Considering Valvoline’s VR1 Racing for your Favorite Classic Driver?
In various forums and Facebook I see this one come up as the best choice for reliable ZDDP amounts. But it’s not just the wrong product, it doesn’t offer eye-opening overall performance. After all, isn’t that why you love to drive your car?
On the Surface
Just looking at the labels should simplify the decision.
One’s for racing and a non-synthetic while the many AMSOIL choices are formulated for the rigors of the street, storage, variances of performance and is a true synthetic thus can hold out well past the end of the oil change interval and increase your driving pleasure via that smoother crankshaft operation.
AMSOIL has racing oils which could also be a consideration but we steer the customer away because if it isn’t a dedicated track car it’s the wrong choice.
Inverse Additive Package
If your car does the following, a racing oil is the wrong choice:
- City traffic – Oil has to be blended for fuel dilution and oxidation from PCV.
- 50 or more starts and stops where the temperature dips below 60F (condensation and acids)
- Any length of storage – corrosion and rust inhibitors
- You want the seals to last more than a few years (seal swellers)
- Prevention and mitigation of deposits – Racing oils are not concerned with this especially non-synthetics.
- And two AMSOIL specifics – protection from heat (coolant loss for example) and a delightfully smooth running engine.
To qualify as a race oil “street” adequate additive packages are greatly limited because the focus is on the base oils to keep the engine together for the endurance of the time on the track. If you do need a race oil the last couple laps are where the AMSOIL racing oil makes all the difference by the way!! 🙂
So a racing oil as for the market goes simply means typical additive packages to promote long service life are limited and not needed!! Sure it will work in a passenger car but there are risks and long term consequences.
How I found and became a leading advocate of AMSOIL’s unique formulations?
I became an AMSOIL dealer back in 1997 because I was a true enthusiast for both vintage and the latest best handling club touring cars. I stumbled on AMSOIL based on a fellow Mazda club members advice using it in several cars both new and old. The first thing I noticed which was even more evident in my 64 Corvair van was just how smooth it cruised at 70 MPH. We also tested an average of 4 more HP in a Miata on a club dyno day. These finding were echoing what Hot Rod Magazine and Eric Buell found which was not just due to easier flow (due to the quality of base oils) but it’s resistance to sheer which was explained as holding the crank centered in the bearings over being thrust from side to side. Buell noted the change was first initiated because of cracks developing in the crankshafts. AMSOIL halted this.
Just as hundreds of my customers have said, I again experienced the difference in my 2013 Volvo C30. That same noticeable throttle response improvement and this impressive smoothness just from switching brands.
ALL AMSOIL oils are made for high mileage engines. To not do so is really fraud. Why would you limit an additive package to not be a high mileage oil which prevents deposits? Because they have stock holders who come before the customer.
Several high zinc choices available via the AMSOIL brand.
- ZROD 10W-30 High Zinc for passenger cars (Product: ZRT)
- ZROD 20W-50 High Zinc for passenger cars (Product ZRF)
- Premium Protection 10W-40 Amsoil’s 1st product – all purpose for diesel, gas and motorcycle (Product AMO)
- Premium Protection 20W-50Â – all purpose for diesel, gas and motorcycle (Product ARO)
- Heavy Duty Diesel 5W-30 for gasoline engines too – Long life formulation (Product HDD). Excellent for abused engines which need cleaning. And in cold climates.
- Diesel & Marine 15W-40 – a fleet product for pre 2007 vehicles but being replaced by newer products. (Product AME)
- Signature Series 5W-50 Max-Duty Diesel – new formulation to replace the need for high zinc adding 6X the wear protection of previous technology. This one can replace them all. (Product ADN)
- All of the AMSOIL Racing oils
AMSOIL’s latest diesel formulations have achieved wear resistance without considerable amounts of ZDDP. Technology is always at it’s peak at the Wisconsin lubricant company thus 50% of all wind-turbine gear boxes has adopted their products as well as several firms such as Siemens using it as a factory fill.
As I was finishing this article I noticed Valviline’s VR1’s racing oil only had 4 reviews while AMSOIL’s ZRT 10W-30 had 163 reviews.
