53-681 Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Hi guyz, Just wondering, which type of oil is the best to use on my 260Z. I believe the car has not been started in over a year, so before I do; I would like to change the oil. Engine is stock L26 ofcourse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Zedman240® Posted February 2, 2011 Moderators Share Posted February 2, 2011 I used the good ol Castrol GTX2..was ok for just general use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAZDA Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Oils are like beer, everyone has an opinion (or is that opinions are like arseholes...) I'm pretty sure Nissan recommends a 20W-50 for the L-series and I would suggest sticking with something close to that (no going more than 10 viscosity rating higher or lower - ie 10W-50 or 20W-60). My other recommendation would be to replace the oil filter with each oil change. For the record, I run Penrite HPR30 in my road car L-series engines and they seem to love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvemfast Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I did some investigating a while back http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,7590.msg71668.html#msg71668 I came up with Penrite HPR30 aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaholic Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 My first post and it may stir things up a bit. Do not, under any circumstances, use GTX2 or any other modern API approved oil. Oils aint just oils as the ubiquitous Sol used to say. I work for an oil company up here in Qld (industrial oils in the main). Recently a customer who drags a V8 lamented the passing of Kendall (Conoco) Pennsylvania Green. He had not been able to find a good substitute. Being a diligent rep with a few connections I started doing some research and what I found was disturbing: The main antiwear component in oil is ZDDP or Zinc DialkylDithioPhosphate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_dithiophosphate It chemically bonds to lubricated surfaces and prevents metal to metal contact at extreme pressures. In the latest API (American Petroleum Institute) oil formulation approvals (3 and 4) this has been all but removed. Apparently, when an engine gets a bit worn and starts to burn oil, the zinc and phosphorous poisons the catalytic converter thus leading to a rise in tailpipe pollutants. So unfortunately, nearly all the expensive mineral and synthetic oils you pay top dollar for, will destroy your engine over a much shorter period of time. Here is a link to a Noria forum that discusses the matter in depth: http://forums.noria.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/616604995/m/3011052071 There are still some oils that contain satisfactory ZDDP quantities - usually specially designed for racing applications or Diesel engine oils. What you ALL need to do is search for the tds or pds (technical or product data sheets) for the product you are using and check: 1. The API classification (if given) and/or preferably 2. The Mass by volume of Zinc and Phosphorous which should be 0.15% or above - preferably well above (Calcium is not always present in all formulations and is an anti=chatter additive and desirable). 0.15% would translate as 150ppm. I have attached three files to give you an idea of what to look for. SHP Racing is a Hi-Tec oil (Sydney company) that is reasonable - you will see the quantities given in the table of properties on the last page - you will also notice that the SAE50 is the pick of them. Ken GT-1 is a pds from Conoco for an SAE70 oil used for nitro-methane drag cars - 257ppm Zn and 233ppm P. I am not recommending these particular oils - just giving you 2 examples of what to look for in a tds or pds. By contrast, the GTX2 pds makes specific reference to low impact on catalytic converters. It also fails to give a table of properties which, in any pds, is a glaring ommision and you have to read between the lines here. I'll leave off now but do hope you will do some relevant research of your own. You owe it to your engines. If anyone has any questions just contact me. Cheers All Col 21016_e34033f1a0aeb235220fd8a0718a7bc14530d8d3.doc 21017_cee812adaf240a23195c227731750454f037a877.pdf 21018_9972508414174ebab479626fe0f67355197a6126.doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosixty Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Dazda has a good link to a Penrite release re zinc in the following post http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,7590.msg82039.html#msg82039 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 A friend of mine is the distributor of Elf and Total in SA. He recommend semi-synth [semis are ~ 90% mineral so rather misleading name] for L series or full mineral. I have tried full synthetic and full mineral and the semi has been the best. I have settled on 15W-40 Elf semi. I have run 10W and the engine spins nicely and got good fuel consumption but felt the 15W was a good compromise and offered better protection. Semis and minerals are used a lot in performance arena also so don't be put off by full synthetic hype. I know S&J's use mineral and semis on big hp turbo motors as they rather side with more protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riceburner Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I've always run Penrite HPR30 in my L28 with no issues at all. With the new racey motor I've just got some Penrite HPR10 semi synthetic, It's a 10W-50..... Should be ok??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaholic Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Check my last post above for details but, in short, you need to make sure the level of zinc is high enough. Check the product data sheet for your Penrite oil(s). If they don't give a weight for Zinc (also Phosphorus) then it would be safe to assume the levels to be low. Manufacturers using high levels of ZDDP make a feature of it in their pds. Cheers and good luck Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
53-681 Posted March 19, 2011 Author Share Posted March 19, 2011 What's a good level of zinc I should look out for bro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaholic Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 @ 53-681 - You need to check each oil individually by examining its product data sheet but a Zinc level above 0.15% (approx 150ppm) should be adequate. Modern oils are usually 0.08% (80ppm) or below. All my research indicates that this is just no good for flat tappet camshafts and older engine designs and materials in general. Have a look at the attachment in reply #4 "SHP Racing 507025W60". The table of typical properties is what you want on the 3rd page. At the bottom you will see %mass figures for the additive package. Zinc, Phosphorous, Calcium and to a lesser extent Nitrogen are the additives. You will see that the SAE 50 is highest at 0.22% with the 70 and 25W60 at 0.15%. I'm not recommending Hi-Tec oils here - this is just an example of a good complete pds. Do your own research via google. If the pds for the oil you are researching doesn't give this data then you can safely assume the figures are too low to be a selling point. Regarding Hi-Tec - I will say here that I have used and sold these oils and so far have had no negative reports. These guys are into V8 racing so I guess they know what they are doing. Similarly the Kendall products are known to be used by the drag racing fraternity out at Willowbank (I'm in Qld). Generally speaking though, any oil with high zinc/phosphorous counts should do the job. Cheers and good luck Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altimit Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hi guys, so what is the verdict on semi's? From what I gather as long as the zinc value is above 0.15% then its all good? Regards, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaholic Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Mineral, semi synth or synth it matters not. What you need to look for is the higher levels of zinc (see above). You have a flat tappet camshaft in your L engine. It was designed with high zinc in mind. Formulations have changed since the 70's. Modern oils don't really suit so you have to read the product data sheet for any oil you plan to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hi Guys, Plus one more for Penrite. I use HPR30 as it get pretty hot in summer WA. Zinc Mass % = 0.158. I did try the semi -synthetic once but it made the Rockers noisier. When I originally built the motor I ran it in using DELO 400 diesel oil because of the high zinc content. (New cam, rockers, lash pads etc.) David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaholic Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 David has it right. A lot of people have used "diesel" engine oil for just this reason. No catalytic converter = no need for low zinc/phosphorous (ZDDP additive). But there are plenty of other oils that use high additive levels suitable for the Z. Usually anything designed for the "older engine" is ok ish. Forgive me for belabouring the point though ... look up the oils product data sheet and then you know for sure. Cheers Col Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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