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Schmitt20:
What do you guys think about adding extra zinc after each oil cahnge to prevent engine wear?

VMS Motorsports:
According to Lake Speed, Jr. of Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil, one of the important differences between racing oil and API oil is the limited amount of phosphorous in API blends. The EPA limits the amount of phosphorous and zinc, specifically it’s the phosphorous, not the zinc that is limited. Phosphorous is a component of Zinc dialkyl dithio phosphate (ZDDP, or ZDP) is a family of zinc salts of dithio organophosphates. And they easily dissolve in mineral and synthetic oils that are used as lubricants.

Zinc phosphate is mainly for anti-wear. The zinc and phosphate go hand and hand. So when you limit phosphate you limit zinc as well.

“You can put zinc in the oil but it won’t act as an anti-wear agent until you add the phosphorous,” says Speed. “When you have a limit on the amount of zinc-phosphorous you limit the anti-wear agents. The combination of zinc and phosphorous is limited to a maximum of 800 parts per million in API/SM classification, which is the latest classification that came out in 2004.

“Any oil that you get that says API or ILSAC GF-4 contains a limited amount of zinc and phosphorous, and for most racing applications, that’s not what you want,” says Speed.

It is for this reason some engine builders have switched to diesel oil for break-ins as some of these formulations are known to have higher levels of zinc.
“The current diesel oil spec is CJ-4 is limited to 1,200 parts per million (ppm), so it does have 400 ppm more than API pass car oil but it’s only marginally better. A lot of people get mislead hunting down the oil with the highest ppm, as if it were the Holy Grail, and it really isn’t,” says Speed.

JGRacing:
When they started taking all of the good stuff out of the street oil, I destroyed a few cams in my modified before one of the tech people at Speedway Motors explained what was happening.  That little change in the oil has a huge impact on engines with flat tappet cams. 

VMS Motorsports:
The biggest thing to make sure of with any additives, like prescription drugs,  is, do the side effects outweigh the benefits of usage?
I would guess, (and I don't know, never looked into it) that any zinc additive would also include friction modifiers, which could inhibit positive clutch engagement.

I guess the best advice is to read up on what you're going to put in.

Schmitt20:
Alright thanks. I was talking to a guy who works at O'reilly's about motor oil and he said lucas came out with a nex zinc additive. I figured i prolly should talk to some legend guys first and read into it a little bit before i stick that in the oil. I couldnt find anything about it on the lucas website.

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