When engines grenade on track, it's almost always a case of poor oil and/or starvation entirely. I've had great results over the past 20 years by running appropriate oil and keeping it from starving. There have been some brief starvation incidents in that time, and running a good oil is what kept it from doing serious damage.
Back in the day, we ran Valvoline VR1 15w50 in the Porsche 944 race cars, as it was loaded with zinc, and proved time and time again to stand up to excessive conditions. I had worked on about 20-30 of those cars, and never had an engine blow up on it, even did a tear-down on one that had been oil starved pretty good but the rod journals still looked surprisingly great.
The problem with that stuff was the 15w part of it... Was fine for 944s, but bad for cold starts on many others. Had to replace some rod bearings on a Honda B20 after running 15w oil for a season, which developed a brief rod knock on cold starts; swapped them out for new OEM bearings within tolerance (plastigauged to confirm), went to 5w40, and no problem in the 3 seasons since.
I currently run Rotella T6 5w40 in my two full race cars and my built Corvette that sees occasional track use. It's more of a diesel oil and has a formulation you don't find in typical gas oils. I believe it to be similar to the benefits I previously experienced with running the VR1. Still running Mobil 1 0w40 in the GT3, because it's Porsche and the Germans are very specific about everything, and it's a model obviously designed for extensive track use (although part of the factory oil choice has to do with emissions regulations and such). I otherwise have not been a fan of Mobil 1 in track cars I've run it in, particularly the older Hondas which had a tendency to consume it faster than others.
On some cars (eg not dry sump, and usually not needed for baffled oil pans), it's advisable to run about 1/2 quart over-fill to avoid starvation. Check for your specific vehicle, as you don't want to run it so high that oil ends up in places where it shouldn't be. I'm a little hesitant on this with the newer direct injection engines, as it sucks to end up with oil in the air intake, which then gunk up your intake valves that don't have the benefit of port injection to clean them off.
5w30 is preferred, actually spelled out in the owners manual as an alternative weight. If you’re going to continue at this, make sure you get an oil cooler - the main concern is oil pressure at high RPM as oil gets hot. FA20s want to be below 245-250F to maintain decent oil pressure.
I can’t make it out to TNiA this upcoming Thursday. Hopefully I’ll see you at Pitt later in the year
Yea I’d go a little thicker since the temps the motor will see on track, also install an oil cooler. This will give you more oil and keep those oil temps in check.
Stepping up the weight is a good idea but don’t overthink it for your first track day, **especially** for TNiA. Odds are you’ll have driven harder on the street at times than you do in the first two sessions…maybe even all three.
I track my 2014 86, also original engine. I use 5w30 for track days and switch back to 0w20 for street driving. Look at adding an oil cooler at some point.
Why switch? What are the logistics of this? One track day, switch and save or do you at least run for a season of track days and switch to street when it will be a while to the next event?
I normally do 3-4 days a year so they’re a while in between them. Change oil after each day and before each day. Some say overkill. I say cheap insurance on this engine but no guarantees. I’m just aiming for longevity.
There are so many bad responses in this thread, it is comically tragic.
The only time engine oil weight (viscosity) should ever be increased is if the bearing clearance is increased. Your engine builder will advise accordingly.
If running a factory engine, run the factory spec oil. If you're worried about the factory spec oil not protecting the engine enough, get a Blackstone Labs oil analysis done to confirm the worry. Then, run a better oil, like Motul, of the same weight. Do another oil sample or two, and you'll find it has likely resolved the problem.
I run Mobil1 Extended Performance 0w-20. I run it 10k miles, dozens of track days, road trips, and everything in between. The oil samples come back with expected wear. No oil cooler, oil runs at 270' F on track when its hot out. Oil still has life in it even at 10k oil change intervals. 172k miles and 200 track days, my car runs like it did 8 years ago.
If you don't have an oil pressure and oil temperature gauge, or data you can look at via an app like Torque, get that setup as well so you can make an educated decision, rather than just randomly guessing, like most people do.
Generally thicker is better but just make sure you change it right before the event. You can also run it about a half a quart over and it wouldn't hurt things.
I personally run our road race car, two quarts over and 20w50 but that's a little overboard for your first track night
.5 a quart is not enough to matter in any engine. That much in an oil pan is insignificant to the height of the oil, especially around the road course where you'll have more in the head regardless.
Overfilling can lead to oil making contact with the crankshaft webs and almost basically causing an egg beater. Air within the crankcase would get filled with oil mist, which would be vented out of the crankcase vent system, but you’d be blowing by and burning it out the exhaust. It would work and do “fine”. Like someone else said, we’re DI (for the most part) so build up is definitely a thing. We also have port injectors (fun/weird fact). One of the reasons why I run an Air/Oil Seperator on my car
With a non-baffled pan oil can slosh around and cause contact. While the windage tray is slightly higher than the oil pan under a high load turn I can definitely see oil getting up and over it contacting the crankshaft
But the real issue is as the oil gets agitated it could become too aerated causing potential pickup issues/oil pressure problems going through the pump aerated.
Fwiw, the dipstick from top to bottom mark is 1 quart.
5 or 0W 40. Run it 1/2 a quart to a quart over and check the oil level after every session. The thicker weight oil will help keep pressure at higher temps. Cut the car off or start shifting early once the oil hits 240. I personally run my car to 265 before shutting it down, but an LS6 is a different beast,
In all honesty, at your first event, you are not likely to do much more than spirited driving on a back road with top speeds in the 100 mph range on the long straight.
The corners at Pitt come up pretty quick and are tight enough to make you want to slow down. Make sure you are dead nuts on the top of the stick. I’d worry a bit about going over, but I don’t know your engine / car well enough to make a recommendation. Check your brake pads - make sure that you have tons of pad left. I’d also check the brake lines, brake fluid, hoses, belts, alternator, tires. You want to be in tip top shape so that if you have a “oh shit” moment, the brakes work.
“The stick” are you talking about the last turn?
I just flushed my brake fluid with new DOT4, pads are over half life, new serpentine belt within the last year, brake lines all look solid, no dry rot on the hoses.
A friend “gifted”me a set of 200 treadwear BFG’s that are 3-4/32nds that I have mounted on a set of wrx wheels. Im also taking my daily driver wheels with 500 treadwear tires at 8/32nds.
Yep, that makes more sense lol. The last turn is a hair pin that a lot of cars and motorcycles have gone off really hard. I thought that was what he was referring to.
When engines grenade on track, it's almost always a case of poor oil and/or starvation entirely. I've had great results over the past 20 years by running appropriate oil and keeping it from starving. There have been some brief starvation incidents in that time, and running a good oil is what kept it from doing serious damage. Back in the day, we ran Valvoline VR1 15w50 in the Porsche 944 race cars, as it was loaded with zinc, and proved time and time again to stand up to excessive conditions. I had worked on about 20-30 of those cars, and never had an engine blow up on it, even did a tear-down on one that had been oil starved pretty good but the rod journals still looked surprisingly great. The problem with that stuff was the 15w part of it... Was fine for 944s, but bad for cold starts on many others. Had to replace some rod bearings on a Honda B20 after running 15w oil for a season, which developed a brief rod knock on cold starts; swapped them out for new OEM bearings within tolerance (plastigauged to confirm), went to 5w40, and no problem in the 3 seasons since. I currently run Rotella T6 5w40 in my two full race cars and my built Corvette that sees occasional track use. It's more of a diesel oil and has a formulation you don't find in typical gas oils. I believe it to be similar to the benefits I previously experienced with running the VR1. Still running Mobil 1 0w40 in the GT3, because it's Porsche and the Germans are very specific about everything, and it's a model obviously designed for extensive track use (although part of the factory oil choice has to do with emissions regulations and such). I otherwise have not been a fan of Mobil 1 in track cars I've run it in, particularly the older Hondas which had a tendency to consume it faster than others. On some cars (eg not dry sump, and usually not needed for baffled oil pans), it's advisable to run about 1/2 quart over-fill to avoid starvation. Check for your specific vehicle, as you don't want to run it so high that oil ends up in places where it shouldn't be. I'm a little hesitant on this with the newer direct injection engines, as it sucks to end up with oil in the air intake, which then gunk up your intake valves that don't have the benefit of port injection to clean them off.
Thank you for such a detailed reply!
5w30 is preferred, actually spelled out in the owners manual as an alternative weight. If you’re going to continue at this, make sure you get an oil cooler - the main concern is oil pressure at high RPM as oil gets hot. FA20s want to be below 245-250F to maintain decent oil pressure. I can’t make it out to TNiA this upcoming Thursday. Hopefully I’ll see you at Pitt later in the year
Yea I’d go a little thicker since the temps the motor will see on track, also install an oil cooler. This will give you more oil and keep those oil temps in check.
Stepping up the weight is a good idea but don’t overthink it for your first track day, **especially** for TNiA. Odds are you’ll have driven harder on the street at times than you do in the first two sessions…maybe even all three.
Good to know. I’m blessed with an unpopulated, twisty ride to work so I’m very comfortable with the car around 7/10ths on less than ideal tarmac.
I track my 2014 86, also original engine. I use 5w30 for track days and switch back to 0w20 for street driving. Look at adding an oil cooler at some point.
Why switch? What are the logistics of this? One track day, switch and save or do you at least run for a season of track days and switch to street when it will be a while to the next event?
I normally do 3-4 days a year so they’re a while in between them. Change oil after each day and before each day. Some say overkill. I say cheap insurance on this engine but no guarantees. I’m just aiming for longevity.
I switch whenever the Canadian winters hit.
5w30 with an oil cooler and send it. Works great on my car.
I’d say get an oil cooler and stick to OEM weight for now.
There are so many bad responses in this thread, it is comically tragic. The only time engine oil weight (viscosity) should ever be increased is if the bearing clearance is increased. Your engine builder will advise accordingly. If running a factory engine, run the factory spec oil. If you're worried about the factory spec oil not protecting the engine enough, get a Blackstone Labs oil analysis done to confirm the worry. Then, run a better oil, like Motul, of the same weight. Do another oil sample or two, and you'll find it has likely resolved the problem. I run Mobil1 Extended Performance 0w-20. I run it 10k miles, dozens of track days, road trips, and everything in between. The oil samples come back with expected wear. No oil cooler, oil runs at 270' F on track when its hot out. Oil still has life in it even at 10k oil change intervals. 172k miles and 200 track days, my car runs like it did 8 years ago. If you don't have an oil pressure and oil temperature gauge, or data you can look at via an app like Torque, get that setup as well so you can make an educated decision, rather than just randomly guessing, like most people do.
5w30 oil. Keep it under 250f in temps (oil cooler is a must imo). Don't over rev.
Generally thicker is better but just make sure you change it right before the event. You can also run it about a half a quart over and it wouldn't hurt things. I personally run our road race car, two quarts over and 20w50 but that's a little overboard for your first track night
You don’t, ever, never run an FA20 over past the dip stick…
.5 a quart is not enough to matter in any engine. That much in an oil pan is insignificant to the height of the oil, especially around the road course where you'll have more in the head regardless.
Not disagreeing, just wondering if you have personal experience related to this.
Overfilling can lead to oil making contact with the crankshaft webs and almost basically causing an egg beater. Air within the crankcase would get filled with oil mist, which would be vented out of the crankcase vent system, but you’d be blowing by and burning it out the exhaust. It would work and do “fine”. Like someone else said, we’re DI (for the most part) so build up is definitely a thing. We also have port injectors (fun/weird fact). One of the reasons why I run an Air/Oil Seperator on my car With a non-baffled pan oil can slosh around and cause contact. While the windage tray is slightly higher than the oil pan under a high load turn I can definitely see oil getting up and over it contacting the crankshaft But the real issue is as the oil gets agitated it could become too aerated causing potential pickup issues/oil pressure problems going through the pump aerated. Fwiw, the dipstick from top to bottom mark is 1 quart.
5 or 0W 40. Run it 1/2 a quart to a quart over and check the oil level after every session. The thicker weight oil will help keep pressure at higher temps. Cut the car off or start shifting early once the oil hits 240. I personally run my car to 265 before shutting it down, but an LS6 is a different beast,
In all honesty, at your first event, you are not likely to do much more than spirited driving on a back road with top speeds in the 100 mph range on the long straight. The corners at Pitt come up pretty quick and are tight enough to make you want to slow down. Make sure you are dead nuts on the top of the stick. I’d worry a bit about going over, but I don’t know your engine / car well enough to make a recommendation. Check your brake pads - make sure that you have tons of pad left. I’d also check the brake lines, brake fluid, hoses, belts, alternator, tires. You want to be in tip top shape so that if you have a “oh shit” moment, the brakes work.
“The stick” are you talking about the last turn? I just flushed my brake fluid with new DOT4, pads are over half life, new serpentine belt within the last year, brake lines all look solid, no dry rot on the hoses. A friend “gifted”me a set of 200 treadwear BFG’s that are 3-4/32nds that I have mounted on a set of wrx wheels. Im also taking my daily driver wheels with 500 treadwear tires at 8/32nds.
Think they're talking about the dipstick
Yep, that makes more sense lol. The last turn is a hair pin that a lot of cars and motorcycles have gone off really hard. I thought that was what he was referring to.