[T3] ZDDP...again

[Jim Adney]

I went and bought a bottle of the Lucas product: $14 for a 16 oz 
bottle.

It's called:

"Engine Break-In Oil Additive
TB Zinc-Plus"

On the front it says:

"Designed specifically for racing applications

Protects flat tappet camshaft and valve train during break-in period 
of motor

Exclusive blend of extreme pressure additives to enhance protection 
in any motor oil, conventional or synthetic."

On the back it says:

"Directions: Add 1 full bottle to engine along with regular oil 
capacity of engine. After approximately 1,000 miles, drain engine and 
refill your engine with proper amount of oil.

For maximum protection use after every rebuild

NOT recommended for use in passengers cars requiring API SG, SJ, SL, 
SM and post 1994 vehicles. May cause damage to catalytic converters."

I opened the bottle and poured a few ozs. into one of my VW. The 
stuff looks just like greenish engine oil and has no particular smell 
that I could tell.

I think what I would tend to do would be to add about 1/3 of a bottle 
to every other oil change and just leave it in there. I googled it 
and found the info on the Lucas web site. There they say it's good as 
an additive as well as for break-in, but they also say that it's 
amber/brown in color and that 1 bottle into 4.5 qts of oil will bring 
the zinc content up to 5000 ppm.

The web info also says "not for passenger car use" but fails to 
mention not to use it with catalytic converters or in cars that 
require API SG or later oil.

Reading some other stuff on the web, I find that people warn against 
too much zinc, which must be the reason Lucas says to drain this out 
after breakin. OTOH, it appears that 2 Oz of this additive per 2.5 qt 
oil change, would give just about the right amount of zinc.

That's just about what I added to my '73, so I'll leave it at that. 
That also makes this additive quite economical.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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