just wondering what the best weight motor oil to use in sbc i just built a new 350 @450hp and need to decide what weight to go with ,also what is considered good oil presure on a warmed up motor at idle, thanks
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just wondering what the best weight motor oil to use in sbc i just built a new 350 @450hp and need to decide what weight to go with ,also what is considered good oil presure on a warmed up motor at idle, thanks
im going to go buy the oil pump tomorrow and button up everything , so i need to decide whether to use a melling m55 or a m55hv , or a new style melling 10555 , these are whats in stock at the local part house ,anyone have a recomendation ,thanks for the quik response
I like 10w40, but I can't get any oil pressure with it so I'm stuck with 20w50.
Is it a Chevy roller lifter motor? They recommend a drastically different oil for some of the crate motors from GM. Did you buy the motor from a Chev dealer?
25/40 pounds at idle would be normal oil pressure in a run in motor.
If your running your motor in,,then your gonna want to change your oil and filter more frequently for a while,( i would change it first after 150 mile,,,and then again after 500 miles),,I stick with straight wieghts,,,non of this 10w or 20w crap,,,it's just a hold over for me from my day's as a diesel mechanic.
Typical big diesel engines will go over a million miles before rebuild if they are properly serviced.
I use straight 40wt oil in all my vehicles, and i have never had a failure due to insufficient lubrication.
But then i also use a cheap oil to flush my motor first( I change oil and filter the first time and put in cheap oil) then i change filters again and put in the good old 40wt.
also decide now whether your gonna use synthetic or standard.
The 10 lbs for every 1000 rpm's is an old tale. I'm sure you'd want more than 10 lbs at idle. At the same time, engines capable of 7000 rpm's do not need 70 psi.Quote:
Originally posted by techinspector1
I use Castrol GTX 10-W-30 year 'round in everything.
If I had 50 lbs at cruise and 30 lbs at idle, I'd be happy. You need minimum 10 lbs for each 1,000 rpm's.
Between 35 to 45 psi at idle and up to 55 lbs at speed would be sufficient. I run 5W30 Mobil 1 in my daily driver. As I'm sure you won't be doing any sub-zero driving. a synthetic 10W30 would be good for street use.
While breaking the engine in, use dino oil so the rings will seat. Sometimes synthetics work too well and the rings may no seat if used right away.
I'd run the engine to 300 miles, do an oil change, and then change to synthetic at 2000 to 3000 miles.
i use AMS oil 0W30, 15-20 at idle and 40 at cruise. ill change the filter around 12,000 miles and want live long enough to have to change the oil again. :CRY:
All I ever used was 10w-40w and its worked fine for me in our cold winter and hot summers.
I respect Smokey as much as the next guy (gotta love the 15/16ths Chevelle!), but more engineering went into the big threes cars than Smokey could ever have dreamed of. Watch the oil pressure guage on any car you are in. My Ranger, even at 90 MPH won't be less than 35 psi or more than 55 psi.Quote:
Originally posted by techinspector1
Tom, that 10/1000 rule of thumb came from Smokey Yunick, God rest his soul. I'm sure that by the time he passed, he'd forgotten more about internal combustion engines than you and I together will ever know.
I can see upping the pressure on an engine built 'loose', but when running normal clearances this extra pressure is not needed. Check with NASCAR teams running engines at 9000 rpm's and I'll guarantee you they are not running 90 psi.
The LS1 style engine going in the Stude is being set up with the stock clearances as a guide, and I don't plan on raising the oil pressure any.
As far as the oil pump is concerned....what pan are you using?
If you are using the stock pan I would use the m55 pump....
If you use a deep sump pan you could opt for a m55hv but it's you decision...but I wouldn't.....
On a stock pan you would not want to use a hv pump on a new engine because with enough rpm's you can literally run the engine out of oil ( insuficient drain back time/ not enough reserve)
I really personally don't recomend using a hv pump unless needed because with a hv you can move the oil thru the engine too fast not giving the oil enough cool down time before being reused....thus ending up with oil being hotter than need be...just my 2 cents....
first i'd like to say im glad i found this place , ive looked around the net for a while trying to find a good place to exchange information on hot rod chevy motors ,and never really found a good home, ive been building this motor for a few months now and im just about ready to fire her up, built the whole thing from scratch,its been an expereance , and im sure my wife is about to divorce me :D ,
anyway i talked to melling tech today ,and read a bunch last nite and came to the conclusion that i can use the m55 or the newer
10552 w/10% more volume , my part houses only have the m55 in stock and at 13.00 im going to put that in and try it , if the oil presure is on the low side at idle i'lll switch over to the 10552 +10% unit, yes i have the stock oil pan
i realize the std 55 is suppost to be adequate in the envirment im going to use it in , my concern is pretty much soley based around having excellent warm ''idle'' presure , just in this thread alot of you guys are insinuating you wish you had better warm idle presure, w/a 10-30 wt
ive read quiteafew tech articals where they want you to fire a fresh motor up and take it right up to 1500-2000 rpms , because they thought the std oil pump may not supply enough oil at a regular
idle
thats why im thinking of using the 10552 pump , just 10% more volume, i dont think im going to have a chance to run the sucker dry, unless i was running 6000+ rpms across the mohave desert
am i wrong?
either one will be fine normal driving or getting into it some times. **)Quote:
Originally posted by blewbyou2
i realize the std 55 is suppost to be adequate in the envirment im going to use it in , my concern is pretty much soley based around having excellent warm ''idle'' presure , just in this thread alot of you guys are insinuating you wish you had better warm idle presure, w/a 10-30 wt
ive read quiteafew tech articals where they want you to fire a fresh motor up and take it right up to 1500-2000 rpms , because they thought the std oil pump may not supply enough oil at a regular
idle
thats why im thinking of using the 10552 pump , just 10% more volume, i dont think im going to have a chance to run the sucker dry, unless i was running 6000+ rpms across the mohave desert
am i wrong?
so your saying oil pressure at idle will be the same whether i use aQuote:
Originally posted by DennyW
PS, BTW your clearances determine what you have for pressure, reguardless of oil pump size at idle. [/B]
std 55 or say a 55hv ???????
then why have i read some put a hv pump in to compansate for low pressure do to worn bearings?
are you saying the presure would be the same at idle but higher at higher rpm's?
BTW that's great info on the different brands of oil , i think oil brands will always be a great source of debates, but one thing ive always noticed is no matter what type of engine application amsoil is alway rated at the top, notice how at the start of this thread i didnt ask what brand to use , but ,what wt to use , ive been on other sites where oil debates get a little crazy LOL
a high volume pump holds more oil, so it will be there if needed, should be about the same pressure as a stock pump. a high volume and a high pressure pump will be the bigger pump with a higher pressure spring in it. **)Quote:
Originally posted by blewbyou2
so your saying oil pressure at idle will be the same whether i use a
std 55 or say a 55hv ???????
then why have i read some put a hv pump in to compansate for low pressure do to worn bearings?
are you saying the presure would be the same at idle but higher at higher rpm's?
i use castrol 20-50 works great hot or cold and carries excellent oil pressure.:cool:
blewbyou2, if you do decide to run the MEL 10555 pump, it has a bolt on pickup. The only problem is, you can't get pickups for any aftermarket pans yet, other than stock designs. I had to by a Milodon pickup for my oil pan and modify it to a bolt on type. When I fired the motor for the first time it almost barried the gauge at 80 lbs at 900rpm. Now it runs 50 at idle with 10/30.:toocool:
This is my own opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, not as the gospel truth. I've always ran nothing but straight 30W in my engines, except when the outside temp is in the teens or lower for an extended amount of time; then I run 20W 20 for easier starting. I've never had an oil related failure in one of my engines, although I've had some varnishing problems from using a cheap grade of K-Mart 30 weight. It was called LDO and I should have known that meant Low Detergent Oil. Big mistake, really dirtied up the engine I used it in.
I would stick to a well known brand, Castrol GTX and Valvoline are both good oils, Quaker State and Pennzoil are fairly good, and I don't know about the rest. I'm currently using Mystik JT-6 (I think it's 6) 30W with very good results.
As far as oil pressure in a hot smallblock Chevy goes, my Nova runs 38 psi at hot idle, and 55-60 psi when I'm workin' it hard. When it's cold, it'll show almost 80 psi on the guage (Stewart-Warner mechanical) and that's too much for running down the road; so I always let it warm up before I drive it.
There again, this is what works for me, and it might give you some ideas.
Randy
At the risk of being an heretic, I swear by NAPA 10W40.
I have been informed it is made by Valvoline and in all the years I have used it I have never had an oil related problem. With all the engines I have put it in, it has had a sudden one quart down issue at 3000 miles.
Upon teardown, I found the crankcase, valve covers, and other internal components very clean. Bearing wear was always even. I just like it. It is also inexpensive compared with Valvoline.
In my new rebuild, I use Pennzoil, and Valvoline store brand for the warranty purpose, but this change I am going back to exclusive NAPA 10W40. I just like it.
Also, the wear is pretty even on the torn down components.
i use mobil 1 fully syn. i dislike castrol because i have found it to be very waxy its like putting crayons in ur motor
i have a ton of money in my motor , im not even going to think about savin a dollar on oil , mobil1 syn is going in my motors from now on , heck wal mart sell's it for 20.00 for 5 gal jug, why bother using anything else
I remember reading an article in Stock Car Racing Magazine which said if you are still using your straight 40 or 50 weight racing oil you are living in the past. I came back to the future that day and never looked back. Not only are you not getting as good lubrication as you should , You are loosing horsepower in your oil selection. Nextel Cup guys use something down close to 0 weight for qualifing and not much more than that for racing, 5 something I think. I use Mobil 1 synthetic and Purolator pure one filters in my car and truck. Then I go about 5000 miles before changing.
"High volume pumps are for increased demands on the oil system such as higher RPM usage, racing, remote filters and or coolers, etc." where extra oil is needed.
this is what i believe would be the only reason you would need a hv pump. if it moves the oil so fast at 50 mph@50 lbs. of pressure that it cant cool the oil i don't know. it is JMO that if you have a tight motor with the proper clearances then a hv pump wont make no dif.
this is a statement i made on this thread last week and I got calls from 1/2 way around the world telling me how crazy i was so I decided to ask somebody that should know so I e-mail MELLING OIL PUMP CO. and ask them if you had a properly clearanced motor going down the rd. at 50 mph@2500 rpms and had 50 lbs of oil pressure, i told him I said it wouldn't make no dif. if you had a reg. oil pump or a hv pump, the oil pressure would stay about the same and this was his answer.
You are correct, use the standard pump.
The HV pump will have only a minor increase in pressure.
Technical Manager
George Richmond
2620 Saradan Drive
Jackson, MI 49202
Phone: 517-787-8172
E-mail: grichmond@melling.com
minor to me means not enough to make a dif.
if you have a wore out motor then the hv pump will help fill in the extra clearances and pressure will go up accordingly. **) :cool:
i went with a messaged m55 std pump
my dad was sayin that castrol isnt what it used to be he said that they were bought out and their oil started to suck my friend swears by it but it is like putting crayons in ur motor
80w90 works well in my winter beater, leaks less oil too. lol
you mean in the dif. and stright shift trans. :confused:Quote:
Originally posted by SLAMMDS15
80w90 works well in my winter beater, leaks less oil too. lol
castrol works fine 4 me and has for a long time lol no waxyiness in my motors lol............
No No in the engine, it had a nasty knock, just needed enough time to get my Caprice on the road. Those 2.5L's that GM put in s-10's, man can they ever take a beating. lolQuote:
Originally posted by lt1s10
you mean in the dif. and stright shift trans. :confused: