Quality Oil Suggestions

[Br@ndoM@n]

First I did do a search on here for my answer and zero results for oil. lol. google search returned some results but nothing to answer my question.

My question is what high quality oil have u guys run in ur carts. I changed the oil in my honda gx160 because when I checked it when I got it, the oil was black and thinned out really thin. Anyways I change it with 5w30 and within id say 2 hrs of riding the oil was black and thinned out. I know black oil doesnt always mean it needs changed and some oils with alot of detergents will turn black quickly. But the thinning out tells me thermal breakdown. So Im thinking of a quality synthetic oil thats 5w30 and is made for aircooled motors so to be better resistant to thermal breakdown. Im not looking for a all out race oil since almost no race oil contains any cleaning properties.
Also if such oil is available at major parts stores that would be great to avoid paying as much in shipping as per quart.

I have a NAPA, Checkers, & Autozone around here.

 

[matman55]

I have a NAPA, Checkers, & Autozone around here.

why dont you go down to the store and look around.?
look for a high quality oil.

 

[r_chez_08]

I would replace it with either a kart specific or a mower/ garden machinery oil. I heard automotive ones are slightly different and don't work quite as well in a splash lubricant situation.
I have some castrol garden machinery oil. Cost around £7 for a litre from a car shop.
Race karters use some specialist oil, and they change every race or every other race.
If you are running governed or under 5k I wouldn't worry about it. Regular oil changes are good though. Whenever you feel like it! After all, we do beat the crap outt these little motors.

Edit: matman, WTH? How can you tell how good an oil is by looking at the bottle? May say high quality, may be expensive, may come in a brightly coloured bottle, but that doesn't always mean jack****!

 

[oldbikerarlo]

I like plan old non detergent 30wt.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I have never had any issues running standard name brand stuff. Stick to the Castrol, Valvoline, Quaker State, etc.

I do run multigrade, but unless you're running quite cold, you should use 10W30. I wouldn't run 5W30 unless necessary). Considering your location, it's probably not necessary. The alternative (which is almost ALL manufacturers' recommendation is standard SAE 30 detergent oil.

 

[matman55]

Edit: matman, WTH? How can you tell how good an oil is by looking at the bottle? May say high quality, may be expensive, may come in a brightly coloured bottle, but that doesn't always mean jack****!

i dont know a hole lot about oils but i atleast know the crappy brands from the ok ones.

 

[devino246]

i dont know a hole lot about oils but i atleast know the crappy brands from the ok ones.

Really? What data do you draw your conclusions from?

 

[Br@ndoM@n]

Yeah I live 40 miles from anything and wanted a opinion on what everyone was using. I thought maybe there was a good aircooled motorcycle oil. I know what oil I use in my vehicles is good stuff but Aircooled motors run hotter than watercooled ones.

 

[r_chez_08]

Well, I used to use 15w40 tractor oil because that is what I had readily available. But after tearing down the motor, I don't think it thanked me for it.

 

[rifkin]

I just run napa 10w-30 in my predator considering it is a cheap chinese engine made to power machinery. Unless you have a legit performance engine I don't think you will find any real difference in performance or lifespan w/r/t brand and type of oil.

 

[spyder1968]

royal purple......available at most auto parts stores

 

[Br@ndoM@n]

yeah spyder thats what I was thinking last night to give Royal Purple MaxCycle 10w30 a shot if they have it in stock.

 

[spyder1968]

best stuff on the market imo.......not every one carries it though.

 

[Br@ndoM@n]

I got my carb and some power goodies on order so when they come in ill go find me some since checkers heres can order me the autolite x plug for $4 here and gonna pick me one up there at the same time.

 

[Pyrotechnic]

Well, I used to use 15w40 tractor oil because that is what I had readily available. But after tearing down the motor, I don't think it thanked me for it.

Just wondering, what did you find wrong with the motor and are you sure it was the oil?

I've seen cases where people take a motor that had been run on standard gas engine motor oil for a long time, and some sludge had built up. They then switch to diesel engine oil and the high detergent content breaks all that sludge loose, clogs the oil pickup, and seizes the motor.

 

[Brandon1023]

You really don't need to worry. The gx series are not designed for go karts. Yes, you can use them perfectly fine on a go kart. I'm gonna go ahead and speak for toy story here when I say these engines are designed to run allllll day long at 3600 RPM with no problems. In fact, you can hook up a gx 390 to a 55 gallon drum of gasoline, and let it run until the fuel is gone. Haha.

The label on the engine is straight to the point when they say what type of oil. People don't stress what kind of racing oil to use in their pressure washers, and in some cases people who make a living, run their pressure washer all day long probably 5 days a week with occasional oil changes. Just cuz the oil is black and the viscosity isn't quite what it was originally, doesn't mean it doesn't serve its purpose of creating a layer between the moving parts. Or more technically, the oil is still creating a layer between the microscopic peaks and valleys which exist on all surfaces.

So the answer is no, you shouldn't be worrying about it. I got a kart back in Jan of '05 and I had no clue to change oil in my adolesence. Oil was changed only when the carb was clogged, and we had to get it serviced. The engine lasted for 6 years until I snapped the connecting rod in December.

Really? What data do you draw your conclusions from?

I always get a good laugh when an experienced user asks those questions like this one. :biggrinjester:

Edit:

As you can see in the picture below, two metal surfaces slide past each other very quickly depending on the part. A cylinder needs constant lubrication since the piston will travel up and down thousands of times in a single minute. Suppose you pressure clean with a gx390 engine for 1 hour, non stop. (Although, most people prefer to before pressure cleaning *Black guy voice* you know what I'm sayin' ?) The piston will travel up and down 3600 times in one minute, usually. 3600 Strokes X 60 Minutes = 216,000 strokes. Hard to believe this is physically possible when a novice looks at the internals of an engine. The oil's job is to make the layer I talked about above all this which decreases the number of microscopic mountains from crashing in to each other 216,000 times per hour. Obviously an engine won't run for more than a minute or two without oil, but you know what I mean . It doesn't seem like there's mountains and valleys on all the surfaces we see, but there is. I don't care how smooth you say your cylinder liner is if you looked at it magnified thousands of times more than your eye can see, you'd see all the jagged, rough, saw tooth lookin' mountains. When these mountains come in contact with each other, especially at the speed an engine runs at, heat is released.

With that being said, the main thing you should be worrying about is keeping dirt out of that oil, because the dirt particles are exactly the same as the mountains. Except, these mountains can be seen with a human eye (which means the bigger the particles, the bigger the friction), but they'll just appear as harmless particles of dirt which actually do rapid damage to the internals.

As you can see, when the dirt particles, or metal shavings from inevitable engine wear get into the oil, they cause additional friction.


Finally, I'm gonna say one more thing. When you buy a new engine, there is something called the break in period. This is when the metal is freshly cast and has more mountains than an engine that has had use for a while. This is why the manufacturer advises you change the engine oil 30 hours after you first use it. In the first 30 hours, there is going to be the remnants of the metal shavings from the new cylinder.

This probably sounds confusing, but I hope it clears up confusion for some people at least.


Good luck,
Brandon.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I'm gonna go ahead and speak for toy story here when I say these engines are designed to run allllll day long at 3600 RPM with no problems. In fact, you can hook up a gx 390 to a 55 gallon drum of gasoline, and let it run until the fuel is gone.

You bet!

 

[anderkart]

Good info, I'd just like to add its a good Idea to drain your oil immediately after riding your kart around for awhile. That way more of the dirt and metal particles will still be suspended and will flow out with your old oil, instead of remaining stuck to the bottom of your engine to contaminate your fresh oil.

I also like to elevate one end of the kart up as high as possible, and also let the oil drain overnight. This helps drain as much of the old oil as possible.

I've always had good luck using Valvoline 30wt. racing oil in my kart engines running on gasoline.
I use Redline brand 30wt. in my racekart engines running on methanol.

 

[Brandon1023]

You bet!

It's like your catch phrase. Haha. I remember when you first told me that. It gave me a weird sense of happiness XD. When I was much younger (~7 yrs ago), I was under the impression that you can over rev an industrial motor from pushing too hard on the gas. I always thought the governor was the throttle linkage (and it is to some extent) on the outside of the engine and that its job was to keep the kart at a maximum speed, not the motor. Needless to say, that is what seems like eons ago. And what do you expect from a 10 year old who grew up in Miami with no American motor heads around him? XD


If water didn't cause metal to oxidize, you'd be able to make some redneck nozzle and hook your garden hose up to the oil fill location and cause a whirlpool in there. That would clean the case out pretty good. Too bad the rust would cause Appalachian peaks rather than microscopic ones XD

I've always been worried about draining hot oil since it reaches around 150 degrees, so I just do it the cold way lol.

Anyone got any concerns on used motor oil? Based on the way it smells, looks, and the information about cancer on the back of every quart, I imagine it's not healthy and wash my hands as soon as I come in contact with it. Perhaps someone can make some kind of sticky where it explains the dangers of each chemical used in go karting. People don't realize it's a much bigger deal than a little Pinesol getting on your hands (including my ignorant self last summer). These chemicals, which are primarily solvents, seep in to your pores and are extremely unhealthy. Anyone think a thread's a good idea?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I'm not sure about the thread, let's see what develops...

Regarding the used engine oil- Yes, it is pretty bad news. All those combustion products in there really are not good for you. Although the toxicity is not great enough to cause immediate damage, long term exposure through absorption is something to be avoided. Best bet is to wear gloves- neoprene, PVC, nitrile, or latex.

Since I'm old school, I'm still trying to train myself. I do all my vehicular oil changes every 5000km, and generally end up with it all over my hands. I've got BOXES of gloves, I just have to remind myself to use them...