Rotella Synth Oil Analysis

[timbo]

I have used the Rotella T6 5W40 since new and it shifts great. I only have 2500 miles on it and have nothing to compare it to. But it has shifted smooth with no problems. Maybe I need to try something else for comparison?

[Pokey]

I have used the Rotella T6 5W40 since new and it shifts great. I only have 2500 miles on it and have nothing to compare it to. But it has shifted smooth with no problems. Maybe I need to try something else for comparison?

Why would you change, just keep doing what your doing IMHO.

[timbo]

I know the Rotella T6 is a group III oil and was thinking maybe a true group IV synthetic would be better like the Mobil 1 4T 10w40. I was told the Mobil 1 turbo diesel truck oil would be better than the Rotella T6. Anyone try it?

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Mine does shift better with the regular good ole Rotella, and it is cheaper too.

+1 on the plain ole' Rotella dino.

I still haven't sent my bottle from Blackstone in, I guess I am just not worried enough about the condition of my motor.  Performs great, gets good fuel mileage when I can restrain my right wrist, and never fails to start.  I couldn't ask for anything more.

[Pokey]

I know the Rotella T6 is a group III oil and was thinking maybe a true group IV synthetic would be better like the Mobil 1 4T 10w40. I was told the Mobil 1 turbo diesel truck oil would be better than the Rotella T6. Anyone try it?

Not sure that it is actually a group IV.

[B.D.F.]

Exactly- once the lawsuit was over, and the court system in the US had decided that group III oils could be called synthetic, Mobil began using group III as synthetic themselves. And it was Mobil on the other side of that legal argument saying that synthetic oils were only those which were man made (the actual definition of 'synthetic'). Mobil introduced synthetic oil to the public, fought against [I think it was Castrol] for calling mineral oil that met sufficient specifications being called synthetic, lost and then began selling mineral oil as synthetic oil based on the very lawsuit that they lost. That story has irony all over it....

So now it is far more difficult to choose true synthetic oil from the myriad of oils that say 'synthetic' on the container. Sheesh.

By the way, Rotella is not man made either but mineral oil…. even the stuff labeled ‘synthetic’.

Brian

Not sure that it is actually a group IV.

[wally_games]

Sure, but you'll have to wait awhile as I just changed it last month, switched out the Maxima Ultra with Redline 5-40 bike oil. I plan on having 3000 miles on it by Mid Oct as I will be taking on a few long trips between now and then.

3,000 miles in six months, including "a few long trips", sure doesn't sound like you're riding it much. Just sayin'. 

[TJ]

This is a good read, although a little old:
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

I have only used Chevron "Diesel" oil for about the last 8 years and been pretty happy with it. Never tried Rotella, although I might next time.

Been riding for 40 years and the one thing I noticed with certainty is the trannie on a bike is hard on oil. Change the oil, shifting is like butter for 500-1,000 miles then it slowly loses the smoothness. Unfortunately there are very few people who keep a bike long enough to lay claim to any valid wear issues with the oil they are using.
There is a lady on the FZ forum who has 200,000 miles on her FZ and on original rings. Now thats a testament to the brand of oil she uses.

Oil is cheap, change it often, and forget about it. Your motor will outlast your love of whatever you are riding at the present.

[katata1100]

For all the arguing discussion about oil on the 'Net, there is really precious little information (data) available. The only research specifically about motor oil performance in reciprocating auto engines that I am aware of was a report done by Consumer Reports some years ago. IIRC it was a 60K mile test starting with either new or rebuild engines, measured before assembly, and then installed in NYC taxis and used with various oil types and brands. The results were inconclusive: all oils seemed to perform the same.

That was a lame test for the following reasons:
1) The cars were taxis run around the clock- they didn't have cold starts where most wear occurs
2) The cars were Chevy Caprices with stock gearing- peak power with stock gears doesn't occur unless you are doing over 45 in first, something that is very difficult to do in NY traffic. The driving conditions were pretty tame for these cars (I have an Impala SS).
3) Funny how they want to make things relevent to their readers, yet chose a car that is most unlike what readers have- a perimeter frame car with a tq rich ohv V8
that loafs through the city.

[lather]

3,000 miles in six months, including "a few long trips", sure doesn't sound like you're riding it much. Just sayin'. 

A long trip is > 3000 miles IMNSHO

[B.D.F.]

Yep, most people who choose synthetic oil do find that test 'incorrect'. :-) It may not have been what you would have chosen for testing parameters but they explained it very well by saying they needed a lot of identical vehicles, driven under the same conditions, and the vehicles had to rack up a lot of mileage quickly. NYC taxis fit that bill nicely. No one said it was an ideal test, just that it is about the only data available; all the other data is either one- off and can't be compared to anything else or is anecdotal- 'I've been using Brand X oil for XXX years and never had any oil related trouble', which does not mean anything at all because again it cannot be compared to anything else.

I think one interesting thing to note about the C.R. test is that all the engines were in just about perfect condition at 60K miles, as we would expect. Perhaps a better test would be to use trucks (tractor- trailers), some running mineral oil and some running synthetic, and rack up a million miles on the engine and then tear them down? Again, not the same type of usage as most people driving their cars to work but it would be possible to get that kind of information fairly quickly.

Brian

That was a lame test for the following reasons:
1) The cars were taxis run around the clock- they didn't have cold starts where most wear occurs
2) The cars were Chevy Caprices with stock gearing- peak power with stock gears doesn't occur unless you are doing over 45 in first, something that is very difficult to do in NY traffic. The driving conditions were pretty tame for these cars (I have an Impala SS).
3) Funny how they want to make things relevent to their readers, yet chose a car that is most unlike what readers have- a perimeter frame car with a tq rich ohv V8
that loafs through the city.

[katata1100]

3,000 miles in six months, including "a few long trips", sure doesn't sound like you're riding it much. Just sayin'. 

I also  have a kat 1100 which I ride more than you'd think. Besides, my summer is already taken with other things.
In two weeks, I load up the family in the jetta tdi, drive to Vegas to spend five days there, then drive to LA, go Raging Waters for a few days then see a Dodger game. Immediately after that, we fly out to Kona, spend 9 days there, come back, drive to Pismo, spend two days there, then come home. Five days later, wife and I drive up to Seattle, catch a 7 day Alaska cruise.
I'll be putting on 2000 miles on the C14 when I go to the International Beer Festival in Denver in Oct.

[killingbugs]

As my father told me: The type or brand of oil is not important, just make sure it has oil in it!!

He gave me this advice right after I burned up the push mower

[JS_racer]

As my father told me: The type or brand of oil is not important, just make sure it has oil in it!!

He gave me this advice right after I burned up the push mower