Denver Automotive Parts, Machine and Service Shop

How do racing oils differ from everyday motor oils? You might think all racing oils are synthetics, but they are not. Some use conventional mineral base oils, others use PAO and ester synthetics, and some are a blend of conventional and synthetic oils. Some racing oil suppliers refine their own oil while others are blenders who buy base stocks from other oil companies and mix in their own additive package. It doesn’t really matter which way a racing oil is created as long as it meets the criteria for which it was designed.
Racing oils are formulated for hard use, high temperature operation. This requires a high quality base stock with an additive package that provides superior wear resistance and oxidation resistance compared to an everyday motor oil. Base oils make up 70% to 90% of the liquid that’s in a bottle of oil. The rest is various additives. A high quality base oil usually requires fewer additives to achieve good performance, while less quality oils need a better additive package. The bottom line is that two different racing oils formulated using different base stocks and additive packages can often meet the same performance criteria.
When choosing a racing oil, therefore, comparing apples to apples can be difficult because of the different base stocks and additives that are used. Most oil companies will only hint at what’s in their product, preferring to keep their exact formula a proprietary secret. They may make certain claims as to how the oil performs or how much anti-wear additive it contains, but trying to compare one motor oil directly to another can be very confusing. Motor oils with the same viscosity rating can have very different additive packages and very different performance characteristics. So the best advice we can offer when it comes to choosing a particular brand of motor oil is to go with a brand that has a good reputation with the racing community. It doesn’t matter if the product is made by a big oil company with a big promotional ad budget or blended by a small supplier who relies on word-of-mouth advertising.
That said, let’s take a closer look at what goes into racing oil and how that may affect the way you choose to build an engine.