Is the "staggering" ignition related?

I had that problem before swapping out a Lucas Sports coil for a Flamethrower.  First occurred on the last leg home from MMW 2008 after crossing the border into Canada and hit the steep hill on 176th.  Was using a 30 year old spare coil after a "new" Lucas had packed it in in northern California on Hwy. 101.

Put another "new" Lucas coil in and the problem continued.  Swapped out to Flamethrower...end of story.  In fact, would not buy another Lucas Sports coil from our local supplier and that's all he had.  He checked and said his were all genuine Lucas.

Once burned, more than twice shy!

ATF is generally somewhere between 10W and 20W, depending on several variables (since it is not used the same way as motor oil it is not labeled the same way, but there are sites on the internet where approximations can be found). Other than the viscosity, the oil you use doesn't matter (ATF doesn't have any magic that an SU will benefit from).

The SU was designed to use 30W, and so 20W50 very closely matches that.

If 10W works for you, say, in the form of ATF, then by all means, enjoy doing so, and because it is ATF (a very, very highly developed hydraulic fluid), convince yourself that you are getting some kind of improved performance from it.

In any case, "if it works for you"...

Norm

ive used atf for years. no issues.

For my SU's, I used MMO for years... Castrol R on occaision... 20W-50 crankcase oil for some time, and more recently the Z-S oil (same bottle for a couple of years now) as well as the little free white bottles of dashpot oil that I occasionally receive with a part order.

To be perfectly frank, all seem to work pretty much the same. ;-)

Bill

The SU damper oil I purchased in 2001 for $7 still has a few fills left in it. When I run out, I might switch to something else.

Just saying -- to rationalize the cost of the oil over the years of use.

While I searching for a bulk source of damper oil, I found http://www.sw-em.com/su_carbs.htm a great resource. Bookmarked it.

If you are as anal as I am and demand consistancy use motorcycle fork oil.  I use 20wt but it comes in a wide range of viscosity, something like 2 to 80wt.

I have used ATF for the past 25 years. No preference of whether it is Ford, Chevy or Chrysler. Believe it or not, there are some that will prefer a specific type.

I have a friend that used Marvels Mystery oil.