Comparitive oil analysis

[lather]

Seems very strange - only difference was oil and area of country ridden.
The first column is the recent Motul 15w50 Esther Synth. V300 the May results are with Shell Rotella T6 5W40. I have pulled the air filter and see no evidence of a leak and it was seated very snug. The outside of th filter is dirty but the inside looks brand new. It is a K&N with a lot of miles. Guessing  25 or 30 k. I will add pictures later. Internet is down at home I am using a hotspot to post.

[B.D.F.]

It is interesting. One thing I noted was that the Motul also sheared down to below the min. specified viscosity for that particular oil and a similar amount that the Rotella did also. Another thing is that both levels of Phosphorus and Zinc are down quite a bit compared with the Rotella but the Molybdenum level is up; that seems to indicate to me that Rotella uses ZDDP as the majority of its contact lube while Motul uses a greater portion of Moly. Not that any of that really means anything. The two things I would expect to see that really indicate wear are aluminum and iron as those are the predominant elements of the wearing parts of the engine- both are higher with the Motul than the Rotella. Given the difference in price between the two oils it certainly does seem that the Rotella is the better value even if it is not the absolute best oil (and I do not have an opinion on that either way).

Just as an aside- I went over to Delvac 15W-40 on the last oil change I did on the west coast from the usual Rotella 15W-40. The Delvac is still showing very good shifting qualities as I approach 4K miles on that batch of oil. I usually cut those viscosity oils with a quart of 10W-40 and add a touch of ZDDP but the straight Delvac is performing at least as well as straight Rotella 15W-40 has in the past (based on the quality, smoothness and ease of shifting). And Delvac is a bit cheaper too so after several thousand oil changes the money should start to really pile up....

Brian

Seems very strange - only difference was oil and area of country ridden.
The first column is the recent Motul 15w50 Esther Synth. V300 the May results are with Shell Rotella T6 5W40. I have pulled the air filter and see no evidence of a leak and it was seated very snug. The outside of th filter is dirty but the inside looks brand new. It is a K&N with a lot of miles. Guessing  25 or 30 k. I will add pictures later. Internet is down at home I am using a hotspot to post.

[wildnphx]

It is interesting. One thing I noted was that the Motul also sheared down to below the min. specified viscosity for that particular oil and a similar amount that the Rotella did also. Another thing is that both levels of Phosphorus and Zinc are down quite a bit compared with the Rotella but the Molybdenum level is up; that seems to indicate to me that Rotella uses ZDDP as the majority of its contact lube while Motul uses a greater portion of Moly. Not that any of that really means anything. The two things I would expect to see that really indicate wear are aluminum and iron as those are the predominant elements of the wearing parts of the engine- both are higher with the Motul than the Rotella. Given the difference in price between the two oils it certainly does seem that the Rotella is the better value even if it is not the absolute best oil (and I do not have an opinion on that either way).

Just as an aside- I went over to Delvac 15W-40 on the last oil change I did on the west coast from the usual Rotella 15W-40. The Delvac is still showing very good shifting qualities as I approach 4K miles on that batch of oil. I usually cut those viscosity oils with a quart of 10W-40 and add a touch of ZDDP but the straight Delvac is performing at least as well as straight Rotella 15W-40 has in the past (based on the quality, smoothness and ease of shifting). And Delvac is a bit cheaper too so after several thousand oil changes the money should start to really pile up....

Brian

Is this what you use?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-Delvac-15W-40-Heavy-Duty-Diesel-Oil-1gal/17034368

[B.D.F.]

Yep, that one.

Brian

Is this what you use?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-Delvac-15W-40-Heavy-Duty-Diesel-Oil-1gal/17034368

[Pokey]

Katata1100 will not be pleased with those results!

[lather]

I am more concerned about the silicon than the increased wear. However I won't be spending my money on premum motorcycle oil.

I cleaned and re-oiled my K&N air filter. While re-installing the fliter I thought about how the filter cover seals out air - with some open cell foam that gets compressed when you tighten the cover bolts. My K&N was pretty dirty after 30,000 miles (K&N seems to me a little indefinite on how long to go between cleaning) But I am wondering digitally if a clogged filter would allow dirty air to get sucked in through the cover.

Blackstones's suggestion about the high silicone was that there might be an air filtration system leak. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Anyway I covered all the potential seam of thge filter cover with electricians tape and I am considering returning to the OEM filter.

Note: I amat the library again checking mail. Home Internet still down but hopefully restored Tuesday. Won't be able to get online again before then.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Every time I pull my K&N to clean and oil it I run a bead of grease down three sides (I leave the outside edge alone since it has the foam).  Not sure if that is enough to keep dirt and debris from bypassing the filter but I'm fairly sure it can't hurt anything.

[Pokey]

Put the OEM filter back in.

[lather]

Every time I pull my K&N to clean and oil it I run a bead of grease down three sides (I leave the outside edge alone since it has the foam).  Not sure if that is enough to keep dirt and debris from bypassing the filter but I'm fairly sure it can't hurt anything.

I think my K&N came with some grease and instructions. I don't have the instructions anymore but I found a FAQ that says the grease helps seal the filter and to use lithium or synthetic grease because petro grease will deteriorate the rubber.

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Yep I use red lithium grease.  No oil analysis yet to see if I have high levels of silicon but I see no reason why dirt would be bypassing the filter.

[VirginiaJim]

Yep I use red lithium grease.  No oil analysis yet to see if I have high levels of silicon but I see no reason why dirt would be bypassing the filter.

Implants?

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Implants?

That would be silicone. 


Like this:

[Pokey]

^^^^^^^^Could very well be saline, or quite possibly Rotella? ^^^^^^^

[Jeremy Mitchell]

More like vitamin double G.   

[T Cro ®]

More like vitamin double G.   

Wonder what her stripper name is? 

[gPink]

Bubbles?

[T Cro ®]

Bubbles?

Doubles...... 

[VirginiaJim]

That would be silicone. 


Like this:

Details, details......  I need to get one of those context spell checkers...   

[Jeremy Mitchell]

Details, details......  I need to get one of those context spell checkers...   

Kinda like

"they're spectacular"

and

"their spectacular"

But I think both statements actually apply in this case since I am sure that all three of them have a great "personality".   

[Pokey]

I am sure she has a name for each of them too. Oil threads tend to get off topic......love it.