[Land-speed] Oil and Filters...more questions..

Larry Mayfield drmayf at mayfco.com
Tue Jul 30 08:47:53 MDT 2013


Thanks to everyone, I am a lot more informed on oil and filters. The 
plurality of recommendations for oil was Mobile 1.  Ok, works for me. 
However, within the Mobil 1 oil line up spectrum, there are quite a 
number of oils in many different weights. The oil needs to be able to do 
its job under a lot of stress: acceleration of teh car and pushing the 
air up a steeper and steeper aero hill.  It needs to be able to carry 
the heat away from the internal rotating and sliding parts.  I was once 
told by a local Las Vegas NASCAR motor builder that the pump needed 
should be  a high volume pump, not a high pressure one, so that lots of 
oil could be pushed through the bearing clearances. It made sense to 
me.  However, the replies I got had oil recommendations from a light 
weight multi grade oil to heavy single ot at least a very low multi with 
hight viscosity upper grade: Such as 0W 30 to 0W 50 weights.  Ok, those 
are available and some of them are down right expensive.  I am still 
lacing some information, lol.

My motor specs are basically OEM: stock rod and journal bearing 
clearances, rod to rod clearances are OEM, etc. Valves use bronze 
guides, etc. I have a high volume pump. But, I am missing the logic and 
engineering behind the recommendations for the oil grades (hey, what can 
I say, I am an old engineer). Experience plays a large part or the 
recommendations, I know.   Do the Sprint Cup cars use 0w 50 weight oil?  
Or do they use lower viscosity multi grade like 0W 30 or even 0W 20?  
Either way, why?  Same for light airplane motors; Those puppies are at 
work the whole time they are in the air. What oils do they use and 
why?    These are the kinds of things I would like to know regards oils..

For the filters, Mobil 1, Pure one and WIX were recommended. I cut a WIX 
apart and it appeared to be well made and had specs that said it could 
remove particle sizes down to approximately (I think I remember) 25 
microns.  To refresh, a micron is one millionth of a meter.  There are 
25400 microns per inch or one micron is 0.00003934 inches.  So a filter 
than CAN remove (doesn't say will!) remove a 25 micron particle size or 
so means that it might let one through that is just under 0.001 inches.  
Seems to me that that is pretty large given some of the rotating 
clearances.  A lot of the filters said 60 microns!  Now, I am guessing 
that there is a balance between the flow capability and particle size so 
the sizes are compromises. Seems to me that if the motor is contributing 
bits and pieces of that size, that it is or may be not long for the 
world.  I like the idea of using a screen with a small mesh before great 
filter and that between the two it would remove most junk.  But is that 
over kill? The screen can tell me what or if things are starting to come 
apart.

Right now, I am leaning towards Mobil 1, 5W 30 Truck & SUV full 
synthetic oil used with a good filter such and the Royal Purple, WIX or 
Mobil 1 filters.  I know that yo all use as a group the full spectrum of 
oil and filter products, so why do you use them? I like technical 
responses rather than anecdotal ones however, experience and the 
situation under which the experience was gained is important.

Any more replies and responses here?  Maybe your comments and thoughts 
will save some one's expensive motor...

anyhoo, thanks for listening...

still learning

mayf

-- 
______________________________
drmayf
Worlds Fastest Sunbeam, period.
204.913 mph flying mile
210.779 mph exit speed


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