Bob, son, you are old to have used that kinda oil. You were driving in the 50's, I was still a kid. Pennsylvania crude at one time was the absolute best crude feedstocks to make motor oils from. The reason is because in those days the refineries were only using solvent refining to remove impurities. It really didn't yield a clean product but it was better than nothing. The crude was the "sweet" type meaning it didn't have a boatload of sulfur in the crude that had to be removed, like the Arab crap we get today. So the motor oils made from it were the purest available.
Brad Penn oils. We have an absolute zero in the database on it. I've heard of it and what I heard wasn't good but ya know how scuttlebutt is- it might be right and it might be BS. So no, I have no information on it.
In regards to cold startups, check the oil you want to use at the makers website. Look for the CCS rating- less is better. The Cold Crank Simulator Test actually tests the oils ability to flow and how much energy it takes to move the oil within the lube system.
The alcohol based oils are those that we call esters, mainly polyol ester but there are other esters available like a diester. These actually offer in the lab a hair more lubricity than any petroleum based lube. But the difference is so small that it becomes irrelevant data. There's no particular reason to use it for the average driver. It has more solvency than a crude based oil so it will clean better. It's not subject to any bad characteristics due to temperatures so it's a great base to make an oil from. There's only one motor oil made from polyol ester as the entire base oil and that's G Oil. It's only available, as far as I know, at Walmart and runs just under 30 bucks for a 5qt jug, usually.
While jet engines sounds like a good simile, they are more kin to a hydraulic pump than an internal combustion piston engine. While a jets lube system has to provide for temperature extremes and sudden temperature extremes, they do not have to deal with combustion deposits or particulates or acids. The biggest issue with jets is making the transition from say 100F summer time temps at the runway to -35F at altitude. The esters handle this quite well.
Scootrd, the statement about the antique engine is not quite true. ZDDP wasn't used as an additive until after WWII. It was found to be a cheap way to get more miles out of an engine. It works as an anti- oxidant, oxidation inhibitor, anti-wear agent, extreme pressure lube, friction modifier, and a metal deactivator. That's a lot of hats to wear for one additive But it comes at a cost. What most folks are not aware of is that it is a non-functioning additive until it gets to about 150F. It fails at lubing if the temps get over 350F. We now employ borates, MoTDC , Antimony,organic sulfur-nitrogen compounds, borate esters, a host of diamylcarbamates, and others to take the place of ZDDP. MoTDC is another compound that takes the place of ZDDP and wears many hats as well. It will exceed anything ZDDP ever dreamed about when it comes to lube strength- over 500,000lbs. It will plate an engine with a thin hard coat of extremely slippery dry film that can take several oil changes just to get it out. MoTDC works where ZDDP fails and that's at high temps. Your engine will melt before MoTDC fails. ZDDP was used because it was cheap and wore many hats but new technology has pretty much made it a dinosaur. We now have titanium sulfonates that are even stronger than anything we've ever formulated. So while you're correct that some of the engines from about 1951 to the late 80's were designed with ZDDP in mind, it's not required as the formulators have replaced it with far better technologies. Unfortunately, a lot of folks have bought into the "it has to have ZDDP" and it costs money. Money is the key and the guys supporting these claims are making a lot of it.
