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MG MGA - STP additive

Does anyone have any experience with the use of lubricant additives like STP in MG engines ? We used it years ago in our racing engines but these days the product (and other brands) has faded away it seems.
gva guido

I use it...to add the ZDDP zink additive for the camshaft lobes.

http://www.stp.com/products/oil-additives/oil-treatment/
S

I use another product which adds high levels of zinc and phosphorus (ZDDP). I bough a couple of cases years ago as regulations tightened and some of these additives were being taken off the market. Today, a number of oil manufacturers have engine oils with high levels of zinc. Not sure what's available in Belgium, but Moss Motors does sell this oil or you can try Valvoline VR1 or another similar product.
Nick Kopernik

STP is generally frowned upon these days. Personally I don't believe in zinc additives either, as oil companies spend millions of dollars finding the correct blend of ingredients that work properly together. Dumping a bunch of extra zinc in there can easily upset this balance and reduce the lubricating properties of the oil. There are oils on the market that already have the appropriate levels of zinc and other components to keep our engines happy.
Steve Simmons

Hello everybody,
Thanks for the information !
gva guido

My grandfather, who worked for an oil company all his life, told me decades ago (when STP was all the rage), "Why add STP when you can just buy higher viscosity oil?"
David Breneman

I believe most modern oils have an API rating of SM due to issues with the catalytic converters. Paul Hunt and others have recommended an API of SJ or a ZDDP additive for older motors. I run the Mobil1 15w50 (API rating of SM) & use the ZDDP additive from Moss with excellent results and easy starts in winter.
Bayard DeNoie

Call me a Luddite but I firmly believe that oil is just oil and that most of what you read about it on internet forums is just poorly understood advertising guff regurgitated by the unwitting.

As classic car owners we change oil far more regularly than the general motorist, actually take care of our engines and tend not to drive them beyond their design parameters.

I use Valvoline XLD 20W50 oil in all of my cars because it is cheap.

A Bowie

Today's oils are far different than yesterday's, so oil is not just oil. The additive packages are what make certain oils better for one purpose than another. Most people change their classic car's oil once per year simply because of time, but I cover about 400 miles per week in my MGs so the quality of oil is important to me. I will likely rebuild all of my old engines several more times before I'm too old to drive, so the longer the engines last, the better.
Steve Simmons

Here's some reading...

http://www.kirks-auto.com/Oil_101_byRobertKirk.html
S

This thread was discussed between 04/08/2016 and 13/08/2016

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