Castrol Syntec or Mobil1
 

My rig's PO used Syntec 5w50 religiously so I stuck with it. O'Relly's hasn't had a sale on Syntec for a while, it's now at around $9 a qt. They do, however, have Mobil1 15w50 on sale til the end of Oct. for $6 a qt, well, all the Mobil1 varieties on sale. Hard to imagine I could go wrong. Thoughts?

As long as the weight is okay I don't see why not.

I'd go with the Mobil1, and I think you can get it for a small bit less at Wal:)Mart.

It's worth a look but in my previous looksees, Walmart doesn't have a wide choice of weights on any brand they carry. Same with Costco - just 2 or 3 basic sizes. I dunno if I'm obsessive to go with 50 weight or not.

Sure cmac... just when things are getting testy in OD, you have to start an oil thread... Sadist.:D

I'd much rather talk about Obama closing down Nat. Parks but I have to buy oil and stuff. :cool5:

Hmmm
New brand??
I wonder if its as good as MOBIL 1 ?

Same stuff. It's just the French version.

What I understood was that most synthetic oil sold in the US cannot legally be sold as synthetic in other countries? Or at least in Europe and Japan?

Even so, if that is so, is it an engineering/lubrication thing or a legal/marketing thing?

Have you looked at the analysis in Bob Is The Oil Guy?

Which rig?

Another thing you can do is to do what I did for my truck. 3000 mile oil change but I am using synthetic and stretching it to 5000 (I have 2 HPOPs which supposedly is hard on the oil and causes shearing of the molecules). How I arrived at this number? Take a used oil sample and they will tell you how "worn out" it is. Blackstone Laboratories is a good one. They will tell you how wore out it is and how far you can stretch the interval.

OK. I realized that a few minutes ago and changed it.

Wise guy. :o

Oops - my bad. The BMW 325i. The Benz hasn't run for a while. I need to pick up a 6 pack of motivation.

FWIW, I'm finding more votes for Mobil1 on the web than for Syntec. And word is you can add dino oil to synthetics if you have nothing else available w/o ill effects. Certainly compared to the ill effects you'd get for not having enough oil. So if that's the case, hard to imagine that topping off with Mobil1 will be a problem tween now and next oil change.

I keep thinking I'll do that but I haven't yet. I go 7000 on synthetic in the Bimmer.

You might be able to go more or less but you won't KNOW till you test. It isn't that expensive when you consider what your supplies and time is worth.

Try Rotella T6 in the 325i.

A bunch of friends run it in their M3s, and swear by it - quiets the valve train down!

I used to use that but it wore out quick in the Power stroke.

this deep into the thread . . .

Who would know more about lubrication than aklim? I mean, come on . . .

6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other. Both are quality oils. Make the right choice of weight and choose the one that is most readily available in your area.

The girl that comes with her personal lubrication? :D The girl usually supplies it and I am NOT a backdoor man so I'm not that certain myself. :D

so aklim, what oil do you like in your truck. I wanted to go with snythetic until I found out most are just dino oil now.

My truck might be a little different. First off it is HEUI injection. That means there is an oil pump that pressurizes the oil to up to 3000 psi. That, AFAIK is pretty hard on the oil to be constantly compressed like that to fire the injectors. Also, in my modifications, I have added a second oil pump that does the same thing. This makes it pretty rough on oil.

I also have winter climates which makes starting hard. So either you plug it in constantly (expensive) or you add a timer to turn it on a few hours before you need it (need planning before use) or the third option is to have a thinner oil. I have 5W40. Stock recommendation is 15W40. That kinda leaves me with Shell Rotella T6, Amsoil or one that I have been trying. Schaeffer's Oil. Schaeffer's seems to be lasting about 5000 based on oil analysis. Will have to try Amsoil after this change.

I've been thnking about trying RedLine since it is still true synthetic from what I can tell (Amsoil is not). Yeah, mine is a 2000 and I think it is pretty hard on oil.

Those oil pump squeezing to 3000 psi is rough on the oil and causes a shearing of the molecules. Further to that, the oil MUST have anti foaming properties or you will have problems like when the oil gets too old.

T6 has been good to me in my Duramax - Hits 10k miles between changes without breaking down too significantly!

Then again, I am common rail, and the lowest temps we have out here are mid twenties!

What did the lab tell you the oil change interval was? Mine was 5000 miles.

In Mid 20s, the HEUI system can start to have issues with 15W40 oil.

Wow I wouldn't think HEUI would wear the oil that quickly... was sheer the problem?

I think we've run 5000-7500 miles changes in our 03 6.0 with M1 5w40. I've never had the oil tested.

-J

About 15k miles.

What kind of problems?

I suspect so.

Your 6.0 only has 1 HPOP although it goes to the same pressure as mine. I have a stock oil pump and a reverse rotation oil pump so it might be subject to more cycles of compression than stock. IDK

i have heard to not use rotella in powerstrokes because it tends to foam.don't have a PS or use rotella so don't know if this is true but i will say this.my 5.9 cummins in my freightliner does not like rotella.smokes like a banshee.delvac no problem,i would use mobil 1 but damn an oil change would cost me 200 bucks.

AFAIK a lot of people use it without reports of foaming.

Peach Parts...OpenDisussion -> where the political threads are hell but the oil threads are well worth reading :)

-Oil user

Cold starts are very difficult when it is 10 degrees or worse and you don't have it plugged in. So if you think you are using the truck, you need to plan ahead.

I have a timer rigged up to run the heater for 3 hours before I leave in the morning. Only use it when really cold. I did try the 5w-40 Mobil1 at one time and it did help starting a bit.

Yes but my truck is not used daily so I don't want to hook it up. I want to be able to leave when I feel like it, hence the switch to 5W40