engine and drivetrain oil advice ?

[mikea]

maybe this has been flogged to death on here already

I am dropping in newly rebuilt engine in my '74 2002 carb.

anyone want to weigh in on which oil I should use?

synthetic?

ZDDP issues?

oil change intervals?

thanks

Mike

Berkeley CA

[c.d.iesel]

20w/50

15w/50 year round

the brand is your choice

...and from the BMW owners handbook

[mikea]

thanks

what about reduced ZDDP additives in modern formulations?

is this an issue for older engine designs?

[John_in_VA]

(nt)

[jrhone]

maybe this has been flogged to death on here already

I am dropping in newly rebuilt engine in my '74 2002 carb.

anyone want to weigh in on which oil I should use?

synthetic?

ZDDP issues?

oil change intervals?

thanks

Mike

Berkeley CA

Best thing for 2002s...Dino, 20w-50, change every 3000 miles or 3 months. I suggest Valvoline VR-1 Racing 20/50 it has zinc for older engines. Brad Penn also makes a racing oil with zinc. Valvoline also makes a synthetic 20/50 racing oil with zinc as well. In my opinion it may not be worth the extra money if you change at 3000 mile or 3 month intervals. I know oils can go longer but the oil is cheap and its easy to do.

[Miked2002]

Use a good break-in oil first to seat the rings. Then a straight 30 weight. Then a good multi-weight.

Here's what I did for my 73tii after it's rebuild last year:

Amsoil Break-in oil: Initial start up, run the oil for only 50 miles. Change oil and filter. Your rings are silding past sharp cylinder walls and cutting them to seat properly.

Amsoil break-in oil again for the next 500 miles. Change oil and filter.

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/brk.aspx

Castrol 30 weight, No multi-grade oil yet! Run this for 1,000 miles. Change oil and filter.

Casterol 30 weight again for another 2,000 miles. Change oil and filter.

Then run Amsoil Z-ROD 20W-50 Synthetic Motor Oil (ZRF) from then on. It's great oil and formulated for classic and high performance engines. Regular oil and filter changes every 3,000 miles.

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/zrf.aspx

Don't baby your engine during the break-in period but don't over rev it either. A variety of driving conditions and revs to seat the rings properly. If you baby it, the rings will never seat properly and you'll burn oil.

Best of luck with your new engine. Send photos.

[TobyB]

I use a zddp additive on new cams and they don't wipe.

The one time I didn't, it wiped itself.

Anything with a starburst on it will not have much zddp.

t