What oil do you use & why?

Doc · Sep 30, 2006

I do not want to start an oil war here on FF. All oils work. We know that. But there are lots of options out there. I'd like to know why you use whatever you use ....so without further ado:

What oil do you use in your truck? ...in your tractor? your car? Your ATV / UTV etc.

I'm still using Rotella in my Kubota 3010 & my Chevy Truck.

I've used Mobil 1 in my car. When I 1st switched my MPG went up a couple MPG's.

Just this year I switched from Mercruiser to Mobil 1 in my boat. I noticed a 5 degree temp drop for the normal operating tempature.

I'm doing an oil change in the ZTR and ATV this weekend. I'm putting mobile 1 in all of them. Since they are not water cooled, the synthetic will lower the operating temp some.

Is anyone else making the switch to synthetic or are you content with Dino?

Cityboy · Sep 30, 2006

Rotella T 15W40 in everything. Makes life simpler. I did increase in fuel mileage when I switched from Motorcraft Super Duty oil in my diesel Excursion to Rotella. Don't know if it was actually the Rotella or if the engine had simply hit that break-in point where mileage improves. I figure if it works for the big rigs, it'll work for my stuff.

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq · Sep 30, 2006

Chevron Delo 15-40 in my Diesels. Not the best but not the worst. Easy availability. Good enough for me.

Mith · Sep 30, 2006

Tractors and mowers I use that slippery stuff that comes in 5 gallon barrels, and doesnt cost so much. Car gets ownbrand stuff from the car shop in the next town.
If its oily and within spec its for me. Sometimes use oil out of an engine that hasnt been used much to top up the others, dont want to waste it, too expensive.

In tractors I dont see the point in spending my hard earned money on oil that only gunna be in the engine a couple 100 hours at most.
And in a car, the car will become useless way before the engine dies even if you use med quality oil (the body and parts will suffer from rust, wear, breakages...... and make the car usless)

Doc · Sep 30, 2006

Mith,
How long does it take you to put 100 hours on your mowers? It takes more than one year for me, so I need to change before the oil is worn out because of time. That is the reason I use Rotella in the truck & tractor.

Mith · Sep 30, 2006

I put approx 80-100 a year on the big Horse, about 75-100 per year on the green Rally (used to be more until I got the big Horse), 10-20 on the red Rally, and the rest are 1-5 hours a year. (This year has probably been less on the 2 Rallys, as mowing has been slower) (I havent had the big Horse for a year yet, so thats just a guess based on the hours I put on so far)

The oil is dark on the 2 that get used around 100/year. I just change it ever winter so I know whats what. They usually end up with water in them too, so I like to get the oil nice and clean for winter.

MadReferee · Oct 1, 2006

In my vehicles, whatever is the cheapest and on sale. I change the oil at regular intervals usually around 3K miles. I have never had any oil related problems and have had one vehicle for 325,000 miles before selling it and my current Saab has 212,000 miles and still going strong.

I use Rotella T in my tractor and bulldozer. I buy it where it's the cheapest.

DaveNay · Oct 1, 2006

Doc said:
What oil do you use in your truck? ...in your tractor? your car? Your ATV / UTV etc.

Just what comes in it from the factory. Why? Are you supposed to change it or something? :confused2:

Big Dog · Oct 1, 2006

Diesel - Rotella T
Gas - Pennzoil "of course"

They took about 70 barrel of PA crude off the well the other day. I'll be interested to see what the royality will be. Tender said it was the best for general lubrication so I had him draw off 5 gallon for me. We'll see ......!!!!

Junkman · Oct 1, 2006

Big Dog said:
Diesel - Rotella T
Gas - Pennzoil "of course"

They took about 70 barrel of PA crude off the well the other day. I'll be interested to see what the royality will be. Tender said it was the best for general lubrication so I had him draw off 5 gallon for me. We'll see ......!!!!

Sounds quite crude to use crude oil in your engines...... :yum:

bczoom · Oct 2, 2006

I've been slowly switching from dino to syn. More questions later when I do the next batch of oil changes.

HGM · Oct 2, 2006

MadReferee said:
In my vehicles, whatever is the cheapest and on sale. I change the oil at regular intervals usually around 3K miles. I have never had any oil related problems and have had one vehicle for 325,000 miles before selling it and my current Saab has 212,000 miles and still going strong.

I use Rotella T in my tractor and bulldozer. I buy it where it's the cheapest.

I tend to do the same... The quality of oil has improved so much over the years, that I think the point it moot...

I do plan on using syn in my air cooled engines(one of these days)... I just need to talk myself into spending that extra little bit...

CB, and anyone with a Powerstroke.. This will sound like a wives tale, but if(only if) you have a problem with the running of your engine, ie: missfire.. Try changing your oil out and back to Motorcraft before taking it back to the dealer.. I cant explain why, but I have personally fixed several rough running and missing Powerstrokes with an oil change... For some reason, Rotella seems to be the comon denominator.. I also have heard of people running it and never having a problem..Just FYI..

Gatorboy · Oct 2, 2006

I use whatever is cheapest when I go to the auto parts store. Why? Because my car/tractors, etc. need oil to run properly.

Dargo · Oct 2, 2006

HGM said:
For some reason, Rotella seems to be the comon denominator.. I also have heard of people running it and never having a problem..Just FYI..

In general, Rotella has a relatively low TBN, high wear in 4 ball test, and a weak pour point. That's why I say that, at best, it's an average cheap oil. Mobil's Delo scores much better on lab tests and it's as inexpensive. If cheap is your objective, Rotella hits right in the heart of that range of oils. That is why they sell so much of it; a lot of fleet buyers look to buy the cheapest oil they can find that hits minumum requirments. In bulk, it will price down right with the cheapest of cheaps. It just nuts me up when people view Rotella as a high quality oil. I'm not going GSXR here, just stating facts.

So, I guess I'd fall in the camp of ABR (anything but Rotella). I can find a lot of oil that is cheaper that meet minimum requirements if I want cheap, and load of oils are of superior quality if I want a quality oil. So, I'm ABR. :cool2:

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq · Oct 2, 2006

Dargo said:
Mobil's Delo

Do you mean Chevron's Delo?

Cityboy · Oct 2, 2006

HGM said:
I tend to do the same... The quality of oil has improved so much over the years, that I think the point it moot...

I do plan on using syn in my air cooled engines(one of these days)... I just need to talk myself into spending that extra little bit...

CB, and anyone with a Powerstroke.. This will sound like a wives tale, but if(only if) you have a problem with the running of your engine, ie: missfire.. Try changing your oil out and back to Motorcraft before taking it back to the dealer.. I cant explain why, but I have personally fixed several rough running and missing Powerstrokes with an oil change... For some reason, Rotella seems to be the comon denominator.. I also have heard of people running it and never having a problem..Just FYI..

30,000 trouble free miles using Rotella in the Powerstroke, change it every 5,000 miles. I know people that use Walmart 15W40 and have 500,000 miles on their engines. Who knows for sure which oil is best, but why spend mega bucks on synthetic if you get the same engine life out of the dino?? :confused2:

FYI, Greg, the only problem I have had thus far was when I was running Motorcraft Superduty 15W40. Don't know if it had anything to do with the oil or not.

Too bad Junk kicked Buy25 out. I'm sure he'd come in on the side of the ABR people and argue ad nausium about oil test results on his 25 hour per year BX with synthetic oil. :blahblah:

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq · Oct 2, 2006

Cityboy said:
Too bad Junk kicked Buy25 out. I'm sure he'd come in on the side of the ABR people and argue ad nausium about oil test results on his 25 hour per year BX with synthetic oil.

Hey CB - no fair kicking a guy who can't reply. Buy_25 was banned by a majority decision of all the mods. Junk is just one of the a$$hole's running this circus.

Dargo · Oct 2, 2006

PBinWA said:
Do you mean Chevron's Delo?

Yeah, I'm combining Delvac and Delo together.

I agree with Cityboy on the Walmart oil. My point is that it's cheaper than Rotella and just as good. Both are oils that sell on price alone. I'd use the Walmart over Rotella because it's cheaper if I were going for a cheap oil.

Myself, I really never know when I'm going to possibly go way heavy on the load and run it really hard, or be off road and pulling really hard in thick mud. In both cases, I'd really be pushing the limits of conventional oil and asking for a problem. Where conventional oil causes most of the problems is when it's 'super heated' in an extreme condition. That's when it begins to break down and sludge. Once sludge starts, it's like cancer; it doesn't go away and only gets worse. If I knew I'd never subject my vehicles to an extreme condition I'd likely just go with Walmart brand or Rural King brand and change 3/3. I'm not keen on extended drain intervals; about 5k is all I'm comfortable with. However, in that 5k my truck will almost always be pulling 15k plus. At times, I'll be hauling that amount up 7% grades at 90 mph.

Dargo · Oct 2, 2006

Cityboy said:
30,000 trouble free miles using Rotella in the Powerstroke, change it every 5,000 miles.

My neighbor got a good 55k miles on whatever came in his '02 Powerstroke. He got "a little busy" and forgot to change until then.

HGM · Oct 2, 2006

Too bad Junk kicked Buy25 out. I'm sure he'd come in on the side of the ABR people and argue ad nausium about oil test results on his 25 hour per year BX with synthetic oil.

PBinWA said:
Hey CB - no fair kicking a guy who can't reply. Buy_25 was banned by a majority decision of all the mods. Junk is just one of the a$$hole's running this circus.

This topic would have 200 posts by now if her were still here... :yankchain:

How many times do you think the "A" word would be seen??

30,000 trouble free miles using Rotella in the Powerstroke, change it every 5,000 miles. I know people that use Walmart 15W40 and have 500,000 miles on their engines. Who knows for sure which oil is best, but why spend mega bucks on synthetic if you get the same engine life out of the dino??

I totally agee, the only reason I am inclined to try syn is for the cooling properties in my air cooled motors.. As for a car/truck/tractor, I'm satisfied w/dino...

FYI, Greg, the only problem I have had thus far was when I was running Motorcraft Superduty 15W40. Don't know if it had anything to do with the oil or not.

No doubt, I cant explain it.. I just bring it up because of the injection systems on these engines, oil will do some crazy things...

Cityboy · Oct 2, 2006

Dargo said:
My neighbor got a good 55k miles on whatever came in his '02 Powerstroke. He got "a little busy" and forgot to change until then.

Damn! Is it still running, or did the loud grinding sound remind him to change the oil?

HGM · Oct 2, 2006

Dargo said:
My neighbor got a good 55k miles on whatever came in his '02 Powerstroke. He got "a little busy" and forgot to change until then.

He never changed it at all?? Thats quite a feat... Some of the fleets around here will try that too, no telling how far they actually go with idle time considered.. They would actually run them untill they quit.. The diesel guy would carry a case of oil out to the parking lot to fill them up, then drive them in for an oil change....I wonder if the extended oil change interval actually covered the tow bill?? :confused2:

BTW, the PS will stop running before it hurts itself..

Mith · Oct 2, 2006

I totally agee, the only reason I am inclined to try syn is for the cooling properties in my air cooled motors

Air cooled motors such as in mowers and small equipment are usually designed by the manufacturer to use dino (straight 30W usually) and that is what most recommend.

Man, I didnt realise how many people here actually dont use the most expensive stuff out there. I guess those who do must usually shout loudest.....

HGM · Oct 2, 2006

Mith said:
Air cooled motors such as in mowers and small equipment are usually designed by the manufacturer to use dino (straight 30W usually) and that is what most recommend.

Good point, now, I'm curious...... I have heard in the past that syn was bad for needle bearings.. The idea was that they cause the bearings to "skate" and eventually flat spot because they dont turn.. Any truth to this? Do you think this is the reason its not recomended? I may just stay with the cheap stuff and keep on doing as I have been... Really, its not given any trouble yet...

Cityboy · Oct 2, 2006

PBinWA said:
Hey CB - no fair kicking a guy who can't reply. Buy_25 was banned by a majority decision of all the mods. Junk is just one of the a$$hole's running this circus.

Apologies PB. Hats off to all the assholes who participated in the expungement of Buy25. :tiphat:

Mith · Oct 2, 2006

I have heard in the past that syn was bad for needle bearings.

I have no idea why it is to be honest, and no idea where to find it out. Anyone know? The needle bearing idea seems possible. It could also happen in ball bearings I suppose. May it also be something to do with damaging the plastic parts in the engine?

I have seen engines with little or no oil in them that run. I've drained a petrol-oil mixture from engines that the owner mowed with all year. Attached is a picture of an engine that the owner filled with vegtable oil (it deep fried the internals of the engine and killed it).

You can put all sorts of junk in a small engine and it will still go fine

bczoom · Oct 2, 2006

Mith said:
You can put all sorts of junk in a small engine and it will still go fine

Fow awhile anyway...

Junkman · Oct 2, 2006

Cityboy said:
Too bad Junk kicked Buy25 out. I'm sure he'd come in on the side of the ABR people and argue ad nausium about oil test results on his 25 hour per year BX with synthetic oil.

I was the dissenting vote to keep him..

PBinWA said:
Hey CB - no fair kicking a guy who can't reply. Buy_25 was banned by a majority decision of all the mods. Junk is just one of the a$$hole's running this circus.

I will send him a personal invitation to join the party again if you continue to make disparaging comments about him in his absence. Also, I am not "just one of the a$$hole's running this circus", but the Senior Asshole!!! Lets have some :respect:

Cityboy said:
Apologies PB. Hats off to all the assholes who participated in the expungement of Buy25.

Guess that this puts me back on the top of your shit list..... like I care.... :horsepoop:

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq · Oct 2, 2006

Junkman said:
Lets have some

Hey Junk! Respect is earned! Not bestowed. Your "senior" status is just because of your AARP membership! :poke:

Dargo · Oct 2, 2006

Cityboy said:
Damn! Is it still running, or did the loud grinding sound remind him to change the oil?

Yeah, it's not only still going, but has about 240k miles on it now. What makes things even more impressive is that he too is always hauling heavy loads like me, but I'd say that his shortest oil change has likely been 20k.

And, that would be with whatever he can buy the cheapest. I have no doubt that that thing is a sludge bucket in a big way! Heck, it's even quieter than it used to be. I'm guessing it's all the sludge acting as insulation and keeping the sound down.

He did go through a tranny every 10 to 15k though for a while. I finally told him that the only way I stopped my tranny problems was to spend about 6k for a full blown heavy hauling setup from ATS. So, he bought a Stage V transmission from them at about 80k and hasn't had an issue since. I did just remind him this last weekend that he is required to still change the fluid in that tranny every 50k to keep his warranty valid. Why do I think it still has the same fluid that it started with in it?

Anyway, he's proof that a 7.3 PowerStroke will go at least a quarter million miles with poor lubrication (I say poor because he keeps conventional oil in way past when it would be good. I think he has had several injector problems as well, but I wouldn't consider them "major" problems. Heck, he makes me want to find the latest year F350 crew cab 4X4 dually with the 7.3 for my next truck. Well, let me correct that a bit, I'd like to find one of those with low miles and that has had proper care...

What oil do you use & why?

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