What oil do you use in your DSM?

Thought this would be an interesting discussion since the choice of oil for DSM's and any vehicle for that matter is vast.

So, what do you use in your DSM and why?

I use 5W-30 (the cheapest brand I can find). Why? I got a free oil change for my first oil change. 5W-30 was available, and since then have done another oil change using the same weight of oil.

But, I am looking to change that to something a bit different and thicker.

i run full synthetic 10-40... usually the most expensive i can find. just because thats how i am but i believe at this point in time, there is very little difference between the expensive name brand oil, and the no name generic oil. at least thats what I've read

I am not sure what I wanna use. I previously used that Valvoline 20W-50 Race Oil on my 1G. Some guys told me that I shouldn't and others told me that they use it as well.

I have also heard of several people using 10W-40.

I was going to change the oil tomorrow, but just bought a 14B so I might as well change it when I install it.

All my Evos life its ran Mobile 1 5w 30 full synthetic, so thats what i keep running in her!

Another 5W-30. Interesting..

Mobile 1 5w30 full synthetic. i have ran it in all my cars. and i have a pretty big list of cars i have owned.

i think a lot of it depends on where your living. for example, when you live down south, say florida, or texas, you can run a lot thicker oil, than someone in new england.

As well as what power you make. If you have a built DSM, typically you want a thicker oil.

Problem I see with 5W-30 is its so thin that you will get oil leaks in the smallest passage way.

I should have used 10W-40. That is prolly the thinnest I would feel comfortable using (now that I have done some thinking on this topic).

yup, my car came running 5-30w and when i swapped out the oil pan, i changed to 10-40w and it took care of a lot of the small oil leaks.

Yep, DSM's came from the factory running 5W-30. They were stock, so even a lightly modded DSM should run at least 10W-40.

ah, so what should i be running in my heavily modified car once its done i wonder???

20W-50 for sure.

i have a feeling that may be a bit thick to run in the winter.

For up here, maybe. Unless we have a year like this past winter lol.

The race oil 20W-50 stuff has zink in it. It's a good oil. Most guys use it from lightly modded DSM's to the built DSM's. Year round.

yeah, thats true. and the GSX will mainly be a summer car... so 20-50 should be fine.

cl1ckclack wrote:i run full synthetic 10-40... usually the most expensive i can find. just because thats how i am but i believe at this point in time, there is very little difference between the expensive name brand oil, and the no name generic oil. at least thats what I've read

buying "the most expensive kind there is" just because "thats how you are" ??? and then a smiley face? lol. thats kind of a bad attitude to have if you do that with everything, you have probably wasted money.

plus, there is big differences between oils, go look up lab tests results.

EvoDude90 wrote:All my Evos life its ran Mobile 1 5w 30 full synthetic, so thats what i keep running in her!

stop that immediately. run amsoil 10w-40. mobil one is one of the worst performing oils for out cars now. maybe their older formula was better but their zinc content is not nearly what amsoils is. get amsoil, now. ask any CBRD or anyone.

93blackeclipse wrote:Mobile 1 5w30 full synthetic. i have ran it in all my cars. and i have a pretty big list of cars i have owned.

once again, stop it. use amsoil or royal purple or something.

AJracer33a wrote:20W-50 for sure.

no need. you dont have to exponentially increase the weight of your oil with performance.

cl1ckclack wrote:yeah, thats true. and the GSX will mainly be a summer car... so 20-50 should be fine.

i would just stick with a 10w-40 from amsoil. you dont need to get other oils at a bigger weight to make up for their lesser quality then.


summary: amsoil or royal purple. do your homework kiddies look up the lab tests.

Hey guys, i just read what you all are writing and its pretty interesting.. If your looking for an oil who has zinc and phosphates I believe Valvoline VR1 oil is the best it come in 10w 30 10w 40 and 20w 50....From what i know Zinc and other additives are geared for " racing" now i am assuming all of you live in northern states so you may want to run a "thicker oil" but the truth is what makes a good oil is the tackiness and the lubricating properties. remember when those cams and crank is spinning they're flinging oil every where so you dont want to use a super cheap oil who may lubricate some but almost give you a dry start a few hours later. also you want an oil that will not "foam" easily... and if you have fresh engines the reason Mitsu and partners decided to run 5w 30 is because it would give you the optimal oil pressure given the clearances of the bearings or the "tolerance" of the engine. Now with that said I would ultimately suggest for you cold weather guys a 10w 30 from VR1 or try adding a hint of LUCAS OIL ADDITIVE.

Thanks for the replies guys. Lot of great information.

From what I have read online, Brad Penn oil is "supposed" to be the best for our cars. In fact, most of the DSM/EVO vendors recommend it and is their "official" oil.

^^^^ where do u get off saying "most" of dsm/evo vendors say or use it or its their official oil. ive never heard that once lol, and ive had dsms and evos now for over 10 years. lol

just saying. do u even know "most" of the "dsm/evo vendors"??? i mean, not to be a dickhead at all, but based on your car it doesnt seem like you would have purchased lots of parts from lots of different vendors to even know? unless u are only saying that based on what you are reading. like i said dont take offense im just making a point.

ive been dealing with CBRD and John Shepherd for a fews years now, and a number of shops before that, and all we've talked about is amsoil, its proven time and time again in the lab. not saying anything about brad penn stuff, just saying been in the dsm game for awhile and ive only heard like 3 people ever talk about it.

AJracer33a wrote:Thanks for the replies guys. Lot of great information.

From what I have read online, Brad Penn oil is "supposed" to be the best for our cars. In fact, most of the DSM/EVO vendors recommend it and is their "official" oil.

He has "read it online" Stev0.. ^ so i assume thats where he got his info. Actually its the first hing he says about it.

IntenseDimensionsPC wrote:

AJracer33a wrote:Thanks for the replies guys. Lot of great information.

From what I have read online, Brad Penn oil is "supposed" to be the best for our cars. In fact, most of the DSM/EVO vendors recommend it and is their "official" oil.

He has "read it online" Stev0.. ^ so i assume thats where he got his info. Actually its the first hing he says about it.

Yea, I have stumbled upon threads discussing the Brad Penn stuff. ExtremePSI, STM, DSMGY, English Racing, and some others use it/sell it/recommend it.

I don't recall exact information, but I have read a lot of information on why to use it and who uses it. As well as speaking to some very respected DSM'ers.

http://streettunedmotorsports.com/parts/brad_penn_motor_oil.htm

http://www.graveyardmotorsports.com/category_s/1351.htm

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/vendor-announcements/441513-brad-penn-motor-oil-now-extreme-psi.html

I know the above links are basically showing/discussing the oil for sale, but there are brief descriptions there too.

Link directly to Brad Penn's site with LOTS of info. http://www.penngrade1.com/

Oh, and it's made from 100% Pure Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil

AJracer33a wrote:

IntenseDimensionsPC wrote:

AJracer33a wrote:Thanks for the replies guys. Lot of great information.

From what I have read online, Brad Penn oil is "supposed" to be the best for our cars. In fact, most of the DSM/EVO vendors recommend it and is their "official" oil.

He has "read it online" Stev0.. ^ so i assume thats where he got his info. Actually its the first hing he says about it.

Yea, I have stumbled upon threads discussing the Brad Penn stuff. ExtremePSI, STM, DSMGY, English Racing, and some others use it/sell it/recommend it.

I don't recall exact information, but I have read a lot of information on why to use it and who uses it. As well as speaking to some very respected DSM'ers.

http://streettunedmotorsports.com/parts/brad_penn_motor_oil.htm

http://www.graveyardmotorsports.com/category_s/1351.htm

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/vendor-announcements/441513-brad-penn-motor-oil-now-extreme-psi.html

I know the above links are basically showing/discussing the oil for sale, but there are brief descriptions there too.

Link directly to Brad Penn's site with LOTS of info. http://www.penngrade1.com/

Oh, and it's made from 100% Pure Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil

i read the first sentence. but when the second sentence was started by "in fact" i thought it was a continuation from experience and not just from people talking on the internet. smartass.

AJ, word. thank you for not taking offense, i didnt want to come off in any way. i just wanted to know factual information and examples. which u then provided.

Ill stick with everything ive learned from CBRD and Mr. Shepherd; not too many more intelligent, experienced, powerful, respected, or successful people like them in the game.

Amsoil is definitely an amazing oil too. Not taking anything away from that. I've always been a fan of Royal Purple too.

I use Q-Horsepower. 5w30 or 10w30 depending on the season! Ive never had problems with it and my engines are always running smooth. So I just stick with that. Usually add a little lucas or seafoam as well. My motors are always great! Its the trannys I have issues with lol. 3 trannys in 2 DSM's, maybe Im a little hard?

never heard of Q horsepower. maybe its ok. but at the end of the day the lab tests dont lie. look them up for all sorts of oils and the results are the results. our motors need the best they can get. and 3 trannys in 2 dsms isnt bad. people go through stock transmissions all the time. i went through a handful with all my dsms. it happens. when i was younger and poor (lol) i would just slap another one in and then it would break again. now being a little older, a Shep build is money well spent.

I wish I could get a Shep Trans lol. And Q Horsepower is make by Quakerstate. Its pretty much their performance oil. Comes in clear bottles.

excerpt from an article....and some related links below...

"All engine oils use an organic Zinc compound as an extreme pressure/anti wear additive. Spectro adds more to their Motorcycle oil than to the car oil because Zinc is a poison to catalytic converters. You will also see that some "car" oil contains more than their motorcycle oil. The difference in Zinc content between ..11% and .16% is insignificant to the converter. The little data I saw on the oils packaged by the motorcycle manufacturers indicated that they were no better than the top automotive oils. While most were good, they didn't offer anything the cheaper oils do. (They are in reality just repackaged and in some cases slightly reformulated top grade auto oils).

Choosing the best motor oil is a topic that comes up frequently in discussions between motoheads, whether they are talking about motorcycles or cars. Oil companies provide data on their oils most often referred to as "typical inspection data". This is an average of the actual physical and a few common chemical properties of their oils. This information is available to the public through their distributors or by writing or calling the company directly. I have compiled a list of the most popular, premium oils so that a ready comparison can be made.

If your favorite oil is not on the list get the data from the distributor and use what I have as a data base. This article is going to look at six of the most important properties of a motor oil readily available to the public: viscosity, viscosity index (VI), flash point, pour point, % sulfated ash, and % zinc.

Viscosity is the measure of how thick an oil is. This is the most important property for an engine. An oil with too low a viscosity can shear and loose film strength at high temperatures. An oil with too high a viscosity may not pump to the proper parts at low temperatures and the film may tear at high rpm.

****Our .02 again-- Viscosity INDEX or VI in the chart below is a measure of how much an oil's viscosity changes with temperature changes. The higher the VI, the less change that occurs and the better the protection.****

Flash point is the temperature at which an oil gives off vapors that can be ignited with a flame held over the oil. The lower the flash point the greater tendency for the oil to suffer vaporization loss at high temperatures and to burn off on hot cylinder walls and pistons. The flash point can be an indicator of the quality of the base stock used. The higher the flash point the better. 400 F is the minimum to prevent possible high consumption. Flash point is in degrees F.

Pour point is 5 degrees F above the point at which a chilled oil shows no movement at the surface for 5 seconds when inclined. This measurement is especially important for oils used in the winter. A borderline pumping temperature is given by some manufacturers. This is the temperature at which the oil will pump and maintain adequate oil pressure. This was not given by a lot of the manufacturers, but seems to be about 20 degrees F above the pour point. The lower the pour point the better. Pour point is in degrees F.

% sulfated ash is how much solid material is left when the oil burns. A high ash content will tend to form more sludge and deposits in the engine. Low ash content also seems to promote long valve life. Look for oils with a low ash content.

% zinc is the amount of zinc used as an extreme pressure, anti- wear additive. The zinc is only used when there is actual metal to metal contact in the engine. Hopefully the oil will do its job and this will rarely occur, but if it does, the zinc compounds react with the metal to prevent scuffing and wear. A level of .11% is enough to protect an automobile engine for the extended oil drain interval, under normal use. Those of you with high revving, air cooled motorcycles or turbo charged cars or bikes might want to look at the oils with the higher zinc content. More doesn't give you better protection, it gives you longer protection if the rate of metal to metal contact is abnormally high. High zinc content can lead to deposit formation and plug fouling.




some links:


http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html


http://www.mustangcollective.com/cpg/albums/userpics/Oil_Data_Comparisons_Combined.pdf


http://sledcanada.wboil.com/comparison-testing.html


http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_comparison/index.html

^^^Wow. That is a great little article you posted!

How much is amsoil?

Where does Royal Purple stand on this "list"?

How about Brad Penn?

thanks. click into all the links for details, depends on what you want. brad penn stuff tests pretty well and has good zinc content to from the test i saw.

here is the oil recommended for modified street driven evos by CBRD and Shep. its 10 bucks a quart, cheaper to buy in bulk obviously. this is in my evo.
http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/amo.aspx

amsoil motor oil store:
http://www.amsoil.com/a/synthetic-motor-oil-engine-oil

royal purple rates pretty well throughout all the tests.

time after time after time after test after test, amsoil produces. period.

I checked out the links. Very interesting stuff.

I am looking for an up to date list/test showing multiple oils used and a list of these oils. In order from best to worst among the performance oils.

glad i could be of help.

Figured I would just add this in the whole oil conversation and what is going on these days with the oil company's and the additive's of Zinc and Phosphorus.

When anyone mentions zinc, they are actually referring to zinc dialkyldithiophosphate, a compound invented by Castrol for use in mineral-based oils or zinc di-thiophosphate (ZDTP), which is normally used in synthetic oils. Both have been used as an anti-wear ingredient in engine oil for many years. The zinc and phosphorus ingredients appear to be most effective when they are used together. ZDDP/ZDTP is one of many additives that are put into conventional motor oil to improve its lubrication qualities. Other ingredients such as boron and molybdenum are also added as lubricant enhancers.

What was discovered through oil testing by several engine component manufacturers is that many older engines experience a short period of time during engine start-up where critical lubrication is insufficient between metal-to-metal lubrication points when using modern oils with reduced amounts of ZDDP/ZDTP. These same enhancers unfortunately have their downside: The phosphorus in this compound creates carbon buildup in engine bores and valvetrains, and both compounds can also lead to the early demise of catalytic converters. For this reason, the industry has been phasing out zinc and phosphorus levels since 1994, when the American Petroleum Institute’s SH designation became the industry standard, and levels have been further reduced in each subsequent API rating for engine oils. Manufacturers have tried adding more boron to offset the effects of the reduced zinc and phosphorus levels; however, the dry start protection does not measure up to those using more ZDDP/ZDTP. This has opened up a whole new market for zinc/phosphorus additives for oil and many camshaft and engine manufacturers now recommend that an additive be used in initial break-in and for regular use.

And I run Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 oil in my Dsm

Here is some oil test info from FP.

Oil info

I run VR1 20w50. Then do an oil change every 2k miles or less.

The never ending oil argument. Gotta love it. My original engine that is in my car now has had every flavor of oil in it at one time or another. Currently I run Brad Penn 20w-50. I have had my oil analyzed by black stone several times with several different brands. At lower boost levels many of them are fine. At higher boost levels some of them turn into garbage relatively soon.

Brad Penn is supposed to be the best oil for our engines. I've always liked Royal Purple and Amsoil as well.

I am not a royal p fan. I can buy brad penn for $44 a case right here in montoursville.

I usually buy Q Full Syn.