MTFCA Forum

I’m new to the model T world. Without getting into a big debate, I was wondering if anyone uses synthetic oil in their T? If so, what’s your opinion?

Your question will spur a tsunami of debate!
Google search, “MTFCA oil”.
Many will say that any modern oil is better than what was used when your T was new
Gene

Due to the fact that Model T's require frequent oil changes synthetic oil is expensive overkill..... Also, when choosing an oil remember that any oil containing graphite will kill your magneto so stay away from it.

Expensiverer when you need to top it up, and you will find leaks where you thought you had none...

The only issues I would have:

It's slipperier than Dino or semi-dino oil - which isn't good for slipping clutches and bands.

It also needs to be able to protect your transmission gearing, and not attack bronze or babbit, tho I dont *think* that's an issue.

You also need to make sure it's safe to use with your magneto stator field coil windings. Same if you have one of those aftermarket fiber camshaft gears.

A plus is it's not a pressure oil system, so it will tend to creep well during splash. The downside is it's a filterless splash oil system (on an engine histroically notorious for blow-by) so you still have to change your oil on schedule - no "extended service life" for you.

Off the top of my head, that's all I can think of. If you decide to go for it post your results...

I’ve been using synthetic for about 20 years in my 2 basically stock T’s. I have no regrets. Oil is cheap, engines are expensive!!

Synthetic oil is good in engines with a filter and little blowby without leaks. It's main purpose is for extending the mileage between oil changes on modern cars. But since the T has no filter and has blowby and also tends to leak, it is a waste of money to use synthetic oil. I don't think it will damage the engine, however, it should be changed about every 500 miles. It must be changed because the dirt and sludge are suspended in the oil with no filter and needs to be drained before it builds up too much. So why waste the money when good 10W30 detergent oil works just fine and is better than oil which was available when the T was new.
Norm

Been using Amsoil Premium 10W-40 since my engine was broken in a few years back. No issues at all. I get it at discount which puts it at roughly the same price point as conventional brand oils. Plus my car isn't a prolific leaker. If those two factors were different, I'd probably just stay with conventional oil.

As stated above the need for frequent oil changes in the T kind of makes any + in synthetic ineffective. Does it increase engine life? Not a bit of evidence for that. Could probably never be proved anyway. Also stated above was the fact that most all oils today are better that what was back when so a decent 10W-30 weight will do just fine. I used 30W non D for years until I had to move the car in the frozen dead of winter. That stuff got thick.

This doesn't relate to Model T's much, but Valvoline now has a high zinc oil. I saw a bottle of it the other day for the first time.

Original Smith wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 06, 2020 10:31 am

This doesn't relate to Model T's much, but Valvoline now has a high zinc oil. I saw a bottle of it the other day for the first time.

GOOGLE search Is ZINC magnetic https://terpconnect.umd.edu/~wbreslyn/m ... netic.html
"What is interesting is that even though zinc isn't magnetic is can interact with magnetic fields. If you move a strong magnetic you can actually cause small currents of electricity to flow in the zinc. These small currents have a magnetic field opposite the moving magnetic. As a result they push away and the zinc can move. But, it's not the zinc that’s magnetic - it's the small electrical field exhibiting magnetism.... I should note that zinc is not magnetic unless you put it in a very strong magnetic field and then it will be slightly magnetic until you remove the field. But for practical purposes zinc is not magnetic. " Note Zinc is a moderately good conductor of electricity and leaking of oil containing it may cause some issues.

I really hate to add this but its an interesting article and may prove everyone is using what they should and there is no one answer.
https://modeltfordfix.com/care-and-feed ... el-t-ford/
"ZDDP was first specified as an automotive additive for the 1955 model year. The reason was that new 1955 cars with ultra high performance engines were using stiffer valve springs to enable higher RPM which yielded higher horsepower. These cars used “flat tappet” lifters along with overhead valves. AS RPM increases, the amount of inertia generated by the camshaft parts requires stronger springs to close the valve and to keep the lifter from hopping up and down on the camshaft. The increased friction from the super strong valve springs in these 1950’s cars caused rapid wear of the camshaft and lifters. This had never been a problem in older engines, and it was never a problem in the Model T Ford."
Bottom line – do you need high ZDDP motor oil for your Model T? No.

With all this being considered, what oil is best for the Model T? Let’s consider one more thing – operating temperature where you live. If you live in a hot, desert environment such as Saudia Arabia where cool morning temperatures are 85 – 90 degrees F and afternoon temperature reaches 120 degrees F you will want to use something like 10W-40.
In areas with average temperature between 40 and 110 degrees F you will want to use 5W-30.
Operating a Model T in winter weather, with temperatures between 0 and 4 degrees F you will want to use 0W-20."