Spectro Motor Oil

[Ralph E.]

Has anyone heard of, or used this motor oil.
They are advertising that they have oil with twice the zinc and phosphorus.
Not street legal. Can not be used with a catalytic equipped vehicle.
Here is the web site: http://www.goldenmotorguard.com/cart/

Comments appreciated.

[Duke W.]

Re: Spectro Motor Oil

Twice as much as WHAT?

You don't need more ZDDP, as indicated by the P concentration, than the amount in C-category oil unless it's a racing engine with gorilla flat tappet lobes and valve springs.

Duke

[Ralph E.]

Re: Spectro Motor Oil

Twice as much as WHAT?

You don't need more ZDDP, as indicated by the P concentration, than the amount in C-category oil unless it's a racing engine with gorilla flat tappet lobes and valve springs.

Duke

According to the Spectro web site their oil has 1800ppm of ZDDP vs 600-800ppm. Not sure what API, CJ-4 or CI-4 have. They appear to be comparing to SM oils.

[Roy V.]

Re: Spectro Motor Oil

Spectro, made by Intercontinental Lubricants, just down the road from me in Brookfield Connecticut, has been around for over 30 years. They started out blending oil for the motocycle industry, I have used their Golden Spectro synthetic in my Harley XR-1000 since 1983. It looks like they are branching out into automotive marketing with their new line of "boutique oils" the particular oil you referred to claims to have 1600 ppm of zinc in it but with the API service rating of 'SL' do a search in the archives and read Duke's previous post on oils and you will find that any oil with a service rating of CI or CJ should be sufficient for our flat tappet cam engines.

[Ralph E.]

Re: Spectro Motor Oil

Spectro, made by Intercontinental Lubricants, just down the road from me in Brookfield Connecticut, has been around for over 30 years. They started out blending oil for the motocycle industry, I have used their Golden Spectro synthetic in my Harley XR-1000 since 1983. It looks like they are branching out into automotive marketing with their new line of "boutique oils" the particular oil you referred to claims to have 1600 ppm of zinc in it but with the API service rating of 'SL' do a search in the archives and read Duke's previous post on oils and you will find that any oil with a service rating of CI or CJ should be sufficient for our flat tappet cam engines.

I am also using CI or CJ oil per Duke's recommendations. Just wondering if the Spectro oils are another alternative for us.

[Duke W.]

Re: Spectro Motor Oil

The S-category oils that we used from the seventies through about 2000 when the first P limitation went into effect with SL (1000 ppm) had about 1200 ppm P.

Current CJ-4 is typically 1100-1200 with a limit of 1200 (SM is limited to 800), and CI-4 is typically 1200-1300 with no P limit.

Long term corrosion mechanisms have been observed if the P concentration exceeds 1400 from ZDDP.

So if you want to spend two or three times the price of an off-the-shelf C-category oil that has so much ZDDP it may cause long term harm...

And remember, typical vintage cars engines see low mileage accumulation over time. A fresh one will likely never wear out, and the long term risk is corrosion.

If you're smart, leave the super high ZDDP "boutique oils" for racing engines that have aggressive flat tappet cam lobes and gorilla valve springs. They're absolutely not necessary for any reasonable road engine.

As with so many other engine (and life) related things, "more" is not always better!

Duke

[Ralph E.]

Re: Spectro Motor Oil

The S-category oils that we used from the seventies through about 2000 when the first P limitation went into effect with SL (1000 ppm) had about 1200 ppm P.

Current CJ-4 is typically 1100-1200 with a limit of 1200 (SM is limited to 800), and CI-4 is typically 1200-1300 with no P limit.

Long term corrosion mechanisms have been observed if the P concentration exceeds 1400 from ZDDP.

So if you want to spend two or three times the price of an off-the-shelf C-category oil that has so much ZDDP it may cause long term harm...

And remember, typical vintage cars engines see low mileage accumulation over time. A fresh one will likely never wear out, and the long term risk is corrosion.

If you're smart, leave the super high ZDDP "boutique oils" for racing engines that have aggressive flat tappet cam lobes and gorilla valve springs. They're absolutely not necessary for any reasonable road engine.

As with so many other engine (and life) related things, "more" is not always better!

Duke

Duke, you have beat this subject to death.
That said your input is always appreciated.

Ralph