Anyone used Shell Rotella T 5w-40 synthetic oil?

[SoonP5ismine]

was in walmart today and was going to buy my regular favorite oil Mobil1 5w-30 but noticed a Shell Rotella T 5w-40 Synthetic. My friend told me that the Rotella oil is better because it has more zinc than other oils. Anyone recommends this? and is 5W-40 any better than 5W-30? i read somewhere that a wider range is better in oils as its better for different temperaures. I live in New Jersey so climate is average i guess.

 

[spotthedogg]

This oil kicks ass, it's got lots of additives for the rigors of diesel engines. I use it in all my vehicles including the motorcycles.
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

 

[magnumP5]

If it isn't 5W-30 or 10W-30 I won't put it in this engine. I'm quite certain the engine design engineers knew what they were talking about when they listed those weights as recommended in the service manual.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

If it isn't 5W-30 or 10W-30 I won't put it in this engine. I'm quite certain the engine design engineers knew what they were talking about when they listed those weights as recommended in the service manual.

i'm the same way as you but i really don't think that 5w-40 was available to buy when they first designed our engines and maybe they don't recommend it as its a lot more protection then needed? or because it costs more? if they actually required it then the dealreships may need to spend alot more money on oil. i dont know how much of what i just typed makes sense but id like to know the real reason. i want the best for my car as i like to take care of problems before they happen.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

This oil kicks ass, it's got lots of additives for the rigors of diesel engines. I use it in all my vehicles including the motorcycles.
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

thanks for the link. ill do some reading soon. as i still have about 1000 miles before i change oil.

 

[magnumP5]

i'm the same way as you but i really don't think that 5w-40 was available to buy when they first designed our engines and maybe they don't recommend it as its a lot more protection then needed? or because it costs more? if they actually required it then the dealreships may need to spend alot more money on oil. i dont know how much of what i just typed makes sense but id like to know the real reason. i want the best for my car as i like to take care of problems before they happen.

Well most dealerships now (at least Mazda that I know of) are defaulting to 5W-20 because it is a thinner oil and therefore has less resistance and there equal better gas mileage. This is fine with newer models that have engine with very small tolerances but on our older engines I won't risk it. For reference 5W-40 is both thinner at startup and thicker at operation temperature than what our service manuals call for. Depending on the weather this could lead to more burning on cold startups and reduced gas mileage due to more engine resistance.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

i talked to my friend about the rotella t and he said that because it has higher zinc content it damages catalytic converters. but why would anyone really care about that if the engine itself is the one that people should think of first and protect it better. any of you know how much faster is the catalytic converter damaged using oil higher in zinc than using regular oil?

 

[spotthedogg]

The more you research this oil the more happy users you will find, it is an excellent oil at an awesome price. And you can buy it in 5 gallons at some auto supply stores for even less, which is great if you use it in 4 vehicles like I do. Also Purolator Pure1 filters are top notch.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

i always used the mazda 929 filters as they are longer and make sense to have more surface area since synthetics dont need to be changed as often. but im convinced that rotella t 5w-40 will be my next oil. because its slightly thicker you guys think it will improve compression? my car has 82k miles on it now.

 

[MP5_Joe]

That Shella Rotella is the only oil we use on our diesel trucks... and thats 1500 trucks. Great oil, but i'll never use it in my car.

 

[nautical_lifens]

i work for kenworth and 95% of the trucks that come in use Rotella... people say its the best stuff

 

[jville]

Rotella is the best stuff.............................for diesel trucks.
I wouldn't put anything other than 5w30 or 10w30 in any of my motors, 5 if you are in colder climates and 10 if your like me in the heat. Basically cause if you zoom zoom boom, mazda WILL test your oil and expect recipts of matainance,

 

[SoonP5ismine]

so i should only use 5w-30 instead of 5w-40 then?

 

[jville]

40 weight would be good for vehicle with high miles that need thicker oil to make up for leaky seals and loose guides. 10w30 is your best all around weight and if your going synthetic i suggest pennsoil platnum or mobil 1. both synthetic but don't have the stuff in them that throw red flags if tested like ams oil and redline do.

 

[BOOSTR]

so i should only use 5w-30 instead of 5w-40 then?

How often does it get -20 below zero and stay there in your section of NJ? I'd use the 10W30 over the 5W30, unless suddenly NJ is like Canada in the winter.

 

[SoonP5ismine]

well there is maybe a week or 2 worth of days when it is really cold here. i do travel to mississauga ontario for december-january holidays annually. so maybe i should use 5w-30? my car never really had a problem cranking over as long as my battery was charged. i really want the best protection form wear and don't mind if my milage drops a little. but also i dont want to introduce problems by using the wrong grade of oil. if cold oil is thicker it still thins out slightly when it gets hot to operating temperatures right? so the 5w-40 will thin out little less then 5w-30? im sorry but this oil grading system has confused me forever and many people have different ways of explaining it so im not sure what is the best. i can tell you one thing i noticed long time ago on my old 1990 protege i used castrol syntec 5w-50 and that engine made alot more noise with that oil than with 5w-30.

 

[BOOSTR]

Here's a decent article that will help you with viscosity.
5W is 5W at cold start up. The difference between 40 or 30 afterwards has to due with the cold-hot temp range. Like jville suggested you could use the 10W40(except while on holiday) if you have a high miler.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/oil_viscosity.htm

 

[SoonP5ismine]

thanks boostr for the link. in addition to reading that article i also searched and read a few websites about the viscosities. i want you guys to correct me if im wrong on any of the following. the first # like 0w, 5w etc is the thickness of the oil at cold non operating temperature. the second # like 30, 40 etc is the thickness when hot. based on what i have read over a few different links i found with google is that 0w-30 or the rare 0w-40 is best. reason for this is this. at low temps 0w oil will flow much quicker into the engine and lube the smaller parts of the bearings than a 5w oil will. we all know that the most wear occurs during cold starts and i guess maybe hot starts also. yes the extreme cold would call for a 0w oil before the 5w one but i really don’t care about temperature here. if at normal summer temperatures the 0w oil will flow quicker throughout the engine wouldn’t that be better? one thing that still kinda confuses me is the second number in the oil grades. Doesn’t oil normally get thinner when hot? I’m trying to understand this. a 5w-30 oil starts out as 5 weight and then when hot ends up a 30 weight? 5 is thinner than 30 right? Maybe I got this backwards? so this is a bit confusing for me still. any help on this would be great. thanks to all who can help me understand this.

 

[magnumP5]

You have it right. However, unless you have a very new engine or live in extremely cold places I would not run a 0W oil; it's just too thin. Hell, my car will burn through 5W oil if I push it too hard when it's not fully warmed up!

 

[SoonP5ismine]

well then im back to square one. i think ill get the 5w40 as 0w 30 may be too thin and the 5w40 is thicker and my engine is older with 82k miles on it.