The UOA's and VOA's on VR1 indicate the Ca is lower then API SF requirements. That and the NOACK being up to 15% is pretty bad. The high zinc and the phosphorus are the only redeeming qualities of the oil. There is definitely more balanced oil available. If you wanted to stay in the Valvoline line the 10w30 and 15w40 PB oils have far more detergents and plenty of zinc and phosphorus.

 

We can play this game for weeks, there are plenty of read outs saying VR1 is great for all flat tappet engines. Including those know nothing oil techs at Valvoline.

Sometimes the proof is in real life experience. I recently pulled down a 426 wedge that had been rebuild 69,000 miles ago and the previous owner had run nothing but VR1 20-50 in it since the rebuild. not only was the engine perfectly clean inside had it not been leaking oil like a sieve there would have been no reason to touch it. fact is, the oil worked great.

I'm not saying there is no better oil or that VR1 is magic. but it works great and it's easy to find. but if you want to run something else knock yourself out I don't own stock in Valvoline.

 

"Not to mention there is the crowd that can not accept the truth, and that what they believe is not true or has no foundation in reality."

 

Yup Racing oils do not have the detergent package nor the antioxidant package and some have a very minimal acid control package. This is simply due to the use they see, they are not left in an engine for thousands and thousands of miles and typically are changed out after each race. So there is no need to have these packages in a race oil and it also helps lower the cost of the product or increase profits depending on your point of view...

 

How foolish I must look quoting Valvoline's recommendations when we have a self proclaimed internet oil expert who knows more about the product than the manufacturer does. who ever heard of Valvoline anyway , must be some Jonny come lately posers right.

WTF ever use what you want .

 

"How foolish I must look"
"Not to mention there is the crowd that can not accept the truth, and that what they believe is not true or has no foundation in reality."

You said it brother ....

Oh and right from Valvoline........ see below.

 

I use this ZDDP additive, Rislone. After doing a ton of research and getting many headaches...I got some fancy high-mileage full synthetic (didn't even think that was a thing) for my 460 and tossed this in: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0075559UY?psc=1

From what I've read, this is better than the blue bottle STP which actually dilutes the ZDDP in your oil, the rislone is actually concentrated to a point where it actually does something. That being said, my engine already has excellent oil pressure and runs like a top, even when I got it with 2yr old sludge in it when I bought it.

 

Ford recommended using SAE 40 when the outside temperature is consistently above +60F.

 

These oil threads are always interesting. I'm not recommending anybody's oil. But if you enjoy reading. Roam around this site they seem willing to print more info on oil in general than most refiners.
Shop By Product - Hot Rod Engine Oils (drivenracingoil.com)

 

Actually Ford recommended using SAE 40 when the outside temperature is consistently above +90 F according to the maintenance section of my 1970 Ford Thunderbird Operating Features Pamphlet :



However - in the 39 years that I resided in Alaska..... During the summer months, still to this day - all I run is straight weight Valvoline Racing Oil SAE 30 or SAE 40 in all my rigs when the outside temperature is consistently above +50 F here in Alaska with no problems or engine wear -
Winter months here in Alaska I only run Valvoline 10w30 semi synthetic as it is below freezing in my region for a solid 6 months of the year....even at -50 or -60 below F, you cant convince me to run any 5w grade for any of my old overhead V8 or slant 6 engines as i tried that once and before I knew it I was two quarts low already with increased engine noises I didn't care for.....too thin for my liking.

Being raised in Los Angeles and Southern California/Southern Nevada desert regions (very hot climate) which was 40+ years ago and beyond, the only motor oil that was ever used in all of our family vehicles and motorcycles in the hey day 'year round' was Valvoline Racing Oil (SAE 30 in the winter months), SAE 40 or (SAE 50 mid summer)....never had a mishap then nor 40 years+ later.

Never had a problem with any of my rebuilt or original engines as all of them still run strong with adequate oil pressure....
My 5 rebuilt engines -429 Ford- -225 slant 6 Dodge-(X2) -390 Ford- -460 Ford- ....the rebuilt 429 and two slant 6's have exceeded well over the 100,000 mile mark.... The four times interval each when I adjusted valves on the two slant 6's (solid lift), both engines matched a total of one quarter turn combined thus far for each rocker arm (one sixteenth turn at every 25000th mile interval period)

Although it was well pointed out about low detergent properties and low calcium levels with the Valvoline VR1, it is still adequate for street use just like it was back then - it's the SAME conventional blend and formula from over 40 + years ago.......
In comparison to full synthetic racing oils....I wont touch or use that stuff in my rigs.

Current 2021 distributed VR1 oil label shows exceeds API service SL and all preceding API gasoline categories (which means for use in current vehicle models 2001 or older) with a footnote of : high zinc formula - may not be suitable for certain emissions systems.

Old 1987 Valvoline racing formula round can oil label shows exceeds new car and light truck warranty of US, Japanese, and European manufacturers [API service SF - [b]OBSOLETE] (service SF which means - CAUTION: Not suitable for use in most gasoline-powered automotive engines built after 1988. May not provide adequate protection against build-up of engine sludge).

All the oil brands along with today's engine designs, foundry metal composition parts and materials, tighter tolerances and clearances have changed over the years in comparison of the American overhead flat tappet I6-L6-V8 or what have you, each manufacturer has their own recommended brand, grade, and warranty guidelines etc.....

As yeah straight weight oil is old - not popular - or no longer needed is no more than just an opinion to me, as even FOMOCO states in the vehicles of our era that we run to this day have a guideline (as you all can see in the maintenance section of the Operating Features Pamphlet I posted above) - both straight weight and multi viscosity weight is recommended to use.....

I guess with all this oil discussion here - the real question would be : what are the exact properties that pertain and contain in Ford oil specification ESE-MC2-101-B that is recommended by Ford ?

The oil change interval shows oil and filter change at 6000 miles or 6 months, which ever is first - but I have yet to see anyone on this topic state they only run this oil specification in their engine, or whatever their owners manual says to run.
So, many of us have our own preferences of what oil to use and that is fine - one thing we can all agree on is were still operating our old dinosaur engines, I just choose to still continue to run straight weight Valvoline racing oil during the summer months for going on 40 years and no one is going to convince me it's no good, it's wrong etc...Ford doesn't say it's wrong nor does any API service classification over the years ever said it's wrong either - I know all my engine results in a 40 year span that are long lasting and still in operation - that's all that matters to me.

The diesel grade oils have great properties and many of you here use it for your Ford engines and that is fine too - perhaps better than anything else in the market because of all the properties that are pointed out.

Even with all this posted, the one habit I always done with all my engines was change oil and filter OFTEN, and never leave straight weight oil sit in the oil pan during the winter when parked for the season as I was still learning how to adapt and my rigs adapting to the sub arctic climate and made that mistake once.

Winter season I change oil between 1500 to 2500 miles with the 10w30 multi viscosity grade, and summertime with straight weights changing oil 2000 to 3000 miles - unless cruising in my camper in Canada on yearly vacations or extended long travel current road trips it might stretch to 3500 to 4200 mile intervals or so.....when my oil changes color to a light to medium brown, its out of the oil pan and fresh oil is back in it with a new filter (all 9 of my rigs use a FL-1A)

The reason 'I LIKE' straight weight oil in the warmer summer months is because it doesn't seem to expand or contract as much in comparison to multi viscosity which I only use in the winter - but that is just 'MY OPINION' for an older overhead V8 design and it's worked for me for 40 + years and the Ford manual even says it's recommended on the guideline.

My grandfather was a Valvoline diehard and taught me a lot that I inherited....pointing out Valvoline doesn't leave a residue on your engine parts compared to Pennzoil (back in the day) when it would coat residue on the engine parts and surfaces and hold more heat that you don't need.....and I was also told the Pennsylvania crude has a higher carbon content because of the coal deposits in the region.

Bought a spare parts car off a taxi driver just for the 225 engine in order to rebuild it and swap it into my 72 Dart, took the engine apart and it was all residue surfaces everywhere, went to the machine shop dropping off the engine and the owner first thing says to me - I see you been running Pennzoil or Chevron oil in that motor....since when did you stop using Valvoline ?....I had to bring the oil pan to the machine shop because I could not scrub the black off the oil pan surfaces - and even after a boil out, the black was still caked on the surface, but better than what I could do with diesel fuel and solvent to try to clean it.

I will recommend to anyone never use Chevron or Pennzoil after seeing and going thru that.

I will also close a note for the thread starter : You have my blessing on choosing the straight 40 Valvoline Racing Oil for your 460 during summer use - we both have something in common.

 

The 101 spec is obsolete and was noting more than and oil that would meet the emissions of the era and a 6000 mile change.
At one time manufacturers recomended Castor oils.. And 45 plus years ago 100K + miles out of an engine was the exception rather than the rule.
Like Automotive tech, lubrication technology has adavnced by just as much possibly more. Using oils and grades specified 40 plus years is akin to using period construction bias plys over modern radials.
Lubrication technology has moved on, but hey if you wanna use the 1970's era lubrication specifications and get 1970's era and life expectancy out of your power plant, all the power to ya.

 

Forgot to mention I do add Slick 50 and Dura Lube engine treatment every now and then which I think really helps keeping my engines performing well with less wear.

 

I'm wondering if something changed. My source of information was the 1976 Ford Truck Owner's Manual, page 82.

 

In my 78 F250 I put a 72 model 460 in.. I ran straight 60 weight VR1 in the summer and switched to VR1 20-50 in the winter. Engine was spotless when I tore it down to check when I had to do a valve job.

 

lol that’s sexy. Straight 60 is what I used for my sportster in the summer because it got so hot