15W40 Vs. 10W40 Pro's/Con's, Which ones BETTER? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Benzadmiral · #1 09-08-2006, 09:08 AM

Trueog,

Right now I use a 70/30 mix of Chevron Delo 15W-40 and Havoline 5W-30 in my '97 C230, which I believe is the same engine as yours. Havoline and Chevron are the same company, and all good modern oils are pretty much compatible anyway, so mixing is not a worry. I do it to thin out the 15W-40 a little to eke out as much gas mileage as I can. (It probably makes almost no difference, but it's fun to see what I can achieve.)

My climate in Da Swamp is nastily hot for 8 months of the year, and less hot to once-in-a-while cold for the remainder, so I don't have to worry about my oil being too thick at startup.

The important thing to remember about 15W-40 is that it's used all over the world as a "universal" oil, in heat and cold, in diesels and in gas engines (because it's rated for both, "S" as well as "C"). The Chevron Delo is considered a super-dino oil by many, and a bargain next to the synthetics if you don't need synthetic. Dino oils these days are so good that if you don't do extended drains or have other severe service issues (like a turbocharged engine), synthetic is a waste of money.

As far as price, there is Havoline, being sold in the States at about $2.00 USD a quart, and Conoco/Phillips's TropArtic synthetic blend, going at Evil_Marts for about $1.68. But neither offers a 15W-40, as far as I know.

All the major oil companies make really good oils. You don't have to $pend a lot to get good oil.
.

EricSilver · #2 09-08-2006, 01:45 PM

By the way, has anyone here used Castrol Tection? I have not yet opened them and if you all feel I should instead try the Rotella or Delvac, please let me know. (I am reading very good things about Tection so far, but it is mainly marketing material by Castrol/BP)

Secret Squirrel · #3 09-08-2006, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricSilver

By the way, has anyone here used Castrol Tection? I have not yet opened them and if you all feel I should instead try the Rotella or Delvac, please let me know. (I am reading very good things about Tection so far, but it is mainly marketing material by Castrol/BP)

After reading stuff on bobistheoilguy.com for many moons, the 15W-40 HDEO's are generally viewed like this: Chevron Delo and Mobil Delvac 1300 Super are the two dino premiums. Shell Rotella is the gold standard that you can find at any truck stop or gas station while out on the road, therefore it has a huge following. Then you have all the other mfgs' 15W-40's nibbling at their piece of the market.

I personally run the Delvac 1300 15W-40 in my cars when it's warm out. Anything below 20 degrees F and startups get pretty chunky.

If you're looking to save some money I'd take back the Castrol and get the Rotella T 5W-40 group III synthetic. But in general, any of the modern 15W-40's are going to be such a high quality oil, you can run whatever you pick without worrying. The stuff is designed to be abused and sheared under the stress of working diesels hour after hour.

lee polowczuk · #4 09-09-2006, 10:56 AM

i have used all sorts of oils in our two 124's right now it's 20w-50 dino in the 300CE, until i can do the valve stem seals..

the 300E has had everything from shell rotella to dino to synthetic. I have settled on synthetic for it to stop a start up tick. i think it has 5w-30 in it right now.. i am going to switch over to a 40 weight due to the concerns of some members here.... it is running great...although it burns a quart at 3k with the 30 weight.

Our expedition runs 5w-30 synthetic these days...that's the prescribed weight.. i have run heavier dino's however.

i follow larry bible's addage... change it hot and often.

we buy whatever is on sale in advance... as a matter of fact the CE now has a mc parts brand in it...

EricSilver · #5 09-10-2006, 10:19 AM

I went ahead and used the Castrol.

These diesel oils offer the benefits of synthetics without the cost. I suspect the "longer oil change interval" benefit of synthetics is largely marketing hype, designed to justify their higher cost. While synthetics may hold their viscosity longer, thay cannot neutralize engine pollutants, which means your engine bathes in its own filth for 10,000 miles instead of just 3,000.

davestlouis · #6 09-10-2006, 11:23 AM

If nothing else, the Castrol Tection has a great easy-pour bottle...I use Delo as a rule but I've tried the Castrol, and Valvoline Blue with no ill effects.

waybomb · #7 09-11-2006, 10:03 PM

FWIW: ALL available standard gas engine lubrication oils are not the same as they were 5 years ago. ZDDP has been removed to a level of almost non-existence. ZDDP (essentially Zinc) has been removed because the EPA has decided the ZDDP was a cause of failed CATs.

The only way to get gas engine lubrication oil with a full complement of ZDDP is to by "Off Road Only Racing Oil". Regular old "Racing Oil" also has had ZDDP removed to the same level as regular oil.

This loss of ZDDP is not a problem to modern engines with roller camshafts. It is a BIG problem to those of us with flat tappet cams with higher spring pressures, such as in high horsepower engines. Many of us gearheads with flat tappet camshafts found out the hard way in the last few years by having our cam lobes go round, and lifters becoming short, with all that lost metal getting circulated in the engines. Some of us have been fortunate enough to build the engines using high performance oil filters, catching the errant metal particles before wiping out expensive steel cranks.

All flat tappet cam shaft manufacturers now recommend use of Delo, Delvac or Rotella in flat tappet gas engines, or, "Off Road Only Racing Oil", and specifically warn against using regular engine oil and oils labeled "Racing Oil".

After wiping out all three camshafts in Plain Vanilla (this gets expensive!) (It was weird - all three had round lobes within a few engine hours of each other, so I knew something unusual was in play) because I used premium grade gas engine "Racing Oil", and not knowing about the removal of ZDDP, and the effects of that removal, I now use 15w-40 Diesel Oil, Rotella T, in all my engines. Knock on wood, no problems yet. If I plug a CAT, well, I guess I'll install a test pipe to see if the CAT was plugged and simply forget about having installed the test pipe.

trueog · #8 09-08-2006, 10:10 PM

Thanks for the feedback. That's quite an informative response you've provided us with. Thanks for explaining the universal use of 15W40, and its use around the globe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral

Trueog,

Right now I use a 70/30 mix of Chevron Delo 15W-40 and Havoline 5W-30 in my '97 C230, which I believe is the same engine as yours. Havoline and Chevron are the same company, and all good modern oils are pretty much compatible anyway, so mixing is not a worry. I do it to thin out the 15W-40 a little to eke out as much gas mileage as I can. (It probably makes almost no difference, but it's fun to see what I can achieve.)

My climate in Da Swamp is nastily hot for 8 months of the year, and less hot to once-in-a-while cold for the remainder, so I don't have to worry about my oil being too thick at startup.

The important thing to remember about 15W-40 is that it's used all over the world as a "universal" oil, in heat and cold, in diesels and in gas engines (because it's rated for both, "S" as well as "C"). The Chevron Delo is considered a super-dino oil by many, and a bargain next to the synthetics if you don't need synthetic. Dino oils these days are so good that if you don't do extended drains or have other severe service issues (like a turbocharged engine), synthetic is a waste of money.

As far as price, there is Havoline, being sold in the States at about $2.00 USD a quart, and Conoco/Phillips's TropArtic synthetic blend, going at Evil_Marts for about $1.68. But neither offers a 15W-40, as far as I know.

All the major oil companies make really good oils. You don't have to $pend a lot to get good oil.
.