What grade oil should I run?

[Foolish]

Not really sure what grade oil I should be running in my jet boat with a 455 olds and a berk 12JB with A impeller (that just got a nice new hydro place diverter wink )
I was running 10w30 last season but have heard of some of you guys running 20w-50. What would you guys run in my boat?
Thanks in advance :D

[Wet Dream]

Straight 50w. Valvoline works great. About $2.30/qt, but I like it.

[396_WAYS_TO_SPIT]

Wet Dream:
Straight 50w. Valvoline works great. About $2.30/qt, but I like it. I am with wetdream on this one. I run valvoline str8 50w because it doesnt break down as fast and also helps add a little on the oil pressure wink but thats jussss my lil 2 pennies wink
396 wink

[sleekcraft76]

volvoline st50 vri racing oil. works good for me.

[Foolish]

Its UNANIMOUS! Thanks guys, straight 50W it is.

[Eric455]

valvoline racing 40w. nothing but. but then again i have a bbc. i dont know if it would matter in ur case. depending on the clearance's i would think 50w would be too thick. ask before you change, i could be wrong. good luck
eric
[ June 30, 2003, 06:47 PM: Message edited by: Eric455 ]

[disco_charger]

Funny, I would think that the particulars of his set up and the internals of his motor would dictate what weight oil to run. If I ran straight 50, or straight 40, I would be popping gaskets all day long. On an Olds, set up is pretty important. Is he running restrictors? Does he have the Mondello high volume oil pump? How much water is he running in the motor, and what kind of temp does it see? How big is his oil pan. Are we running a cooler? These are pretty important factors...Just a thought.

[Eric455]

disco_charger:
Funny, I would think that the particulars of his set up and the internals of his motor would dictate what weight oil to run. If I ran straight 50, or straight 40, I would be popping gaskets all day long. On an Olds, set up is pretty important. Is he running restrictors? Does he have the Mondello high volume oil pump? How much water is he running in the motor, and what kind of temp does it see? How big is his oil pan. Are we running a cooler? These are pretty important factors...Just a thought. ask before you change, i could be wrong. good luck
your right. he should think about this and make the right change.

[565edge]

After reading the dyno results from cyclone and seeing how much power he gained from draining his oil down,I now have a 12 quart pan with only 2 quarts of prolong with no oil,I actually gained 150 hp on the dyno.

[disco_charger]

565edge:
After reading the dyno results from cyclone and seeing how much power he gained from draining his oil down,I now have a 12 quart pan with only 2 quarts of prolong with no oil,I actually gained 150 hp on the dyno. As nice a jab as that was, that doesn't help this guy much. I was just thinking about this guy out on the river with a bilge full of oil. Lot's of people are quick to give advice on these forums these days. The large majority of us know very little about every single aspect of boating and can all learn something. The vast majority of us will never own an engine that goes on the dyno. But just telling this guy that he needs to run 50 wt oil without knowing anything about the motor is a little odd. Would you put straight 50 wt in your wife's new Camry? No. It's not all cut and dried. I had to run 20-50 in the last boat. This boat, I'm running 10-30 and may even drop down to 5-30. Everyone's set up is different. I'm not trying to mock anyone, get in a pissing match, or tell you how it should be. There is more than one answer to any question. We all know that the Olds has some oiling issues. I'd hate to think that a poor choice could lead to the death of his motor. As I recall the Olds doesn't allow for enough oil to drain back down to the bottom. I know that in a jet boat, if you're turning above 5K RPM's there are a number of safeguards motor builders employ to help longevity. Most of these safeguards affect the oiling habits of the engine. I also allowed that I could be very wrong. I have pretty limited experience with Olds. Maybe one of the Olds guru's could point this guy in the right direction. Was just trying to be helpful to this guy, not take him into some other pointless fight.

[Eric455]

disco_charger:
565edge:
After reading the dyno results from cyclone and seeing how much power he gained from draining his oil down,I now have a 12 quart pan with only 2 quarts of prolong with no oil,I actually gained 150 hp on the dyno. As nice a jab as that was, that doesn't help this guy much. I was just thinking about this guy out on the river with a bilge full of oil. Lot's of people are quick to give advice on these forums these days. The large majority of us know very little about every single aspect of boating and can all learn something. The vast majority of us will never own an engine that goes on the dyno. But just telling this guy that he needs to run 50 wt oil without knowing anything about the motor is a little odd. Would you put straight 50 wt in your wife's new Camry? No. It's not all cut and dried. I had to run 20-50 in the last boat. This boat, I'm running 10-30 and may even drop down to 5-30. Everyone's set up is different. I'm not trying to mock anyone, get in a pissing match, or tell you how it should be. There is more than one answer to any question. We all know that the Olds has some oiling issues. I'd hate to think that a poor choice could lead to the death of his motor. As I recall the Olds doesn't allow for enough oil to drain back down to the bottom. I know that in a jet boat, if you're turning above 5K RPM's there are a number of safeguards motor builders employ to help longevity. Most of these safeguards affect the oiling habits of the engine. I also allowed that I could be very wrong. I have pretty limited experience with Olds. Maybe one of the Olds guru's could point this guy in the right direction. Was just trying to be helpful to this guy, not take him into some other pointless fight. i agree. i wouldnt want him to lose that motor because of a motor oil w. change. that would suck... just my opinion.
eric

[Foolish]

Hmmm...now I am lost, haha
I wish I knew all my clearances and the particulars of my engine, unfortuneately I do not :(. I bought the boat with the motor and the guy I bought it from had no idea what he did to it. I do plan on plucking the motor after this season and doing it my way but I think I may stick with the 10w30 for now just because it works and cause no gasket leaks.

[disco_charger]

What kind of oil pressure are you seeing at idle vs. what kind of pressure while it's running?

[rivercrazy]

I use 90W gear oil in my motor. Wont start so it wont wear out! J/K...
Most engine mfg for marine engines I have seen recommend either 40W strait oil or 25W40. But the multi weight is a strait mix of the two grades of oil, not an oil package with a viscosity modifier.
Just change it often with the filter and watch your pressures like a hawk.
I had outstanding luck with Valvoline 20w-50 full synthetic in my former 454 mag. I just use strait Merc 25W-40 now with a roller cam motor (496HO)
[ June 30, 2003, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: rivercrazy ]

[jdog]

Foolish, here's my two cents: I have a 1970 Olds 455 with a 12jb-b. Stock motor as far as I know. I run valvoline vri 20w-50 racing oil. With this engine, oil viscocity is critical. Jet boats rev high anyway, and a good sort of heavy multigrade such as the 20w-50 has been the best for my boat.
Now my uncle runs straight 50w in his Hallet but it has a built 454. He's reving 6000rpm. The straight thick oil is probably goood for it but not for a stock olds 455. In my opinion anyway. Jay

[travis hathaway]

I would suggest that you determine what your oil pressure is at the rpms that you run most, after the oil has warmed up. Then check you oil pressure at idle speed. From some of the other posts I learned that you should have 10# per 1000 RPM. After recently rebuilding my 455 with the Mondello restricters and 10 qt oil pan with hi-volume pump and releived rods; We used 30wt Valvoline for break-in(8 to 10 hrs under 4000 RPM) used the same for the next oil change and added a thermostat from REX and noticed a 10 to 15 lb drop at 4000RPM with the enging temp at 160-haven't got an oil temp guage yet. Also noticed a 20 lb drop at idle after an extended run at 4000 to 4500 RPM. After 25 hrs I got racing Valvoline 40 wt and the oil pressure is near perfect, After engine is warm and oil is warm, she is holding 55 to 60 lbs at 4000 RPM and 45 at idle, after a hard run. Or what I would call a hard run for an Olds! What I did learn is not to get into it strong before the oil warms up. I now have an oil temp guage and am adding an oil cooler, If interested, I'll post the results.

[Jet City]

I would agree that different engine clearances will require different oil viscosities, but be aware that too thin a viscosity can be just as bad as too thick. I have had 2 boats, a 455 and now a 460, both seemed to maintain better pressure (and viscosity) with straight 40w than with the multi-grades I tried (15w40,20w50), although I wouldn't dream of using straight grades in my drivers because they are run in more varied temperatures. When using straight grades its even more important to take it easy until the engine is up to temp (I usually run 1600 rpms for a few minutes) because it is thicker when cold. 5w30 will rob less power, but until somebody else is paying for my engines I can put up with the 5-10 hp loss I'm giving up. As far as I'm concearned anything less than 15w40 in a jetboat is asking for trouble, but don't take my word for it, try different viscosities and run around at 3500+ rpms for awhile and see what happens to your oil pressure, you'll find the weight your most comfortable running in just a few outings. Check out www.bobistheoilguy.com (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com) for technical information about oils.

[DUCKY]

The weight choice has to do mostly with you bearing clearances, adn oil temp, but definitely stick with a straight weight in a marine engine, unless your boating in Alaska. If you have a fresh, tight motor, and have a slightly cold oil temp (under 200 degrees), then stick with 30wt. 40wt is a good choice for most people, and then there is 50 and 60 wt for looser motors, and high oil temps.

[Foolish]

Alright well I am going to start with 15w-40 and see how it likes it (with the jet pump disconnected on land and hose hooked up) I haven't been paying much attention to the oil pressure but do remember it being quite irratic. Will let you know how it goes....have a 10qt oil pan and testing what oil is best can get expensive! :D

[396_WAYS_TO_SPIT]

travis hathaway:
I would suggest that you determine what your oil pressure is at the rpms that you run most, after the oil has warmed up. Then check you oil pressure at idle speed. From some of the other posts I learned that you should have 10# per 1000 RPM. After recently rebuilding my 455 with the Mondello restricters and 10 qt oil pan with hi-volume pump and releived rods; We used 30wt Valvoline for break-in(8 to 10 hrs under 4000 RPM) used the same for the next oil change and added a thermostat from REX and noticed a 10 to 15 lb drop at 4000RPM with the enging temp at 160-haven't got an oil temp guage yet. Also noticed a 20 lb drop at idle after an extended run at 4000 to 4500 RPM. After 25 hrs I got racing Valvoline 40 wt and the oil pressure is near perfect, After engine is warm and oil is warm, she is holding 55 to 60 lbs at 4000 RPM and 45 at idle, after a hard run. Or what I would call a hard run for an Olds! What I did learn is not to get into it strong before the oil warms up. I now have an oil temp guage and am adding an oil cooler, If interested, I'll post the results. I am going to have to agree on this one. I just built my 455 olds with a stock pump,restricted pushrods and a 10 qt pan. I was running straight 30wt (what my machinist recommended) and my oil pressure was low. I switched to straight 60wt and I had 75lbs cold @ idle and 65lbs hot idle after a hard run. I then switched to 20-50 and noticed 60lbs @idle cold and 25lbs hot@idle after a hard run.I also have a loose motor! I wouldnt never thinking of using anything less than straight 20-50wt in my motors because of oil viscosity breakdown. I have a nissan truck with 170,000 miles on it and I use straight 50wt with no problems. Hell I even use straight 50wt in my Lexus LS400 and the manual says 5-30wt(which I would never use).I use 20-50wt in the Lexus during the cooler winter months. I dont know where you guys live but I live in Phoenix,Arizona and our summers are 100+ degrees all summer long. It doesnt take long to warm up my motor or oil. I am not trying to tell you what to run in your motor. I am just stating some facts about my 455 olds. Buy a few cases of oil(different weights-20-50,30,40,50,60) and test them all(You can keep the filter the same because you just testing new oil). Make sure you record all of you runs(oil pressure) and compare them. It might cost you $100 bucks but I am sure you would rather pay $100 than $1000 on a new motor.Remember olds are very sensative in the oiling department eek! I took a survey at work 3 months ago and most of my customers buy straight weight oil. I know this for a fact because I work at autozone and I sell a minimum of 2 pallets of oil per week!But then again we live in Arizona and it is hot a hell here! Oh and one other thing, How many hours are on the motor? That will play a factor in how loose it is also.If it was set up tight(Which I would never do to an olds) then it will loosen up with time. Or if set up loose then it will be looser. If its loose then you want a thicker oil laying around them bearings so they dont spin!! If its tighter, then thinner oil will lubricate better because it will flow faster between the bearings.One more last thing, DO NOT RUN the pan with less oil!!!!!! You will be commiting suicide with that olds!!!!! I know you probably read the dyno posts and they said that less oil = more ponies. They are also running chevys with no oiling issues! Keep us posted on your results, I am highly interested wink Good luck bro wink
:Attention: This is only "MY" opinion so you other guys can take it however you want to wink Because in no means am I trying to be the guru,I am just stating what "I" experienced with my olds wink
396--out

[396_WAYS_TO_SPIT]

DUCKY:
The weight choice has to do mostly with you bearing clearances, adn oil temp, but definitely stick with a straight weight in a marine engine, unless your boating in Alaska. If you have a fresh, tight motor, and have a slightly cold oil temp (under 200 degrees), then stick with 30wt. 40wt is a good choice for most people, and then there is 50 and 60 wt for looser motors, and high oil temps. Oh yeah, I am with Ducky 100% with this one too wink
396

[Taylorman]

I asked a question on another forum about oil viscosity. Kind of interesting. Read this (http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002731)

[Jet City]

That is interesting, and in theory correct, but I don't agree that 10w40 or 15w40 perform the same at hi-temps as 40w, they get much thinner, that thinner pour at cold temps does come at a price. I dug up my old post on that same forum here...http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000976

[disco_charger]

Ducky said it well.