I figured I would kick off another age old debate. the forum is slow today so here we go.....

what do you run for oil's in your rig?

is "premium" oils (amsoil,royal purple etc.) worth the coin or hype?

is heavy or light weight oil better in a modern (say over-head cam era) engine better?

what about additives? (rislon,marvel's myst. oil....)?



I definitely have my opinions and experiences but would like to hear yours. (the smarty-pants also)

The standard rule is not to run synthetics in old engines.  It will just cause all of your seals to start leaking.

As for what oil to run in your engine, check the manual.  If you run to thick of an oil you risk causing damage to your motor.  In the case of the newer Suzuki 4cyl engines the timing chain won't be properly lubed if you run the heavier oil.  That leads to breakage and the engine blowing up.

As for additives, they can work depending on what you want them to do.  My brothers 94 had an issue with a bit of smoke at startup due to the engine being old.  We threw some additive in there, smoke went away, all is well.  Sure it's not the best thing , but the only way to 'fix' the problem is to rebuild the engine anyway.

The standard rule is not to run synthetics in old engines.  It will just cause all of your seals to start leaking.

As for what oil to run in your engine, check the manual.  If you run to thick of an oil you risk causing damage to your motor.  In the case of the newer Suzuki 4cyl engines the timing chain won't be properly lubed if you run the heavier oil.  That leads to breakage and the engine blowing up.

As for additives, they can work depending on what you want them to do.  My brothers 94 had an issue with a bit of smoke at startup due to the engine being old.  We threw some additive in there, smoke went away, all is well.  Sure it's not the best thing , but the only way to 'fix' the problem is to rebuild the engine anyway.

looking for what people run in there rigs and why. I know what works for me.

thats good info about the timing chain lubrication.

I have only been running zuks for about nine  years now and the best that I have found is 10-30 mystic syn-Blend Oil,it will go fare past the 2500 mile break down point for the regular oils, I run a Larger oil filter from a ford taurus 1989 with a 3.0 napa 91516 I Think it is.(check clearance on a samurai). also I am a big believer in prolong additives, been running it for over twenty years, it is a polymere (spell check) I run their different products in the gas tank, the crank case and the trans and x-fer case, and both diffs. it takes up to two weeks to notice a difference in power and mileage and running temp. their gear oil (mystic) is one of the best that I have seen. I believe it is an oklahoman company.

I use 5w30 Mobil 1 in all of my vehicles (6). It is the recommeded oil in my Corvette, Rather that shelf several different brands and viscosities I just keep the 1. This vehicle range embodies 3 4cyl and 3 8 cyl with 1 being and early 70's built 350.

I also run Prolong in the Samurai and the early V8 as an additive. I did  small engine heat test on the Prolong by running it in a lawnmower. There was a noticable difference in the crankcase temperature at peak operating time (approxamately 2hrs.) Reduced heat = reduced friction = increased wear life.

Mobile 1 High Mileage 10W40 in the Turbo Tracker with Lucas Oil Stabilizer. I use K+N oil filters when I can get them, or the best store filter. This engine sees redline often enough and with the turbo needing good oil I don't scrimp. Always looks good at change time too, and that can be up to 4K.

Prepare yourself to be blown away.

If you've got the time, this will give you everything there is to know:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

And you thought zuki enthusiasts were an esoteric breed!

The "weight" of the oil used should be determined by the climate in which you're operating the vehicle, so start by determining what your manufacturer recommends for your vehicle in your climate.

Here in Guyana we're see 70~90+*F year round, so I run 10W40 - currently Valvoline premium conventional - and change it every 3000 miles; transmission, transfercase & differentials is 75W90 Mobil1 synthetic.  The reason I won't run a synthetic in the engine is that it's operated under what Suzuki considers "harsh environment" and the recommended change interval is 3000 miles, so I see no point in using the synthetic when I can't benefit from the extended change interval.

Oh - with regard that "not using synthetic in a high mileage engine because it causes seals to leak" - just an "old wives" tale.  Back when Mobil1 first hit the market, that's what I was told by the Mobil1 rep here - back then I wasn't prepared to pay the price, but since then I have done my own tests and switched to a full synthetic oil for a year, before experimenting with varying synthetic blends, and then back to a conventional motor oil - never had any problems with leaking seals.

Prepare yourself to be blown away.

If you've got the time, this will give you everything there is to know:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/cms/

And you thought zuki enthusiasts were an esoteric breed!

great read beercheck thanks. I hope everyone spends the time to read it!

The "weight" of the oil used should be determined by the climate in which you're operating the vehicle, so start by determining what your manufacturer recommends for your vehicle in your climate.

Here in Guyana we're see 70~90+*F year round, so I run 10W40 - currently Valvoline premium conventional - and change it every 3000 miles; transmission, transfercase & differentials is 75W90 Mobil1 synthetic.  The reason I won't run a synthetic in the engine is that it's operated under what Suzuki considers "harsh environment" and the recommended change interval is 3000 miles, so I see no point in using the synthetic when I can't benefit from the extended change interval.

Oh - with regard that "not using synthetic in a high mileage engine because it causes seals to leak" - just an "old wives" tale.  Back when Mobil1 first hit the market, that's what I was told by the Mobil1 rep here - back then I wasn't prepared to pay the price, but since then I have done my own tests and switched to a full synthetic oil for a year, before experimenting with varying synthetic blends, and then back to a conventional motor oil - never had any problems with leaking seals.

true for air cooled engines.

great read beercheck thanks. I hope everyone spends the time to read it!

Be sure to click the "Oil Forums" link (along with the others) on the left of that page.  That's where the meat...and the madness...is.  For example, there are guys on there that have their used oil analyzed after every change.

Honestly, I think it might be my favorite website on all of the internet.  Educational, entertaining, and waaaaaay out there, man.

that the reason I started this thread. I took a 2 day lubrication class a while back (and also thought I knew all about oil) and my jaw was on the desk most of the class.

I am by no means trying to convey that I'm some expert now just was blown away with the science behind oil and wanted to get people thinking. and maybe up to speed.

I was always of the old school theory, coming from a "chevy big-block or die back ground"[until I got whooped by a zuki with 31's and I had 40's on my chev]

I always thought "heavy weight was the only way"(now that I think about it I sure went through allot of engins then)

Oh - with regard that "not using synthetic in a high mileage engine because it causes seals to leak" - just an "old wives" tale.  Back when Mobil1 first hit the market, that's what I was told by the Mobil1 rep here - back then I wasn't prepared to pay the price, but since then I have done my own tests and switched to a full synthetic oil for a year, before experimenting with varying synthetic blends, and then back to a conventional motor oil - never had any problems with leaking seals.

As long as your engine is in good shape, sure.  The issue is the synthetic oil can clean out all of the sludge that is keeping the seals from leaking. 

Whatever is on sale. 10-30 or 10-40

I read the whole thread several years ago, don't remember all that was in there,
but I remember there was lots of good info.

Wild

10w30 if its a newer motor and i may step up alittle if its getting older