mindseye John Csuhany Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (76 posts) Registered: 11/18/2009 11:40AM Main British Car: 1980 MGB 1962 Buick 215 cu. in. |
Still Ooggled by oil
As per my earlier thread on 215 V8 oil....my mechanic is thinks I should be using "Penrite" after market stuff made for MGB's (he sells it so has an interest)...but I get 2 camps on the synthetic/mineral debate?....I have a 215 buick, lightened flywheel,competition cam, 4 barrel edelbrock performer carb/manifold set up using 10-30W syntec for 9000kms, some guys say this is best for mileage,performance,longevity etc......other camp says I should be using a 20-50W with zinc or I will wreck cam?? I be so confused, I do not race the car and since the engine is a fairly fresh rebuild can't see why the lighter oil would be so harmful as opposed to the original thick factory stuff....lets hear the opinions!
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BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6470 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
What's your oil pressure?
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Moderator Curtis Jacobson Portland Oregon (4577 posts) Registered: 10/12/2007 02:16AM Main British Car: 71 MGBGT, Buick 215 |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
Penrite? Australian oil? Interesting... Does your mechanic really know much about the aluminum V8, or is he used to four cylinder British engines? The 215 has very little in common with the MGB's original B-series 1800cc engine. The B-series engine has solid lifters and a relatively long stroke (3.5" vs 2.8"), plus it has to rev higher and work harder just to keep up with traffic. (I'm assuming you have an overdrive fifth gear and that your rear axle ratio has been changed to take advantage of the V8's prodigious torque.)
20w-50 is definitely the wrong oil if you're going to be starting and running much in cold weather. After you started the earlier oil thread, I got curious and did some research. I found this article very interesting: [www.widman.biz] (It's from the perspective of an "oil expert" with a personal interest in Chevy Corvairs. I can't vouch for its veracity.) The article is 31 pages long, I'll just quote the part(s) I believed most relevant: Quote: |
mindseye John Csuhany Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (76 posts) Registered: 11/18/2009 11:40AM Main British Car: 1980 MGB 1962 Buick 215 cu. in. |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
interesting artricle...my oil pressure seems to hover on the low end of the scale but who knows how accurate it is, original equip......my other mechanic who services my other vehicles did the insp. on it and thinks I am likely using too light an oil because the cam is a splash feed and on start up might not have lots of oil on cam exacerbating early wear .....I think the best thing to do is put in what the factory used in 68...anyone knows what it was? 20-50 or something lighter?
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Moderator Curtis Jacobson Portland Oregon (4577 posts) Registered: 10/12/2007 02:16AM Main British Car: 71 MGBGT, Buick 215 |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
The Buick 215 was only produced from 1961 through 1963. As I recall, Buick called for 10W-30. (I'm traveling, and won't be able to double-check the Buick manual until next week.)
A couple bits of trivia from a very cursory internet search: 1) Jersey Standard (which later changed their company name to Exxon) started offering multi-viscosity "Uniflo" oil in 1952. As they put it: "the first multigrade motor oil recommended for both summer and winter use" 2) Kendall claims to have been the first refiner to offer 10W-30; they started offering it in 1953. 3) Castrol claims to have been the first refiner to offer 20W-50; they started offering it in 1968. |
mstemp Mike Stemp Calgary, Canada (223 posts) Registered: 11/25/2009 07:18AM Main British Car: 1980 MGB Rover 4.6L |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
John,
As you are in Edmonton I guess the car will go into storage very soon! My car is in Calgary already on Blocks. So you have some time till you will be running the car on a regular basis. Like Curtis said, 20w50 will be too thick for this time of year. Have you run the same oil since rebuild 9000 km ago? Or did you just get the car? Have you been using any oil? If so I assume the rings etc have not set propperly on the Syntec. All the information listed above gets a but confusing thats for sure. Would the last point made above about indicate that a 5w30 CI-4 be best for this time of year and then 10w40 for summer? |
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mindseye John Csuhany Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (76 posts) Registered: 11/18/2009 11:40AM Main British Car: 1980 MGB 1962 Buick 215 cu. in. |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
Car was originally built by brit mechanic/owner so I would assume he used mineral for break in ...haven't noticed any oil burn so I would guess it is all tight, Mike....what are you using in your V8?....like to hear what other guys are using in their Buick/Rover V8's and results?
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mstemp Mike Stemp Calgary, Canada (223 posts) Registered: 11/25/2009 07:18AM Main British Car: 1980 MGB Rover 4.6L |
Re: Still Ooggled by oil
John,
Not with the car these days, working in Asia. Car has a new 4.6L and only now just running after the conversion. Its got 10W40 Castrol GTX right now. Only 400 miles so far so cant comment too much. D&D oilfilter mount and the pressure on a new VDO sender & gauge when hot idel is 20 psi and 60 plus when cold. If you are confident its broken in well I would be inclind to visit Costco and see what good sythetic they have and compare to the above information from Curtis. |