough for me, especially since the "fix" is simple and cheap...why would you risk it? I run ZDDP in my new flathead.

 

Anyone wanting Brad Penn oil pm me and I can get it to you.

 

Grew up with Nicholson's nephew and got nick named Dyno Don in the 70's, so please send my bobble head ASAP

 

I use Valvoline high zinc oil and ZDDP.

 

It has nothing to do with "OEM Oil", it has to do with meeting the specs for different weights of oil as set forth by the combination of the Petroleum ins***ute and the EPA. If you notice, their Hot Rod oil for instance says not to be used in OBDII compliant vehicles. They will tell you NOT to use their oil in late model vehicles and you will not find the API compliant seal on their oils. And I agree that theirs is one of the best oils for Hot Rod and race motors.

There is not a single engine in the world where the cam continues to spin after the engine has shutdown. If it did, first the valves would be smacking pistons and second the cam would now be out of time and the engine would not run again. WTF

All right, now we have a conspiracy theory to ad to the mix

BINGO, Cat contamination is the reason for the lowered levels. And remember that the lower levels were only specified of lighter weight oils that manufacturer's were recommending. It does not apply to oils like 20w/50

 

I'm adding zinc by adding STP. Funny how the naysayers shoot down the "additives" as "snake oil" 'cause they've been running without for decades with no problems.

The fact is that the zinc which has been there for decades has suddenly been removed. It pollutes and new cars don't need it.

It was there before for a reason, so now I'm adding it back.

 

Hell, my Dad is 83 years old and still wont ever change anti-freeze or trans fluid in any of his cars, nor has he ever. That doesnt mean its right, nor does it mean I follow in his foot steps. You just cant educate some people, they just keep learning at the school of hard knocks. I have been using GM EOS or Valvoline VR1 20/50 in all my old flat tappet engines for the past 4 years. No problems.

 

The new GM EOS specifically states it's not intended as an oil additive, just an ***embly/break in additive.

Are those of you who are using it as an additive, using the old stuff?

 

I think you just misunderstood me, i probably described what i meant wrong, I'm talking about after you shut off the key before the engine stops moving, I should have clarified that. the oil forms the bearing and as the pressure drops off the cam can come in contact with the journals briefly before it comes to a rest. Another thing to think about, if you have anything with rockers that act directly off of a cam, such as an overhead cam, that zinc protected the sliding surfaces between the cam and rocker, the zinc sacrifices itself to protect the metal parts, the question is s it worth taking a chance on damage? how difficult is it to find replacement valve train parts? in my case, they are discontinued, and no aftermarket company makes them. Using an oil with the additive is worth the money. or adding the additive, it's not snake oil, it's putting something back in, that was removed, the metallurgy of older engines was figured with that zinc in there.

 

I just flattened a properly broken in comp cam in my 454ci two months ago. Like it was said earlier #7 and #8 are the lobes that gave up. After two weeks downtime and a few hundred in parts I will always use a zinc additive or high zinc oil, currently using summit's brand 10w-40. Makes me feel better about it anyway.

 

I like Lucas racing oil in my experiences with it and Summit sells a "cheap" $5.25 per quart, house brand straight weight, high zinc oil I've heard good things about. For one buddy runs the bag off his flatty and drives it everywhere running the Summit oil. The first thing people ask "is aren't you afraid of breaking that thing, running it like that?" Even if there is a truely better choice it can't be all bad after six years of abuse.

 

I just went to the Auto Zone and pick up 5 Quarts of Mobil ! 15W-50 and a filter for the $20 off special they have running.
The Mobil 1 15W-50 has 1200 ppm of Phosphorus and 1300 ppm of Zinc and is recommended for "HT/HS applications. Racing and Flat tappet applications." So it should be good enough for my well broken in 428?

Scott...

 

yeah, try BradPenn, check their web site.

thanks Hot Rod Bob, i went to tour a collection a couple of weeks ago and this guy has vintage race cars he races him self, and he swears by this stuff, i have looked at their web site and they have been making their oil for years.
i like the comments made here, and will also try it out the next oil change.
rich

 

I notice a lot of people are talking about "well i used this oil for years and no damage" well almost every oil used to have the zinc in it, of course it didn't cause any damage, this removal of the additive is a recent thing, you are comparing two different things, the zinc was an important wear additive in the oil, it's gone now, your favorite brand of oil now is probably missing a critical anti wear additive for older engines, all the aftermarket additive is doing, is putting the zinc back in the oil where it was supposed to be in the first place. This isn't purporting to be some magic additive or anything, it's just replacing what the EPA never should have forced the removal of. If the directions are followed, it's cheap insurance.

 

I've been using GM's EOS in all my engines for about 3 years now.
Did GM change the formula for that stuff too?
The price really shot up recently..............$23 / bottle.

 

Buying what one perceives to be the best oil has very little to do with motor longivity. Motors with performance cams, high valve train pressures, and high revs have been susceptible to cam failure since Christ was a corporal. Using High Zinc oil additive don't change that, there are still failures. What do you guys that are selling the high zinc stuff tell the guy that does everything right and still has a cam failure?

Initial startup, with a good run-in at high idle is more important than the oil used. Every day we witness stories of how people have a hard time getting a newly overhauled motor running, whilst ****in' around with the timing or carburetor for a half day grinding on the starter, etc.

Nimrods in a hurry to get their pride and joy running, crank it up and blast the throttle a couple of times, then, "oh, I guess it's time to hook up the radiator?", or some other ****. Then if they have a cam failure, whine because "I must have used the wrong oil". Ha.

 

I use Vavoline VR1 20/50 mostly because of the viscosity. The ZDDP is just a bonus.