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Precious Bodily Fluids

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surfguitar58:
As I wait for the ice cave where I store my car for the winter to melt, I have been occupying myself trying to get a handle on what fluids I need to stock/replace in the spring. Researching this in the lotus-europa.com knowledge base only adds to the confusion, and since most of the posts there are from 2002 or so, may be outdated. This is further complicated by not knowing what fluids were in the car when I bought it, differences between model years, and availability of additives in different countries.

So, at the risk of starting a holy war (what's that saying? "Opinions are like a--holes, everybody's got one") here is my working list of fluids (yellow column). I welcome any input that will save my car from my own ignorance.
Tom

Pfreen:
Where would you buy Castrol xl 20w-50 in the U.S.?  I could not find it and used regular Castrol gtx 20w-50.

jbcollier:
Motorcycle shops and some parts houses carry Castrol 20/50 motorcycle or oil and it has the (somewhat) higher levels of additives that many modern oils lack.

surfguitar58:

--- Quote from: Pfreen on Saturday,January 20, 2018, 10:42:26 AM ---Where would you buy Castrol xl 20w-50 in the U.S.?  I could not find it and used regular Castrol gtx 20w-50.

--- End quote ---

Oops! You’re right, I didn’t notice Castrol XL was not available in the USA. (You can buy it on eBay for $109/gal + $22 shipping, but that is the same thing as “unavailable” in my book.) Too bad, sounds like good stuff.

What do we think of Lucas Oil Hot Rod and Classic Car 20W50 Motor Oil? Claims to have lots of zinc, though doesn’t specifically say ZDDP. Sold at Walmart. Kind of sounds like Cold Duck compared to Castrol’s fine champagne, at least the way they market the stuff.

BDA:
I had been warning people to make sure there was sufficient zinc in their oil till JB reminded me that the cam sits in a bath of oil and thus zinc is not as critical as for a spray lubed cam as in a push rod motor. I trust him on that, but I still use Red Line 10W40 per Red Line's recommendation. At a little over $11/qt when you buy 12 and $18/qt individually, you may decide that is just as available as Castrol XL.

I don't know specifically about Lucas Oil products.

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