I just got a bottle of lucas oil additive to help protect my flat tappet cam how much of it do I use? Its the break in additive.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/luc-10063-1

 

I use Edelbrocks additive and use a half bottle with each 5000 mile oil change. No wear in 3 of my flat tappet cars and all 3 have aftermarket high lift cams.

You would be fine using the same half bottle of lucas each change.

 

I highly recommend you look into 540Rat's oil analysis page and draw your own conclusions.

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/201...-test-ranking/

Everyone has a vested interest in telling you what you use or they are laypeople. Rarely is anyone truly qualified as an engineer both mechanical engineering and chemical engineering enough to really make a call on this. The stuff we use today is plenty good 99 percent of the time, but we are hot rodders, using outdated technology being pushed to the absolute limits of modern demands. We are the 1 percent that invite failures and we are a limited market and the research and testing to appease us isnt really worth it.

Be careful who you listen to, be careful who you trust, and at the end of the day, this is just a decision you're going to have to make yourself. I can tell you what I think all day long, but at the end of the day, it's still a crapshoot because it's a flat tappet cam and there are more variables than ZDDP, or oil, or engine setup, or lobe choice, and so on and so forth.

I run Amsoil Z-Rod, but that's just because it's a 10w-30, synthetic, high ZDDP oil that is meant for regular oil change intervals. TO my knowledge it's the only such oil that exists that meets all those critera. But you may want something different, and even the cam companies are scared to death of synthetic oil, because they're not really chemical engineers either.

 

Thanks for input. I have always just used valvoline durablend 10w 40 for years with no problems. I recently was using mobile1 high mileage as I saw it had ZDDP in it. I was never really concerned with it till I started reading it wasn't in the oil anymore. Oh well if it craps out just gives me a reason for a rebuild using a roller..

 

Yipes
According to that blog the edelbrock stuff is less than worthless and can actually cause increased wear.

I will continue using the case I bought and report back if there are any future cam issues.

 

Wow rotella T new formula did well in the high zinc category. I will probably keep using it. Also $13 per gallon is nice.

17. 15W40 “NEW” SHELL ROTELLA T Diesel Oil conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CH-4, CF-4,CF/SM = 72,022 psi
zinc = 1454 ppm
phos = 1062 ppm
ZDDP = 1200 ppm

 

I use mobile1 with a half of bottle of lucas break in additive at every oil change on all 3 of my flat tappet cammed engines.

 

Once your engine is broken in, switch to Redline, then you won't need additive. That's what I did with my '56 vette after rebuilding the engine. It's made here in CA too!

 

72,000 psi in the master list is pretty mediocre. IT's number 104 out of 151. In fact the bottom of that list is full of high zinc oils with awful wear protection. Proof that zinc and phos by itself dont actually prove very much. Knowing how that list shakes out, I'd be pretty nervous using that Rotella. My Z-Rod oil rates at 95,000 psi. Thats over a 20 percent increase in wear protection.

This is all, of course, assuming you trust his testing methodology and the relevance of it. I tend to.