Rotella Synthetic Oil Any Thoughts

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Author Message   Joseph Bilyk (Denverrover) Member Username: Denverrover Post Number: 103 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 05:04 pm:    Hey guys, It is getting cold here & time to change to a lighter oil. Any thoughts on Rotella full syn 5w-30? It is alot cheaper than Mobil, is it as good? I'm just wondering about the detergents to clean stuff up. I know that Mobil is superior to most oils but do you think that the Rotella Full Syn is a good buy? joe   Joey (Joey4420) Senior Member Username: Joey4420 Post Number: 416 Registered: 04-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 05:47 pm:    I highly recommend it....My dad who has been driving Tractor Trailers for around 30 years, run nothing but Shell Rotella T in his semi's with only good results. As far as the Full Syn 5w-30, I am planning on putting my Disco on it during my next oil change.... The detergents should keep the Disco happy   p (Pfb) Member Username: Pfb Post Number: 75 Registered: 08-2003 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 08:42 pm:    I run the non-synth Rotella 15W50 in my 3.9L Disco... Too leaky to waste synthetic!   Geoff 93 RRC (Geoff) Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 156 Registered: 11-2002 Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 11:49 pm:    Go the lightest you can. Taking off my main bearing caps, the ones at the back of the engine (farthest from the oil pump), had visibly more wear. Also with a very low spec on the bypass valve, thick oil creates enough pressure at startup that the valve opens and it just gets dumped back in the pan until it thins out from engine heat. I use the 5w-40 Rotella synthetic. I used Mobil 1 15w-50 previously. I get no leaks with the 5w-40. Rotella synthetic uses class III base stocks, which is basically extremely refined dino oil. It is just as good as Mobil 1 for most purposes in my research. Mobil 1 uses a class IV base stock and is synthetic in the true sense. In the main it flows better at colder temps (really cold I think its -40 vs -55 F) but at operating temps and above the two are competitive. I like the 5w-40 weight because I think this engine (3.9L) works well with higher viscosity at operating temp (212 deg F more or less). Mobil 1 Delvac comes in 5w-40 and is great stuff but is significantly more expensive and hard to find. Rotella meets the diesel tough CH-4 spec. Very high quality oil for the price $12.14 for a gallon at Wallmart. Good additive package. If I were to use a conventional dino oil, I would look up the data sheet and see if it uses a class II base stock.