Oil and plugs...

[Rootsy]

well here's a stimulating conversation starter... seeing how it is spring and we are all getting ready to unwinterize the boats... figured i'd see what everyone out there prefers for motor oil and spark plugs (kinda depends on the motor i know)... everyone has an opinion on this one!!!!

me... i use valvoline racing 30 in the motor and AC Delco R44TS's in the cylinders...

[Bad-Tat]

AMSOIL Series 2000 oil and SS plugs. 4.3 OMC.
AMSOIL 75-90 in outdrive.

[ClassicRazorback]

Havoline 10-40
AC Rapidfire plugs
Slick-50

chris

[CDMA]

It sure is expensive but I run Redline Oil in everything. Don't know if it is worth it but my machinest makes me do it....

Chris

[BigGrizzly]

I use Amzoil in everything. After doing oil test for a solid 6 months running engines 10 hours a day 5 days a week the worst oil to use is 10w 40 no matter who makes it. It is just 10w30 with viscosity impovers added into it. Most don't have a problem with 10w40 but after the test results( over 50 brands tested) I won't use it. The real key is change it often. Today with unleaded fuel oil doesn't get the acids in it it use to with the leadded fuels which is one of the many reasons engines live longer. My suggestions use only name brands andchange it often with the filter. If you want to know the results catch me at a rally with a full glass of whatever you drink and we will talk. I tested over 50 brabds and viscosities in gas and LPG fuels. Be sure to ask me the Texas oil rig and Amszoil story. Chris it is worth it just change it when it is time.

Randy

[CnV & Family]

Ok BG... you set me up for a question I just have to ask.

If you won't use 10w-40... then what will you use? I've always used Havoline 10w-40 (auto), and figure it would be relativly the same for the boat.

Redline at almost $8.00/qt seems kinda steep to me (1st quick search result). Besides, would the redline not also be 10w-40 or are you saying step to 15w-50?

I feel dumb, but i'm asking anyway.

Which brings me to a slight off topic gripe. I can't believe it costs so much for a marina to do an oil/filter change (labor)! I'd much rather do it myself, even if it did take a solid day for me to figure it out (can't be THAT hard can it? (famous last words???)). Did I just mention I found the marina's pricing info on their web site. For some reason I thought most all maintenance would be similar (as well as in cost) to auto maintenance... Obviously not.

Please pardon this newcomers rantings and obvious ignorance...

-C

[CnV & Family]

Plugs... I'd normally use AC Delco.

Any thoughts on those platinum plugs? A quick search didn't reveal a previous topic on the subject...

-C

[Rootsy]

interesting BG... very interesting... you can't read oil bottles and believe a thing they tell ya.. it is all hype... your info would be invaluable to many...

Chris... we have been running royal purple in the camaro for a few seasons now.. and on the dyno it's been worth almost 12 hp, we run 0W-10 which is a tad light for ummm anything cept straight lines. stuff is expensive though. bout the same as redline in price.

actually mercruiser only recommends straight viscosity oils... 30W below 50F, 40W above that or 20W-50 if you want to use a multi-grade

oil in the boat gets changed every 50 hours and plugs once a year. only advantage platinums have is the ability to hold a sharp edge on an electrode for a longer period than a regular plug..

i was a mechanic at a large marina for about 3 years in my college days (92-95)... and it wasn't the price of labor let me tell ya.... least not there and they got something like $125 bucks to "UNWINTERIZE" a motor, get all the antifreeze out, change oil (engine and sterndrive - NON HIPO SYNTHETIC LUBE), check the sterndrive, squirt a little gumout down the carb and replace the spark plugs... oh yeah that 125 was the labor cost.. did not include the parts cost. i have no idea what it is like now. i can replace plugs in about 20 minutes and the oil about the same after the engine has been warmed up.

changing oil in a merc is fairly simple.. you need a pump, the dipstick tube extends to the bottom of the oil pan and the oil is removed through it. put the hose on the dipstick (newer ones even ahve a garden hose thread) turn the pump on suck all the oil out... remove and replace oil filter (make sure the oil o-ring comes off with old filter).. put new oil in... and whala you're finished.

[Forrest]

Lets see, I use whatever the brand is that I buy at Bill's Min-it Mart along with a can of STP or Motor Honey. :D If I can't find any of that, I use 15w50 Mobil 1 (without the STP), Redline MT-90 in the Volvo drives, and B&M Trick Shift in the Merctrans. As for plugs, NGK UR5 in both the Chevy and the Ford motors.

[Secret F233]

YES Chris Redline fluids are a Beautiful thing It's all I use in all my machinery & I noticed a huge difference in engine temp & low rpm torque in the Spyder since it runs 18psi of boost & most of all it has a 8G redline it's a must.

When it went to the dealer to get the T-belt changed the Master service tech called me to ask what fluids I was running they had never seen a 60,000 mile Eclipse Turbo with innards in such good shape. They immediately went out to the local speed shop to test it for themselves.

http://www.redlineoil.com/frames/dynotesting.htm

[JP BRESCIA]

Great topic and great timing. I have always used the std AC Delco plugs recommended by the manual. I have an Merc 260 (350 s/b). Should I consider other plugs and why?

[Eddie1823]

Amsoil Series 2000 20W50 racing oil in the engine, NGK spark plugs (BR6FS for sbc) and Mercury Hi-Performance gear lube in the drive. I know you can't believe everything thats written on an oil bottle, but with the Amsoil claim of reducing crankcase temps by 20-50 degrees I saw it myself. It is a great product. By the way Merc 4 stoke engine oil is 25W40 viscosity.

[Tony]

Big Grizzley,

You've teased us with your study of oils, and how 10w-40 is the worst to use. The shop that rebuilt my 302 Ford says 10 or 15w-40 for the first 8 to 10 hours, then, if I want, switch to a synthetic 10w-30 or 10w-40 (Mobil 1 or Valvoline).

He also dumped the oil and changed the filter after 30 minutes running, and suggests I do the same after the first 2 - 3 hours of lake time.

Do tell, Grizz...if not 10w-40 than what do your test results, and your experiences, suggest?

[Rootsy]

Well i got an interesting oil study right from Eaton's dyno and valvetrain lab last week... while it didn't take into account synthetics it was comprehensive on the majority of conventional oils. of all of the brands tested like BG stated, 10W-40 is just 10-30 with viscosity modifiers.... Penzoil was the worst motor oil quality wise and contained the most parafin (causes SLUDGE) of anything tested with Quaker State in the middle, Mobil 1 further ahead... and so on and so forth... with Motorcraft and Valvoline coming in the best of all conventional motor oils tested overall in the majority of catagories.

[MOP]

My 2 cents again! Never Ever use multi grade oils in a marine engine. Just look at it his way in your 400hp road machine when you get to even a 100mph you let off the gas a fair bit and can hold the speed. But in a marine engine the throttle is held full loading all the componants to there max. Also I have yet to see in any marine engine manufacturers spec rcommending multi grades. True I have not looked through one since I got of f the wrenches after 30 some odd years. Synthetics I love, but only after a proper breakin of what ever you use it in. I have always recommended at the very least 20 hours on marine and atleast 15,000 on car engines. Yes you will find several new cars coming with Synthetic, they are clearenced and finer machined to do so. I have quite a few of my engines running locally and all the guys that listen get great time out of them. Also my tilt on spark plugs be very carfull fooling around with hotter range plugs, any marine mech that has been around awhile has seen some fool Grenade his nice mill due to trying to run hotter plugs. I run a little bitty 302 in my 16 worked over by me that GPS's a finger nail under 60 with a TWO barrel using the books plugs. Yup its got a wobbly stick and worked 351 heads.

Phil / Long Island

[mattyboy]

valvoline sae 40w
champion plugs
and now 90w in the volvo 250

1968 16 351 windsor

it's good to have a Donzi!!

Matt

[BigGrizzly]

Our tests were similar results to Eatons except we used real engines to build the heat. We found straight weight oil the best, not counting the syth** oils.
Tony your rebuild shop told you what they though not what is true in real life. The real thing is change oil and filter often after a rebuild. I do use straigh weigh oil in my Corsican and Amzoil in my race bike and most other stuff.
In 1984 GM sent a buletion That stated the would void warranty on cars using 10w40 oils. Most of the sluge and acids come, in old cars, from lead additives in fuels and low operating temp. Today thoes problems are gone. The sludge today comes frrom too heavy an oil and not a high enough use for the heavy oil. Under non race conditions the use of straight weight higher than 30 is useless. Tony look at any rebuilld manual they tell you to breakin with 30w and change often.

Randy

[Murphy]

I plan on going the Amzoil/Hastings route. Amzoil is one of the few oil manufacturers who makes a 15w-40 marine product. Not only is it a well tested product, I like the "environmentally friendly" fact that I'll only have to change oil at the end of the season prior to layup rather than 2-3 times over the summer. Here's the description from their web page:

AMSOIL Synthetic Heavy-Duty Diesel and Marine Motor Oil combines the superior lubricity and performance capabilities of a premium synthetic lubricant with special rust and corrosion inhibitors. AMSOIL Synthetic Heavy-Duty Diesel and Marine Motor Oil is recommended for engines used in marine applications, as well as diesel engines used in trucks, fleets, mining, earth moving, construction and farm equipment. Other applications include taxi and local delivery fleets with gasoline or diesel engines. With its extended drain intervals, AMSOIL Synthetic Heavy-Duty Diesel and Marine Motor Oil reduces maintenance costs, downtime and the cost of waste oil disposal.

I'm kind of surprised no one has mentioned extended nose sparkplugs in this thread. To get more info on these, have a look at this piece on tuning up your marine engine by Dennis Moore:

http://www.hotboat.net/samplearticle/ENGINETUNINGFORMAXIMUMPERFORMANCE_dir/ENGINETUNINGFORMAXIMUMPERFORMANCE_s.htm

More power to ya,

Murph

[Rootsy]

extended electrode spark plugs??? what are those? :D

JUST KIDDING... the TS plugs by delco are extended electrode...

[Jabes]

Mobil 1 full synthetic 15w-50, two quart capacity oil filter, Bosch platnum plugs. 383 stroker runs like a champ w/ these.

[HP 600SC]

NGK plugs for sure and mobil one oil....are there other brands out there??

[Blewbyu]

Chevron Delo 400 30W, AC Rapidfire plugs (or NGKs if I can find the right heat range in the 'U' electrode type),usually can't.
Re:Champions.I got into a heated discussion with an outboard mechanic who claimed 60+ percent of NEW premium Champions failed right out of the box!I have had poor luck w/Champs in the past (early failure),but chose to disbelieve his claimed percentage.Sooooo.....he opened 8 NEW Champs boxes, and popped 'em in his plug tester (you could see the spark thru a glass port).At 4000 RPM, 6 of the eight failed BELOW 130 pounds pressure within 6-8 seconds,the last 2 held 160+ for over 2 minutes,then dropped to 120/135 respectively.Looks like they spend their money where Pennzoil does-advertising!Well built plug, but with poor sealing qualities.If you don't go far offshore-buy a set.
Caterpillar does an annual oil study, may be on their site.They rated (as I recall)Havoline,Valvoline,Chevron Delo,Motorcraft, and Castrol on top, all within a hair of each other in points.Said MOST majors about the same.I do not think Penn is still Paraffin based,nor Quaker State-but both rated poorly.Their last study I read was about 3 years ago.Cat probably does more oil research than anyone else, with possible exception of the Navy,who is rather close mouthed about their work.I agree w/Grizz-10W40 bites.Also agree w/Forrest-STP or like prod. good for dry starts,I prefer only half suggested quantity.Each to his/her own here folks.
Regards-"Blewbyu"

[Russ Walker]

I ONLY use Amsoil in everything I have. I know Merc says don't use synthetic, but they are just way behind the times on this. I use the Diesel/Marine for the extra rust prevention. I also used the Amsoil 2-cycle in an outboard I had a few years ago and mixed at 100:1 and never had a problem. Amsoil is simply the best!