<VV> synthetic oil

[Sethracer at aol.com]

I see that whoever listed the issues that will begin e-mail "lobbing"  
forgot to add "Synthetic oil?" to the list. <grin> - So - - Here is my  opinion:
 
 Some cars require Synthetic oil - due to design or  warrantee needs - My 
C6 Corvette among them. For that car I use  Mobil 1. For regular street 
driving in newer cars (with roller cams, and  catalytic converters) I use a good 
Starburst oil with the correct  viscosity. For an older Corvair motor - 
assembled years ago - and for street  use, a good oil with a standard amount of 
ZDDP - not much, I know, is likely  okay. For a newly built Corvair motor - 
still street use - the special high ZDDP  conventional oils - there are now 
several of them on the market - are probably  fine. They will plate-out the 
surfaces needed for a longer life - lifter  surfaces, especially. 
Now for a heavy-duty Corvair motor, with racing and hard use anticipated,  
Synthetic Oils are great. I don't think they are much more "slippery" than a 
 good conventional oil (Brad-Penn comes to mind) but they have excellent  
high-temperature performance. My autocross motor lives for one purpose, turn 
in  a good time on course, usually around a minute at a time. I thrash the 
heck out  of it for that whole time. If I through a fan belt - (Hey, it could 
happen!) -  mid way through that run, I don't want to "have to" back off 
the throttle  to save the valve train. The high temp performance of the 
synthetic gives me  that flexibility to complete the run and get my time. The same 
applies to a  track car that might flip a belt mid-way through a lap. It is 
engine insurance.  So I use a synthetic oil for a race motor. I use RedLine 
oil, I am sure that  AmSoil is just great, and Royal Purple, Mobil 1, and 
others are okay as well.  True synthetics are made from petroleum base stock, 
but are "assembled" to a  specific formula. Today, because of marketing 
efforts - and lawsuits - the term  "Synthetic" has been "despoiled" into a 
questionable adjective. So, look  out for "Blends" which are part synthetic. 
They may be fine oils, but not give  the high temp performance you want on a 
race motor. 
 
-Seth Emerson
 
 
In a message dated 3/23/2013 8:52:38 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
kcvair at hotmail.com writes:

One  thing I've been curious about and maybe someone out there can 
enlighten me and  that is the source of synthetic oil.  What is it made of and is 
there one  kind better than another.  I've seen several on the market.  I've  
change my cars to Mobil 1, and so far no problems and how often would you  
change it if you only drive a couple thousand miles a year?   Ken  Clark      
                
_______________________________________________
This message was sent  by the VirtualVairs mailing list, all copyrights are 
the property
of the  writer, please attribute properly. For help,  
mailto:vv-help at corvair.org
This list sponsored by the Corvair Society of  America, 
http://www.corvair.org/
Post messages to:  VirtualVairs at corvair.org
Change your options:  
http://www.vv.corvair.org/mailman/options/virtualvairs  
_______________________________________________