Is 3 In One Motor Oil (Blue Label) Any Good As Damper Oil?

[73str86]

I've had 3-in-1 oil in my 2.9L SUs for about 500 miles, in Georgia 95+ degree F summers, to extreme Colorado winter. 

 

I have also deleted the coolant tube through the intake and around the block. Takes longer to warm up; I drilled an extra 1/8" hole in the thermostat. At 15 degrees F, the car was sluggish (to be expected) but that coolant tube would acts as a heater.

 

Overall I've been happy with the 3-in-1, but I'm upgrading a lot of items and sorting out some gremlins this spring. I may switch to Marvel Mystery Oil this summer just to see if I notice a difference. I'm not sure which would be best for high elevation (~7,000 ft).

[Mark Maras]

It will be interesting to see if there is difference between the two oils, assuming one is thicker than the other.

 As far as elev. is concerned, When driving up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, the engine developed a miss. Assuming it was mixture related, I gave the engine some choke to see if the miss went away. It only got worse, so I stopped & screwed both mixture screws in 1/2 turn. Problem solved temporarily. When I got back to a lower elev., I opened up the screws 1/2 turn. You may need to re-tune the carbs for the higher elev. depending on how rich the mixture is set.

Mark

[jalexquijano]

Back and forth hesitation came back when speeding at 1st gear. Damn it! Maybe i need to try ATF as Z therapy says!

 

Car starts shaken when initiating in 1st gear.

Edited April 2, 2015 by jalexquijano

[Jetaway]

If the piston rises too fast (thin oil), the fuel droplets fall out of suspension and the constant velocity drops. This makes a lean bog. Bumps in the road can also cause fuel changes.

The opposite happens if the oil is too thick: the piston rises slower, the air rushes through faster through a smaller area (not CV) and it pulls more fuel. This makes a rich bog.

 

Absolutely correct.  I used 3 in one (black label) and it was obvious that the piston was jumping around way to much.  I tried a straight 30 weight (motor) and while it ran reasonably enough, you didn't have to press too far down on the pedal to realize it was doggy.  The 3 in one (blue label -- SAE 20) has no power or drivability problems.

 

Jetaway

[Fred Sigarto]

I've gone to a hobby store and bought oil that is used in the shocks for remote control cars, very thin, been using since 94.. They carried 3 or 4 different ones.

[Stanley]

From my reading and very limited experience, suggest damper oil, needles (stock or modified), and springs work together; also engine displacement  and driving style have varying requirements.

 

If so, experience and/or experimentation may be required for best performance. Not telling racers anything new, obviously.

[Jeff G 78]

I've had good luck with both ATF and 10 wt. motor oil.  In my last race, I used ATF and the car accelerated cleanly with very good AFR readings from mid-corner until the end of the straightaways.