Shell T6 and Rotella oil filters, semi syn T5 questions?

[Bob4x4]

What they do not tell you is how long the claim process will take/how long your truck will be out of service.I saw this happen with both Purolater and Fram oil filters in the past-not a quick process.With an oem part I have never seen that happen

 

[mwilson]

What they do not tell you is how long the claim process will take/how long your truck will be out of service.I saw this happen with both Purolater and Fram oil filters in the past-not a quick process.With an oem part I have never seen that happen

^^^^^^^^What he said!!^^^^^^^^^

And as we learned last year Fram uses a third party to both analyze the failure and then settle the claim. Time is not on your side.

 

[Cummins2014]

Engine Oil Viscosity (SAE Grade)
In ambient temperatures above 0°F (-18°C), we recommend
you use SAE 15W-40 engine oil such as MOPAR®,
Shell Rotella® and Shell Rimula® that meets Chrysler
Material Standard MS-10902 and the API CJ-4 engine oil
category is required. Products meeting Cummins® CES
20081 may also be used. The identification of these
engine oils is typically located on the back of the oil
container.
In ambient temperatures below 0°F (-18°C), SAE 5W-40
we recommend you use synthetic engine oil such as
MOPAR®, Shell Rotella® and Shell Rimula® that meets
Chrysler Materials Standard MS-10902 and the API CJ-4
engine oil category is required.
CAUTION!
Failure to use SAE 5W-40 synthetic engine oil in
ambient temperatures below 0°F (-18°C) could result
in severe engine damage.

Source : Page 288 of the 2014 RAM 3500 Diesel Supplement.

There it is , and yet a lot of you guys still run 5w-40 synthetic regardless of ambient temperatures well above 0 degrees.

I believe I have asked before, but what is to be gained by running oil that is not required, and most of the time is at least double the cost of conventional 15w-40 . I run T4 Rotella year around here in Utah. I can't remember the last time I saw the Salt Lake area down to 0 or below.

I change my oil every six months, no where near the 15K, the last thing I want to do is waste more money , and oil. Its bad enough dumping out good oil every six months in my case to follow the manual.

It seems to make no sense ,and no benefit to run synthetic period unless having to have it for cold weather starts.

 

[kthaxton]

You're in Utah? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

From the oil weight perspective, 5W40 is just fine. There is another chart in the manual that shows a temperature range for each weight, it shows 5w40 synthetic as being used at the same high end of the temp scale as 15w40, and obviously goes much lower on the scale. They "recommend" conventional 15w40 because that is all that is needed, think of it like a minimum standard.

Aside from the obvious benefits of running synthetics in the cold.....they also (in general) have higher flashpoints which means they handle higher temps better too, but the main thing? Synthetics are just plain slipperier! I should think a slipperier oil should speak for itself. With that said, perhaps the only way you'll see visible evidence of this benefit is by comparing two identical engines, used identically, after a few hundred thousand miles. You'd see less wear on the one that used synthetic......you'd likely also see a cleaner crankcase.

The ONLY drawback to using synthetic is cost, everything else about them (assuming the are quality synthetics) is superior. If we are talking about Shell T6, it is actually quite cheap for a synthetic (likely because we can get it at Walmart). I certainly have no issue paying a little bit more for oil that is superior in every way.

 

[Newsa]

You're in Utah? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

From the oil weight perspective, 5W40 is just fine. There is another chart in the manual that shows a temperature range for each weight, it shows 5w40 synthetic as being used at the same high end of the temp scale as 15w40, and obviously goes much lower on the scale. They "recommend" conventional 15w40 because that is all that is needed, think of it like a minimum standard.

Aside from the obvious benefits of running synthetics in the cold.....they also (in general) have higher flashpoints which means they handle higher temps better too, but the main thing? Synthetics are just plain slipperier! I should think a slipperier oil should speak for itself. With that said, perhaps the only way you'll see visible evidence of this benefit is by comparing two identical engines, used identically, after a few hundred thousand miles. You'd see less wear on the one that used synthetic......you'd likely also see a cleaner crankcase.

The ONLY drawback to using synthetic is cost, everything else about them (assuming the are quality synthetics) is superior. If we are talking about Shell T6, it is actually quite cheap for a synthetic (likely because we can get it at Walmart). I certainly have no issue paying a little bit more for oil that is superior in every way.

I agree synthetic is superior in every way. And it requires fewer viscosity additives. That amounts to more oil per unit volume. The viscosity additives actually are not lubricants.

Diesel oil has ALOT of additives. I like to use the highest quality available as long as the cost isn't outrageous, I will pay a bit more. I ususally go 5-6 months on an oil change anyway.

And if I inadvertently get into an issue where my water pump goes out, or my radiator hose goes, I have the high temp protection as well. Depending on traffic conditions and which lane you are in. And what you are pulling, it makes sense to me to have the extra protection of the synthetic.

 

[gsbrockman]

You're in Utah? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

From the oil weight perspective, 5W40 is just fine. There is another chart in the manual that shows a temperature range for each weight, it shows 5w40 synthetic as being used at the same high end of the temp scale as 15w40, and obviously goes much lower on the scale. They "recommend" conventional 15w40 because that is all that is needed, think of it like a minimum standard.

Aside from the obvious benefits of running synthetics in the cold.....they also (in general) have higher flashpoints which means they handle higher temps better too, but the main thing? Synthetics are just plain slipperier! I should think a slipperier oil should speak for itself. With that said, perhaps the only way you'll see visible evidence of this benefit is by comparing two identical engines, used identically, after a few hundred thousand miles. You'd see less wear on the one that used synthetic......you'd likely also see a cleaner crankcase.

The ONLY drawback to using synthetic is cost, everything else about them (assuming the are quality synthetics) is superior. If we are talking about Shell T6, it is actually quite cheap for a synthetic (likely because we can get it at Walmart). I certainly have no issue paying a little bit more for oil that is superior in every way.

Well said, Kthaxton.

There it is , and yet a lot of you guys still run 5w-40 synthetic regardless of ambient temperatures well above 0 degrees.

I believe I have asked before, but what is to be gained by running oil that is not required, and most of the time is at least double the cost of conventional 15w-40 . I run T4 Rotella year around here in Utah. I can't remember the last time I saw the Salt Lake area down to 0 or below.

I change my oil every six months, no where near the 15K, the last thing I want to do is waste more money , and oil. Its bad enough dumping out good oil every six months in my case to follow the manual.

It seems to make no sense ,and no benefit to run synthetic period unless having to have it for cold weather starts. #ad

I'm one of "those guys". :-laf

It's far from double the cost-----Rotella T6 5W40 is $21.36/gallon....Rotella T 15W40 is $12.97/gallon.....it only costs an additional $25.17 per oil change to upgrade to the full synthetic. You should go back to school and learn to cypher better, Jethro..... :-laf

Not everyone stays within such a small area of their home base. At 208k miles......I can vouch for the fact I'm far from home----and often.

Since I never know where my next hauling job is going to take me, I run 5W40 year round----for the reasons Kthaxton mentions above and for preparedness in the colder winter months.

 

[Kirwin]

I bought 3 gallons of Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme 5W-40 yesterday from Cummins Atlantic for $22.19 a gallon. Always available at any Cummins dealer all across the USA and Canada. $66.57 for 3 gallons. $66.95+$13.95 for a Stratapore filter from Genos is $80.52...... How can you go wrong?

I agree with 12 Valve on on thing though. 6 months is nothing for these oil in this engine. Once the warranty is up, I wont change it that often. 3,600 miles in 6 months. Does the oil really NEED to be changed?

 

[gsbrockman]

6 months is nothing for these oil in this engine. Once the warranty is up, I wont change it that often. 3,600 miles in 6 months. Does the oil really NEED to be changed?

Conversely......I went 15,227 miles but only 264 drive hours on my last oil change. I'm currently waiting on a Blackstone analysis to see how the TBN checks out on this last interval....

 

[Cummins2014]

Well said, Kthaxton.
View attachment 97683



I'm one of "those guys". :-laf

It's far from double the cost-----Rotella T6 5W40 is $21.36/gallon....Rotella T 15W40 is $12.97/gallon.....it only costs an additional $25.17 per oil change to upgrade to the full synthetic. You should go back to school and learn to cypher better, Jethro..... :-laf

Not everyone stays within such a small area of their home base. At 208k miles......I can vouch for the fact I'm far from home----and often.

Since I never know where my next hauling job is going to take me, I run 5W40 year round----for the reasons Kthaxton mentions above and for preparedness in the colder winter months.

I'm not one of those guys :-laf I can see your logic, I guess you missed mine. I am a low mileage guy. Please tell me what benefit I am going to get using Synthetic oil. I have read a fair amount about synthetic ,and conventional oil, but I don't mind hearing from the experts here.

I spend about six weeks in Arizona in the winter. I change my oil in Jan. ,and June. I leave for Arizona in mid Feb. I also spend at least six weeks in Montana in the summer. I leave here mid June, home around early to mid Aug. These trips are with a 38' fifth wheel. When I finish up with Arizona I will have right around 30K on the truck, and right at 36 months. 10K a year

 

[Newsa]

I'm not one of those guys :-laf I can see your logic, I guess you missed mine. I am a low mileage guy. Please tell me what benefit I am going to get using Synthetic oil. I have read a fair amount about synthetic ,and conventional oil, but I don't mind hearing from the experts here.

I spend about six weeks in Arizona in the winter. I change my oil in Jan. ,and June. I leave for Arizona in mid Feb. I also spend at least six weeks in Montana in the summer. I leave here mid June, home around early to mid Aug. These trips are with a 38' fifth wheel. When I finish up with Arizona I will have right around 30K on the truck, and right at 36 months. 10K a year

I will never tell you wh8ch oil to use. I don't know the roads you de8ve. But I have been on some veey l9ng bridges. The longest being 7 mile bridge going down to the keys (approximately 7 miles long). And if I had a water pump or radiator hose blow on a btidge that is long pulling a trailer, on a road or bridge where it is posted no stopping or standing, i would much rather have aynthetic. This is my preference. I did have a situation where I suspect my SUV was vandalized on the day of final exams by students. My bottom radiator hose blew somehow got disconnected overnight with no evidwnce of coolant leakage. I didn't notice until the veh8cle was extremely hot. The amsoil did a great job!

 

[Cummins2014]

You're in Utah? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

From the oil weight perspective, 5W40 is just fine. There is another chart in the manual that shows a temperature range for each weight, it shows 5w40 synthetic as being used at the same high end of the temp scale as 15w40, and obviously goes much lower on the scale. They "recommend" conventional 15w40 because that is all that is needed, think of it like a minimum standard.

Aside from the obvious benefits of running synthetics in the cold.....they also (in general) have higher flashpoints which means they handle higher temps better too, but the main thing? Synthetics are just plain slipperier! I should think a slipperier oil should speak for itself. With that said, perhaps the only way you'll see visible evidence of this benefit is by comparing two identical engines, used identically, after a few hundred thousand miles. You'd see less wear on the one that used synthetic......you'd likely also see a cleaner crankcase.

The ONLY drawback to using synthetic is cost, everything else about them (assuming the are quality synthetics) is superior. If we are talking about Shell T6, it is actually quite cheap for a synthetic (likely because we can get it at Walmart). I certainly have no issue paying a little bit more for oil that is superior in every way.

Terrible place, been unlucky having to live in Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Fishing is not too bad though. :-laf

 

[kthaxton]

Please tell me what benefit I am going to get using Synthetic oil. I have read a fair amount about synthetic ,and conventional oil, but I don't mind hearing from the experts here.

Did you read what I said above? Better performance in high temps? Slipperier? Better performing in all aspects?

Do you deny these things or do you just not understand how they are benefits? Which one is it?

 

[kthaxton]

Terrible place, been unlucky having to live in Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Fishing is not too bad though. :-laf

Golly! complaining about where you live too. What a surprise.

If I didn't like it here, I would leave.

 

[gsbrockman]

Did you read what I said above? Better performance in high temps? Slipperier? Better performing in all aspects?

Do you deny these things or do you just not understand how they are benefits? Which one is it?

I'll take "I love to deny things I don't understand" for $1,000 Alex :-laf

Golly! complaining about where you live too. What a surprise.

If I didn't like it here, I would leave.

When you say "here" do you mean leave Utah......or leave TDR ???? :-laf

 

[kthaxton]

When you say "here" do you mean leave Utah......or leave TDR ???? :-laf

Lol! My intent was Utah.....but I like how it could cover both!

 

[Cummins2014]

Golly! complaining about where you live too. What a surprise.

If I didn't like it here, I would leave.

I do leave twice a year, Arizona in the winter, and Montana in the summer, and then back to this terrible place :-laf. I hope you realize I was joking, I wouldn't live anywhere else but Utah, but do spend some time elsewhere, but always look forward to getting home.

 

[Cummins2014]

I'll take "I love to deny things I don't understand" for $1,000 Alex :-laf


When you say "here" do you mean leave Utah......or leave TDR ???? :-laf

And then you decide to start making fun of someone, nice

So I guess I have been lucky running plain old T4 Rotella for the past 19 years with my diesel trucks. You guys were so busy either trying to make fun of someone, that you can't pay attention to what I was trying to say.

I have read enough about synthetics to know the main benefits are cold weather ,and longevity. Neither is much concern to me. I understand the use with high mileage guys, such as yourself, wanting the 15K out of an oil change, and every mile you can get out of that Cummins, still no concern to me. Try, and think about it for a moment, instead of thinking of something witty or insulting to say.

That truck of mine will never see 200K with me. I change the oil every six months, and an average of 5,000 miles. Now I will ask again will I see any benefits from running synthetic oil, I do know I can spend more money every six months, and waste even more on more expensive oil running synthetic, so just want to know from you experts what I am going to get to see. Ya Ya I know about the slipperier , and the few hundred thousand miles.

 

[gsbrockman]

And then you decide to start making fun of someone, nice

So I guess I have been lucky running plain old T4 Rotella for the past 19 years with my diesel trucks. You guys were so busy either trying to make fun of someone, that you can't pay attention to what I was trying to say.

I have read enough about synthetics to know the main benefits are cold weather ,and longevity. Neither is much concern to me. I understand the use with high mileage guys, such as yourself, wanting the 15K out of an oil change, and every mile you can get out of that Cummins, still no concern to me. Try, and think about it for a moment, instead of thinking of something witty or insulting to say.

That truck of mine will never see 200K with me. I change the oil every six months, and an average of 5,000 miles. Now I will ask again will I see any benefits from running synthetic oil, I do know I can spend more money every six months, and waste even more on more expensive oil running synthetic, so just want to know from you experts what I am going to get to see. Ya Ya I know about the slipperier , and the few hundred thousand miles.

How is stating "I'll take "I love to deny things I don't understand" for $1,000 Alex #ad
" that much of a jab???

You are touchy and sensitive today......apparently all of the " :-laf " I posted are only showing up on MY screen.

 

[Cummins2014]

How is stating "I'll take "I love to deny things I don't understand" for $1,000 Alex #ad
" that much of a jab???

You are touchy and sensitive today......apparently all of the " :-laf " I posted are only showing up on MY screen.

And somehow all your little :-laf:-laf:-laf makes the insult okay.

Anyway, back to the original question, is there some benefit I'm missing with MY truck. I already know the benefits with yours. IMO you missed the point the first time, and seem to continue to miss the point.

 

[kthaxton]

Anyway, back to the original question, is there some benefit I'm missing with MY truck.

Let's just go with "Probably not that you'll be able to quantify" in your particular case.

With that said, I'm pretty sure in the past you've stated that others are wasting their money on synthetics, not just you. This implies you are ill-informed about synthetics.