The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

Which oil to use for track days for 2011 Mustang GT?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
1,289
1,113
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Philly Metro Area
I've followed this thread and despite many on TMO running dedicated track cars, why does it seem almost everyone runs high performance street car oil in lieu of an actual racing oil such as Driven XP9, Motul 300V, RP XPR, etc. Is it the extra cost, availability, or some technical factor?

What prompted this was a recent article in Grassroots Motorsports.

There has been virtually no mention of such oils in this thread except for a PDF attached in post #91 on page 5.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
I’d use Motul or Redline if I were running an enduro. Most of the racers here don’t run very long races, and that’s where a dedicated ‘race’ oil would shine or be a good value. Notice how the article talks about 3,000 mile changes...even that seems a bit long to me without additive packages intended to last very long.
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
I'm running a stock engine, 20 minute sessions which when you knock off warm up and cool down laps is actually only 15-18 or so minutes at full boogie, very rarely would be longer than that and then only 5-8 mins more. I change oil every 2 track days, use high quality synthetic oil, not going into the brand or weight since there's no need for another discussion about that. I just think race oil is overkill for what I'm doing. Even Ford's owners manual for my car doesn't say anything about using race oil for track days.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,356
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
The key is most of the folks on TMO are doing HPDEs, Time Trials or Autocrosses and the cars they run still have catalytic converters and O2 sensors. I remember some Tech Talks with SRT Engineers back when racing in Viper Days and the key is most racing oils have ZDDP ( blend of zinc and phosphorous ) and that is not beneficial for regular machines. ZDDP is great for pure race car's wear and tear , but phosphorous can damage converters and possibly be problematic for O2 sensors. Been awhile and I may have a few things a bit off, but they recommended, eveners back, that we use Mobil 1 0-40 ( for Vipers ) and change frequently. Current use is Ultimate Platinum Pennzoil ( made from natural gas ) and it was used in a later Viper Race Series. I know at the Mustang Roundup ,even the Engineers have said that the 5-50W Motorcraft is absolutely the way to go!! Couple of them have BossS vehicles similar to mine and they run Motorcraft Synthetic 5-50W. Know quite a few other guys who are running the Mobil 1 5-50W too............I for one, ha.
 
1,289
1,113
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Philly Metro Area
The key is most of the folks on TMO are doing HPDEs, Time Trials or Autocrosses and the cars they run still have catalytic converters and O2 sensors.
I'm sure most have dual purpose cars but I know a large number (but not necessarily in this thread) have dedicated track cars with full exhaust. I guess they still have O2 sensors so that may still be the limiting factor.

Thanks to all who responded. In this case I guess the juice ain't worth the squeeze.
 

TMO Supporting Vendors

Top