I used to run Royal Purple in my turbo Mr2 back in the days. This was when the stuff first came out. I was regularly tracking that car, every week actually. I lived really close to MidAMerica Motorplex at the time and membership was cheap. Every Tuesday was test n tune nights. I would be out there from 3-7 pm, every Tuesday, every week, every month, for about 2 years. This didn't include the road trips to track days out in Heartland Park or LVMS. . I never had any issues with that motor or Royal Purple oil. Im not a RP fanboy, actually I don't even use it anymore but all Im saying is your case was likely a freak mishap, I doubt it was due to the oil.

 

This is entirely possible, I realize. But, it is what happened to me that day so I've never used the stuff again.

 

Heres the document straight from FP who actually tested all the oils available

http://store.forcedperformance.net/m...otor%20Oil.pdf

Cliff notes are Dont use mobil 1. Use Brad Penn, Joe Gibbs, Amsoil Dominator racing oil, Royal Purple or valvoline racing oil

 

So what is the verdict? Is BP safe with e85?

 

Bliggity blam.

 

The above is FP's approved oil list for their Proprietary Journal Bearing Design Stock Frame Turbos. This bearing design uses dissimilar metals that need the high doses of ZDDP


It doesn't mean **** otherwise. Any person or "COMPANY" trying to tell you differently is a damn fool

 

I've been running BP 20/50 for almost 2 years in my car had it on ethanol since the day it saw 45lbs..... guess i've been doing it wrong.......

 

And yet its interesting when I did a UOA on Valvoline racing oil it came back with much lower zinc/phos than I had thought. Ive seen a few UOAs come back like that from Valvoline racing oil, which I find odd as it is on FPs list of oils that are supposed to be a high zinc oil.

 

RP didn't cause a spun bearing. Coincidences happen. I've experienced quite a few of my own.

The Cliff Notes are GF-4 oils are unsuitable for specific situations that require high EP additive content. It's worth taking the time to gain an understanding of what that means and where it applies.

GF-5 oils are formulated to withstand the abuse of alcohol rich fuels over the long haul. Brad Penn's engineers know this. Every oil engineer knows this. Wherever in doubt about a certain product, inquire.

 

What about SL, SM, or SN API oils? Do any of these types handle E85 better than the other?

never mind, I found this...

http://www.api.org/certifications/en...010_120210.pdf

 

a resounding yes. its the best. I personally use 15/40. I can barely wait for proper water temp before getting on it. no way I can wait for proper oil temps. so I use the thinner grade to be safe.

 

Bingo.

GF-5/SN oils resolve two serious problems that have appeared since E85 became available:

(1) Corrosion/rust due to higher acid content

(2) Phase separation, due to the fact that unlike gasoline, alcohol and oil are immiscible

Both of these problems, as well as the gumming/deposit reports that may occur as a result, are noted as real world observations in the warning from Brad Penn engineers. I do not know if a conventional oil like Brad Penn is more susceptible, but I would apply the same warning by default to any oil that is not formulated to address ethanol fuels. The majors went GF-5/SN in 2011. As for the independents, again, one will need to inquire.

 

Thanks for this info. I wasn't aware that some motor oils are not suitable for ethanol use.

I tend to prefer oils with high zddp content but from the research I have done it seems that high zddp and sn are mutually exclusive. I read they have been working to reduce zddp in mainstream motor oils for emmisisons reasons.

 

Many of us weren't aware of ethanol incompatibilities initially. It poses yet another requirement, but unless I was running an FP turbo with steel/steel bearing, I would prioritize GF-5/SN over ZDDP where E85 is the primary fuel. That being said, several easily obtainable oils with both API SN certification and at least 1000ppm ZDDP include:

Mobil 1
0w-40 (1000)
Racing 4T 10w-40 (1200)
15w-50 (1200)

Amsoil does not state its ILSAC or API designations online, so we'll have to get clarification from a dealer.

Royal Purple's flagship oils are API SN, while the HPS and XPR series oils feature elevated ZDDP. I do not know which (if any) series satisfies both criteria.

There are almost certainly others.

 

Right we have had a free ride for years in how we could manufacture oils, those days are over with the big regulations clouding over us. While these new oil technologies are great for the main stream folks for us in the high performance world it bring some issues that may not be seen right away but with time they can pop up.

The neat thig is that anti wear additives are morphing and the use of ZDDP in the SN rating oils will be less and new S rated oils will be comming to a store near you , while this is good for the tree hugger it may not be so good of us in the performance world. Oh and keep an eye out for the new 0W16 oil.

Some motors are more sensitive than other for some reason, I am working on a 525 inboard Mercury motor, this motor of course is designed for racing marine applications but for some reason it does not like the up to 10% ethanol in gas, you can't always find pure pump gas when you are traveling all over the nation, so we end up using an additive in the tanks.


Any open minded people who want to keep up with what is going in the lubricant industry stay plugged with:
http://www.pqiamerica.com