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| | | Bubblin’ Crude: Oil that is
Oil is the lifeblood of an engine. The correct choice of oil in race engines is vital because the tolerances and critical dimensions are so close, temperatures are higher, and there are more extremes. Without the perfect choice of oil, engine life and performance will diminish.
Making the decision more difficult is the tremendous advertising hype regarding oil choices. So how do you make the right choice? It’s actually quite simple. The reputable oil companies supply data on their oil. In many cases, this information is available by mail or on the Internet. With a little research, you can expand your knowledge quite easily and choose quite wisely.
Oil Illustrated
When a racing team chooses correctly and another incorrectly, the importance of oil is illustrated quite clearly.
For instance, we have two different race teams that have very similar engine combinations and race at the same track. Team One hasn’t had a failure in its five-years working with Enders. Team Two has had several failures. Both Teams have a good understanding of their engine program.
Where is Team Two having trouble? They used the wrong oil for their engine.
This became glaringly apparent when we disassembled the engines for rebuild. Team One’s engine looked clean and efficient. Team Two’s engine showed signs of wear, much of which could be attributed to its oil choice.
Viscosity
Viscosity is the best-known and most important property of engine oil. It measures how well an oil flows at specific temperatures. Thicker oils generally have a higher viscosity, and thinner oils a lower viscosity. Oil with viscosity too low can break down and lose film strength at high temperatures. Oil with a viscosity too high may not flow properly at low temperatures and the film it forms may actually tear at high RPM’s.
Oil viscosity is measured by weight; however, the numbers assigned to the weights by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) are arbitrary. The numbers measure oils at various specific temperatures. They are then designated 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc. according to their range. The W means the oil is rated for winter use.
Adding polymers to a light base (5W, 10W, 20W) creates a multi-grade oil, which prevents oil from thinning as it warms up. The polymers allow the oil to flow like the lower number in cold temperatures, and like the higher number at higher temperatures. In other words, 20W-50 is a 20-weight oil that will not thin more than a 50-weight would at 100° C.
Multi-grade oils are a great improvement, but ones with a wide viscosity range are more prone to viscosity and thermal breakdown due to the high polymer content. The polymers can also shear and burn forming deposits. The key is to choose a multi-grade with the narrowest span of viscosity that is appropriate for the temperatures you are going to encounter.
Viscosity Index is an empirical number indicating the rate of change in viscosity of an oil within a given temperature range; however, it is not an indication of how well the oil resists thermal breakdown. Higher numbers indicate little change, and lower numbers indicate more change. Oils with a high viscosity index are better for an engine’s bearings.
Viscosity and Viscosity Index should be considered together when choosing oil. What you need is the oil with the lowest viscosity, but with the highest possible viscosity index.
Running Hot and Cold
Temperature – both engine and outdoor – plays a significant role in oil performance. In colder temperatures, it can be difficult to start a piece of equipment that is stored outdoors. The oil is cold, which drives up the viscosity and prevents it from flowing easily. Once the oil warms, it flows more easily and the piece of equipment will run smoothly.
For example, in the spring, there are many chilly evenings at the track. Because oil will not flow properly, each cold start adds incremental damage to the engine. So, if you do not warm the engine properly, you will experience premature failure. It might not be the first night, but somewhere down the line, for no apparent reason, the engine will fail.
To avoid this, we strongly recommend warming the oil with a heater and running the engine for a few laps at a low RPM. Every race, whether spring, summer or fall, this should be standard operating procedure.
Traditional vs. Synthetic
Traditional oils are straight petroleum products. Their properties depend heavily on their bases, which is why oils from one location – like Pennsylvania – are better than from other places. Their great disadvantage is they break down quicker at high temperatures. They also leave more deposits resulting in more sludge.
Synthetic oils are a mixture of polymers designed for specific applications such as a higher viscosity index. Synthetics are superior lubricants compared to traditional petroleum oils due to their superior high temperature oxidation resistance, high film strength, very low tendency to form deposits, stable viscosity base, and low temperature flow characteristics. As a result, the oil reacts correctly at each end of the range and runs much cleaner.
At Enders Racing Engines, we use mineral oil for break-in purposes only. Once the engine is race-ready, we switch it to synthetic oil.
Penny-wise, Protection foolish
If there is a disadvantage to synthetics, it’s the cost. That cost, however, pales in comparison to the price tag of repairing bearings damage in a poorly lubricated engine.
In fact, the one factor that should never enter into your decision is cost. Even if the oil is given to you free, do not use it unless it is the right oil for your engine! You wouldn’t put a stock connecting rod in your $30,000 race engine so don’t use a sub-standard oil to do one of the most vital jobs in your engine, lubricate.
We’ve had several teams damage their engines using oil that was “free” or part of a sponsorship deal. If the oil does not perform well that “free” deal is a bad deal that will cost you significantly more than you save. Buy the oil that will do the job and it will pay for itself repeatedly in spared engine repairs.
Enders recommends…
As an engine builder, we have worked with many racing teams running many different types of oil. We have no ties to any oil companies and we base our recommendations on information and experience only.
For the Northeast DIRT Modifieds, we usually recommend SAE 15W-50 weight oil. Two specific oils that we have had experience with and feel comfortable recommending are Mobil 1 and Castrol Syntec. Both products have a good VI index. When oil is changed at the proper intervals – we recommend changing it every other race – the engine looks great when disassembled and we find bearing wear is minimal.
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