Customer Reviews

Valvoline VV205 VR1 Racing Formula SAE 10w-30 (Turbo Approved) Motor Oil, Pack of Twelve 1 Quart Bottles

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Forget synthetics and their advertised benefits if you have a classic or muscle car with a flat tappet or solid rocker arm camshaft. This is the only API rated motor oil on the market for street engines with a high amount of ZDDP (zinc diakldithiophosphate) I know of. Mobil 1 makes a high ZDDP racing synthetic but it's too pricy for me. There will always be debates on what is the the best oil, but high ZDDP makes this a no-brainer in my book.

The Valvoline MSDS sheet states: 1.3% phosphorus/zinc, 1% sulfated ash and 2.5% calcium. The API rating is SH, the other SM rated oils on the market are at or below .08% ZDDP. Live it, use it, drink it, bath in it...not really. Use it in your engine though.

Very good oil at a reasonable price. If you have an engine with flat tappets you need the additives that are in this oil. They only call it racing oil because the government limits the additives in "regular" oil.

I'm certainly not an oil engineer, but this oil has been discussed extensively on a forum populated by those type of people (yes, such an oil forum really does exist). These are the kind of people that will send oil to be analyzed by a lab to find out the chemical content.
The general consensus holds that this oil is essentially the same as Valvoline's white bottle mainstream conventional SM rated street oil, EXCEPT with a boosted level of the Zinc/Phosphorus antiwear compound commonly known as ZDDP. It is boosted to a level that exceeds limits for SM/SN certification, so it doesn't carry the API logo.

This makes it a great choice for older flat tappet pushrod engines, which were designed at a time when ZDDP in typical oil was dosed at much higher levels than it is today. Newer engines with roller lifters, or overhead camshafts, don't put as much pressure on the cam/lifter interface and aren't as sensitive to ZDDP.
whether this type of oil is "necessary" is a neverending debate. Personally, my belief is that this formula is more optimal for the long term protection of a flat tappet pushrod engine, so I use it.

The downside with ZDDP is that it slowly poisons catalytic converters. However, the Zn/P level in this oil isn't severe, it's in the range of what was typical in the early 90s, when catalytic converters were widely in use. My take is that with this oil, your cat might not last any longer than it did in the 90s. I'm fine with that, I'd rather replace a cat than a cam.

If you find it elsewhere, be careful what version of Valvoline VR-1 you buy. This gray bottle conventional is what I described above, it's appropriate for a street car and has the typically advertised "3000 mile" oil change interval. Avoid the version of VR-1 that's boldly marked "NOT STREET LEGAL" on the front of the bottle - that's a completely different product, meant for serious racing and only lasts about 500 miles. If you put that in a daily driver it will sludge quickly.