Some of you may know about this,I didn't so thought I would pass it on. I read article in Mustang Monthly about how today's oils are missing zinc,and using them may harm our flat tappet engines. They started using zinc in the 50"s to help with engine wear. Now EPA is saying that zinc can damage catalytic converters and making oil companies remove the zinc. If you use an oil with SM on the label means little to no zinc. Even Mobil 1 synthetic does not have it. They recommend using a product called ZDDPlus with your oil. The web site is -zddplus.com . My DD is a Powerstroke,I use Rotella in it so have not thought about this . I changed the oil in my 79 a couple of weeks ago,I did notice the oil( Valvoline 10/40) was very light colored. Then saw this article and went back and looked at the label it had SM on it. It was a wake call to me.

 

I here that Royal Purple still has sufficient amounts of zinc, can anyone confirm this?

 

SM rated oil cannot contain more than 800 PPM Zinc, it doesn't mean it contains none.

Diesel rated oil cannot contain more than 1200 PPM zinc, although current oil anaylsis is showing the trend is starting to increase back into the 1400 range.

50 weight oils are not effected by the EPA, so anything that is 15w50, 20w50 and so on will still contain more than adequate amounts of zinc.

However, once a normal engine is broken in it will only need 800-1000 PPM zinc to remain happy.

A race engine with huge valve spring pressures needs the 1200+ zinc to be happy.

All in all, use diesel rated oil for a built engine and avoid 5w20, 5w30 oil like the plague if you want to keep a pushrod engine for any length of time.

Josh

 

I'm not sure on Royal Purples zinc content, Brad Penn motor oil has one of the higher zinc contents at 1,500 ppm, i've always used Shell Rotella T 15w40 which is currently rated at 1,200 ppm for zinc content, though Rotellas zinc numbers have fallen over the years 1,200 ppm is still more than sufficient, if you're really concerned about zinc levels GM EOS is a great zinc additive, too high a zinc content though will leave deposits on your plugs and foul them out, if your motor oil is doing its job zinc will rarely if ever even come into play, it's there if metal to metal contact should ever occur, so it's something to be aware of but certainly nothing to be alarmed about.

 

Valvoline 20-50 racing oil has zddp in it.

"too high a zinc content though will leave deposits on your plugs and foul them out, if your motor oil is doing its job zinc will rarely if ever even come into play, it's there if metal to metal contact should ever occur, so it's something to be aware of but certainly nothing to be alarmed about."

I guess I would think if unless your rings are totally shot that your PLUGS would stay relatively oil free.

As far as IF metal to metal contact should occur.......? I guess I would think it's occuring constantly between the lifters and the cam. Which is exactly where Zinc is crucial.

I sure as hell am concerned about it when I got a 5000 dollar big block mopar under my hood!

 

taken from zddp.com




"According to the SAE Tech Bulletin # 770087 [1] , operation of a flat tappet engine without adequate EP additives such as ZDDP quickly leads to lifter foot scuffing and cam lobe wear. Camshafts are typically only surface hardened leaving the core ductile for strength. According to the SAE Bulletin, once cam lobe wear reaches 0.0002, "subsequent wear is usually rapid and catastrophic." Two ten-thousandths of an inch is one fifth the thickness of an average human hair.

In order to make engines last in the absence of ZDDP, virtually all IC (internal combustion) engines designed in the last ten years utilize roller lifters. Today, ZDDP has been removed from practically all automotive engine oils, rendering them unsuitable for use with older engines with non-roller lifters."

Why Can't We Use Diesel CI/CJ-4 Rated Oils?


"There are some diesel engine rated oils on the market which may still have some ZDDP in them. There are problems associated with using these oils in a normal gasoline engine which can become severe in a high-performance gasoline engine. One issue is the high amount of detergent additive, and another is the high viscosity.

High detergent oil has a lower surface tension and lower shear pressure rating which can cause higher bearing wear in gas engines. A diesel engine needs oil with very high detergent capabilities in order to hold the large amount of combustion byproducts in suspension, but it is not optimized for a gasoline engine. The bearing journal size-to-displacement ratio on a gasoline engine is designed around the use of a lower detergent oil and relies on a high-shear rating to the oil.

The other problem with high detergent oil is that it actually reduces the friction reduction that the ZDDP affords, especially in a high-performance, high valve spring pressure engine.

The viscosity rating of most diesel rated oils is higher than optimum for our higher revving gasoline engines, and can cause oil starvation in bearings at high rpms."

Why Can't We Use Racing Oils?


"There are some racing oils which maintain a level of ZDDP. Racing oils are optimized for short term severe duty, in contrast to an oil that has been designed for day in, day out street operation. The additive package in a racing oil does not have the same detergent characteristics which are designed into extended service oils. As a result, racing oils may not have the capability of neutralizing acids and keeping contaminants in suspension. Also, the breadth of choice of viscosity, so important to correct street engine operation over a broad temperature range, is not available in racing oils.

By using ZDDPlus™ in addition to a modern high-quality oil of the proper viscosity for your gasoline engine, the correct EP lubrication level is established, and the oil characteristics remain optimized for your engine.r engine."

What if my oil already has some ZDDP?

"ZDDP is most effective if the concentration is between 0.18 and 0.2 % by weight. Tests have shown that concentrations above this amount, up to as much as several percent, have no effect except to prolong additive life. The current oils available today contain very little ZDDP."

Aren't the newer oils better than the older oils?


"Historically, every new grade of oil introduced since the 1930's was better than the previous grade and could be considered "improved" with one exception. The original SA grade was straight mineral oil (non-detergent non-additives) and SB contained additives which could not be used in the earliest cars specified for SA. While it is true that SM oils are better for NEW cars, they are NOT better for the OLDER cars equipped with flat tappet camshafts. Simply put, the newer, better oils are not backward compatible for older cars primarily due to the gradual reduction of ZDDP starting with SG grade introduced in 1988. In the next few years, it will be eliminated completely from oil."



cheers

 

Where did you get that information as there is no such thing as ZDDP.COM.

If you want to see with your own eyes what is going in the oil world head over to bobistheoilguy.com and read the UOA and VOA for yourselves and draw a conclusion.

Don't take what some Magazine that is offered mucho advertising bucks or some commercial website for face value.

I would like to add that with a company that handles over 70 pieces of heavy machinery and a fleet of Class 8 trucks, plus diesel and gas pick-ups with handle A LOT of OIL SAMPLES.

Zinc has been steadily going UP since the freak-out when diesel switched to ULSD. Rotella T CJ4 15w40 has in the last 6 months proven be worth at least 1350 PPM. 10w30 Rotella T CJ4 around 1400.

Josh

 

sorry, wrong address!

Address is www.zddplus.com

a TON of info there, including links to many tech bulletins. I'm no expert, though I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

I know Comp Cams recommends their additive or using Rotella for breaking in new cams.