If it makes anyone feel any better, I always ran Mobil 1 5-30 in my LQ9 with my old comp cam. It was a TSP 224/228 .581/.588 114lsa. Other than the back couple of lobes being beat to **** from the pieces of rods and pistons flying through the motor when it went boom, none of the other lobes towards the front of the cam had any wear like this whatsoever. I would think that there are way too many people running mobil 1, castrol syntec, royal purple, etc with aftermarket cams for this to just now be surfacing as a problem. For them to put the blame on the oil is a bit "flaky" to me at best. Now if you're running conventional penzoil like your daddy used to run in his bbc, then I could see the oil posing a problem.

 

 

hmm this worries me about my TSP 233/239 (comp cam) and dual springs.

What oil is everyone running? I saw that convo posted. Is it alright to run synthetic? The motor has 50k on it.

 

god damn it... this doesn't make me feel good.

 

Ive been getting recommendations from people and also read online that Rotella T is a good option. It still has the zinc and phosphorus that has been reduced or taken out of oil that is purposed for gasoline engines. (Thanks EPA)

 

The lack of ZDDP in modern oils due to emissions and the effects zinc has on catalytic converters has been a hot topic for a while now. There could be some truth to the debate with higher spring pressures and aggressive lobes even on roller cams. Valve train setup probably has more to to with the lifter and cam lobe failures on hydraulic rollers than anything.
To the OP... on the cam pictured, are the 'flakes' on the trailing ramp of the cam lobe? If so, the valve train setup could be to blame due to instability and 'pole vaulting' the lifter off the top of the lobe. When it crashes down with the high open pressure of aftermarket springs, it beats up the lifter roller and cam lobe.

 

I switched to Amsoil 10-40 due to not liking new oils. The amsoil has zinc and all the good **** as they dont sell over the counter. All new 5-20,5-30, 10-30 etc has next to no zinc for emissions reasons. They are taking all the good **** out of oil, so now you have to go specialized to get what you used to get without issue.

 

I thought amsoil didnt have it either... Im gonna look online for some more documentation.

 

Yea I need to be more careful about the oil I use... I wish there was a way to inspect the cam without pulling it.

I've never heard of the driven oil before. Sounds like something to look into though. I like Pat's idea of the 10-40 amsoil, but I drive the truck when its cold so I wouldnt want to deviate from 5-30 in cold months.

 

You have to go with a heavier oil. This is what I use, it specifically mentions Zinc content.

AMSOIL SAE 10W-40 Synthetic Premium Protection Motor Oil