Need Oil?

[jetenginedoctor]

I won't dispute that in very EXTREME cases that what you're saying is true. What I'm disputing here, is that you're preaching that everyone run racing oil and drain the sump every 500 miles. THAT, I think is not only a waste, but it's pretty irresponsible.

How many people do you think that are building Cobra replicas (or any other street driven hot-rod for that matter) are building engines that legitimately NEED race oil and 500 mile drain intervals? I would say that anyone putting together engines with cam lobes that aggressive and spring pressures that high and putting them in street cars makes about as much sense as bolting a space shuttle solid rocket booster to a commuter airliner. YES, in a TRUE RACING ENGINE, you need to use a race only oil, and when using alcohol or other corrosive fuels, you've GOT to drain the sump frequently to prevent internal engine damage. But these same engines seldom idle under 2000 RPM, are bolted to stall converters far too loose to drive on the street and/or clutches that are on-off switch binary in operation. How many do I see in cars that are driven on the street? Almost none. The handful of folks I've seen with this type of engine in a "street car" quickly detune the things or change engines in order to make the car livable in the street.

I've had a good number of my customers buy Cup engines and then detune them with milder cams and lighter valvesprings to make them live longer and give them some semblance of drivability. Again, these are RACECAR customers, not street car customers. Only the hardest of the hardcore would want or need something like that in a street car. Frankly, I don't think that most Cobra enthusiasts (or any any other model/maker for that matter) are willing to live with the headaches of a true racecar engine on the street.

YMMV

Anyway, I can't stop you from preaching to people to waste money with race oil and weekly oil changes. At least I can rest well knowing I didn't let you do so unchallenged.

BK