Zinc Oil For Older Cars

The automotive community continues to debate whether switching to synthetic oil in older cars is beneficial or risky.

Zinc oil for older cars.

In classic car and hot rod engines use a high zinc motor oil all the time. Zinc acts as a friction inhibitor and research suggests that older engines using flat tappet lifters in the engine pretty much any v6 or v8 older than 1988 need to have zinc present in the engine oil in order to keep the camshaft and lifters from wearing prematurely. When it comes to older engines and classic cars high zinc content is a must and some oil manufacturers even sell special engine oil that comes with elevated zdtp or zddp zinc dialkyl dithiophosphates content. Thanks to hugh ashburn for asking on our facebook page about using high zinc oil in older engines.

Chances are your classic car needs zinc oil additive to stay running strong. In general synthetic motor oil offers owners of newer cars trucks and suvs multiple benefits from extending component life to reducing cost of routine maintenance if you have heard about the benefits of synthetic motor oil in vehicles you may be inclined to switch. Read on for details. Ilsac multi viscosity oils that are rated sm even feature special additives used for older engines that experts recommend for use in.

Regardless if you are purchasing off the shelf oil for your classic car ilsac multi viscosity oils rated sm or cj 4 should have stated zinc and phosphorus additive supplements for use in older engines or an additional separate additive should be purchased and used with the new oil. There is no guarantee that a quart or two of older oils sj or sl or even a specially formulated high zddp content oil will homogenize with sm oils to produce the correct or desired level of zinc phosphorus for older engines. Also in the classic xl line is a 30w oil for pre 1950 vintage and classic cars. This means that not all current oils are appropriate for antique autos or even for those.

Higher zinc levels in oil typically are for performance cars on the whole. Then there is the question of mixing high zinc phosphorus content oils with sm to give necessary protection. Specifically should you use a motor oil with zddp additives only during engine break in or throughout the engine s lifespan. While the formulations of modern oils have changed along with the innovations that keep the automotive industry moving forward your older car s specific lubrication requirements were frozen in time the day it was built.

Lucas oil hot rod classic car sae 10w 40 hp high zinc petroleum high performance motor oil for use with racing fuels synthetic non synthetic oils 5 quarts 4 7 out of 5 stars 92 38 61 38. Zinc zddp and zdtp is especially useful for cars with flat tappet camshafts which means a lot of classic cars hot rods and older muscle cars need zinc more than other cars.