What oil do you use?

[House of Darts]

Funny thing about modern motor. It is designed with detergents that remove particle build up on parts and internal surfaces. We have all seen old motors that are covered in sludge.The dtergent is desined not to allow this to happen. The detergent and the ZDDP compete for every surface that the oil touches. The ZDDP tries to bond to bare metal surfaces, under heat and pressure, and the detergent keeps removing it. So where is the protection? I am not sure of the Joe Gibbs race oil but the break in oil has no detergent in it. That's why it is superior for breaking in any new motor especially a high lift/high spring rate flat tappet cam. The ZDDP can plate itself to all the friction parts of the motor( cam and lifters) without fear of the detergent removing it. Brad Penn and Sunoco Blue race oils have lots of ZDDP and small amounts of detergent when compared to modern day oils. A synthetic oil flows better than a conventional oil. As such it coats the surfaces easier than a conventional oil. With this aspect, its lubricity is greater that a conventional oil. As a race engine, a motor gets better attention that a everyday driver and the sludge build up is never an issue. If you look at road race engines( not the exoitcs) they use 20-50 in their crankcase. They qualify,compete and win with that thick stuff. As S/SS racers we would use water if it could work. So for a recommendation I would say Brad Penn. Its reasonably priced, it's a partial synthetic, has plenty of ZDDP, low detergent levels and that green color(naturally occurring in it's crude state) is easy to read on the dipstick.