Joe:
You have opened Pandora's Box. Let me tell you a little story,told to me
by my father, who forgot more about internal combustion engines than most
people ever learned. Fifty years ago, there was a *big* difference in
oils. What was termed Pennsylvania-grade had a very high paraffin content
and held up better than others. At the time, my dad was working for GE on
the Vulcan multi-barrel gun. The clutch designer called for Kendall oil
only, a Pennsylvania oil. Some one put in some other oil and the clutch
failed. I'm afraid those days are over. Oil is like beer; they all taste
the same.
Use a good, name brand oil of the proper weight for the service and
temperature you will encounter. Change it religiously every 3K miles along
with the filter. Use the best filter you can buy.
Personally, I use Pennzoil 5W-30 in the winter and 10W-30 in the summer. I
use Fram filters exclusively. For racing I used 20W-50 or straight 50
weight racing oil. Don't use racing grade oil in a street car; it doesn't
have the longevity of a street oil, i.e you have to change it all the
time. As for synthetics: save your money. Use them in the gearbox or diff.
where the oil doesn't get changed as often. There is no good reason to use
them in your Triumph engine.
Phil Barnes '71 TR6 CC61193L
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