Although VR1 has a high zinc content, making it a great "break in" oil, it is a racing formula and therefore does not have the usual additives that normal oils do for daily use. It is intended for applications that change the oil after almost every use, not for vehicles that keep the same oil for long periods and intermittent use. So it really isn't a great choice in your street car, but a good choice for a track only X1/9.Anybody try valvoline VR1 in their X?
Anybody try valvoline VR1 in their X?
Admittedly the info I have about it not being used for regular street applications was not from Valvoline, but from a independant test facility. So it might not be correct. I'd go by whatever Valvoline says about its use, and therefore any liability they might have. Thanks to Karl for the added info.Contrary to Dr Jeffs statement, it is a standard oil aside from the high zinc content. It meets the majority of standards for street cars as it meets SL SG SH requirements.
Admittedly the info I have about it not being used for regular street applications was not from Valvoline, but from a independant test facility. So it might not be correct. I'd go by whatever Valvoline says about its use, and therefore any liability they might have. Thanks to Karl for the added info.
It certainly wasn't taken as a ding. It made me realize that the info I had may not be current. Apparently Valvoline has changed the formula for their VR "racing" oils at some point. If I'm not mistaken the original version was strictly intended for racing (which is the product I read about from the independent test lab). Going from fuzzy memory that one may have just been called "VR" and not "VR1"? Not sure about that part. But apparently the current version (from a few/several years back) has been changed to include the needed additives for regular use. Hopefully someone can verify this, but nonetheless I'd follow whatever Valvoline currently recommends.Sorry it wasn’t meant as a ding
ThanksAlthough VR1 has a high zinc content, making it a great "break in" oil, it is a racing formula and therefore does not have the usual additives that normal oils do for daily use. It is intended for applications that change the oil after almost every use, not for vehicles that keep the same oil for long periods and intermittent use. So it really isn't a great choice in your street car, but a good choice for a track only X1/9.
All modern API SN oils are low zinc (ZDDP more specifically).
Also, diesel oils now have low ZDDP as well.
I concur with Myron's comments about ZDDP content in oils. For a long time people used a Shell diesel oil product in their older cars due to the high ZDDP content. However Shell has changed all of their formulas (as have all oil makers) to remove the high ZDDP levels from all oils approved for normal use in street vehicles (including diesels), as mandated by government regulations. I believe this is why Valvoline VR1 may not be fully approved as a normal use oil, due it still having high ZDDP levels. It would not meet the regulations for such applications with that level of zinc. However I'm not sure if that necessarily means it isn't good to use in our cars. But these are only my opinions and I have not researched it recently, so things may have changed from what I understand.I believe the Valvoline VR1 indeed has high ZDDP, but I don't believe that it's API certified but says can be used in SN applications but not recommended for catalytic converters (no API logo on the bottle)
The conclusion was that we should look for oils with high HTHS viscosity (HTHS = High Temperature / High Shear) for engines with flat tappets like the Lampredi SOHC enigne.
Interesting! I searched the Driven site, and sure enough they offer something that fits that bill - and says it's good for flat tappet applications (couldn't find a spec sheet for ZDDP, but the viscosity is identical to the original 15W40 spec in the manual)
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Myron, where do you get your Driven oil from? I tried summit racing but the website says it doesn’t ship to my area code in Canada...