Most internal combustion engines rely on motor oil for one reason: lubrication. The oil gets pressurized between 10-70 psi and spends most of its life subjected to roughly 200 degrees’ worth of heat.

Throwing speed parts at stock engines is about as pure as hot rodding gets. From stacking carburetors on utilitarian flat-head Ford engines to bolting a big blower on a world-weary small-block, the ...