What Is A Track-Ready Oil And What Makes It Different From Other Blends?

The inside of a car's engine running at full-throttle is among the most violent environments crafted by human hands. It involves temperatures reaching four-digit figures, the momentum of pistons moving to and fro at incredible speeds, and the rotating crankshaft spinning on the working surfaces like bearings. 

That's not even getting into the valvetrain and any forced-induction mechanisms — all of these components, to varying extents, require some form of lubrication. Because of the laws of thermodynamics, the faster they go, the more heat they generate and the higher amounts of friction they experience. Such engines, running for long periods of time, require specific blends of oil to maintain their reliability and longevity.

There's no greater test of a machine's mettle than endurance racing, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Which, as the name suggests, features cars running on the Circuit de la Sarthe for 24 hours straight. This circuit is renowned for being one of the world's fastest, with cars spending about 85 percent of the lap at full-throttle. In order to run an engine that hard for that long, oil companies must manufacture specialized formulas, tailor-made to these specifications.

The formula generally involves a combination of elements which allow for high-horsepower over such a timeframe, so it must feature various additives which can withstand that level of abuse. These are, almost invariably, highly-refined synthetic base oils with high levels of zinc and other anti-friction agents, aimed to help reduce heat and friction buildup in these high-stress environments, but it comes with the trade-off of the oil going bad faster than typical blends. Let's dive in and explore the nuances of racing oil.

Think of how often you really go full-throttle in your typical daily commute. The average car's throttle pedal may never get fully-depressed during a vast majority of its lifetime, unless you're lead-footed with something like a like a rotary engine — which incidentally needs frequent oil changes due to how it functions. In general, though, most car engines enjoy comparatively uneventful lives when weighed against their racing counterparts.

Endurance racing covers the most distance of any racing series, with Le Mans being the longest of these. The 2025 Le Mans race winner covered a complete distance of 387 laps, which equals about 5,273 miles total. That's about the distance required for the average recommended oil change interval. 

However, in that timeframe, the car's engine experienced the equivalent of over 100,000 to 150,000 miles of wear because of the stress levels incurred during the race. In other words, these cars require engine oil that will maintain its anti-friction properties over 20 times longer than the average oil you find in your car, albeit they only need to hold together for, at most, 24 hours.

Different disciplines require different blends as well; for instance, endurance racing oil differs from drag racing oil, which uses high-viscosity levels to provide immediate protection over long-lasting protection. Similarly, racing in high-heat environments like desert endurance require high-temperature formulas, which exceed the specifications of other racing oils. Much like how different cars use different grades, so do the various motorsports disciplines and their vehicles as well.

The most average, comparatively-speaking, high-performance racing car when measured against a roadgoing counterpart is a GT car, such as the GT3 racers of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. This series hosts the Nürburgring 24 Hours, utilizing only GT cars ranging from highly-modified road cars to bespoke race cars using road car-derived engines, such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. 

Believe it or not, you can buy the oil used in the 2024 race yourself: it's Ravenol Racing Eco Competition 0W-40. However, note the Competition in the name: This oil, in fact, features multiple advantages over standard oil, namely its stable viscosity and molecular behavior, anti-wear and foam formation properties, anti-sludge, and more.

It's not particularly novel against regular engine oil, however. After all, racing engines function the same as normal car engines, just at higher stress levels, hence, much of its technology powers modern synthetic store-bought oils. The main difference with racing oil is in chemicals like ZDDP, a combination of zinc and phosphorus, thicker viscosities at high operating temperatures, and antioxidant capability to help resist high-temperature oxidation. 

As a trade-off, racing oil generally features a lower total base number than regular car oil, meaning it has a far shorter drain interval, though that doesn't matter as much when you're changing oil after every other session. In short, therefore, racing oil delivers extreme levels of performance over far shorter intervals than regular oil, much like the engines they lubricate. Lastly, if you're planning to change the oil in your car yourself, bear in mind that racing oil requires more frequent changes than standard oil, but otherwise will work fine with your car's correct oil weight.