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Ask AMSOIL: Should I Use Racing Oil in my Daily Driver?

Written by Charleen

I Drive Aggressive: Is Racing Oil a better choice for my Daily Driver?

Motorists who are passionate about engine protection and performance can easily succumb to the following line of reasoning:

1) Racing engines are more severe than my engine.

2) Racing engines use racing oil.

3) Therefore, I should use racing oil in my vehicle for best protection.

It’s true that the average racing engine creates operating conditions more severe than the average passenger car engine. However, that’s not to say that modern engines aren’t tough on oil, too.

Increased heat and stress

The turbocharged, direct-injection engines in modern vehicles generate increased heat and contaminants compared to their predecessors. Motor oil bears the brunt of the added stress. That’s why industry motor-oil specifications keep growing tougher and automakers are increasingly recommending synthetic oils to meet these strict performance specs.

Racing creates tougher operating conditions

Racing, however, is a whole different animal. The powerful, modified engines in racing vehicles produce extreme heat and pressures beyond the capabilities of the average car or truck. A 900-hp Pro 4×4 off-road racing truck can produce engine temperatures of more than 300ºF (149ºC). Engine temperatures in a typical passenger car/light truck fall somewhere between 195ºF and 220ºF (90ºC – 104ºC). The difference is even more striking when you consider that the rate of motor oil oxidation (chemical breakdown) doubles for every 18ºF (10ºC) increase in oil temperature.

The tremendous shearing forces the oil bears as it’s squeezed between the interfaces of the pistons/rings and cam lobes/lifters pose another problem. The pressure can tear apart the molecular structure of the oil, reducing its viscosity and film strength.

Racing oil must be formulated differently to protect these demanding engines. Even so, it doesn’t mean you should order a case of AMSOIL DOMINATOR® Synthetic Racing Oil for your car.

Racing oils are changed more frequently

Why? For starters, racing oils are changed frequently. Most professionals change oil every couple races, if not more frequently. For that reason, racing oils are formulated with a lower total base number (TBN) than passenger car motor oils. TBN is a measure of the oil’s detergency properties and its ability to neutralize acidic byproducts. Oils with longer drain intervals have higher TBNs. AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil features a TBN of 12.5 to enable its 25,000-mile/one-year drain interval. In contrast, DOMINATOR Synthetic Racing Oil has a TBN of 8 since it should be changed more frequently. As great as it performs on the track, DOMINATOR is not what you want in your engine when you’re driving thousands of miles and several months between oil changes.

Second, you want to use an oil in your daily driver that excels in several performance areas:

  • Wear protection
  • Long oil life
  • Maximum fuel economy
  • Engine cleanliness
  • Corrosion protection
  • Oxidation resistance
  • Easy cold-temp starts

Motor oil additives produce many of these benefits. For example, anti-oxidant additives fight high heat and extend oil service life. Anti-wear additives interact with the metal surfaces of engine parts and guard against metal-to-metal contact. Many additives form layers on metal surfaces. That being the case, they compete for space, so to speak.

Racing oils use different additives

Racing oils are often formulated with a heavy dose of friction modifiers to add lubricity for maximum horsepower and torque. The boosted level of additives meant to increase protection and performance during a race doesn’t leave room in the formulation for additives found in passenger car motor oils that help maximize fuel economy, fight corrosion or improve cold-weather protection.

Achieving the tasks of a passenger car motor oil requires a finely balanced formulation. Too much or too little performance in one area can negatively affect other areas – and the oil’s overall protection and performance. The list of tasks required of a racing oil, however, is much shorter.

The right tool for the right job is an axiom with which most are familiar. The same holds for motor oil. It’s best to leave racing oil to competition engines and use a properly formulated passenger car motor oil for your daily vehicle.

To find the right oil for your vehicle, use the AMSOIL Product Guide.

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Racing Oil vs. Regular Oil: What’s the Difference?

Written by Charleen

Why not use Racing Oil in my Car If It’s Tougher?

John Baker|

When deciding if racing oil is right for their vehicles, gearheads and other enthusiasts sometimes offer this line of reasoning:

  1. Racing engines are more severe than my engine
  2. Racing engines use racing oil
  3. Therefore, I should use racing oil in my vehicle for best protection

It’s true that your average racing engine creates operating conditions more severe than the average passenger car engine.

However, that’s not to say that modern engines aren’t tough on oil.

The turbocharged, direct-injection engines in modern vehicles generate increased heat and contaminants compared to their predecessors. Motor oil bears the brunt of the added stress.

That’s why industry motor-oil specifications keep growing tougher and automakers are increasingly recommending synthetic oils to meet these strict performance specs.

Scott Douglas AMSOIL racing truck

Scott Douglas AMSOIL race truck

Should I use racing oil in my car?

Racing, however, is a whole different animal.

The powerful, modified engines in racing vehicles produce extreme heat and pressures your average car or truck simply will never see.

A 900-hp Pro 4×4 race truck can produce engine temperatures in excess of 300ºF (149ºC). Engine temperatures in a typical passenger car/light truck fall somewhere between 195ºF and 220ºF (90ºC – 104ºC).

The difference is even more striking when you consider that the rate of motor oil oxidation (chemical breakdown) doubles for every 18ºF (10ºC) increase in oil temperature.

The tremendous shearing forces the oil bears as it’s squeezed between the interfaces of the pistons/rings and cam lobes/lifters pose another problem. The pressure can tear apart the molecular structure of the oil, reducing its viscosity and film strength.

Racing oil has to be formulated differently to protect these demanding engines. Even so, it doesn’t mean you should order a case of AMSOIL DOMINATOR®  10w-30 Synthetic Racing Oil for your car.

DOMINATOR® 15W-50 Racing Oil
Buy AMSOIL Synthetic Racing Oil

Racing oil is changed more often

So, why not use racing oil in your daily driver? For starters, racing oils are changed frequently.

Most professionals change oil every couple races, if not more frequently. For that reason, racing oils are formulated with a lower total base number (TBN) than passenger car motor oils.

TBN is a measure of the oil’s detergency properties and its ability to neutralize acidic byproducts. Oils with longer drain intervals have higher TBNs.

AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil features a TBN of 12.5 to enable its 25,000-mile/one-year drain interval.

In contrast, DOMINATOR Synthetic Racing Oil has a TBN of 8 since we recommend changing it more often. As great as it performs on the track, DOMINATOR is not what you want in your engine when you’re driving thousands of miles and several months between oil changes.

Regular motor oil is designed to provide additional benefits

You also want to use an oil in your daily driver that excels in several performance areas:

Motor oil additives produce many of these benefits. For example, anti-oxidant additives fight increased heat and extend oil service life.

Anti-wear additives interact with the metal surfaces of engine parts and guard against metal-to-metal contact.

Many additives form layers on metal surfaces. That being the case, they compete with each other for space, so to speak, like pigs competing for room at the trough.

Racing oils are often formulated with a heavy dose of friction modifiers to add lubricity for maximum horsepower and torque.

The boosted level of additives meant to increase protection and performance during a race doesn’t leave room in the formulation for additives found in passenger car motor oils that help maximize fuel economy, fight corrosion or improve cold-weather protection.

In effect, the ravenous pigs at the trough leave no room for their brethren, resulting in a less well-rounded formulation.

Bottom line: use regular motor oil in your daily driver

Achieving the tasks of a passenger car motor oil requires a finely balanced formulation. Too much or too little performance in one area can negatively affect other areas – and the oil’s overall protection and performance. The list of tasks required of a racing oil, however, is much shorter.

The right tool for the right job is an axiom with which you’re familiar. The same holds for motor oil. It’s best to leave racing oil to competition engines and use a properly formulated passenger car motor oil for your daily vehicle.

Shop AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oil
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World’s Most Powerful Outboard Motors Rely on AMSOIL

Written by Charleen
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World’s Most Powerful Outboard Motors Rely on AMSOIL

Seven Marine, maker of the world’s most powerful outboard motors, has a saying: We move the people who move the world. The Germantown, Wis. company designs, builds and sells outboard motors that produce up to an astonishing 627 hp and power some of the fastest and most impressive watercraft in the world.

All that power places tremendous stress on their sophisticated motors, which is why they turned to AMSOIL synthetic lubricants as their factory- and service-fill lubricants after having previously used Mobil* products. We sat down with Eric Davis, Seven Marine Vice President, to get the story.

AMSOIL Magazine: What makes Seven Marine unlike any other manufacturer of marine motors?

Eric Davis: We build the most powerful outboards available on the market today. We use a completely different technological approach than any other outboard manufacturer by using the small-block supercharged V-8 out of the Cadillac* CTS V and applying that in its normal horizontal configuration under the cowl. And that really makes Seven Marine unique because all other outboard motors are vertically oriented. That means we can use the performance, quality and emissions advancements that are central to automotive engines and apply that to outboard motors for the first time. In addition, we pair the engine to a ZF* marine wet-disc-clutch transmission. We’re the only outboard that uses a transmission. Because of that, our motors don’t shift in the lower unit.

AMSOIL Magazine: What performance advantages does that design provide?

Davis: It allows us to optimize the lower unit with a twin-pinion, race-inspired design that’s smaller in diameter. That benefits us in high-speed-cruise fuel economy and top-speed capability. A twin-pinion also gives you a tremendous amount of durability.

So, when you use a horizontal crankshaft engine, go with a wet-disc-clutch transmission and finish with a twin-pinion lower unit, you really get an outboard that’s built completely different, which is how we’re able to deliver the amount of power and torque to the propeller that sets us apart from everyone else.

AMSOIL Magazine: Your most powerful motor produces 627 hp. On what type of watercraft are people using your outboards?

Davis: The vast majority of our applications are multi-engine, and the trend lately has been more quads than anything [using four engines simultaneously]. We address the market that’s called the ‘super consoles,’ so we’re talking about 40-plus-foot, centerconsole, off-shore boats. Four engines can be done using a boat as short as 43 feet and as long as 61 feet.

AMSOIL Magazine: Who’s buying your outboards?

Davis: By the time you find out what they’ve done or what they do, they’ve touched your life in some way, shape or form. We use as a corporate tag line, ‘The Power to Move Those Who Move the World,’ and that really came from the fact that our customers are exactly those people, whether it’s the northern hemisphere’s largest onion farmer or the family that owns the third-largest grain distributor in the world – all kinds of people like that. They have truly amazing stories.

AMSOIL Magazine: How do they use your outboard motors?

Davis: It varies a lot. In general, they use them for transportation. They’re moving great distances, and what makes the applications unique for Seven Marine is that they’re trying to traverse those distances at high-speed cruise. They use the applications for everything from island-hopping to poker runs to deep-sea fishing. We have customers in the Gulf of Mexico who are running 150 miles to fish the rigs, so they’re cruising three hours at 50 mph to get out there and fish. We have people in Alaska 150 miles from civilization. Generally speaking, they’re covering great distances at pretty good clips.

AMSOIL Magazine: Why did you choose AMSOIL synthetic lubricants for your engines and transmissions?

Davis: When you’re trying to deliver the most luxurious experience for the customer and deliver the most performance at this level of power, you really have to have the best of everything to make sure it works properly. And you have to be confident that you have the best lubricants to ensure you’ve got the ultimate in durability. AMSOIL, on the engine and transmission side, has been the best products we can find. That allows us to be confident that when we do a factory-fill and recommended servicefill with AMSOIL, that you’re going to get that same factory performance day-in and day-out.

AMSOIL Magazine: What did your own test results tell you about AMSOIL products?

Davis: When we started doing oil sampling from dyno testing and looking at the performance of the oil and its degradation, the AMSOIL results were superior than what we were using before [Mobil products]. We’re endeavoring to build the absolute best world-class products we can and innovate in the marine industry, so we prefer to have an oil that we feel is as innovative and technologically advanced as the engines that it’s going into, and that leaves us with AMSOIL

In Sioux Falls review our marine 10W-30 and 10W-40 4-stroke oil for the big blocks, the new Mercury 25W-20 and several 2-stroke oils for injection units both OEM and our famous HP Injector formula and the 45 year old 100:1 outboard pre-mix.

And our best seller – the highly stable and water resistant Marine Gear Lube 75W-90.

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