Art's Blog

Click for larger image VW Beetle Oil Change, By-Pass Filter Change and Tightened Fan Belt Click larger I changed the oil and tightened the fan belt on my 67 VW Beetle. I installed AMSOIL Z-Rod Synthetic Motor Oil and changed the AMSOIL By Pass oil filter . AMSOIL Z-Rod protects flat tappet cams as well as protects from rust and corrosion for long periods of storage. AMSOIL Z-Rod Synthetic motor oil for classic cars or hot rods has extra zinc for the enhanced protection of the flat tappet camshaft this engine has. I had been using AMSOIL Dominator Racing Oil , but that's for 2,000 plus horsepower engines and this engine only has about 53 horsepower. Z-Rod gives great wear protection and its formulation enhanced with corrosion prevention additives. A much better choice for this little car. Click to enlarge On cars such as this, with older flat tappet cams, we need to avoid the API SN or API SM or newer oils as well as the ILSAC GF-5 or newer oils as these have greatly reduced the le...

If you buy your motor oil at the local auto parts store or other stores such as Wal-Mart you could be headed for serous trouble and not know it. Or, perhaps, you're reading this after finding out you've got some serious engine damage that needs to be repaired. Either way, today's current oils sporting the API SN & ILSAC 5 specs are not good for your engine at all. The friction modifier added to motor oils to prevent wear is considered a source of pollution. Why? Because many feel it's harmful to the catalytic converter on modern cars. So despite these additives being used in these engines for years, the decision was made to remove or greatly reduce the zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) otherwise referred by most people as "zinc" and others as "phosphorus". Tree huggers don't want us to keep our older cars much longer do they? But what about new car engines? It's been decided that these engines will probably be OK since the worst of t...