I was thinking the same thing, to maybe change out cam and lifters before the cam got eaten and metal shavings got all over inside of the engine... Requiring to buy a new engine.
But it's quite a big and expensive job to do the cam... Probably will cost around $5k in CA where I'm at, but it's not worth fixing something that isn't broken. If the engine really explodes, I'd rather replace with a new/rebuilt one for $7-10k , with warranty, versus throwing a $5k on a cam and lifters (something that may never break) and still having an old engine with something else breaking.
I'll deal with it if it becomes a problem. For now I've been running redline 5-30 for the past year, and that should be helping to save cam and lifters from excessive wear.
I agree, and you bring up a good point about one thing many people overlook; The FILTER.
I my hot rod, I run a zero bypass Canton filter and I have seen this same setup save many an expensive race engine from extensive damage before. Simply, all filters which have a bypass assembly WILL bypass when the filter medium gets clogged with shavings/debris from a sometimes small internal part which has failed, and once this bypass has undertaken, one is coating the rest of the engines undamaged internal parts/bearings with those very shavings the filter is supposed to protect against.
With a good oil pressure gauge in conjunction with a no-bypass filter, one knows pretty quickly (sometimes even before the failure's engine performance changes have been noticed) when there is a problem because the filter clogs and oil pressure drops and stays dropped with a no bypass type, allowing you to shut it down before the cancer spreads.
This is also another reason why a high filtration type of filter (like the Canton's) should not be used during new engine/rebuilt engine break-in periods, because the normal higher levels of bearing babbitt ect... that is floating through the oil will clog up those low-micron elements pretty quickly.
Burla also brought up the additives to exceptional/high performance oils like the Redline, and one needs to be careful of these high zinc levels of oils used in engines with modern emissions regulators like catalytic converters. A high zinc in race-oils will clog those up too, making for some performance loss and some unforeseen semi-expensive repairs to the exhaust system should a converter need to be replaced.
I run Brad Penn Racing Oil straight 30 weight (now known as Penn Grade 1) in my race engine (which never sees cold weather starts, even in storage) and it works awesome! But again, there are no emission control devices at all on my Cobra (Hell, there's barely even mufflers! LoL...)
For those of you living in always warm climates, I would also suggest switching to a straight-weight oil as well because a straight "20" or even "30" will out-perform a "5W20" or "5W30" type, and as long as your weather doesn't dip below @45 degrees F much, the "5w" part isn't doing a ton for you. Just make sure your engine is up to temp before flogging it too badly.
Also, the farther apart the numbers are in dual viscosity oil formulas, the worse it performs at either end of the spectrum... 5W20 will act more like straight 5 when cold and more like straight 20 when hot (212 F) than a 5W30 oil will at 5 or 30. But neither will work as good as straight 5, 20, or 30 in their respective temperature ranges.
