There's been quit a bit of discussion about flat tappet cams going flat because of today's motor oils. I find it interesting that Chevrolet is producing a 70's spec crate engine with a flat tappet camshaft and they recommend Mobil 1 oil. I'm guessing that they have a 50,000 mile warranty on the engine. Is Mobil 1 the cure for running flat tappet cams and not having them go flat? https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...mall-block-v8-budget-crate-engine-151122.html
Heavily discussed here..! Mobile 1 is a very good oil. Some versions better than others. I've used it in ALL of my motorcycles (20-50 Racing) since 1986, to currently using it. I plan on using it in two upcoming, new engines for cars that I'm working on. On the other hand, I put just over 93,000 miles on my old 259 Stude engine, which I sold a short while back. It was my daily driver. Long trips, short trips, it did it all. In case you are wondering, all Stude engines were solid lifter engines. I used Castrol 20-50 GTX, every oil change. Every now and again, I'd put a bottle of Lucas Oil Treatment in it, for...good...measure... Not a single oil related problem in any of the 93,000 miles. Well, unless you consider leakage, but that's not the oils fault, that's a Stude engine problem..! As for cure...I wouldn't say that ANYTHING is a 100% guarantee. Problems can come up that are not...directly the oils fault. ALWAYS...use a good breakin oil in a fresh engine. Mike
Think I would use a break in type oil with Zinc then go to Mobil 1 with Zinc added. IF I ever build a SBC again I plan on using Speedways 1.3 rockers for break in then switching to 1.5. The 1.3 ease the spring pressure on the cam.
I've been using 5-30 Mobil 1 for years, no issues so far.. The only time I had trouble was about five years ago, I switched to Brad Penn 10-30. Both my Chevy 454 and Pontiac 462 would tick like crazy after climbing long hills. Once at the top, I would pull over and let the engine idle and it would go away.... I put the Mobil 1 back in and no issues..
I run Mobil 1 in my LSR GMC 6 with a flat tappet cam with spring seat pressure of 130 and no cam/lifter failure in 30+ years. My son uses Chevron Delo in Circle Track 377- 422 all iron flat tappet 135 seat pressure and never had a cam/lifter failure either.
Mobile 1 is not what it used to be. ExxonMobil cheapened the formula many years ago. There are a lot of other group 3 synthetics that match its performance at a lower cost. Particularly Pennzoil platinum and even Supertech Synthetic.
If it's a genuine GM crate engine with a GM warranty, use exactly the oil they recommend at least thru warranty. If possible, buy your first batch of oil when and where you purchase the engine and have it documented on the same invoice. If you ever do have any warranty issues this will go a long way toward having them settled fairly and smoothly.
When other oils go out after work they wear Mobil 1 jackets. Take almost any Chuck Norris joke and say "Mobil 1" instead.
My daily driver has Mobil 1 10W-30 since its first oil change at 1,000 miles. That was 28 years and 415,000 miles ago and the engine has yet to be opened. Good enough for me.
And advises not to be used in daily drivers on many sites. Many here do use it because hot toddlers seem to change oil more often since we don’t use our cars as much.
It should be known that any automotive oil with "50" in the weight equation has adequate zinc content. Mobil 1 15-50 has about 1100 ppm zinc.
I feel your pain; with the oil coiler, dual filters, and a modified oil pan, the early hemi in my dirt modified takes 14 quarts. (The old timers I race with told me that if I wanted to run an early hemi to make sure I had plenty of oil capacity.)
I use Mobil 1 5w-20 on the spindle bearings on my South bend lathe. Great stuff. In my BBF stroker I'm trying out Castrol Edge 5w-50 full synthetic. Oil pressure is a tic higher (25 psi) at hot idle than the 15w-40 I was using before. Also contains 1290 ppm of zddp, more than enough to keep a solid cam happy.
I use it on everything too including my lawn mower. I used it in my 83 Olds 98 that I put 168,000 miles on. No issues with the flat lifters there.. I put 70,000 miles on a Pontiac 462 that was built up I used it all the time except for this one time I tried Brad Penn, my lifters were screaming at me to get this shit out of here.. So was my 454. It was the weirdest thing, every time I would go up this long hill the lifters would start to chatter like Rhoads lifters. Once I pulled over and let it idle it would go away. I put the Mobil 1 5-30 back in both engines and all has been well..
I've been using good old conventional 10 w 30 or 10 w 40 for years and years in many different motors using many different oil brands (I don't use any Quaker State oil, or any Pennzoil). Many of those motors went well over 200,000 miles. In the early years I mostly used Mobil 10 w 40, but recent years I've been using Citco 10 w 30, yea, the $2 a quart stuff. Since I quit racing back in the late 80s, oil related motor issues have been non existent. I've pulled a few of those 200K motors apart, most looked pretty good inside yet. The secrete of long motor life is: Keep the oil at the proper level, change the oil and filter when its needed, use a good oil filter, don't abuse the motor before it reaches operating temp, and when you do abuse it, don't do stupid stuff. Gene
I see people abusing there motors all the time at car cruises. The car sits all day and is stone cold, the owner fires it up to leave and has to show off and rev the hell out of his mill. There was one guy with a Studebaker, he kept spinning bearings. We all told him to warm the engine up before leaving and don't race the motor until the oil pressure goes down at idle.. He hasn't spun a bearing since he started doing this. Then there's the guy who revs his motor right before shutting it off, removing the oil from the cyl's at start up..
In Wisconsin my old cars sit from about mid November until when the rain washes the salt off the roads in April. Tried Mobil one 20 years ago and lost three hydraulic flat tappet between two cars in a four year period? I am not a oil expert and can only share my experience with cars that are stored five months every year. My belief is that Mobil One and other synthetic oils flow so well that it don't cling on the cam lobes for several months, a few dry start ups every spring and the cam says see ya. Continue to use Mobil one in my daily (roller cam) winter drivers, run conventional with additive in stuff that hibernates. Norb
You might be on to something. My engines rarely sit for more then four weeks without running.. In the winter during the salt weeks, I open the garage door and fire her up for a half hour or so and listen to some music. I love hearing that first big rain storm because it's washing away all the salt and calcium chloride...
I lost an SBC flat tappet cam with Mobil 1, a long time ago (before factory roller motors). I pulled in hot one night after a long road trip and shut it off. When I started it in the morning, it wiped the lobe. The motor had about 30,000 miles on it. One the other hand, we were at the Corvette Museum and got to take a factory tour (also before roller motors). At the end of the assy. line they filled it up with Mobil 1, fired it up and rolled over to the roller road and floored it for a couple of minutes! YIKES! I asked the technician about that and his reply was, "If it's going to break, this is the place!"
There are 2 choices in Mobil 1 for a flat tappet. The 0w-40 has 1100ppm and 15-50 has 1300ppm, both will work great with a flat tappet motor. All of the other weights are low zinc now, so stick to these two weights if you run mobil 1!!!! I've run them for years in my OT Porsche 968 motor thats a DOHC setup that runs flat tappets to activate the valves in the head. Thats been zipping up to 7 grand for years now. I use the 0w-40 in the winter as it flows when its really cold and the 15-50 in the summer to help keep the #2 rod bearing happy when running hard. I'll be running 0-40 in my 392 when the time comes.
Regardless of which oil I use If my car sits over the winter for a few months I always pull the distributor and prime the engine with a drill or at the very least pull the plugs and spin the engine over to build pressure. I guess if you wanted to go high tech one could also install and oil accumulator. Of the two engines I do this with, one is expensive and the other is really expensive. Too much invested for 5-6 month dry startup.
Mobil One 15w-50 has sufficient zinc in it. It says it right on the bottle. I have used it in one of my flat tappet street FEs for years.
The Jalopy Journal
