engine oil, whats best?

[tractorman86]

i always run Delo 400 in my truck resently i came apon a deal for some Rotella 15-40. Is rotella as good as delo ? just wandering because i am planning on converting to amsoil syn. system asap but the way money is right now, it isn't going to be for a little while so i want to still have a good oil. i ran out of steam(extra money) and havn't even finished my turbo setup...

 

[BigRigTech]

Hard to beat Rotella, I see some really high mileage engines that have had a steady diet of Shell, still have cross hatch in the liners with 1,500,000km on them.

 

[tractorman86]

well i guess i'll use it then, i've heard it is good but never had any experience with it.

 

[towcat]

my rule of thumb is I will use whatever is common in the stores.
Delo or Rotella is good. I tend to find Delo more frequently, so I go with Delo.
Synthetics imho is nothing but trouble if you ever wind up in a situation where you will need to stop somewhere and buy oil.

 

[Devilish]

The oils for sale today contains a percentage of synthetic. Aprox 20% for regular, 50% syn blend, and 100% full syn. I'm sure rotella and delo do the same. That's why manufacturers like Ford upped their change recommended intervals to 4-5000 miles.

 

[dakotajeep]

I hadnt heard that. Crazy....

I run both Delo and Rotella......which ever is cheaper at the time.

 

[hesutton]

I'm a Rotella guy. Change it about every 3000 miles. I add two quarts of Lucas Oil stabilizer with it and I've had no problems.

I'm going to do a BlackStone analysis with next oil change and see what they say.

Heath

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

All we use in our trucks is Archer 15-40D. My grandpa used it in his 83 before we got it and we used it in it ever since and never had an issue with it. Pulled 650k + out of that engine and the bottom end has never been torn apart.
Its a semi synthetic oil. And just an FYI for those that may not know it, atleast a semi synthetic based oil, if not completely synthetic, is a MUST in my book for anything running a turbocharger. My Garrett dealer told me this when I purchased my turbo eclipse, and I was glad to find out that Archer is one of the best (if not the best) semi synthetic diesel oils on the market.

The Garrett dealer told me that std dino oil cokes the bearings too easily, because it cannot withstand the extreme heat within the center cartridge as well as synthetic.

 

[FordGuy100]

My truck has had Delo 400 all through its life. I'm going to run 1 more interval of Delo 400 with Auto Rx. Then I'm switching to Amsoil synthetic. I purposfully bought extra synthetic so I would have a gallon in my toolbox. If there ever comes a time that I need more than a gallon of oil....I think I would have more worries than trying to find synthetic oil. But I do see that reasoning .

 

[tonkadoctor]

Run nothing but Rotella for the last 22 years with no problems. Walmart, tractor supply and about any truckstop in the US and Canada carry it. I run the Rotella Synthetic now and easy to get at Walmart and tractor supply.

Shell Rotella, Chevron Delo and Mobil Delvac are all good oils and probably the 3 most common running in the big rigs and have been for years.

 

[69dieselfreak]

i like what ever is cheapest between rotella and delvac and this time was delvac
the price of oil has gone up around my neck of the woods and its like 10$ a gallon for rotella and 9$ for delvac

 

[BROWNIEBOY525]

i always run rottella synthic in mine and change it at every 5k.

 

[HammerDown]

Delvac for the longest time but last month my Wal*Mart had Castrol 15-40 on sale and I gotta say for what ever reason the oil looks cleaner on the dip stick! Maybe because it's not as dark as the Delvac right out of the container.
But it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling all over...

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Anymore, you gotta read more than just the brand-name on the jug.

Rotella used to be as good as it got; Delo400 was better.

No more, since the advent of CJ-4 requirements.

Up until then, SAE requirements were always backwards compatible, with each successive oil being better for the engine than the preceding one.


With the onslaught of heavily emmission-controlled engines, the EPA decided that there were ingredients in the additives that make oil do it's job so good that were also affecting the effectiveness of emmissions systems.

So, they made the new engines require a new rating, CJ-4.


With this new oil, there has been a number of reportings of prematurely worn-out camshafts, along with a host of other problems.


A few manufacturers still offer oil that is still CI-4 and NOT CJ-4.


CI-4 can still be found in the blue jugs at Walmart; John Deere 15W-40 is still CI-4 rated; Conoco/Phillips still offers it under all three trade names, including trustyworthy Kendall.


If you do run the new CJ-4 oil, change intervals should be halved.

 

[tractorman86]

Anymore, you gotta read more than just the brand-name on the jug.

Rotella used to be as good as it got; Delo400 was better.

No more, since the advent of CJ-4 requirements.

Up until then, SAE requirements were always backwards compatible, with each successive oil being better for the engine than the preceding one.


With the onslaught of heavily emmission-controlled engines, the EPA decided that there were ingredients in the additives that make oil do it's job so good that were also affecting the effectiveness of emmissions systems.

So, they made the new engines require a new rating, CJ-4.


With this new oil, there has been a number of reportings of prematurely worn-out camshafts, along with a host of other problems.


A few manufacturers still offer oil that is still CI-4 and NOT CJ-4.


CI-4 can still be found in the blue jugs at Walmart; John Deere 15W-40 is still CI-4 rated; Conoco/Phillips still offers it under all three trade names, including trustyworthy Kendall.


If you do run the new CJ-4 oil, change intervals should be halved.

that is what i was wondering, couldn't remember if they where both cj-4 or not . hence me wanting to go to amsoil