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Oils & Filters
Pontiac V8 Oils & Filters
Zinc First — Oils & Filters for Pontiac V8s
Oils & Filters is where a fresh Pontiac V8 lives or dies in its first twenty minutes. Modern API certified oils have had their ZDDP (zinc and phosphorus) anti-wear package cut back to protect catalytic converters, and that package is exactly what a flat tappet cam and lifter has to have during break-in and every mile afterward.
Butler stocks the Driven oils we run on our own dyno: BR and GP-1 break-in oils, GP-1 high performance blends, and the HR hot rod grades for street cars. Filtration is the Wix 51258 spin-on that replaces the factory PF-24 and goes in every Butler engine, and the Butler oil change kits box the right quarts with the right filters.
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More About Oils & Filters
1. Why ZDDP Decides the Outcome on a Flat Tappet Pontiac
Almost every Pontiac V8 that comes across the bench is a pushrod engine on a flat tappet cam, and that is the one valvetrain layout modern oil is no longer written for. Driven puts it plainly: modern API certified oils are designed to protect catalytic converters, while hot rod oil is designed to protect your camshaft.
| The surface that complains first | A flat tappet follower rides on a partial oil film under heavy spring load. Take the anti-wear additive away and you get wear and surface distress on the lobe and the lifter face long before a bearing protests. |
| What high zinc means here | Driven lists GP-1 BR Break-In 20W-50 at 1800ppm zinc with no moly and states that no additional zinc additives are needed. A fully formulated oil is not the same thing as a thin oil with a bottle dumped into it. |
| Where an additive fits | COMP Cams Engine Break-In Lubricant/Oil Additive is a 12 oz bottle of extreme pressure additive, compatible with any petroleum, synthetic or blended oil and recommended especially for flat tappet camshafts. Use it with an oil you already have — it is not a substitute for a break-in oil, and Butler’s recommendation is an oil formulated with the zinc already in it. |
2. Break-In Oil: The First Two Hours
Break-in oil is a separate product with a separate job. It protects the cam and lifters while the rings are still seating, and it has to come back out on schedule.
| Driven BR Break-In Oil, 15W-50 | The petroleum formula Joe Gibbs Racing uses to break in and dyno their engines, with the highest levels of zinc and phosphorus for flat tappet engines. Driven rates it for two hours of break-in and dyno time before changing to race oil, says it needs no EOS or other additives, and recommends pre-heating it to 180F before the engine fires. |
| Driven GP Break-In Oil, 30 grade | Pennsylvania Grade base oil with a high zinc, low detergent package, formulated for flat tappet, overhead and roller cam engines, and allowed by Driven for both dyno tuning and initial street use. |
| Driven GP-1 BR Break-In 20W-50, gallon | The heavier break-in choice, called out as ideal for engines with main and rod bearing clearances of .003" or greater. |
3. What Goes In After Break-In
Two very different customers land here: one putting a stock 350 back on the road, one running a stroker with wide clearances and a blower belt. The grade follows the engine, not the badge on the fender.
| Driven GP-1 15W-40 | Pennsylvania Grade synthetic blend for performance street, classic and competition engines that call for a 15W-40 or 10W-40, and compatible with methanol, E85 and high octane race fuel. |
| Driven GP-1 20W-50 | The same chemistry in the heavier grade, aimed at competition engines and air-cooled applications. |
| Driven HR1 15W-50 conventional | Called out for big block muscle cars and blown street rods, engines still on their original seals, and loose bearing clearances, with military spec storage protection against rust during winter layup. |
| Driven HR3 15W-50 synthetic | For modified, supercharged, long stroke or high compression builds and looser clearances, and listed as safe for O2 sensors and catalytic converters. |
| Driven HR5 10W-40 conventional | The lighter hot rod grade for any engine that calls for a 10W-40, with no additional ZDDP required. |
| Valvoline VR1 SAE 50 | A straight grade, high zinc and phosphorus racing oil for engines that live at high rpm. |
4. Filters and Butler Oil Change Kits
Filter choice is not a place to experiment on a fresh Pontiac. We have tried them all and seen many catastrophic failures from name brand filters.
| Wix 51258 | The spin-on that replaces the PF-24 and the filter used in every Butler engine, supplied with the gasket, mounting plate, center tube and inner element tube. |
| Moroso 22461 tall two quart filter | 13/16 in.-16 UNF thread, 8 in. tall, 27 micron, rated to 350psi. Read the warning first: it is for remote oil filter housings and not for a stock Pontiac filter housing. |
| BPI-OC-KIT and BPI-OC-KIT-GP1 | Routine change kits, 7 quarts of 15W-50 Driven conventional or 15W-40 Driven GP1, each with one Wix filter. |
| BPI-OC-KIT-BR and BPI-OC-KIT-BR-GP1 | Two-stage kits with 7 quarts of break-in oil, 8 quarts of the follow-up fill and two Wix filters. |
If you are firing a flat tappet cam, buy the break-in oil and the second fill together. Break-in oil is changed in minutes of run time, and the worst place to find out you are short a filter is with a hot engine on the stand.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.