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Engine Lube 101: The Logic Process

The steps for choosing the right engine oil blend are based on simple and perhaps not so simple logic. Moreover, your value drivers may add some variation, but here I try to make my thinking apparent so you can evaluate what’s appropriate for your engine and ops. 

If you have a Lycoming O320-H2AD or O360E that requires Lycoming’s anti-scuff additive by AD, then consider using an AeroShell oil with TPP (aka TCP); whether straight weight or multiweight depends on the temperature stability of your area or oil change interval. Alternatively, consider using Phillips straight-weight or multiweight oil, and add Lycoming’s additive. The Phillips Victory oil solution will be less expensive, most likely, depending on how you source your oil—at the airport’s FBO, from a local oil company jobber or from a mail-order high-volume retailer, as examples.