Engine oil

[coobie]

A salesman's opinion is just that- an opinion, and nothing more.

I fully agree.Nothing better than a good salesman trying to sell you his product.I have found out when you ask them a few difficult questions about the product they are selling you get that DEER in the headlights response.LOL

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yes, but what makes this interesting is my Ex's father worked for Shell and turned me away from Rotella to Del vac 1300

Chris

 

[DarkBlack]

Forbes:
"70 Percent Of Your Employees Hate Their Jobs"

 

[kenmac]

i remember that at burger king you used to be able to order a veg burger.. lite mayo. but they didn't have a wheat bun option

both sell salads too.

I just don't know which grease burger is better for you BK or mickey D's. Wonder if 1 offers synthetic grease burger and the other is regular O' grease burger ? We may be able to get UOA's on the grease from each. Or a VOA which ever one prefers :laughing:

 

[crazyal]

I use T6 simply because I need 8.7 quarts for my Kubota. I can buy it on-line from Walmart and get two gallon jugs and a quart. The only other brand that I sort of can do the same is Mobile 1 but the quart, while still synthetic, isn't the exact same weight and I would have to verify that it's certified for diesels. The others would require me to buy an extra 3 quarts that wouldn't get used since I run my engine oil for two years as long as long as the oil test says it's OK after the first year. If I did oil changes every 3 to 6 months I wouldn't mind having extra oil.

 

[Thomabear]

Over the years I've learned that oil is oil. As long as it meets spec and you keep your equipment serviced it would be VERY rare to have a lube related failure. In which case it will likely be a cause other than the oil itself. Even the cheapest of modern day oil is much better than the best of yesteryear. As far as synthetic goes I can guarantee my equipment with a diet of conventional oil will last just as long as anyone who spends extra dollars on synthetic. I have never experienced a lube related failure and I run my equipment longer than 99% of the folks who use synthetic. Most people will learn this with time and experience.

 

[Soundguy]

Over the years I've learned that oil is oil. As long as it meets spec and you keep your equipment serviced it would be VERY rare to have a lube related failure. In which case it will likely be a cause other than the oil itself. Even the cheapest of modern day oil is much better than the best of yesteryear. As far as synthetic goes I can guarantee my equipment with a diet of conventional oil will last just as long as anyone who spends extra dollars on synthetic. I have never experienced a lube related failure and I run my equipment longer than 99% of the folks who use synthetic. Most people will learn this with time and experience.

in general, I agree with you. lube changes at correct intervals and you are likely not using up the adds inthe dino oil even.

I do understand that with syn.. you get 2 possible benefits that may or may not make a difference on the application.. so may or may not be worth it.

syn has superior cold flow point and film strength. that means on a cold startup.. you are slightly better off. If I lived in a cold region / use equipmetn during winter. alot.. that would be a consideration.

also better temp handling at higher temps with respect to bearing coking. that makes a difference to those people with turbo's especially turbo diesels that can get hot. In situations where you need to idle down to cool .. the syn is more heat resistant to coking.. especially for older turbo designs.

 

[Thomabear]

in general, I agree with you. lube changes at correct intervals and you are likely not using up the adds inthe dino oil even.

I do understand that with syn.. you get 2 possible benefits that may or may not make a difference on the application.. so may or may not be worth it.

syn has superior cold flow point and film strength. that means on a cold startup.. you are slightly better off. If I lived in a cold region / use equipmetn during winter. alot.. that would be a consideration.

also better temp handling at higher temps with respect to bearing coking. that makes a difference to those people with turbo's especially turbo diesels that can get hot. In situations where you need to idle down to cool .. the syn is more heat resistant to coking.. especially for older turbo designs.

Fair enough... I agree regarding startup and cold flow properties of synthetic for folks that live in extremely cold regions. That would be a viable benefit in that case. While I agree the molecular alignment of synthetic makes it more predictable, the base stock and add pack quality of today's conventional oil provides a film strength capable of paralleling that of synthetic. Comparison UOA's in my industry confirms that over and over again. Just about 100% of film loss is related to shearing out of grade which would be more relative to oil grade (weight) and very little to do with base stock difference. In short lighter weight oils have less shear resistance under load and heat which makes it important to choose according to your mileage or protection preference. Personally I just stick with 15w40 for a general industry accepted balance.

Regarding coking of turbo bearings, today's oils are nearly absent of sludge and carbon forming paraffin. This isn't an issue as it was years ago when there was a need for post lube and cool down timers. But I agree a little cool down is good insurance when EGT's are above 500 degrees or so. I just don't see the need for post lube systems and timers with today's lubes. It's a shame that companies try to use old school concerns to sell old ideas in a modern environment.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I have a vechicle with a Cat 3304 in it. The dip-stick states "DO NOT OVERFILL". What happens if you do overfill the engine with oil; what damage can be done? - stoneseeds.

If you overfill you run the risk of having the crank in the oil which will whip it. Whipped oil has air bubbles. Air bubbles do NOT lube. No lube action = destroyed engine. It is almost ALWAYS better to run a quart low than a quart over.

 

[3930dave]

If you overfill you run the risk of having the crank in the oil which will whip it. Whipped oil has air bubbles. Air bubbles do NOT lube. No lube action = destroyed engine. It is almost ALWAYS better to run a quart low than a quart over.

Air bubbles also give anything that is hydraulically actuated the fits (ex. - basic valve lifter).

Soundguy listed 2 of my favourite reasons for using synthetic. With what some guys haul with "light" trucks, esp. turbo-dzl, the Engine Oil Temperature is probably higher than you'd suspect.

Recently, I've gone to running conventional in an older Honda car - high mileage summer use vs. $ was the reason. I'd add that synthetic often has a lower consumption rate (volatility, etc.) in a well maintained motor. I've also seen the same lower synth consumption pattern with my 7.3 diesel. Now that Winter is here, I'm back to synth in both vehicles.

With me checking oil levels fairly often, Conv. or Synth can both serve in my Summer applications.

Average consumer (ie. not a TBN gearhead like us) ? Different story. I see plenty of vehicles at my buddy's shop, extremely low on oil, if not out. A recent one needs a motor in a Mazda 6, that isn't much more than 5 years old.

I agree, today's conventional oil has come a long way from when I was a kid. Changed at engine OEM intervals, in spec conventional oil will serve fine for most applications.

That said, if I was turning my wife or offspring loose with a vehicle for an extended period of time "unsupervised", I'd want synth in it, just so I wouldn't have to be nagging (so much ) about checking the oil level.

Rgds, D.