I know oil is a tricky subject--I know way less about oil than I guess I should but----other than the rash of lobe failures experienced when the oils changed--now Years ago--now Fixed-- for the most part---I have never had an engine failure I could connect to the oil being used--I have always used thicker oils like 20w50 and gave up on any performance gain from oils ( though I know from the dyno it is true ) I almost always have loose built engines I know there is still to this day Snake oil being sold and peddled--I also know that the "Bobs the Oil guy" website has folks that spend days on end just talking oils--it seems to be one of the most informative sites out there but ...I also know that if the engine is in good shape and you have any kind of oil in it-that you are almost assured that the actual oil will not be the issue if you have a failure--That would be in 90% of the engines guys on this site build and use--now I understand that a twin turbo 3 sec car and others are different so I get Extreme applications but ..as far as the old cam lobe argument--it has been proven that there are MANY factors other than oil that have piled on to make that subject a never ending tale--lifter bores, lifter crown, spring pressures, imported junk parts, USA made junk parts, etc It is NOT just the oil though I think that is the biggest factor
I have had great luck with just about any of the high ZDDP stuff as far as break in and I have run almost everything made in drag and street engines and it all worked great! I tear down all kinds of race engines every week and some of them you can hardly hold on to the parts they are so slick --when I see that I always ask what oil you running--that and a good inspection of the parts gives me a good insight into the deal every single week-- Compwedge is right--real pros that see it every single day tend to gravitate toward the best info and products available and those are opinions based on real world--see it with your on eyes data--not the old my dad ran xxxx brand for 50 years kinda stuff
I have run some stupid high pressures on flat solids using EDM lifters and very careful break in--have seen perfect looking cam lobes and lifters with 5-6 brands of oil after being SURE all else was right with the entire engine
I have to say that Gibbs is amazing--the tech they offer is the best around--Lucas stuff works--Amalie also KNOWS what they are doing--I still run the now Conoco Phillips made GT-1 Kendall in my alky dragster even with small doses of nitro because after two years it has shown me it works--and is slick--and my tear downs have shown NO oil related issues-and because I have to change it a LOT with fuel and alky and..I buy in bulk at around $34 a case--I can't afford to toss several cases of Brad Penn down the drain every week though it does a killer job with alky
It is all about the whole picture and common sense--not the most expensive or best advertised or IMO the best test results no matter who did the testing
Whew! Big subject