Favorite ENGINE OIL?

[Capt._Chaos]

What kind of engine oil do you like to use?

My sole favorite is Mobil Delvac 1300 15W-40.

Schaeffer Oil is good too, but availability is limited to the northwest U.S.

No synthetic engine oil for me!

If your choice isn't listed, please mention it. :)

[saddletramp]

I have always used Shell, even back in the 70's when I had my truck. I now use it in the vehicles at home, including the diesel farm tractor, stock truck, and the car and pickups.
Never thought of trying anything else, guess if its not broke why fix it!

[Big_Dave]

Shell Rotella 15W40 for the big truck.

Valvoline 10W40 for the pickup. ;)

[Preacher]

Nuttin' but Rotella and Lucas in mine! :classic:

I use sewing machine oil in my wifes little Infinity. :rofl:

[nitestar]

I used to use Shell Rotella 15-40 but switched to Mobile Delvac 15-40. REASON
was that according to independent tests, Shell started to break down about ( equilivant to) 3000 miles sooner and other things stated in the testing.

I found that I use less oil between changes now with mobile Delvac 15-40.
Made the change when I did the out of frame overhaul. I get better oil sample readings now.
Haven't been sorry yet.

[Capt._Chaos]

Nuttin' but Rotella and Lucas in mine! :classic:


Preacher, I'd quit using Lucas Oil Stabilizer if I were you!

A few people I know that had used it in the past freaked out when they had to inframe their engines and their oil pans had a HEAVY coat of SLUDGE in them. :yikes:

Also, check this out.......................

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

After seeing that a few years ago, I quit using it in my truck.

[Preacher]

Thanks Capt. Very interesting link. Next oil change I'll leave out the Lucas for sure. I'll change it out sooner too. Probably after 8000 mi. or so to get rid of the Lucas that is in there.

My big question is; Why are so many owners sold on Lucas if it causes such a build-up of air in the oil? Maybe ignorance, but so many swear by it.

[tommy]

Thanks Capt. Very interesting link. Next oil change I'll leave out the Lucas for sure. I'll change it out sooner too. Probably after 8000 mi. or so to get rid of the Lucas that is in there.

My big question is; Why are so many owners sold on Lucas if it causes such a build-up of air in the oil? Maybe ignorance, but so many swear by it.


I use Lucas with Delo for many a year now, over 1 million on engine and it does not need a rebuild yet according to shop...Cannot change my mind as the proof of this combo has shown me..I do change oil at 10K also..

[Capt._Chaos]

Perhaps they just don't know any better. I have heard Lucas does make good 15W-40 oil though, but I have yet to see it anywhere.

On a similar note, I found out through my local Detroit dealer there's an owner-operator who bought a new KW T-600 in 1992, and it has a Detroit Series 60 engine in it. He installed an Onan APU immediately before even hauling his first load. Him & his wife ran team in it, hauling air freight loads for many years. The truck had already hit 1,000,000 miles in 1998.

He used Mobil Delvac 1300 exclusively, and didn't put any additives in it. Changed it every 10,000 miles, and being he had an APU, his engine's idle time was less than 5%. He had overheads ran every 200,000 miles. He installed new belts every fall. The injectors got replaced at every third overhead (every 600,000 miles).

Here's the kicker: his engine lasted 1,940,000 miles before it even showed signs of needing an inframe! :yikes: The only work he had to do on that engine other than what was spoke of earlier was to replace a blown head gasket, and two water pumps!

The '98 Eagle I sold in June (with a Detroit, and running on straight Mobil Delvac 1300) had 965,000 miles on it then. The new owner called me recently to let me know it had turned 1,000,000 miles and it still hasn't even starting using oil between oil changes yet! :cheers:

[towstrap]

anyone ever used Motorkote? I hear the advertisements and I used to see the guy at the truck shows doing his little demo, but have never purchased it nor known anyone who has. is it just another snake oil?

[Capt._Chaos]

anyone ever used Motorkote? I hear the advertisements and I used to see the guy at the truck shows doing his little demo, but have never purchased it nor known anyone who has. is it just another snake oil?

Yes.

Oil is a delicate balance of ingredients, and additives ruin that balance, that is, if they don't end up becoming sludge in the oil pan. :wtf:

[tommy]

anyone ever used Motorkote? I hear the advertisements and I used to see the guy at the truck shows doing his little demo, but have never purchased it nor known anyone who has. is it just another snake oil?

Yes.

Oil is a delicate balance of ingredients, and additives ruin that balance, that is, if they don't end up becoming sludge in the oil pan. :wtf:


You say this

Preacher, I'd quit using Lucas Oil Stabilizer if I were you!

A few people I know that had used it in the past freaked out when they had to inframe their engines and their oil pans had a HEAVY coat of SLUDGE in them.

and then this


You must not like oil additives.. :rofl:

[Capt._Chaos]

You must not like oil additives.. :rofl:

You're right, I don't!

[tommy]

You must not like oil additives.. :rofl:

You're right, I don't!

Do I detect a bit of sarcasim in your post?

[Capt._Chaos]

Do I detect a bit of sarcasim in your post?

I won't deny that I can sound that way at times! :rofl:

[Mark-the-Spark]

On the subject of additives, a bit of logic and common sense seems to answer the question.

Shell and Mobil don't sell engines, they sell (among other petroleum products) lubricating oil. Since they are in competition with one another, and being multi billion dollar companies can afford the best engineers on the planet, one would think that they would try to make the best lubricating oil possible.

The additive companies don't seem to make oil, they just make additives (which seem to cost a lot more than the oil that you add it to). I would think that Shell and Mobil are aware of the additives, and could easily reverse engineer them if they thought the additivies were a good thing. They could call it Super Rotella or Super Delvac and sell it for a higher price than the regular stuff.

If it was truly better.

Then the additive companies seem to spend a lot of money on advertising and infomercials. Some say the additive is just as good as a tune up in a can, and some even say they are as good as a valve job or an overhaul in a can.

At that point I check to make sure I'm wearing boots :p

Since customers are not engineers, and therefore generally don't document their 'before and after' conclusions, customer testimonials don't mean much (actually they mean nothing at all).

However, I am certain that the additives do one thing -- they make money for the people that manufacture and sell them :classic:

Although I did not vote, my favorite automotive engine oil is Mobil 1. Based on a light reading of SAE test results when I used to own an engine that was spec'd from the factory for Mobil 1 (and only Mobil 1), it had the best numbers on the market.

For the trivia fans, that engine was a Chevy LT-5.

I dunno if I could justify the cost of Mobil Delvac 1 in a diesel engine on the factory recommended 15K mile change interval.

[HSLD]

Nuttin' but Rotella and Lucas in mine! :classic:


Preacher, I'd quit using Lucas Oil Stabilizer if I were you!

A few people I know that had used it in the past freaked out when they had to inframe their engines and their oil pans had a HEAVY coat of SLUDGE in them. :yikes:

Also, check this out.......................

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/images/lucas/lucas.htm

After seeing that a few years ago, I quit using it in my truck.

If this test brought the oils, additives, and case housing up to operating temperature like an engine, I'd be concerned if there was foaming. But spinning these materials on gears without any temperature increase like that of an engines operating temperature, really fails to prove much other that these products foam when spun on gear with no real temperature increase. The physical characteristics of all materials change as temperatures change.

v/r

HSLD

[dljtruck]

15-40 rotella & 1 gal lucas. 400 bc 3 cummins 1.100,000 just rods&mains. ;)

[Paul Abelson]

The oil companies don't approve of oil additives of any type. Oils, they argue, are a carefully balanced blend of anywhere from 20% to 35% chemicals (their additives) with the rest base stock and/or synthetic lubricating oil. Some chemicals are incompatible with others, forming sludge and other precipitates or leaving an excess of ash when the oil burns. Engine makers have cut oil consumption way down for emissions reasons, but some oil is burned in every engine.

Some additives (Lucas, etc.) are compatible with some oils, but not others. The good additive makers try to test their product with the majority of popular oils, but none can afford to test every time there is a formulation change, not with each oil. Most rely on short-term testing.

Oil companies and engine makers meet under the American Society for Tecting and Materials (ASTM) to review engines' lubrication needs and develop test sequences (now upto 14 individual tests, some taking hundreds of thousands of miles to complete) for each new set of parameters. We know them as the American Petroleum Institute classifications, CH-4, CI-4, CI-4+ and soon, for the 2007 engines, CJ-4.

The full test sequences cost well over $1,000,000 to run, which is why no additive company except the big suppliers to the oil companies, Lubrizol, ExxonMobil, Ethyl, and others can afford to test compatibility with all oils.

If you've had good luck using oil additives with a particular oil, you'll probably be safe continuing to use it, especially if your oil is one of the popular ones. But when CJ-4 comes out, you may have to reevaluate. Oil analysis can help you understand what's happening inside your engine.

Anyone with further questions, please feel free to e-mail me.