I use to run amsoil z rod and I liked it but very expensive

Currently running vr1 but I keep hearing about driven .

Driven is also expensive. Is it over thinking this for driving a few thousand miles a year and changing every season?

yes I think so. you could add redline to the expensive group. I went VR1 on recommendation of some of my SCCA friends. Seems to work great and the 20-50 is locally available.

Yes. For your use the VR1 is fine.
I'll be using Castrol GTX classic for the same reasons.
A post on here made me aware of it.

Shocker! I bought 2 5qt bottles last year for 25E. Now they are 43!

Over 250F for extended times and more than 5K I'd want synthetic.

The "euro" formula M1 have double the ZDDP as well...

It's what makes them "Euro".

This formula was concocted by BMW to allow for 17,000 mile oil change interval in the mid 2000s...

BMW got class actioned over denying warranty claims for maintenance work done elsewhere than the dealerships.
The court said, "Only way you can enforce that rule is to include the price of the preventative maintenance in the purchase price of the car."
Next year BMW announced, "free maintenance during warranty period".
The new warranty schedules had 17K oil change intervals. They only HAVE to do two!

Total BS IMO but modern BMWs use high ZDDP oils and don't seem to have hideous catalytic converter problems...

I commonly use M1 euro trash in the place of specific old school high ZDDP stuff.

I buy the 5 qt jugs when I can hit them below 30...

Per Jake raby driven was made specifically for the T4 engine.

I go with whatever is the cheapest, VR1 or Castrol. If I can get driven cheaper I'll give it a go.

I do have a suggestion...

Have a Blackstone oil analysis done at the time of your next oil change.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/

A buddy of mine became an Amsoil dealer and spent 1k with Blackstone verifying if Amsoil was worth it.

He did normal GTX is three different cars (4 tests each)
Then 4 more tests with Amsoil on each car.

Amsoil is worth it.
In all of Amsoil's internal testing that they publish Mobil1 was second or third.
Mobil1 is less than 50% of the cost of Amsoil...

The results were very interesting to read and Blackstone themselves advised certain metals were actually normal to see out of XXX engine.

Blackstone labs impressed me!

You're most likely going to find out you are throwing away perfectly good oil...

I change the oil in my car just on a yearly basis from a moisture stand point thinking just stick with VR1 with maybe a zddp additive pack this time just to be safe

Cheap on Amazon -
Click to view attachment

Mobil 1 euro at Walmart 28 dollars. 5.60 a quart. Vr1 may be worth a 1.20 more. I kinda like Mobil 1 but for no good reason.

Damn I just bought Castrol in Feb off Amazon for 25 each, now they are 43. A pack of 6 qt is 40 which makes no sense.

Tell me more about the castrol

I suspect we are talking about 99.8 vs 99.9% oil fit with these.

Castrol classic

My tests have shown no change in running temps - so same as vr1. It also has zinc additive just like vr1. It was $20 for a 5 qt jug at Walmart when it came out, but it went up to 50. Amazon was the next best at 25, but now looks like up to 40/43.

I had been running vr1 until the Castrol came out about 2 years ago.