Oil question: Because GRM knows all

Alan Cesar wrote: Look at the API donut marking on the back of the bottle. Most diesel oils also have gas ratings—the opposite is not always true. Look for Cx/Sx ratings—C is for compression ignition (diesel), S is for spark ignition, and the second letter in each pair is the revision of the rating. Since the F2T is hardly a new engine, it was designed for oil ratings of long ago. Usually the dual-rated oils have an older S rating, but pretty much any S rating you'll find these days will do for your engine.

What he said and more of it.

For what it's worth, the Diesel oil that I buy for my (gas) VW is also rated SM. That kinda shocked me, I'd have thought that oil with additive package good enough for Diesels wouldn't make it past SL, but there you have it.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: 1990 Mazda MX6 GT.

Do you have a flat-tappet cam that operates pushrods trying to shove over some high-ratio rockers that are working against springs heavy enough to control big long heavy valves as well as all of the other Tinkertoys in the valvetrain?

No. You do not. You have a cam operating sliding low-ratio finger followers that are pushing open lightweight valves with weak springs. You do not have to worry about the ZDDP content of your oil. The rise of engines like yours and the lack of engines like theirs is why they were able to pull the high pressure additives out.

In reply to belteshazzar:

That's very good to know - my old BMW airhead needs some thicker oil and 20W50 should do the trick...

pres589 wrote: ... a diesel cam as an upgrade? I had never thought of this. Is anyone else doing regrinds or new cams for these things?

Yeah it's the FE4 or something cam.

Colt and Delta do regrinds. Crower used to, then stopped. The Delta "Stage 2" regrind is actually the Crower 272, but copied. (I have one.)

Knurled wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: 1990 Mazda MX6 GT.

Do you have a flat-tappet cam that operates pushrods trying to shove over some high-ratio rockers that are working against springs heavy enough to control big long heavy valves as well as all of the other Tinkertoys in the valvetrain? No. You do not. You have a cam operating sliding low-ratio finger followers that are pushing open lightweight valves with weak springs. You do not have to worry about the ZDDP content of your oil. The rise of engines like yours and the lack of engines like theirs is *why* they were able to pull the high pressure additives out.

I appreciate the education.... but that wasn't the point of the thread.

The question was: Is it ok to run diesel oil.

The reason: Diesel oil is easier for me to find in the viscosity i want, and usually cheaper.

And Turbos like the additives. "Race oils" usually have these additives in them.

You sure did hurt my head when talking about the valvetrain, though... i understood "weak springs," though. (I'm currently running B2000 dual valve springs.)

Turbos don't care about ZDDP, it's there for pressure like that found at the cam lobe. I'm voting with Knurled. Getcha some Rotella T6 if you want though, it's still good oil.

pres589 wrote: Turbos don't care about ZDDP, it's there for pressure like that found at the cam lobe. I'm voting with Knurled. Getcha some Rotella T6 if you want though, it's still good oil.

I'm running a Rotella something or other right now... oil pressure is significantly lower than the Castrol of the same viscosity i ran before it...

Car is weird.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I'm running a Rotella something or other right now... oil pressure is significantly lower than the Castrol of the same viscosity i ran before it... Car is weird.

Remember that for a given viscosity rating, there is a range of acceptable actual viscosity. There are oils that are near the bottom of the range, and oils near the top. ACEA and manufacturers' specs can help to figure this out if you can't find the exact specs for a given oil (though most oil manufacturers list this info somewhere on their websites).

belteshazzar wrote: i work at NAPA. our house brand full- synthetic is made by ashland oil (valvoline). it is available in 20w-50. it's also on sale next month for under $4 a quart. not sure about where you live.

did i say under $4? 'cause i meant under $3.50

http://www.napaonline.com/

belteshazzar wrote:

belteshazzar wrote: i work at NAPA. our house brand full- synthetic is made by ashland oil (valvoline). it is available in 20w-50. it's also on sale next month for under $4 a quart. not sure about where you live.

did i say under $4? 'cause i meant under $3.50 http://www.napaonline.com/

Dammit and i was just at a Napa yesterday trying to gank the rest of the old NHT line of tools that should have been on sale to make way for the new Carlyle line. (You got any of that stuff at your store? I want.)

Thanks for reminding me though. I'll pick up some of it this weekend!

belteshazzar wrote:

belteshazzar wrote: i work at NAPA. our house brand full- synthetic is made by ashland oil (valvoline). it is available in 20w-50. it's also on sale next month for under $4 a quart. not sure about where you live.

did i say under $4? 'cause i meant under $3.50 http://www.napaonline.com/

IF you buy a NAPA platinum filter. How much does that cost, because the Gold ones are pretty pricey?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Dammit and i was just at a Napa yesterday trying to gank the rest of the old NHT line of tools that should have been on sale to make way for the new Carlyle line. (You got any of that stuff at your store? I want.)

protip: torque wrenches are NHT. get one even if you have to pay the shipping. 70% off gets serious at that price point.

spitfirebill wrote: IF you buy a NAPA platinum filter. How much does that cost, because the Gold ones are pretty pricey?

a lot. the golds are good enough for me. twice a year our store sells gold-level filters for 50-70% off. i just stock up.

35-40 at cruze??? I want to see that at a minimum at hot idle in my car. 100-120 PSI at cruze is considered normal in my car. Why does Porsche need such high oil pressure as compared to other cars?

Then again changing rod bearings in my car is like changing air filters in most "normal" cars.

If the lifters aren't ticking, it has enough oil pressure at idle. Most manufacturers spec 4psi at idle.

I'm running Delo 15w40 in my volvo 850 now. We have reg. 95+ degree days and the car seems happy. Even leaks slightly less.