The Top DSM Community on the Web

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. Log in to remove most ads.

Please Support ExtremePSI
Please Support ExtremePSI

Motor Oils with High ZDDP (Zinc dialkyldithiophosphate)

This site may earn a commission from merchant
affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

I ran across this article, and while we don't usually need the high zinc content, it is GOOD information for high load and flat tappet applications like I deal with on other motor rebuilds.
ZDDP OIL LIST

Please note that the information here came from the http://www.sccoa.com forums ad was compiled in 2015 and reposted from a now dead site by 20psiofevil. SO, that said, do your OWN research. Data sheets are available from the major manufacturers.

Racing Oils

10W30 Lucas Racing Only synthetic = 106,505 psi
zinc = 2642 ppm
phos = 3489 ppm
ZDDP= 3000 ppm
NOTE: This oil is suitable for short term racing use only, and is not suitable for street use.

10W30 Valvoline NSL (Not Street Legal) Conventional Racing Oil = 103,846 psi
zinc = 1669 ppm
phos = 1518 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
NOTE: Due to its very low TBN value, this oil is only suitable for short term racing use, and is not suitable for street use.

30 wt Red Line Race Oil synthetic = 96,470 psi
zinc = 2207 ppm
phos = 2052 ppm
ZDDP = 2100 ppm
NOTE: This oil is suitable for short term racing use only, and is not suitable for street use.



10W30 & 20W50 Valvoline VR1 Conventional Racing Oil (silver bottle) = 103,505 psi
zinc = 1472 ppm
phos = 1544 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm

15W40 CHEVRON DELO 400LE Diesel Oil, conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CH-4, CF-4,CF/SM, = 73,520 psi
zinc = 1519 ppm
phos = 1139 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm
15W40 MOBIL DELVAC 1300 SUPER Diesel Oil conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CI-4, CH-4/SM, SL = 73,300 psi
zinc = 1297 ppm
phos = 1944 ppm
ZDDP = 1600 ppm

15W40 Farm Rated Heavy Duty Performance Diesel, CI-4, CH-4, CG-4, CF/SL, SJ (conventional) = 73,176 psi
zinc = 1325ppm
phos = 1234 ppm
ZDDP = 1200 ppm

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

15W40 “OLD” SHELL ROTELLA T Diesel Oil conventional, API CI-4 PLUS, CI-4, CH-4,CG-4,CF-4,CF,SL, SJ, SH = 71,214 psi
zinc = 1171 ppm
phos = 1186 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

15W40 LUCAS MAGNUM Diesel Oil, conventional, API CI-4,CH-4, CG-4, CF-4, CF/SL = 66,476 psi
zinc = 1441 ppm
phos = 1234 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm
10W40 Valvoline 4 Stroke Motorcycle Oil conventional, API SJ = 65,553 psi
zinc = 1154 ppm
phos = 1075 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

10W30 Lucas Hot Rod & Classic Hi-Performance Oil, conventional = 62,538 psi
zinc = 2116 ppm
phos = 1855 ppm
ZDDP = 1900 ppm

10W40 Torco TR-1 Racing Oil with MPZ conventional = 59,905 psi
zinc = 1456 ppm
phos = 1150 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm



FULL or partial synthetic Oils

10W30 Valvoline VR1 Synthetic Racing Oil, API SL (black bottle) = 101,139 psi
zinc = 1180 ppm
phos = 1112 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

10W30 Amsoil Z-Rod Oil synthetic = 95,360 psi
zinc = 1431 ppm
phos = 1441 ppm
ZDDP = 1400 ppm

10W30 Quaker State Defy, API SL semi-synthetic = 90,226 psi
zinc = 1221 ppm
phos = 955 ppm
ZDDP = 1000 ppm

10W30 Joe Gibbs HR4 Hotrod Oil synthetic = 86,270 psi
zinc = 1247 ppm
phos = 1137 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

15W40 RED LINE Diesel Oil synthetic, API CJ-4/CI-4 PLUS/CI-4/CF/CH-4/CF-4/SM/SL/SH/EO-O = 85,663 psi
zinc = 1615 ppm
phos = 1551 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm

5W30 Lucas API SM synthetic = 76,584 psi
zinc = 1134 ppm
phos = 666 ppm
ZDDP = 900 ppm

5W50 Castrol Edge with Syntec API SN, synthetic, formerly Castrol Syntec, black bottle = 75,409 psi
zinc = 1252 ppm
phos = 1197 ppm
ZDDP = 1200 ppm

5W30 Royal Purple XPR (Extreme Performance Racing) synthetic = 74,860 psi
zinc = 1421 ppm
phos = 1338 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm

5W40 MOBIL 1 TURBO DIESEL TRUCK synthetic, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CI-4, CH-4 and ACEA E7 = 74,312 psi
zinc = 1211 ppm
phos = 1168 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

15W40 CHEVRON DELO 400LE Diesel Oil, conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CH-4, CF-4,CF/SM, = 73,520 psi
zinc = 1519 ppm
phos = 1139 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm

15W40 MOBIL DELVAC 1300 SUPER Diesel Oil conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CI-4, CH-4/SM, SL = 73,300 psi
zinc = 1297 ppm
phos = 1944 ppm
ZDDP = 1600 ppm

15W40 Farm Rated Heavy Duty Performance Diesel, CI-4, CH-4, CG-4, CF/SL, SJ (conventional) = 73,176 psi
zinc = 1325ppm
phos = 1234 ppm
ZDDP = 1200 ppm


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

18. 0W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 (semi-synthetic) = 71,377 psi
zinc = 1621 ppm
phos = 1437 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm

15W40 “OLD” SHELL ROTELLA T Diesel Oil conventional, API CI-4 PLUS, CI-4, CH-4,CG-4,CF-4,CF,SL, SJ, SH = 71,214 psi
zinc = 1171 ppm
phos = 1186 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

10W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 (semi-synthetic) = 71,206 psi
zinc = 1557 ppm
phos = 1651 ppm
ZDDP = 1600 ppm

15W50 Mobil 1, API SN synthetic = 70,235 psi
zinc = 1133 ppm
phos = 1,168 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm

10W40 Edelbrock synthetic = 68,603 psi
zinc = 1193 ppm
phos = 1146 ppm
ZDDP = 100 ppm

10W30 Royal Purple HPS (High Performance Street) synthetic = 66,211 psi
zinc = 1774 ppm
phos = 1347 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm

5W30 Klotz Estorlin Racing Oil, API SL synthetic = 64,175 psi
zinc = 1765 ppm
phos = 2468 ppm
ZDDP = 2100 ppm





Break in oil

10W30 Comp Cams Break-In Oil conventional = 51,749 psi
zinc = 3004 ppm
phos = 2613 ppm
ZDDP = 2800 ppm

30wt Lucas Break-In Oil conventional = 49,455 psi
zinc = 4483 ppm
phos = 3660 ppm
ZDDP = 4000 ppm


Marty
 
Thanks for the additional information Josh! :thumb:
The 4g motors don't really need high ZZDP but the other projects that I work on mostly do, and if anyone has ever had a lobe on a cam go FLAT then they understand the work to repair it, since modern oils have reduced or eliminated it from their formulas.
 
I have attached a spreadsheet of my own making of oils in the 0w40-5w50 range with as much info as I can find on them. Hopefully it's useful to people. I have marked out the best and worst "performance" figures in various shades of red or green, the darker the worse or better respectively. Obviously oil is application specific, so don't just pick the one without understanding what the numbers mean.

I've only included oils that would be considered "fully synthetic" even though the definitions are weird now and they can include some Group III GTL or heavily hydrotreated base stocks.

Also as a side note, the "film strength" psi number on the list above is not really relevant in an internal combustion engine. Also, if the data is from 2015, probably a lot of those oils have been reformulated by now.
 

Attachments

  • Oil.pdf
    50.1 KB · Views: 124
Last edited:
Thanks for the additional info! :thumb:
Although it has been 7 years, I can't see the oil manufacturers doing anything to "fix" the problem of using modern oils in older cars which is why this was kind of geared towards cars even older than ours are.
I do a lot of engine work and if you aren't good about your choice of break in oil/additives, you end up doing more work when the old machinery is wanting the zinc and phosphorous that is now missing. It is only during the break in period that these are necessary, but in those first 15 minutes or so, it is critical.
 
Thanks for the additional info! :thumb:
Although it has been 7 years, I can't see the oil manufacturers doing anything to "fix" the problem of using modern oils in older cars which is why this was kind of geared towards cars even older than ours are.
I do a lot of engine work and if you aren't good about your choice of break in oil/additives, you end up doing more work when the old machinery is wanting the zinc and phosphorous that is now missing. It is only during the break in period that these are necessary, but in those first 15 minutes or so, it is critical.
You're correct in one sense, but they are developing additive technologies to try and replace the boundary layer anti-wear of ZDDP, which is why you see moly and boron levels are typically elevated in modern street car oils. Also, there are plenty of boutique oil manufacturers that still make oil with plenty of ZDDP in it! Redline, HPL, Amsoil, and Motul all make oils formulated for hard use engines that don't have to worry about emissions requirements or poisoning the cats. You can add a quart of Redline racing oil to basically any other oil and really have a great add pack. I know we're getting a little off in the weeds for the purpose of the original post, but there's a lot of interesting technology in some of the top tier oils that people often overlook because they're too focused on the weight or ZDDP PPM number, or some other thing that someone told them was important. HPL, for instance, is one of the only stateside companies that uses alkylated naphthalenes as part of their base mixture in some of their oils, a base which has some really great properties, but is very expensive! I think anyone who takes the time and money to build an engine should really look into putting some quality oil in it!
These additives are especially important during break in, correct, because ZDDP plates the surface of metal once it gets to temperature. Entropy comes for us all though, and if you continually use an oil with a very low amount of ZDDP, there will eventually no longer be that boundary layer. Same goes for molybdenum. Sometimes engine longevity is opposed to emissions and efficiency, which is what regulations are becoming more and more strict on!
Break in oil is another animal for sure, and also highly misunderstood.
 
I went with Lucas 30wt Break in Oil for our 400 SBC and then swapped to their 20w50 Break in Oil. I am VERY pleased to say that I am 99% sure I got the cam broken in and on those old engines I tell customers to use a ZZDP additive like THIS in their oil changes as apposed to changing out a flat tappet cam (which is where most of this stuff is needed). The first time I ever had one go flat was back around 2010, but I hadn't built an old school motor for quite a few years, most of what I did was all roller stuff. That situation was not fun at all, tearing down a V8 to change out the cam. :f-u:
Funny thing, about a year ago, I found that Rislone ZDDP additive (from above) for $6 something A CASE (obvious mistake on Amazon) and I bought 5 cases of it, as I do a lot of older flat tappet rebuilds.
Just this week, my son and I were watching Nick from "Nicks Garage" on YouTube when he was mentioning breaking in a cam on a 400 SBC on one of his videos and he said he added Zinc to the oil just for the purpose of breaking in the cam. It was the same thing that I did (he must have seen MY video's......JK, but he is about my age).
I would like to see some of that modern tech information to read up on and see if it is being formulated to battle the dreaded flat lobe syndrome. :thumb:
Marty

Edit: HERE is that 400 small block on its shakedown at our track with the incar camera view.
 
Last edited:
You are doing it the correct way for sure, using break in oil and additional ZDDP to break in a flat tappet. Ideally every engine should be broken in on non-detergent non-synthetic break-in oil. Liquimoly also has a very good ZDDP additive if you run out of that stuff. Most of the information I've read over the years has come from searching the internet for either specific base oil information (PAO, mPAO, Polyol Ester, Alkylated Napthalene), a specific additive (ZDDP or molybdenum) or by reading through the articles on www.bobistheoilguy.com. Lots of good info out there.

Also as a side note, ethanol fuels will leech ZDDP out of the oil and into the crankcase vapors, so it's even more important to have a good amount in cars fueled with ethanol (and/or have your catch can drain back into the crankcase).
 
I ran across Castrols CLASSIC Car Motor Oil and bought 5 jugs.
This is a brand that I did not list at the beginning of this thread.
Marty
You must be logged in to view this image or video.
 
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community
Boosted Fabrication ECM Tuning ExtremePSI Fuel Injector Clinic Innovation Products Jacks Transmissions JNZ Tuning Kiggly Racing Morrison Fabrications MyMitsubishiStore.com RixRacing RockAuto RTM Racing STM Tuned

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top