Whats the Best Engine Oil for Your Muscle Car

Engine oil. There are few things that will start an internet argument than the choices we have in engine oil. Conventional, synthetic, what brand, viscosity are all points of contention. I'll show you how YOU can decide without all the marketing hype.

#engineoil #hotrodoil

[ClintBramhall]

You hit the nail right on the head.Been a mechanic for almost 5 decades.A lot of people don't like or don't want to educate themselves as things evolve.Convention oils have not been the same since the 90's.Good job on explaining the why you need to use specific oils.

[northdogueman]

been building engines since 1969, i'm a stricked muscle car guy and i've always done a double break in on all mine, i also like a cold break in to hot break in till the engine is ready for road, i've never used addivtives in my oil and i've always used a straight weight Valvoline / Havoline only . my father used it in his stockcar in the 60's never spon a bearing or sezed a ring, at up and down RPM's from 3000 to 7200 for 50 to 100 laps. every thing i learned growing up was at the track, while everybody else started using the new multi function oils the 20/50 junk were losing bearings, because they were trying to run a tighter engine instead of a lose engine! durring builds we'd polish the bearings to make it a bit lose. , a real good broke in lose engine will last a lot longer, but i've never been a fan high detergent oils at all, perhaps if i were building newer style engines i'd have to change .

[MontanaDirtRoads]

I ran my break in oil for 500 miles then dropped it for royal purple 10-40(stock bottom end with a lot of miles and a lot of gofast stuff upstairs) in my 95 f150.i don't skimp on oil for any my rigs.I now use driven in my jeep and 95 f150, and mobile 1 in my newer stuff like the sequoia and my super crew f150.

[colemansrandomstuff]

I just put shell rotella 15w-40 in my 81 chevy pickup, runs good and has great oil pressure.

[jonathann]

I got a 351 Cleveland, Now A 408 Stroker Completely built from the top end.. not sure about the bottom end because I just bought it... Aluminum Heads/High Volume Oil Pump Sits Around 60PSI... Supposely it rated around 500HP... Just Finished the break in process. What type of Oil Should I put ? Anyone ? Please ?

[tonyisme]

My certified engine builder told me to stick with 10w40 for my daily driver motor in the southwest. So I'm using conventional 10w40 from Driven on my fresh rebuild after break in oil

[MrXerxes]

The most valuable engine oil on YouTube five stars

[luispest]

First…. Love the vids and your passing on your knowledge/findings/options. Second…. Gonna have to phone a fiend here…. Main clearance .003 tells me 10-40 or 15-40 and my Rod clearance .0026 tells me 5-30 or 10-30 This is on a old 460 now a 514, carbureted pulling a 78 F350 20, 000 miles or so (first half in AZ and TX and now in Florida). Which side do I lean more towards? More attention to the low or the high? I might be analyzing this way too much but there are many factors to consider. 10-40 sounds the closest to what I need with my variants but……. Watcha all think? 😉

[stuckinmygarage]

Good advice. Double break-in good idea, too. Key phrase for me: "cheap insurance".

[adrianrios]

I have a flat tappet 7.4 in my 1995 3500HD service truck and is always under load, Truck weighs 13, 000lbs. The book says 10w30, engine has 175k miles. I think I'm gonna go with 10w40 or 15w40 now lol

[robertbarnes]

What do you mean with the crankshaft clearances ? If you turn a crank undersize and then you use a bearing to make up that difference. Correct me if I am wrong but doesn’t your oil clearance end up the same whether you have stock sized journals or you have .020 undersized journals with the correct bearing to make up the difference,
From my own experience I have several, classic V8, carbureted, flat tappet littered engines, pre cat converter that I have ran for over 30 years on 20w50 valvoline racing oil with no bearing, ring, cam/lifter failure. That is what was the oil my machinist suggested I use so it has worked for me thus far. I also always add a bottle of STP as well. It works for my stuff, it’s affordable and readily available as well locally. I’m not doubting that this product your suggesting we look into isn’t good but why fix it, if it ain’t broke.

[Theutmode]

I use full synthetic 10w30 on my street performance flat tappet SBC. Runs great oil comes out crystal clean every oil change.

[davidcollis]

When you are saying 25 and 30 thousandths for engine clearances do you mean 2 and a half and 3 thousandths? 25 to 30 thousandths are HUGE numbers for bearing clearances which any engine would not function properly at for over a minute. I am rebuilding my engine in my 1987 Chevy P/U and I will soon be using 5 quarts of Driven break-in oil. I have used it on several of my rebuilds and it does what the company says it will do. Thanks and take care.

[pieroramacciato]

Driven Hot Rod oil has high zinc. I thought high zinc was only for break-in period. Have a 67 Mustang with 289. All original/stock. Stored in winter. Will Driven Hot Rod oil work for me? Your vids are well done and informative.

[BareRoseGarage]

Choose by Chemistry 1st, weight 2nd, that is golden advise brother. The biggest thing I get from people is "it costs more", but if you do the simple math @ a dollar more a quart, that's only about $5 to save you $5-10, 000-ish. Break-In Oil is so very important, but I have to pull my guarantee if it's not used, and the complaint is the cost & that its only good for 500 miles. Again, $50 (or so) to save you $5-10, 000, it just makes no sense.
They complain about the cost of the rebuild/build, and then want to put the least expensive, or "what I always use" oil in it. It just baffles me. Point in case: I live in a very rural farm/ranch area. Farmer/Ranchers here buy their Diesel Fleet oil in bulk for all their equipment. Its not uncommon at all to find Used Fords, Chevys, Dodges here with Plugged Cats, because they are changing their own oil with what they already have.
Damn good video, I'll definitely be sharing this for ya.

[kevin-jmqb]

Amazing video. Thank you for posting this technical video.

[einstein]

I have never heard of Driven oils until I started watching Lake Speed Jr.
It sounds like a great oil.
But my Dad and I have been Valvoline guys for as long as I've been alive. I'm 58 now
So I use the VR1 in my Chevelle.
Lake talks highly of that oil too.

[melodology-]

Any suggestions please, I just bought a used 06 Holden GTO (Ls1 v8 Chevy engine) with 70, 000 mile. The previous owner always uses a 20w 50 oil and he recommended me to use the same type. However I feel that this heavy viscosity will do more damage to the car. Any recommendations please on what viscosity or oil type should I use?

The car is not modified at all and will be used one hour a day conservatively. Our climate is always the same all around the 4 seasons (25C° in the early morning and 40C° at noon and around 35C° in the evening ) it is toooo hot and humid 🥵.

Please any suggestions, I'm really lost 🙄

[andretorben]

I saw top fuellers running straight 70 grade oil. If its good enough for them its good enough for me. I run it in my Mopar small block and never had an issue. Has great oil pressure.

[Ragingmarmot]

I have a 1970 Pontiac 400 engine in my 1974 Firebird Formula. No idea about bearing clearances etc. I am new to this. I feel like a third grader who stumbled into a college course on Astrophysics. Yikes. Just trying to figure out what is the best oil for my new classic car.