What engine oil? Synthetic?

When I got my VS five years ago, I didn't know enough about oil to have an opinion.

So I asked someone who did - my mechanic, Tony.

Oil is important to Tony. It's not just his motor at stake - it's his business. Tony wants to see happy customers coming back year after year. He wants them to say nice things about his work. To him, broken motors mean lost business. He doesn't need to see engineering data or statistics - just happy faces.

Tony said use the green stuff, so that's what I do.

It's not that another oil wouldn't work, but after 30 years and hundreds of motors, Tony knows for sure that the green stuff will.

You could save some bucks using other oil, but how many bucks? Two bucks per quart? Ten per oil change? Twenty bucks a year?

I figure there are enough other things on this marvelous car that could blow up expensively in my face as it is.

Why mess with a simple thing like oil that's been proven to work over time?

@Sacto Mitch sound advice. I also share those feelings towards quality fuel. For the few thousand miles I drive my speedster a year, it’s not worth saving (~$50-$90) a year being cheap about my oil and fuel. 

Agreed. I have nothing against Brad Penn oil, just keep it in the back of your head that Valvoline 4-stroke motorcycle oil works too. And if you need just a quart or two, and you're short on oil for a change, it will do you. Or if maybe you're out of town on a tour and you forgot to pack enough, any store should have you covered.

I should show you my Raby engine manual and the oils that were recommended in 2001. Brad Penn wasn't one of them......

It's not about saving a few bucks for me, that's just a side benefit. It's about easy availability, and enough ZDDP to keep my motor going.

Cheers.

I run Brad Penn unless I’m on a trip and need an add. I don’t carry more than a quart or two, and if I need more every AutoZone in America has VR1.

So, is it ok to mix different oils if needed? Will an oil change be required soon after?

That begins to get complicated, depending on the additives in each, but I would wonder just why you would want to do that in the first place?  If you’re out on the road and need some oil and can’t find what you use at Pep Boys?  As Danny and Stan says, Valvoline VR1 is everywhere so use that if you didn’t bring any wit’cha.

I would think that it’s OK to mix different brands with the same viscosity (like 20W-40, say) but remember that different brands have markedly different additives in them.  If it’s an emergency and it gets you home, fine.   Just do an oil change in the next month or so, using something you know is good for your engine, like those mentioned above, and you’ll be fine.  Good oil is cheap.  A new engine isn’t.

Valvoline VR-1 Racing oil conventional