[TR] Regarding Oil

Randall tr3driver at ca.rr.com
Sat May 9 12:15:18 MDT 2009


> This raises a few questions, if you please.  Can we assume that street-
> legal VR1 does have a long sump life even though the "not street legal"
> does not?  That seems to be your implication.

I'm not certain quite what is meant by "long sump life" ... the oil will
last basically forever if it stays in the sump.  However, all of Valvoline's
'racing' oils have relatively low detergent levels, meaning they are not as
good at keeping solids suspended until they can be removed by the filter or
carried away by an oil change.  Thus it is best to change them more often
than one would change a high detergent oil, to avoid having deposits
accumulate inside the engine.

> Secondly, if the "not street legal" stuff is "not street legal" because of
> its ZDDP content, how can the street-legal VR1 stuff still contain ZDDP
> too?

There are really two answers to that question.  The first is that it's only
the amount of ZDDP that has been reduced; all motor oil is still allowed to
have up to a specified amount.  Think of it as "low lead" gasoline.

The second answer is that "Not street legal" is only marketing hype.  There
is no ban on _using_ high ZDDP oil on the "street", only a new standard for
motor oil that specifies a maximum zinc content.  Think of it as GL5 vs GL4;
the newer standard is not necessarily better, and there is no prohibition
(at least not yet) against selling products that only meet the older
standard (or indeed, any standard at all).

Randall


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