Rotella T6

[Phaethar]

Just curious, anyone used the Rotella T6 5W40 synthetic oil yet? I've seen others mention the T5 before, but not much about the T6. How's it compare? Just had the turbo replaced in my speed6 a few months ago and would like to move to 5w40 now.

Any thoughts? Safe to pick some up?

 

[meGrimlock]

im researching the Rotella T6 too, so far i've seen nothing but gushing reviews for it here and on Bob Is The Oil Guy. T6 is fully synthetic, T5 is synthetic blend. in many cases where T6 is recommended, T5 also meets the same recommendations. in my mind, motor oil is motor oil...whatever's in the bottle (and on sale) will do the job.

i already knew that the differences in brands mostly lied in the additive packages. what i did not know was the 40 oils burn off slower than the 30, and that when they burn off the additives don't last as long and aren't as affective.

so at the advice of theMAN, because i'm still troubleshooting why my car consuming massive amounts of oil, i will switch to a 40 weight oil at my next oil change, and the 5w-40 Rotella T6 seems to be available at the local big box stores cheaper than Mobile 1, Castrol SYNTEC, Redline, AMSOil, and Royal P.

Mobile 1 also makes a heavy duty turbo diesel product that is comparable in price to the Shell Rotella T6 but i have not seen it on the shelves locally. both are API SM certified for gasoline engines.

 

[monsoon725]

I got my car with 10500 miles on it in November. I put T6 in it as soon as I got it. Maybe Ill do a UOA in a little while as new oil just went in (had to have timing cover gasket replaced).

 

[meGrimlock]

so just a followup. i put rotella t6 in my last oil change. it is pretty thick stuff, "heavy duty" indeed.

when pouring out of the jug, the viscosity is akin to a 10w-40 or 15w-40 or maybe even heavier. not that it is any indication of the quality of the oil...

given that, the heavier viscosity is definitely noticable in the smoothness of the engine NVH (noise, vibration, harshness). one trick shady car dealers do to make an old engine run smoother is to use heavier oil, and in my 2.0 L protege i can see why.

going on 1000+ miles the improved NVH has not changed but i could not tell you if there are any advantages for your turbo engines. mazda recommends 5w-30 for the speed6 which may be more beneficial for fuel economy and operation in a variety of climates. the 5w-40 may be close enough for use in summer and winter climates (but T6 is not energy conserving so keep that in mind if you are a gas-miser).

 

[bova80]

i've used t5 and t6 and they are both great and i've had good analysis's with them both. holds up for 5k miles with no problems at all. been using this stuff for 25k miles now.