Vinscully50

I know there is a ton of debate on whether a well worn Flat Tappet cam needs an oil with high zinc. Some people some after break in it doesn't matter and they have used low zinc off the shelf oils for years. While others say they wipped their 200K+ mile cam after using an oil with only 600 ppm of Zinc.

I have noticed that my car tends to run quieter when using a zinc additive. For a few years I used Valvoline Max Life both the blend and full synthetic with a zinc additive (typically Rislone). I read on BobistheOil guy that Mobil 1 10W40 has 1100 PPM but after emailing Mobil 1 then changed it to comply with federal regulations in 2017. So it only has about 800-900 PPM. (Which I did use with a zinc additive).

They recommended their Mobil 1 0w-40 European Formula. It's meant for high performance Porsche and Mercedes whose modern high performance motors still like slightly higher zinc as an anti-wear. It also has tons of Boron which is great for quieting noisy value trains! It has 1100 ppm of Zinc and 1000 ppm of phosphorus (give or take slightly higher or lower based on VOAs). Which is great for flat tappet cams!

I'm on my second OTC with it. Out of any oil I've tried in my LB9 305, this works the best. It makes the idle super quiet and I feel it has a little more pep. After around 4000 miles, I'm never down a quart at all. Also it's usually still gold after around 2000 miles (not that oil color means anything).

So if you have a 1986 or older car with a flat tappet cam and your rear main seal has been replaced, I recommend using it.