Premium Blue 2000 & Rotella?

[Stab]

I am concerned about the news that Premium Blue 2000 (syn-blend) availability in the near future is in question, unless you can buy 55 gallons at a time. According to my local Cummins Dealer.



Has any one tried mixing the Rotella regular and the Rotella Synthetic together to get a blend of our own. It is much cheaper and available @ Wal-Mart! I know Rotella is a good brand of oil and I need to have the blend instead of the full synthetic. Are they compatible?

 

[JWRowe]

Premium Blue Extreme

Stab,

I can't speak to the use of either Rotella or Premium Blue 2000 but I recently changed over to Premium Blue Extreme. I get it thru the local NAPA store. They didn't have it in their computer system at the time but when I furnished them with the product number they had it. Product number is 70518 and comes in 1 gal. jugs. I have been very satisfied with it so far. Price was in the range of 52-54 dollar range for three gallons.

Regards, John

 

[JJW_ND]

Stab:



I would not mix different brands (would not mix any oils for that matter). If you truely desire thinner oil, you need to go to a 5W oil. While PB2000 was OK oil, I don't think is was any better (maybe even worse) then Delo400.



One of the more reasoable 5W oils like John mentioned is the new Valvoline Extreme 5W40. It is replacing the PB2000.



It would be my second choice over Mobil Delvac 1 or Amsoil.



Up here in ND, I could get the Extreme for around $11 or $12 per gallon or half way between the cost of Delo/Rotella and Delvac 1.



If you buy a 55 drum I am sure the price would be under $10 per gallon.



Even though it is a great winter oil, it has all the protection W40 of a summer oil..... Year round use with one oil.



jjw

ND

 

[RKohn]

Why a blend???

I changed over to the rotella synthetic from wally world. 1/2 the price of delvac 1. first couple tests look ok, but we'll see how it does in the long run. delvac ran over 30k before the tbn dropped off.



rick

 

[Hohn]

why blend?

Color me curious as well! I can't decide for the life of me why there is a need or desire to blend oils. To me, either I want the syn oil or dino is good enough.



I second the thoughts on blending different grades of oil as well. I have blended 5w-30 and 10w-30 redline before (to use up what I had) and obviously there was no harm. I just don't think it is something that would be the best. Think of this: if you blend a 15w-40 and a 5w-30, here's what happens: where the engine could use a 15w-40 (like cam nd valvetrain- shear loads) it will actually see the lightwieght oil. The flip side is where you would want the lighter oil, the heavier would go. It's exactly the opposite of what you hope for.



The reason I mention that is because unless the oil is the same grade, same blend, same manufacturer, it has different (however slight) specs (like viscosity and such). I wouldn't blend the same grade from 2 different oils, nor different grades of the same oil.



For me, Redline 15W-40 is all I will ever need in any temp, any conditions. Flows at -45, flashes at almost 500°what more do ya need?



Hohn

 

[dshockley]

Blending synthetic and dino oil has been a very common practice for years. Think Slick 50! When synthetic oils first arrived on the market place they were expensive and were intended to be blended with dino oil. This is still an acceptable and very common practice.



I did have one negative experience with pre-blended oil. I had been running 1 qt catrol full synthetic and 4qts castrol dino for several years in our BMW when castrol introduced syntech (a blended oil). During the first oil change interval, the engine used a quart of oil. I switched back to by blend and never looked back.





Good luck,

Dan

 

[illflem]

Originally posted by dshockley

Blending synthetic and dino oil has been a very common practice for years. Think Slick 50!

Don't want to think about that! Only used it once and had to rebuild the engine in less than 1000 miles. Many lawsuits against Slick 50 for false and misleading http://skepdic.com/slick50.html . Slick 50 isn't oil, it's Teflon under a different name since the makers of Teflon claim it doesn't work in engines.



Something I learned recently is that if the viscosity spread of an oil is over 25 the high end degrades rapidly and you lose hot weather qualities. Leads me to believe there isn't a truely good all year oil unless you live in a warm area.

 

[JJW_ND]

Not sure I agree Bill!

Bill:



The only oil I had drop of the weight was a 6K drain interval of Premium Blue 2000 taken mid summer. I have never see a Amsoil 5W30 drop hardly at all. I have only tested the Mobil 5W40 a couple times and it is rock solid on Visc100C and it had the highest Visc100C at 6K of any oil I have run.



The new Valvoline Extreme Blue (5W40) was most likely developed jointly with cummins. They also must desire a yearround fluid and/or are tighting up the tolerances similar to gasser which not exclusively require a 5W oil. A Cummins contact I meet at one fo the TDR National meetings set me a 5gal pail of an experimnetal 5W40 full synthetic fuild three years ago. 5W diesels oils are nothing new, and don't be surprised if they become the norm.



I did see a very very slight increase in MPG while running the 5W30 Amoil. This was over the PB2000 and Amsoils 15W40.



Have not ran the Mobil long enough to comment.

jjw

ND

 

[illflem]

Not sure I agree Bill!

But you are agreeing jw! Both the Amsoils you used had a viscosity spread of 25 and were fine. The Valvoline had a spread of 35 and broke down.

 

[Cooker]

The PB 2000 being referred to is a syn blend 15w40. The PB Extreme is a 5w40.



Bill,

You are absolutley right in your statement about the importance of the spread of the oil from it W number to the upper viscosity weight. However when discussing synthetic oils, including Group III synthetics like Chevron Delo 400 5w40, this is a moot point.



Just curious how your Delo is holding up. Has it sheared to less than a 40w. What is the vis. at 100 degees C? How many miles were on the oil?



Personally, I have full confidence in a quality Group III or better oil holding up well in extreme conditions and extended drain intervals. I have seen a great deal of real world evidence (oil analysis) to back this up.



Stab,

Rotella also has synthetic blends. If you have to have a SB you might try to locate some at a Shell dist. Just curious whay you have to "have" a blend.



dshockley,

Castrol Syntec is not a blend it is a Group III synthetic oil. Some cosider Group III synthetic to be fake as the are not true synthetics such as most of Amsoils products and Mobil Delvac 1. Castrol does have a Syntec Blend, perhaps that is what you were referring to?

 

[JohnE]

<blockquote> <em>illflem wrote

&quot; ...

Something I learned recently is that if the viscosity spread of an oil is over 25 the high end degrades rapidly and you lose hot weather qualities. ... &quot; </em> </blockquote>

<hr>



Bill;

I've heard that <em>rule of thumb</em> year ago. Funny thing it was 20 when most people ran 10W-30 and this new 10W-40 hit the market. Not sure who started that rumor.



My IC engine professor from 1980 really liked synthetic oils, but that Mobil 1 at 5W-30 was just too thin for him. He too felt that the closer the numbers, the better the oil. He came from the aviation field which really used thick oils. I have an old can of 50wt engine oil for airplanes. He also came from old school thoughts that used straight weight Pennsylvania oils.



Personally, I don't blend oils. Neither grades nor manufacturers.

I remember overhauling engines that used STP. Scraping that goo from the oil pan was enough to convince me to avoid additivies, too.

 

[illflem]

Originally posted by Cooker

Just curious how your Delo is holding up. Has it sheared to less than a 40w. What is the vis. at 100 degees C? How many miles were on the oil?

Ryan I recently changed out the Delo 5w-40 at 20k, tests said it was still good to go but soot was climbing. Not sure I really needed 40w in the last year since we had a very cool summer. I'm back to 15w-40 Delo since I buy it in drums and would rather use the same oil in everything, plus I always plug in. The syn did last longer than the dyno but other than that I noticed no difference.



John the 25w spread upper viscosity breakdown info came from an lube trade magazine, don't remember which one, but didn't seem like a rumor.

 

[Cooker]

Originally posted by illflem

Something I learned recently is that if the viscosity spread of an oil is over 25 the high end degrades rapidly and you lose hot weather qualities.

Actually that statement is not a rumor, and it a very valid point when discussing conventional motor oils, although it may not be as crucial today as it was a few years ago. Base stocks have improved and more importantly, viscosity index improvers have advanced as well. Therefore the need to watch the spread of oils is less significant than in the past. Also, as I already mentioned, this issue is almost irrelevant when discussing synthetic oils.



The reason for this is the spread is enhanced by viscosity index improvers. The larger the spread the more VII’s have been added to the oil. The problem with VII’s is that they can break down and shear over time. When an oil shears it’s upper viscosity limit is compromised and it thins to a lighter oil. So when the engine is under load, like towing or accelerating, the upper viscosity of the oil may actually shear to a grade lighter providing less protection during these critical times. Obviously the larger the spread the more of a compromise.

 

[Cooker]

Bill,



I must have missed your previous post. Thanks for the follow up on the Delo 5w40.



If you are able to plug in all the time, 15w40 should suit you fine year round regardless of location. Assuming it wasn't so cold the block heater wasn't able to keep up with the heat lost, in that case I wouldn't want to live there anyway



In short term, drain intervals 5000 or less, the Delo 15w40 will hold up fine and from what I have seen, provides similar oil analysis results as synthetics (providing a moderate climate).



Take care,

Ryan