Work around engines long enough, and you’ll eventually hear the term ZDDP. That acronym is shorthand for the alphabet soup “zinc dialkyldithiophosphate,” which is a fancy way of saying anti-wear and anti-corrosion additives.
Without going into a full-blown chemistry lesson, today’s motor oils often have lower levels of ZDDP, which is fine for a modern engine but can create problems for vintage and high performance race motors that need that extra protection that ZDDP provides.
You can learn more about ZDDP in this tech article from Summit Racing.
The good news is, Valvoline has a lineup of VR1 Racing Motor Oil that features increased levels of both zinc and phosphorus (ZDDP), so it’s well suited to the lubrication demands of a high-strung race powerplant or the motor in a classic car or truck.
Better still, Valvoline offers its VR1 Racing Motor Oil in a range of viscosities, and as either a blend or full synthetic, so it’s easy to find the best oil for your vintage or race engine.
To learn more about the benefits of ZDDP that this VR1 Racing Motor Oil provides, the Summit Racing folks trekked out to the Valvoline booth at the 2023 SEMA Show. Watch the video below to see what they discovered:
Who cares about valvoline, talk about the Supra specs, I know you gotta appease your corporate sponsors, but you’re a racing equipment company, talk about the equipment that went into the engine of this Supra. Your best readers are likely technicians and mechanics, and this article reads like its ChatGPT trying to teach the general public.
Hello Tak, and thank you for reading. This specific article is from the 2023 SEMA Show where Valvoline was showing off its VR1 motor oil, and we figured our readers would be interested in a ZDDP- and moly-enhanced motor oil for their performance engines. That Supra in question is T.J. Hunt’s drift Supra which, at the time of this comment (I think) is running a built 2JZ stroked out to 3.4L and boosted via a Garret G35-1050. From what I’ve seen, it’s making north of 900 horsepower.
We’ve got an in-depth article on the merits of Zinc, if you’d like a more in-depth post on the subject. Check it out here.