Q: I just watched Jeff Gordon win the Daytona 500 in his Dupont Chevy, and I’d like to know what grade of oil he uses? I know it’s Quaker State, his sponsor, but what’s the weight? Also, what do the drag racers use, weight and viscosity-wise? Can we buy the same oil?
A: The top pro racers generally use specialty race oils not readily available to the general public. However, Quaker State now produces race-specific oils that are commercially available, so we went right to the people who sponsor Jeff Gordon and spoke to Mark Ferner at Quaker State’s Research Center in Houston.
Ferner does research and development for Quaker State and also works closely with Rick Hendrick’s motor program in developing the correct oil for his fleet of NASCAR race cars. Ferner also works with drag racers.
Ferner told us that Quaker State’s “Q” racing oils were recently launched commercially for racers based on Quaker State’s history of R&D with pro race teams like Jeff Gordon and drag racer Tony Pedregon. Currently, Q’s racing-line synthetics include 0W-5, 15W-50 and a unique oil product listed as 17.5W-35.
“We now commercially produce three oils for use in legally sanctioned races,” Ferner said. “As for the drag racers, Q offers an 0W-5 viscosity oil that NHRA Pro Stock racers are very interested in. They look for a thin viscosity as slippery as possible to generate every bit of horsepower out of their gasoline-powered engines.
“Oddly enough, at the complete opposite end of the spectrum are the nitro cars in Dragster and Funny Car,” Ferner said. “These engines produce 6,000 to 8,000 horsepower and need additional crankshaft main-bearing protection because of the incredible load put on these parts.”
Ferner said that if the fuel drivers launch too hard and allow the engine to accelerate too quickly, the crankshaft has the ability to flex and the center main bearing could experience metal-on-metal wear and damage the crankshaft.
“These Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars are experimenting with a straight 70-weight oil. The ‘grade’ number usually stops at 60, but “Q” is making oils that exceed that 60 value, and since it’s not for passenger cars, we’ve been liberal with the nomenclature and refer to it as 70-weight motor oil.”
Ferner explained that both synthetics and non-synthetics are currently being tested in Top Fuel and Funny Car.
“The synthetics give more protection against high temperatures, but given the fact the drag race is so short, the oil doesn’t typically get as hot as it does in other racing venues. We’re concerned with how much fuel washes by the piston rings and gets into the oil. We’ll look at all options to see how an oil handles the tremendous fuel dilution that occurs in a fuel car.”
“The 17.5W-35 has been developed for a sport-compact drag racer by the name of Kenny Tran. He runs a 175-mph Honda Civic with a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that puts 1,000 horsepower to the ground (via high rpm). We actually developed the oil first and then measured the viscosity. Nowadays, oil is not just a commodity. We have some teams that work with us, and we take (the R&D) to the next step. This new sport-compact oil is between a 10W-30 and a 20W-40. We also have a few other viscosity grades we are in the process of commercializing.”
As for what grade of “Q” synthetic Gordon had in his engine during his victory at Daytona?
“That’s a team secret,” quipped Ferner.