Been running Castrol 30wt and I'm thinking about changing to multiviscosity. Any suggestions? Was thinking about 20-50wt Castrol. socal cold mornings and warm hill climb in the afternoon.

20W50 is the right choice. It helps keep oil pressure high.
Cold CA mornings....
Rich

Rich I can see why your laughing from where you live cold CA is a joke. 20-50 it is. BTW I had to actually wear long pants to work the other day.

So please educate me of why you would use Castrol oil on a tappet engine? Are you indicaing the zinc and other additives used in oils (such as Brad-Penn) are not important?

No sarcasm intended, I just am interested to hear your justification.

My thanks.

Eric

Mobil 1 20 dubbya 50. (Ceramic lifters).

.....I normally recommend 20/50 VALVOLINE. But considering you have already been using Castrol, then just use 20/50 Castrol. It is also good oil. with each oil change you may want to add 1/2 qt of a pure synthitic oil. The synthetic will lubricate the engine seals, keeping them soft and tight. I know there are many new oils available. I have never had any problems with VALVOLINE no matter what the engine application was. Years ago, in a back to back test (when I had an engine DYNO) VALVOLINE proved itself by allowing the engine to produce 1.5 HP..more than any other oil. (140 H.P. 1600 cc engine, ) which eventually, ( over many years evolved into 1600 cc 185 HP.) murray

I have been using Valvoline VR-1, it has the high ZDDP everyone loves, but easier to find than brad Penn.

I've been using straight 40w at the recommendation of several people, including the mechanic who built my engine. after break-in, I might eventually swap to 20-50 tho.

What's a good weight for those of us who live in places with four seasons? 10/40?

Good old Shell Rotella T 15w40 is what I put in a $14K T4 engine I'll use it on my big T4 engine too if I ever finish my bug

I used 30W-HD valvoline in my 18yr/old gene Berg 2.0 type one till I changed to Rotella T, this engine is my daily summer driver and has been in four of my VW's. It's now in my '67 bus and I have to beef the trans before it busts it. This engine has already claimed the lives of 3 other transmissions. The engine cost me $4500 IN 1991.
Anywhere $12/gal.

BTW I still have a case of Swepco oil sitting on the shelf

So does that mean you use the V-Twin motorcycle oil?

I've tryed to get modern with the oil thing, and have used multi
and synthetic.........My car never runs or idles correctly???
I use 30wt. Valvoline and the car runs beautiful!!! of course
I also have Hydraulic lifter's......I like them

So is there any difference between Castrol and Valvoline as far as additives? Or just a preference?

vlovoline VR-1 has the high levels of ZDDP... regular valvoline or regular casterol does not, I'm pretty sure casterol's "Race oil" probably has more ZDDP than regular.

I did some searching around the web for high-ZDDP alternatives to Brad Penn, and Valvoline VR-1 had very near the same amount of ZDDP, and came highly recommended by several local aircooled mechanics and racers.

The downside to VR1 ( I think ) is that because it is a " race " oil it doesn't have the proper amount of detergents for a street engine. If that is true then you have to be careful with drain intervals. Not sure it can go 3,000 miles, the best way to know is oil analysis. Many oil threads out there that say Brad Penn and Swepco both have the ZDDP needed for our flat tappet engines AND a detergent package for the street. Motor oils that used to be good that have recently been re-designed to give better catalytic converter life are no longer good for our older flat tappet engines. Good luck to all of us to keep our engines performing as expected.

I'm a fan of the VR-1 Oil as well. According to Valvoline, VR-1 does have detergents in it, just not as much as a conventional oil. Considering we change our oil much more frequently than in modern cars I don't think the reduced amount of detergents is that big a deal. i haven't noticed any abnormal wear on HP street/track driven cars during scheduled tear downs.

Good to hear. What drain intervals do you use ?

Ahhhh, The age old conversation piece: What kind of oil is best? What brand is best? etc.....
All I know is that my 914 gets Shell 20W50 and works flawless.
I also use 20W50 in the 71 bus and the 91 jetta.
The jetta is what I drive all winter. It's a little slow cranking on those cold mornings but consumes less oil and stays clean longer. If it gets below freezing I just plug in the block heater to assist.

Ya go ahead you guys down south say it, "What's that block heater thang?" That's another thread.

Depends on the time of year, during the winter when no hard use takes place I do 4k Miles. During the summer after every 2 Auto-x events, or after every real track event. And if I manage to go 3k miles without either of these happening I change it then. it may be a little too frequent in that case but drive my cars really hard on and off the track. Better safe than sorry