Brad Penn Oil and the ZDDP Debate

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by wfbronson

I recommend the original furmula Kendal Racing Oil that is available only from specialty racing suppliers. It is not available on the shelf of your typical retail auto parts store.

Recently had an amazing experience to prove the value of this stuff. Five years ago I had put this oil in my rebuilt side oiler and pumped the oil through the engine by turning the oil pump drive with an electric drill. This was done with the anticipation that I would not be able to use the motor for a few years, so I sealed it in a crate and stored it in my garage.

Last month I decided to uncrate it, change the oil and circulate it before going any further. I bought some oil from my local auto supplier and proceded to remove the valve covers and inspect the condition of things. When I saw the incredible clean condition and this Kendal oil still sticking to all the parts, I kept the same oil in the motor and just changed the filter and pumped the oil through again. I refused to put any of this new low quality oil in my side oiler until I could find the original stuff.

Why are you repeating this post #34 and not replying to my post #39? And which is it-3 years ago or 5 years ago?

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Why are you repeating this post #34 and not replying to my post #39? And which is it-3 years ago or 5 years ago?

Because it was an "amazing experience" it bears repeating.

[ERA Chas]

:lol::lol::lol:

[Cobra 29]

Patrickt,

I ordered a case of 15-40w from the Oil Warehouse today. They confirmed that their stock of Brad Penn oils was from the revised formula (changed in 2008) with the appropriate levels of zinc (1500ppm) and phosphorus (1400 ppm) for a flat tappet cam. They communicated that they sell a lot of the Brad Penn oils for flat tappet cam motors.

Short of sending some of this new oil to be tested for zinc and phosphorus levels, is there an API specification rating on the product that I should be looking for? From some of the forum contributions, I understand that a rating like SE might provide the appropriate levels of zinc and phosphorus but a rating like SJ or SM would not. Are there specific API ratings we should be looking for to get the prevent appropriate levels of zinc and phosphorus? Does a specific rating guarantee these levels or that the specific rating does not prevent higher levels of zinc and phosphorus (meaning that you need to review the product specifications)?

Dave

[patrickt]

Dave, I'm pretty sure that the zinc and phos limitations for the API certifications for, say, SM rated oil do not apply to 15w-40 oil (and they don't apply to 20w-50 oil either). So the short answer is that there is probably nothing on the label to look for, other than something like "Resource Conserving," to really scare you off. That's one of the problems with this ZDDP thing and why I posted that letter at the top of this thread. If it's Brad Penn (even the old Brad Penn) it has the ZDDP that you need. Now you could send a sample off to Blackstone Labs who will check it for $25, but be advised that there are reports that some of their results to tend to be on the "low end" of the scale. That letter that I posted gave me a lot of comfort. It essentially said "We know our market is aimed at guys that want high ZDDP levels. That's exactly what we're going to give you. And we're not going to get on board with an oil certification that limits our ability to do just that."