A new twist on oil.

[Flyinfool]

For as long as I have had bikes I always used Valvoline MC oil in them. Never had an oil related failure.

I also used Valvoline oil in my cages, my last truck went 300K miles and still used no oil between changes and still ran great when I sold it.

So of course I figured that what I was using was good stuff that was getting the job done.

 

When I had my stock car pumping out 650+ HP with a well abused rev limiter set for 8400 I ran Castrol since they were a sponsor on the car. Never had an oil related issue there either.

 

Fast forward to this last spring, I was doing a valve lash check on the bike. I took off the valve covers and did the first round of measurements, yup I needed some new shims. So I got one of the shim kits floating around, it took about 2 weeks to get it here. When I went back out to finish the job I immediately noticed that the cam lobes were all rusty. Well I figured that it did just sit all winter so the oil could have drained off of them. I wiped them clean finished the job and put everything back together and gave the bike a fresh oil change. Due to heath crap I did not really ride this summer.

Now that the health stuff is getting less bad I got the bike out for some short rides. after the first ride I noticed oil dripping down the side of the engine. A little investigation showed that I had pinched the valve cover gasket putting it in. So while the engine was still warm from just riding it, I pulled the cover off, at this point I found that at the pinch point the gasket was cut. so I called the local stealer and they had one in stock. the next had to wait an extra day to pick it up for the night they were open late. Went to put it back in and noticed again, the cam lobes are rusty, the valve cover had been off for less than 48 hours and the lobes were showing rust on about 50% of their surface area.

 

This got me to thinking, When I had the race car the engine spent a lot of time with the valve covers off and I never saw rust on anything. So I got some Castrol MC oil to put into the bike, changed out the almost new oil that was in the bike.

 

Fast forward another month, The other valve cover gasket starts leaking. So I just parked it for a couple weeks till I would have time to mess with it. When I got to it and pulled the valve cover off I found that there was an air bubble molded into the gasket. Guess where it leaked.....

SO back to the stealer for another gasket, this time they did not have it in stock and it took 4 days to get it. When I went to put it in I did make a point to notice that I could find NO rust anywhere on anything, and the week that it was open it was near 100% humidity with heavy fog every day.

 

My conclusion after my not so scientific test, is that Castrol MC oil has a lot better rust protection than Valvoline MC oil. Or in other words, in my book, this means it is sticking to surfaces better to give lubrication at startup. As to which has better lubricating ability, I have no clue. YET. But I'll bet they are both up to the job of lubricating while running down the road.

 

I only just finished off the gas that was put in the bike in October of 2014 when I had to stop riding due to my health issues. Once I get another tank thru it to flush out the old, I'll watch to see if there is any detectable difference in gas mileage to see if the new oil is more slippery than the old.

 

Thats my oil story. I know that everyone has their favorite oil and nothing will change your mind. I am just pointing our some observations about these 2 oils.

 

OK flame suit on.......

I know oil is not far behind religion and politics and tires for volatility........

 

WOW did I type all that? Nap time.........

[eusa1]

I did just roll over the 200,000 mile mark the other day and every inch of the miles was with Castrol gtx 20/50

I checked my valves the very first time at 165k and they did not need any adjustments . and the only reason I looked at them then was due to my first valve cover gasket seeping oil. I change my oil every 3k without fail.

[Beau-Kat]

Been using different weights of Castrol in every engine I have had since I bought my first new VW Rabbit in 1980. As I remember, the car was made in Westmoreland PA and that's the oil that came in that car. Never had an oil related problem in any engine, car, truck, or bike.

[djh3]

I ran Castrol GTX in my 4cy race cars for years. Partially because from what I had read in magazines etc back then the Castrol was more recommended for the higher revving 4cyl engines. Worked well for all the years I ran it. One engine failure with a tossed rod and I actually think maybe the oil pump was TU before rod kicked out.