Has anyone used this oil?

[blown motor]

Saw this oil advertised at the Toronto Auto Show. I hadn't heard of it before. Has anyone used it? Thoughts?

[1970 cuda Joe]

I've been using Valvoline VR1 oil & a first line Wix oil filter in my other muscle cars. I don't know about the 440 yet....Joe

[Jay Bee]

Thanks for posting, I hadn't heard of it either but, at that price, it'll be my go-to in the future. Parts Source (Canada) has it for $44.99CAD on their website.

[1970 cuda Joe]

Thanks for posting, I hadn't heard of it either but, at that price, it'll be my go-to in the future. Parts Source (Canada) has it for $44.99CAD on their website.

WOW. The VR1 is half that at Walmart in the states....Joe

[70vert]

I wasn't aware they had this either. I used to be a die-hard Castrol fan, but drifted away a while back and currently use Redline Full Synthetic 10w40 High Zinc (mainly due to its results in several viscosity/performance tests). But I see it has gone up a lot on Amazon, $65/gal, so may check this out when I order next.

Thanks!

[bdschnei]

20w-50?? In a street engine? Maybe if you live on the sun...

[JH27N0B]

I've used 20W 50 in my 440 6 pack and it's been fine, but my other vintage cars I use 10W-30.  I see that Castrol GTX is only listed as being in 20W 50 so I'll pass on it.
If I watch for sales and on Amazon I can typically find VR1 for around $6 a quart, or around $40 for a case off Amazon.
In fact, NAPA seems to have VR1 on sale every April so watch for that in around a month. 

[Cuda Cody]

Mobil 1 has a great chart of all the different oils, the zinc levels in each and the use type (for example, flat tappet engines or racing).

https://www.mobil.com/lubricants/-/media/project/wep/mobil/mobil-row-us-1/pdf/mobil-1-engine-oils-product-guide-sheet--may-2022.pdf

The 15w-50 with 1300 PPM Zinc has been a good one for me.

[Brads70]

20w-50?? In a street engine? Maybe if you live on the sun...

All depends on how they were built. Clearances. My current Mopar 451 and my Buick 455 both used 20W-50. Both were all out street builds for max hp . Now my AMC 401 was refreshed with all stock parts except cam so it uses 10W-30
My 451 has been running just fine for 14 years now. ( Sold the Buick so I don't know about it)

[chargerdon]

In my rebuilt 408 stroker i started out using 10w-30 Valvoline VR1.   I was always concerned about the oil pressure which would drop to as low as 10-12 PSI when idling at 750rpm and fully warmed up.   I was told thats fine all u need is 10PSI per 1,000 RPM.   

Still, i worried and last oil change switched to the 20-50 VR1.  Much better pressure now, it stays at about 25 when idling hot now, and on the road its in the 40-60 range always.   I worried about flow when cold, but, since i live in NC where the temps rarely dip below 30 it isnt really an issue.

Castrol GTX has been around for decades, and now that they have the high zinc it should be a good choice. 

Ill stick with Valvoline since that's what i have been using and is priced right. 

[dodj]

I've used 20W 50 in my 440 6 pack 

What do 20w50 do for you?

[bdschnei]

If you ever come across an engine builder that recommends running 20w-50 in the engines he builds run the other way...

[blown motor]

If you ever come across an engine builder that recommends running 20w-50 in the engines he builds run the other way...

@bdschnei Why do you say that? I'm curious about your reasons.

[JH27N0B]

I've used 20W 50 in my 440 6 pack 

What do 20w50 do for you?

Nothing in particular.  When I bought the car in 2010 the only other vintage ride I had on the road was my 383 convertible, which I was using 15Wx40 Rotella in.  I thought I better use something better like racing oil in the 440, and VR1 20W 50 seemed to be on many store shelves so I bought that.
Several years later I heard that Rotella had reduced their zinc levels, and along with hearing a lot of guys saying they used 10W 30 in their vintage cars I changed to using that in my convertible.  And when the T/A got finished, the same, and when I bought my Magnum with a 360, the 10W 30 VR1 for it too.
But since the 440 always started and ran great with 20W 50, I have kept using that in it even though I use 10W 30 in 3 other cars.
I've never understood why 20W 50 VR1 is so much easier to find.  Even when NAPA has their sales, I usually have to have the store order me a case and come back a day or two later, or order it off Amazon.  I can get my hands on 20W 50 at any time with a quick trip to the store.

[bdschnei]

"If you ever come across an engine builder that recommends running 20w-50 in the engines he builds run the other way..."

OK That may have been a little harsh since there are always special circumstances. Typically bearing clearances during a rebuild are targeted at 0.001-inch for every inch of journal diameter. So for most street engines that means the targeted clearance is going to be in the .002" - .0025" range. With that in mind the recommended oil viscosity is generally in the area of 10w-30. Maybe someone who builds motors for a living can chime in, but the only reason I'm aware of to recommend running 20w-50 in a rebuilt engine would be if the bearing clearances are in the .003" area which would be highly unusual for a street engine. Granted there are of course high performance / high temperature exceptions to the rule.

So yeah nothing wrong with using the thicker oil if that's what works for you. But building a street engine that requires a heavy oil is to say the least, a little out of the ordinary...

Here's a pretty good article on this subject for anyone that's interested. Does a nice job of explaining the relationship between bearing clearance and oil viscosity.

https://www.k1technologies.com/k1-blog/bearing-clearance-and-oil-viscosity-explained/