Quality of oils

[Archive]

Randy, It was good to hear back from you. Randy you wanted to ask a couple of questions about "the mineral based oils common to the market, Rotella T 15w-40 for example. " And "how would I rate it to the AMSOIL 15w40 marine oil or Mobil Delvac 1
5w-40?"

First of all using only the three oils that you asked about, Rotella T 15w40 is not even close to the AMSOIL in quality. The Mobil Delvac 1 15w40 is also far superior to the Rotella oil. This makes it look like a synthetic oil is better than a petro oil. This is not allways the case. Castrol has an oil called super fleet 15w40 that is just as good as both the synthetic oils above, and is less money, but not by much, and it's a petro oil. Since I work for an oil company I will not list any of the oils that we have, however they are far above the quality listed above. Keep in mind that if my only choice for an oil was AMSOIL or Mobil Delvac 1, then it would come down to the temp conditions. If I lived in cold temps, then I would pick the Mobil Delvac 1 and If I lived in the south I would pick the AMSOIL. We all have a choice other than these two oils and everyone has different driving situations like maby only 5,000 per year vs. 30,000 miles per year. Or Pulling a 500lb small fishing boat vs. pulling a 20,000 lb trailer. Sometimes $$$ are a factor for some and they do what they can do and no more. Others who can afford the ultimate protection opt for that in their trucks.

I can only give you information on which oils I feel are the higher quality oils based on the 21 years that I have in the oil business and the information that I can obtain from the STLE and others. I would need to get more specific info on the application, temp, history, load, environment, etc. As a fellow member in the TDR I make myself avalible to anyone that needs my input about oils.

Randy, your last question was what oil do I use in my truck? I use Lubrication Engineers #8800 15w-40 in all my vehicles, and can do this because I live in CA and not in the cold part of the country. And also because I work for the company that I get my oil from. Keep in mind that I am im indepent contractor and could work for any other oil company but I choose to work for Lubrication Engineers.

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

I how to hear from you soon Kevin Dinwiddie

 

[Archive]

I know quite a few truckers who have seen or have a million miles using Rotella. I've always used Rotella. I don't believe in super oil. The kind that says if loose all your oil pressure you can run an extra 50 miles. I deal with oil in the stamping business. The slightest change in viscosity an the punches are done for. I ran into an Farm Oyl dealer once. He said they had an oil 15-40 that would flow at temps as low as 45 to 50 below 0 degrees Far. Is this posssible? Every one has opinions and options what to use. I want to see proof. like charts, the peple that use it. I hope you put an article in the TDR book to explain your data and testing and users------------------ Jeff H ..... 95 Ram 4x4.

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[Archive]

Jeff, you are right about the super oil. I don't believe it eather. Take the engine that an additive company used to show how their oil additive would make the car run for thousands of miles. Think about it the engine was a hyd lifter engine and without oil the lifters would have beat the cam to death and sounded like self destrutsion. It has been said that that engine was changed to a dry sump system and when the oil pan plug was removed the only oil that came out was the oil in the pan, leaving the dry sump system with plenty of oil to run the engine. Yes there are plenty of 15w-40 oils that can still flow at 45 or 50 below F. Most of them synthetic some of them start with a light base oil that is napthenic and add additives that enhance cold temp performance. In this case the synthetics are much better. Napthenic oils have a poor lubrication ability compared to synthetics. No oil is a wrench in a bottle.

In my 21 years in the oil industry EVERY technical paper that I have ever read says that after market additives do not help, and in most cases even hurt an engine. If you're interested I'll try to tell you about the pro's and con's of these additives.

Sincerely, Kevin Dinwiddie

 

[Archive]

Sorry Jeff, forgot the info you asked about like charts etc. I will print info gotten from the manufactures them selves.
Shell Rotella T 15w-40 Pour point -25
Mobil Delvac 1 5w-40 Pour point -65
Mobil Delvac 1200 Super 15w-40 Pour Point -20
Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15w-40 Pour point -20
Texaco Havoline synthetic 5w-40 PP -60
Chevron Delo 400 ESI 15w-40 PP -41
Chevron Delo 400 Syn. 5w-40 PP -51
Chevron RPM 15w-40 Pour Point -39

All this info was taken right out of the Mfg. own hand books. Sincerely Kevin Dinwiddie

 

[Archive]

I'm new here and been lurking a while, just became a member. I hope I'm not sticking my nose where it shouldn't be but here goes.

From my limited experience it seems that any of the oils listed by Oil Man will work perfectly. The key decision is to stay consistent(sp) with one brand of oil. When I was drag racing/street racing I ran only Kendall GT-1. I did this because most of the folks I ran with used the same. It worked great in or climate (Coastal Texas). To this day it is the only brand I run in my gas vehicles. With my Cummins, its only Rotella Super T 15w-40 and here is why.

My family is in the marine industry (Commercial Fishing and Supply/Work boats) and has used Rotella for 22+ years. The engines are rated from 45 hp (Detroit 3-71 Gen. set) up to 2,500 hp (16v-149 T. A. Detroit). All boats have twin engines and twin gen. sets. It is not uncommon for the gen. sets to run 24/7 for 10+ months a year.
The Cummins engines we use are the KT-KTA-1150. They run between 500 to 600 hp. The main engines average between 12,000 to 15,000 hours between rebuilds for the Cummins and 8,000 to 12,000 hours on the 12v-71 nat. Detroits. It is not uncommon for the Cummins to go 20,000+ hours before rebuilds but we try to keep them lower for dependability. The Cummins also go longer because they are Rpm limited at 2150 rpm while the Detroits are limited at 2300 rpm. These boats operate in a very harsh, wet environment. They are also not babied in the least. The Captains (Throttle Jockeys) only know two speed, Wide open forward or reverse (This counts as one) or idle. I will not try to fool you and say we have never experienced and oil related breakdown, but i can count on one hand that number and most of those could be a toss up between part failure not due to an oiling issue.

My point is run what is best for your climate conditions and stick with it. Use a quality filter (fleetguard, wix) and be reqular in changing it. We average between 250 to 300 hrs between oil changes. I also have heard of the 1 million miles that truckers get between rebuilds with Rotella, but I need to look no further than our boats to convince me.

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92 Ext. Cab Auto Trans, 3. 54, 195,000+ orig. miles, Isspro Tach and Pyro, No name 3. 5" muffler, Old and abused but still running strong.

 

[Archive]

Pour point: see picture p29 issue 25. Robert put a cup of 5-30 and one of 15-40 in freezer. Even in black and white you can see how much smoother the 5-30 pours.

Change frequency: I drove 9k to alaska and back. changed oil and sent a sample for analysis. Analysis came back "oil suitable for continued use. " Going to sample BEFORE changing from now on.

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tedstruck 2500qc, no leather or abs
teds bigfoot 1500 bigfoot, no auto waterheater or microwave.
Reader's Rigs p. 5
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