DOES OLD OIL CUT HORSEPOWER?

OB_Dirty Pete

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It's hard to square Doc Busa's theory with Yngve's. If oil loses it's viscosity as it ages, then it should be thinner and cause less internal friction...and new oil should cost you horsepower because it stays thicker. But as the Doc says, contaminants certainly should increase friction.

Maybe it's a saw off and the only real horsepower choice is 5 weight or synthetic, as others have suggested.

But if it turns out that old used oil makes more horsepower, I'll just drain the old Pinto out back and use that from now on.

I'm still confused.

Could be my natural state, of course.

I'll call my dyno tuner tomorrow.
 
Oil has to hydraulically "float" your crankshaft and connecting rods, as well as your cams. This is why oil pressure is also a key ingredient to this picture. Your oil pump takes more horsepower to pump thicker oil. It simply has more work to do. Thinner oil will produce better horsepower at the risk of losing the hydraulic shield.

If your contaminated oil is causing friction, I think you have bigger problems.

[This message has been edited by maui (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
BTW dyno tuning can be VERY hard on parts. For people who have not fully broken in their engines, You should not be making a pull on the old dyno.
 
As representative of the playpen people I have a couple of things to say. First contamination and the loss of viscosity of oil as it is used are two separate issues. Contaminated oil means oil has mixed with another substance. As oil is used it is theoretically contaminated by the microscopic metal particles and condensation produced by friction but that is not the same as having you oil contaminated by another substance such as water and antifreeze. While it is true that viscous oil requires more pressure to work through the engine common sense also tells us that viscosity also cuts down on friction which robs even more horsepower not to mention money from our wallets. Please look for horsepower gains elsewhere and don’t waste your time here because when you do start to increase the number of ponies in the busa pasture you will all be thinking about obtaining a piggy back system and talk about increasing the oil pressure anyway. Use the best oil you can (Synthetic) and change as often as common sense dictates. Please don’t post back to me about how a certain dyno dipshit says you should have fresh oil in the bike before dynoing that is stupid. If the oil in your bike is not good enough for the dyno you should not even be starting it.
 
New oil causes friction, old oil causes friction. The thing to worry about is what causes the least friction. Friction is everywhere, otherwise we could build a Perpetuum Mobile. The new oil between the metal parts is as we all know the best of the above. Don't forget that one of the oils primary tasks apart from lubing is to transport any unwanted paticles and store them in the filter.
 
I believe "lack of oil" causes friction.

Hey Dirty Pete, You have a Pinto? What color is it?

[This message has been edited by maui (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
Not to get into a pissing contest with you Maui but go fill a motor with oil that does not have the right level of viscosity. Yeah your motor is full of oil and you can now use your pistons for ashtrays. Pistons make dandy ashtrays BTY! What makes oil oil is viscosity. Oil is just a term used to identify the viscous stuff.

[This message has been edited by ZX-12 (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
Please realise; the one horsepower you gain by having fresh oil in your machine is one horsepower previously used to WEAR YOUR ENGINE DOWN. Where do you thing that sudden energy change is coming from. By the way i'm the Engineer here. ZX-12 were you not into marketing and stuff, keep off the technical stuff !
 
Hahahaha you are the engineer! You are right swiss miss you are the engineer and I know nothing. I have no experience with motorcycles and I am sorry I am just a fool. Since you are the engineer you need to design a drum for the pillion of your bike to hold 50 gallons in so you are constantly using fresh oil when you are going fast for optimum performance....you dummy!!

No go back in the corner and choke yourself!
 
.....not a bad idea....do you have any pictures or have you made this up with the 50 gallon oiltank. You're so good at marketing that you almost got me there. Anyway i have the perfect website for you ZX-12, watch you diet...

www.semper.se
 
Maui, it's a fictitious Pinto, but specifically it's 1974 fictitious Pinto that's been in my yard ever since it had a 460 Lincoln thrown in it in '82 that totally seized after 62,000 miles due to a lack of oil changes.

There must be 6 quarts of good, well used oil in that fictitious engine's pan that I could use to put my Busa's horsepower through the roof.

Oh yeah sorry...it's a fictitious almond rust shade, with the original factory "Maxisport" pinstriping and the optional "See Through Look-O-Matic Glass" package.

Very rare and desireable. Interested in a deal? Got something to trade?
 
Hey, these last few posts? That's what this forum is all about.

The mutual exchange of practical, usable information with your peers.
 
Mr. ZX-12, no where in my post did I mean to imply the use of lighter viscosity oil. In our race motors that we build, I use castrol GTP 50W. Synergyn (sp?) is the only other oil I would consider using.

I usually see bearing failure and the subsequent rod failure, before piston damage, when oil break down or pressure loss occurs. And yes pistons can be used for ashtrays and pencil holders as well.

I apologize if I have offended you. I was just surprised to see you post something with out trying to start a fight. I much prefer your comments now. Controversy and humor as well as technical input are why I enjoy this site.

Dirty Pete, I'll trade you my 2.0 liter Alfa Romeo powered shopping cart for your pinto. Although after seeing the new ZX-12, I may have to convert it to 4WD.


[This message has been edited by maui (edited 20 September 1999).]
 
When my dyno tuner did my bike last week, he asked me whether or not I had fresh oil in the engine. I've never had a dyno guy ask me that before.

At the time I figured he just wanted to know if it was safe to flail the bike.

But after reading a couple of posts in here...can't remember which ones...it occurs to me he may have been asking for other reasons.

Does old oil reduce your power? Does viscosity rise with mileage? Should an engine have fresh oil put in it prior to racing for other than the obvious reasons?
 
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