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2G New stroker oil suggestions

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Sam's GSX

5+ Year Contributor
394
54
Jun 10, 2018
Hohenwald, Tennessee
I'm positive this has been asked a hundred times, I just couldn't find my specific situation. I was hoping for an oil weight recommendation for my engine I'm about to drop in.
Here's the specs.

Machine shop did the bearing clearance to .0025
I checked twice with plastigauge.
Bs delete kit.
Oil squirters blocked off.
2.3 stroker.

This will be a dd, if anyone has a similar build, let me know what you're running, or if you need more information. thank you
 
Pick a random brand for breakin. 10W30
I personally add ZZDP additive to the first start and preoil the turbo chra. I would recommend you turn the car over (try to start) with out any ignition plugged in and no sparkplugs in, unplug the injectors too or pull the MPI fuse so NO FUEL. Turn it over for 10-15 seconds and wait. Let the starter cool. Repeat until you physically confirm oil pressure or the engine turns off the low oil light at a minimum.
Once oil pressure is achieved, install sparkplugs and connect coils/ptu/injectors and get ready for initial fire up. Check all fluids again, check for any leaks at this time.
If all is good, double check her all over and hook up your link computer and start a capture.
Try to start the car. If she fires off, immediately check for leaks and check OIL PRESSURE. Jot it down.
Set base timing to 5* BTDC.
Warm up and go thru varying rpms. If you feel good, drive it around the block and immediately come back. Check for leaks and temperatures. DO NOT OVERHEAT.
Run for 20 mins max, drain random oil and refill with new oil and filter, observing any particles in the breakin/start up oil. Address any issues before continuing.
If all is good, I refill with 10w30 and another ZZDP additive and drive for 300-500 miles under all conditions but no need for WOT stuff until the tune is correct, not too lean not too rich.
After this 3-500 mile second breakin, you can change to a heavier oil if you want. I DO NOT RECOMMEND SYNTHETIC until after 1000 miles in order for the motor to seal rings up and breakin. After that, its up to you. Lots of guys and gals run Valvoline 20W50 Racing oil and I do to.
If in doubt of anything, ask. It is critical during intial breakin for a long lasting engine.
My backporch, Saturn DOHC motor, has 31000 on its rebuild now, 2 years later.
I also have several 4g63s running around and running GOOD.
Sam, this is breakin procedure for all of my motors, Chevy, Ford, Mitsu, Saturn. I treat them all the same.
Pops
 
Wow, thanks so much for the information.
So why use standard weight oil for the break in? Is it easier on it?
Is that why you wouldn't want to use 20w50 off the bat?
 
Synthetic oil WILL NOT SEAL rings. Use good regular old dyno oil for this initial part of the motors LONG LIFE. You said its a DD. This will help it last.
Sam, I run the cheapest oil I can for the first start. Always run regular oil for 1k-5k then make the switch to synthetic and you are set.
Pops
I should put this in the tech section.....:)
Sorry man, I really didn't answer your question. The fact that you have a good bottom end clearance says there is no need for "thicker" oil to compensate for clearances. If you had larger clearances or the motor starts getting old, the heavier oil will of course keep the pressure up because of viscosity. :thumb:
 
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Ohhh, I just looked it up and it seems 20w50 is synthetic, I didn't know that, I figured it was regular oil.
ok sounds like a plan. So you would stick to 10w30 unless I need more oil pressure? (after break in of course)
 
During breakin. After that you can go to 10w40, 20w50 without issues. Just use the lighter oil for the 1st 2 breakins. The first 20 minutes and the next 300-500 miles. :)
NO SYNTHETICS until after 1000 or more for longevity. Then its fine
 
This is the ZZDP additive I was talking about. It is good for high thrust/wear surfaces (turbo thrust washer for example and crank thrust bearing surface). You don't have to use it and if you do, you don't have to use it after initial breakin.
It says to not use for breakin but I use it on every one of mine. If you built old school Small Block Chevys with BIG cams and valve springs then you would HAVE to use this stuff or the flat tappet cam would wear out.
4g63's dont have flat tappet cams so your good.
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Wow, thanks so much for the information.
So why use standard weight oil for the break in? Is it easier on it?
Is that why you wouldn't want to use 20w50 off the bat?

Cost. You're going to be draining your first three oil changes within about 100-500 miles of initial startup.

Also, synthetics tend to have many conditioners and additives that make break-in harder to achieve correctly with them, versus regular old cheap dinosaur oil.

first oil change comes after you start the vehicle up, let it get the temperature, confirm nothing leaks and you don't have any major problems. Set your idle, base timing etc now. Then you change oil and filter.

On the second oil change you started, let it get the temperature reconfirm everything's good, then go for a drive for about 25-50 miles, putting the engine under light load and vacuum to help seat the rings. Drain the oil and change the filter again.

Third oil changeyou do the same as the previous two, and put anywhere from 100 to 500 miles on the engine, once again putting it under load and vacuum, and probably doing some basic tuning to dial in AFRs, idle, or whatever tuning method you choose to do.

After the third oil change, drain the oil, change the filter, and fill with whatever oil you plan to use for the life of the engine.

Regular / cost effective oil and filters for the first break in process saves a good portion of money, and there's no reason to flush a bunch of synthetic oil down the drain basically.

Edit: apparently I didn't type this up fast enough, so many replies before mine hit, haha
 
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I agree with you Henry, always good to have more than one opinion for anything. I just saw that Sam hadn't had any response so I got busy ;)
 
Ohhh, I just looked it up and it seems 20w50 is synthetic, I didn't know that, I figured it was regular oil.
ok sounds like a plan. So you would stick to 10w30 unless I need more oil pressure? (after break in of course)
Sam, you can get non-synthetic 20W50. I use it too in my old 4x4 truck, so just read the labels on your oil to make sure to avoid synthetic for the break-in period.
If a motor has ANY leaks, synthetic will leak worse so make sure your engine is sealed up and you are happy with it before you make your switch down the line.
 
Oh ok, that's good, I'll probably try 10w40, if I need to switch to 20w50 I can, I personally like to stay away from synthetic anyway.
Thank you both for the help, I've noticed you two end up helping me a lot, I don't think the car would be where it's at without you guys, you're awesome!!
 
@ThunderChild and I are good friends and we ALL like to try and help out. I saw your post didn't have any replys so I made it a point to get you some information, just like he did!
You are always welcome!!
Pops
 
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