Valvoline VR1 Racing SAE 10W-30 Motor Oil 1 QT

Great price for this product.

The gray bottle VR1 conventional oil is essentially the same as Valvoline's mainstream "premium conventional" oil, but with much more ZDDP. That seems to be the prevailing opinion on a forum dedicated just to motor oil, where many users send their oil in for a chemical analysis. That's a good thing - it means this oil is perfectly safe to use in a street car for a normal length oil change interval, and Valvoline has said as much on the packaging. ZDDP is a compound which contains phosphorus. It's effective at points of high temperature and pressure, particularly the cam lobes and lifters. However, if the oil is burned, phosphorus slowly degrades a catalytic converter. Federal regulators now require the car manufacturer to warrant their catalytic converters for a very long time. As far as I've been able to tell this isn't a real law, it's just the rising 4th branch of government making up new provisions to laws that were passed decades ago. The end result is that manufacturers have influenced modern API standards to require reductions in the amount of phosphorus in the oil. Modern engines don't require as much ZDDP anymore, but older flat tappet pushrod designs sometimes need more of it. The phosphorus limits imposed by API do not apply to 20w50 grades. Therefore, you'll find that the 20w50 version of this oil still has an API SN certification. This 10w30 version does not have the API cert, simply because it violates the phosphorus limit which is applicable on 10w30. It will still protect the engine as well as any SN rated oil would. The 10w30 version used to claim that it "meets or exceeds" the API SH requirements, but after my last purchase (in 2015) I noticed this claim has been changed to API SG. It's not an official certification, because you can't get API to certify standards that they consider obsolete, but the claim is an indication of where this oil sits in terms of it's ZDDP content. Xw30 grade API SN oil (the current standard) cannot exceed 800ppm phosphorus. The datasheet for VR1 10w30 says it contains 1300ppm phosphorus, zinc is 1400ppm. Zinc and phosphorus track together because they're part of the same compound, but phosphorus is actually the part that's regulated and prevents it getting an API certification. This amount of phosphorus was typical in the 80s and 90s, so it's not outrageous for an 80s car with a catalyst. I figure that worst case, it just means the cat won't last any longer than it did in the 90s, and I'm okay with that. The aftermarket replacement cats you'd probably have on an OBD-1 era car seem to break apart internally every 10 years anyway, regardless of oil. You can also mix this oil with the common white bottle "premium conventional" I mentioned at the top, which has 760ppm phosphorus. This will effectively dilute the ZDDP to something in between. This oil is not recommended for new cars, which don't need it and their cats are much more expensive than on older cars.

Perfect oil for my 1984 corvette and 1980 el camino with sbc 355. Got all the good zinc for the flat tappet cams. Could lower the price a bit tho. Dont see why 20w50 is so much cheaper that 10w30

This stuff runs clean and holds up great under load. I’m using it in a higher mileage performance engine and it’s noticeably quieter on startup and at higher RPMs. It’s got a nice weight to it and feels legit for older or tuned motors. No complaints on delivery — everything showed up sealed. I keep a bottle of this secured in my truck with the TripleD Tools Oil Dock so I can top off when needed without it rolling around. Would definitely buy again.

Would highly recommend to anybody running an older vehicle, put it in my 91 Cherokee which if you know those motors love zinc. Damn good price especially for being Valvoline.

Car didn’t blow up

This oil is a must when you have a flat tappet cam.

The VR1 oil has the zinc that our old classics need. Seems to be highly recommended by many.

This engine oil made my 1984 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with the 305 4 Barrel Carb in it and it became a totaly different car when I did the 1st oil / filter change with this engine oil. My car It was a little sluggish on the power when I first got it but then I did some extensive research on what the best type of engine oil I should run in it and i came across this engine oil made specifically for the older performance engines. My car starts up better than before and it has a lot more power, it also made it run better, and it was a bit better on gas too lol. All in all I definitely recommend this engine oil for them classic muscle cars. I will never put my usual choice of engine oil in it again. I’m sticking with this oil for now on for my Camaro.

Great for older cars due to the zinc additive. Little pricey compared to Lucas Hot Rod oil ( also excellent quality) but it holds up very well.

Amazing oil for racing and go kart engines. My only complaint is that whomever is selling this product likes to get greedy. Buy it when its 87$ cause these people constantly up the price once sales start. It goes from 87$ to 130$ very selfish and greedy and you will not get my money if you continue to do this.

As described! Couldn’t buy it from my local stores. Works great in flat tappet applications

Expensive oil so better work! My 67' Firebird Sprint HP OHC 6 had a lifter tap. I tried heavier oil but did not work! Probably too thick at startup. Went to VR1 10W30 with a lot of ZDDP and after a few rides it has quieted down quite a bit. Will use this for all oil changes going forward.