I just ran across a "New item" in the Speedway Motors gift catalog.  Right in the middle of a bunch of scrub racing stuff was Champion Racing Oil. It is listed as Racing XP 20W50 oil. A synthetic Blend with high levels of premium zinc (ZDDP). I have been running Rotella ( old fumula 15W40 ) with Zinc.  The new formula is low on ZINC.

It is priced at $5.99 not bad if it will work.

Will this be a suitable replacement for the Rotella?  Ted, Hoosier and Pegleg let me know your thoughts.

Thanks

Jim

TC

Thanks for the heads up on the Champion oil. I’ve been using the Valvoline Racing Oil for the race engines and not just for the higher levels of ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl Dithio Phosphate), but also for the higher ash content which provides additional protection against piston scuffing when running the clearances on the loose side.

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As far as using racing oil for a daily street driver, I have mixed feelings about this. Racing oil would need to be changed more frequently as its additive package does not have those attributes desired for extended driving. You’d also have to shop around to find the correct viscosity for a tighter clearanced street engine as much of the racing oil in my neck of the woods is of the higher viscosity variety and not suitable for short hops or winter driving. Oil with a higher viscosity will naturally give a higher oil pressure but oil flow through the bearings is reduced and the potential for a bearing failure increases as the heat that’s being generated is not being adequately transferred away with the slower moving oil.

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I did recently pick up a case of ZddPlus which comes in 4oz containers. Based on their sales literature, adding this to a 5 quart oil change restores the levels of ZDDP to the SF (1988 and earlier) levels. The level of ZDDP supplied by this 4 oz container far exceeds the ZDDP supplied by the 16oz container of GM EOS which has recently been discontinued. All my older vehicles, excluding my ’50 with it’s Flattie, has higher than stock valve spring pressures so I’m doing what I can to keep the ZDDP levels at the old SF standards. No camshaft failures yet and doing my best to keep it that way.

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Here’s the website for ZddPlus giving some content numbers and a previous link on the topic.

http://www.zddplus.com/

  Oil additive 

Daniel.  GM recommended their EOS product to be used only as an assembly lube and during break in.  The labeling on the remaining bottles I have is very clear about not using it as an oil additive but I’m aware of several individuals that are using it as a supplement with their oil changes.  Gut feel says GM did not want the EOS used as an engine oil additive strictly because of issues with catalytic converters but that’s a guess on my end.  Like others, I’ve had concerns about the base stock oil that was being used in the EOS to whole heartedly support using it as a regular supplement but did like it for break in purposes.

The ZddPlus coming in a 4oz container at least alleviates some of the worry about a large quanity of ‘unknown’ base stock being used as a carrier.  As far as ZddPlus’s ability to stay in suspension, some of that may depend upon what brand oil this is being added to and the compatibility with the additive packages within that oil.  But their literature pretty well states it’s compatible with most modern oils.  The ZddPlus pours out of its container with no residue remaining so I’m not concerned about any sedimentation or lack of suspension issues.  Snake oil?  Could be but I doubt it.  Take a bath in the stuff?  No way!

As far as emailing companies, I don’t get hung up on companies that don’t respond.  Nothing is as effective as a phone call to actually talk to someone that knows about the product anyhow.

what about std oil treatment ive been putting that in my oil i dont know about the rest of australia but in geelong its the only one on the shelf with zinc would you think it would seperate being as thick as it is ?

By std do you mean STP?  As long as the oil is initially brought up to standard operating temperatures, the varying oil viscosities are expected to mix just fine and stay mixed.

yes i did mean STP a little typo though i dont know how i managed it p is up one end of the keyboard d is down the other

        He's in Australia, where everything is down side up. Or is that sideways

your right aus is almost upside down thats why our roofs blow off so easy when its windy mainly in geelong in victoria which is down the bottom. best thing about geelong is its home ti the first ford factory in australia.

Paul.  I thought the information provided with the additive was pretty clear on the amounts of ZDDP that was being provided if that was the question you had.  The same information is also provided on ZddPlus’s website.  Richard did leave his phone number so you can call him directly if there was something else you needed to ask.

Here’s the website link again.

http://www.zddplus.com/  

Richard.  Welcome to the site and hope to see you here again.  It’s good to see a manufacturer of a product step in and speak up in support of their product.  As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I purchased some ZddPlus and am currently using it in a vehicle.  I’d not consider this a test as I purchased the product with the intent of simply restoring the zinc content of the SM oil that’s being used.  After reading the literature regarding the ZddPlus, I had no concerns regarding detriments or potential harm with using the product and felt confident that this was a very good alternative in that it permits me to use an oil that does not have the earlier amounts of zinc within it.  I’ve had very little issue with camshaft and lifter wear up to this point and still doing what I can to alleviate any future issues in this regard as the majority of engines I assemble do still use flat tappet camshafts.

http://www.hughesengines.com/general/techArticleDetail.asp?articleID=1000039

You may be right.I just noticed the date printed at the bottom of the article and thought that was the date that it was written.

Kultulz, Thanks for sharing.  The article reads to be resonably up to date or at least within the last couple of years.  Some of the info would appear to be pertinent while other parts makes it sound like a sales pitch.  Unlike a bad load of fuel, the reduction or removal of zinc from the oil is not the type of thing that will be instantly noticed within the engine and other factors such as cam and lifter hardness and valve spring pressures will also come into play.  The key here is to have minimal wear at 100K miles and not suddenly discover catastrophic wear at 40K miles or less.