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crothberg Member
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hi all, i just read the keith ansell piece in the standard. i had seen this on another forum, but i'm still not sure what oil would best protect the older, broken in engines in most of our cars. my understanding is that mr ansell refers to experience with vintage british cars, not specifically lotus engined 4 valve JH's. i note that the article makes no mention of mobil 1 (good or bad). i'm relatively new to this hobby (got the JH 6.06) so i lack much hands on experience. is there an advantage in running zddp rich dino oils over synthetics? it is my undstanding that the valvetrain in our cars has much in common with modern engines - whose manufacturers recommend synthetic. am i missing the issues intinsic to these cars? will i deprive my car of essential protection in swithing to a synthetic? |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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There are several issues with the 907 that shouldn't occur on a modern engine. The dry starting and the heat expansion and flexing of the bearing panel causing the tolerances to change. A little insurance could go a long way. The main problem with synthetics is their propensity to leak more than regular oil from the already porous 907. If you want to use it, the article states that Red Line still contains the zddp. Kurt |
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Greg Fletcher Administrator 
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I'd stick with Castrol 20W 50 myself. Castrol 20W 50 has the stuff older engines need to stay operational. Besides, the rubber seals on the 907 are designed for conventional oils. As Kurt mentions, I've heard numerous reports of excessive leaking when using some synthetics although some owners that have had no problems (lots of variables on that one), so it's going to be a roll of the dice. In any event, after reading that oil article in the January '07 issue, if I was going to use a synthetic, I would definitly go with a Redline street formula since they still use the vital ZDDP to keep wear at a minimum. Remember, per that article, DO NOT use any other motor oils designed for new cars, it could spell disater for your 907 engine. |
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crothberg Member
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interesting read: http://www.lnengineering.com/oil.html cr |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Good find! Interesting that the Castrol GTX was 30 wt. in the 20-50 bottle! Looks like the GTX High Mile 20-50 and the Valvoline VR1 are available locally and have the zddp required. For synthetic, the Royal Purple could reduce the leakage problems with Mobil 1. |
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Sylva Member
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As you will know Lotus are now owned by Proton, whose factory is about 10 miles from my desk as I write this. Lotus engineers come out here on a reular basis, to provide support, including people who worked on the original design of the 900, ex lotus F1 enginers and engineers from the Elites that ran in world sports cars. I don't want to use names on this forum, but over a beer they all say the same thing, the only oil to use is Castrol RS synthetic. |
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crothberg Member
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i emailed mobil. this is their response: Thank you for your inquiry, Mobil1 15W50 Extended Performance would be the appropriate product for your applications, it contains the higher levels of ZDDP levels. Energy conserving motor oils have mandates put on them to reduce ZDDP levels. -- Thank you for choosing ExxonMobil products. If you need further assistance, please contact ExxonMobil at 1-800-ASK-MOBIL -Matt Jacob cr |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator
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Go for it. I just picked up a case of VR1 but they were out of the K&N oil filter, but that's another subject. Kurt Last edited on 01-28-2007 07:47 pm by Jensen Healey |
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Matthew10571 Member
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I found Valvoline 20W-50 4 stroke MC oil with "Zinc. compounds". It doesn't specify ZDDP, would this be a good oil to use. Oh did I say it's $2.00 off so that 46.80 for 12 qts. |
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