Anyone use Valvoline VR1 20W50 Racing Oil?

[72cudamaan]

Been using 20w50 in all of my hotrod motors for years. Never was a fan of synthetic oil for those. I use synthetic in my daily driver
but don't see any need for synthetic in older stuff. The vr1 has additives for higher horsepower ratings. So Bigs, you should be shaking those bottles to redistribute the additives if your oil sits for a long time. By the way, the low weight oil is to improve mileage, not decrease wear.
Don't be fooled into believing that the auto manufacturers give a hoot about wear as long as their engine makes it
to through the warranty period.

[Skunkworks Challenger]

I commented on an earlier post that I don't like the 20-50 wt and that is because it is thick as molasses  and runs my oil pressure to about 85 psi.  My engine revs rather quickly and when cold I'm concerned about twisting my oil pump shaft.   I just don't know where to find the  VR1-10-30.  Where do you guys buy it?

[Strawdawg]

I bought a case on Amazon.com a few weeks ago

[BS CUDA]

If anyone cares - I run 15w40 Royal Purple synthetic. Seems to lubricate fine??

[Strawdawg]

I used it in one of my cars and saw no problems with it...worked good in my windmill, too

[BIGSHCLUNK]

By the way, the low weight oil is to improve mileage, not decrease wear.
Don't be fooled into believing that the auto manufacturers give a hoot about wear as long as their engine makes it
to through the warranty period.

  

[AARuFAST]

I ran 20w50 in my 383 per previous owner in Ca.
Oil pressure was 100% was told to replace oil pump $100 bucks.
Did not remedy issue.
Changed to 10 w 40 pressure dropped to 80% 3000 rpm and 50% pressure idle.

 Engine may require an SAE 10W-30, another manufacturer's engine may require an SAE 5W-20 viscosity grade. This is likely due to different tolerances within the engine or other engine design factors.
Thinner is better. Fuel economy first, then instant Flow and lubrication a must in todays engines.
  Some vehicle manufacturers are struggling to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements set by the government. Any fuel mileage improvement associated with a lubricant would be good for them, and lighter viscosity grade motor oil will make a difference.
Oh, have you priced oil lately. $36 5 qt jug. All Brands Full Syn. and Blend..Conventional still below $20 bucks.
I used Torque in my Yukon.
You won't find on the store shelve anymore,
Quaker State had Advance Full synthetic and Torque full synthetic and 4x4 Synthetic Blend,
Q S New Ultimate Durability Full syn. and two renamed Syn Blend and a conventional oil.
Synthetic oil was made for the newer engines fitted with proper seals, gaskets.
If you rebuild older engine it will need seals, gaskets, rings for synthetic oil.

[cudabob496]

I think low weight oil definitely decreases engine wear.  The lower the weight, the faster it gets to and protects engine metal
surfaces, especially in the valve train, during startup. There's a reason 90% of engine wear occurs at startup.
I had a friend who raced circle track. One year, they did a test, and made a system that pressurized the oil before
the engine started. At the end of the season, they tore down the motor, and there was no bearing wear at all, when normally,
there was.

[Strawdawg]

There are engineers that point out that of that 90%, 85% comes from the result of corrosive acids formed by the combination of combustion gasses that mixed with the oil left on the top of the cylinder walls when the engine was shut off forming an acid.  Modern oils leave a nice film on the walls that prevents metal to metal contact on start up even after months of sitting.  If they were dry because the oil ran off, then thin oil would drain faster than thick, but this is not the case.

Of course those are engineers who use science...and not ad campaigns

Again, required oil weight depends upon a combination of factors.  Engine clearances, oil pump gear height, the work done on the oil passages, coolant temp and oil temp primarily.

On a street engine, oil temp should be around 220 degs in order to boil off as much of the corrosive vapor that forms from combustion gases mixing with the oil but these does not get rid of the remnant gases that mix with the cold oil at the top of the cylinder and eat into the cylinder walls and rings

[cudabob496]

I was using 10-40wt normal oil in a 1992 Accord for the first 50,000 miles, and in the winter (Oregon, not too cold) the valve train would click loudly for the first 5 secs after engine start. I switched to 5-30 synthetic and the clicking went away. I suspect the valve train lasted a lot longer due to the quicker flowing synthetic. Car had 275,000 when I sold it. Was running strong.

[Strawdawg]

Bob, you always come up with anecdotal evidence to support your beliefs but that does not translate to demonstrable fact    I have a '97 Ford Pick up that has over 300,000 miles on it that has no ticking lifters and runs well and I drive it almost every day.   Before I got it and turned it into a ranch truck, it was an oil field truck with 200,000 miles on it...that was 2002.  It had service records with it.  I haul feed, pull trailers, and make at least one 100 mile round trip in it every week and change the oil whenever it drops off the dip stick.  I use whatever oil I can find whether it is 5-30 or 20-50 or some combination including diesel truck oil.

Now, that is anecdotal evidence and means very little because I might just be damned lucky.  It does not leak a drop but I know if I put synthetic in it, the detergent package would probably dissolve the carbon tracks around the seals and leak.

There is nothing magic about oils other than understanding how they work and using one that fits the need for the vehicle in question. You don't put 0-30 in a car with .003" bearing clearances and you should not need to put 20-50 in an engine with .001" bearing clearances particularly in Alaska.

[high perf mopar]

i use the valveoline vr-1 20w-50 oil in my machine,,a few years ago upon checking all the oil companies i found it to have the most zinc and phorous out of all of them that our engines need,,and i also run an additive to make sure theres enough not to add any un nesscary wear,,

but i need the 50w because of my .003 mains and rod bearing clearance,,,20w for cold start up,and the 50 for running temps,,as i understand it..seems to work good     it didn't mind it yesterday going to and from the monterey bay mopars car show cruising down the freeway between 70-80 mph..ambient temps were around 70...   

[cudabob496]

Bob, you always come up with anecdotal evidence to support your beliefs but that does not translate to demonstrable fact    I have a '97 Ford Pick up that has over 300,000 miles on it that has no ticking lifters and runs well and I drive it almost every day.   Before I got it and turned it into a ranch truck, it was an oil field truck with 200,000 miles on it...that was 2002.  It had service records with it.  I haul feed, pull trailers, and make at least one 100 mile round trip in it every week and change the oil whenever it drops off the dip stick.  I use whatever oil I can find whether it is 5-30 or 20-50 or some combination including diesel truck oil.

Now, that is anecdotal evidence and means very little because I might just be damned lucky.  It does not leak a drop but I know if I put synthetic in it, the detergent package would probably dissolve the carbon tracks around the seals and leak.

There is nothing magic about oils other than understanding how they work and using one that fits the need for the vehicle in question. You don't put 0-30 in a car with .003" bearing clearances and you should not need to put 20-50 in an engine with .001" bearing clearances particularly in Alaska.

Well, there are always exceptions, but I'm gonna stick with my opinion that the large majority of muscle car engines on the road, will benefit
with a lower viscosity fully synthetic oil. As I mentioned, I've been running 0-30wt in my 496 this summer, and I really like the almost instantaneous oil pressure at startup, which would not occur if I were using conventional oil. By the way, synthetic may have saved my butt again last week. Driving home in my 1998 Ford Escort, 100 degrees outside, and the car throws a serpentine belt.  No power steering, alternator, or water pump. I make it home, which was 5 miles away, and put on a new belt. Check the 0-30wt syn oil, and its carmal colored, so I think it saw some very high heat, but at least the engine didn't toast itself. I changed the oil.
Also, had syn oil in my 440 10 years ago. Burped a lifter, and was driving down the road for two miles with no oil pressure. Another time synthetic oil saved my bacon. Normal oil burns up bad at around 450 degrees I think, while syn oil can go to around 750.

[ff6849]

How does outside ambient temps affect what oil weight one should use, example I live in a very very hot climate well over 100' in the summer. Should one increase or decrease oil weight to compensate for the outside ambient temps?

[Strawdawg]

makes the engine run hotter which tends to thin the oil which may make one need a heavier oil.

In the end, let your oil pressure be the guide.  If you have adequate oil pressure at wide open throttle on the hotter days, then the oil is heavy enough.

Oil pressure at idle is not as critical, but I would like to see it around 15 personally, but I have seen cars  that had 9-10 at idle but had plenty at higher rpms that ran fine with no problem.  There is very little load on the engine at idle so there is no need for a lot.

Mopars seem to have a well designed pump that do a good job.

Using oil that is heavier than required simply wastes horsepower and puts more strain on the pump drive.   It also tends to bypass more oil when the engine is cold in the no so hot months and by passed oil is unfiltered oil so don't rev the engine unnecessarily until the engine is warmed up whether you have heavier oil, or thinner oil.  This is particularly critical in cars that have high volume pumps...which should not be required unless one is running large crank and rod clearances at high rpm anyway.