Topic: rotella T6 vs 15w-40?

[xsmooth69x]

i hear people on the forums running the rotella T6 which is a 5w-40 synthetic or the rotella T 15w-40

i live in MN and it does get quite nippy here so should i run the T6?

[dave500]

damn,i dont drink beer till friday !

[xsmooth69x]

ya i know im opening up another oil thread can of worms...... but i did a google search and no one ever did a rotella T6 vs 15w-40 lol

[dave500]

thats it!!!im going to start a whats the best popcorn thread,,that microwave(synthetic?) stuff makes you sick,,its made from recycled lego blocks or something.

[PeWe]

OIL thread! YES!!
Motorcycle mineral oil with plenty of zinc, JASO (wet clutch) on the label. Not car oil with antifriction additives.
Search for motor oil + zinc which is good for the cams.

[andy750]

Type in "rotella" in the Google custom search bar above and you will get 10+ pages of Rotella information as well as Rotella T info.

[exf5003]

I was also very curious on this exact subject and found a good explanation about synthetic oils from jbailey towards the bottom of the 4th page:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=8553.75 
The entire thread is an interesting read... needless to say, for my next oil change I'll be testing Rotella T6 out.

[cb650]

Never have been a fan of synthetics.   Nothing against them but the couple times I tried then no noticeable improvements.  Even in track times.  I do like rotella.  Just took a hot trip 2 up and kept expecting troubles.  Bike did better than us.

[flybox1]

That's it!!! I'm going to start a what's the best popcorn thread,,that microwave(synthetic?) stuff makes you sick,,it's made from recycled Lego blocks or something.

"Artificial butter flavoring ingredient linked to key Alzheimer's disease process"

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-artificial-butter-flavoring-ingredient-linked.html

dont forget  "popcorn lung" 

[Damfino]

dont forget  "popcorn lung" 

Isn't that a Jethro Tull song? 

[750K]

thats it!!!im going to start a whats the best popcorn thread,,that microwave(synthetic?) stuff makes you sick,,its made from recycled lego blocks or something.

Don't forget caramel corn, that stuff is the best!

On a serious note, be carefull using synthetic oil in an older bike. It can start leaks if your gaskets are old, my wife started using motul synthetic in her cb400 twin and it developed a head gasket leak something awful. Since she went back to a 10-40 Dino oil it's calmed down, if you have new gaskets and seals I wouldnt worry too much.

[bollingball]

I tried the T6 and could not taste any difference.

[BrockSamson]

I tried the T6 and could not taste any difference.

My senior year of high school I was in an AP economics class.  The teacher had set up this experiment with two different sodas in cups and selected three people to come up and try them.  The cups were unmarked.  She asked us to write down whether we thought it was Coke or Pepsi.  So we go through the paces and I am taking a long time.  The other two people write down Coke or Pepsi very quickly.  Everyone was getting restless and I finally I said "I can't tell the difference, I don't know what is wrong with me.".  The surprised look on her face and then revealing that both the cups had the same thing in it, generic brand regular cola will be something I never forget. 

I use Rotella because it is cheap and will not cause my clutch to slip.

[flybox1]

dont forget  "popcorn lung" 

Isn't that a Jethro Tull song? 

snot butter runing down his nose chin 

[Rigid]

t5 rotella is the semisynthetic oil for those not wanting to go all the way to T6.  I use their regular 15w40 cause it is cheap, available, and has loads of zinc or something like that.  I do use the T5 in my Tacoma as recommended on the Toyota boards cause I have a timing chain, instead of a belt.

[xsmooth69x]

well i think ill go with the T6

a little more pricey but my subaru also uses the same oil and i think the 15w weight of the regular stuff will be to heavy for my bike to start during the fall...... us minnesotans like to ride right up till the snow falls

but dully noted if i start having gasket issues ill bump it up to the 15w40.

so people have use the T6 and 15w40 so they are both pretty safe and reliable is i guess what im trying to get at.

[Damfino]

Sitting on a park bench...
eyeing microwave's with bad intent...
Popcorn lung...

[750K]

I just switched to the Rotella 15-40 about 500-1000km ago, no issues. I'll go back to the gn-6 10-40 from my Honda shop in the late fall. Once your gaskets start leaking they don't stop, unless you replace them. For the frequency you change your oil in a bike, synthetic is just throwing money away. On a street ridden bike that is, just my opinion though.

[xsmooth69x]

ya went with the T6 no problems so far seems good

and i didnt even have to go to wallyworld my local auto part store just price matched it hehehe

[Duanob]

I tried the T6 and could not taste any difference.

Is that the "New and Improved" T6 or "Classic" T6?

[xsmooth69x]

I tried the T6 and could not taste any difference.

Is that the "New and Improved" T6 or "Classic" T6?

from what i understand its the same stuff

another forum said they emailed shell the added the T in shell rotella T (10w-40 or 5w-40) is for a marketing thing. same stuff

[TwoTired]

On a serious note, be carefull using synthetic oil in an older bike. It can start leaks if your gaskets are old, my wife started using motul synthetic in her cb400 twin and it developed a head gasket leak something awful. Since she went back to a 10-40 Dino oil it's calmed down, if you have new gaskets and seals I wouldnt worry too much.

Since this IS an oil thread, I'll just mention that the "Synthetics causing leaks" is a myth borne of coincidence ad hearsay.

If the stronger detergents clean away sludge (a good thing) that allows a shunken gasket to leak, the synthetic's additive rubber rejuvenators swell the gasket and seal it up again later with time in use.

Sometimes half measures don't tell the whole story.  Kinda like tasting water and spitting it back out, rather than actually drinking it, and then claiming water didn't help you live any better.

Then again, some "synthetics" are just a crude oil base with an extra refinement step.

In the older days, engine oil was mostly non-detergent.  Yes, sludge built up, particularly with paraffin based oils (wax).  Using the new fangled detergent oil on old engines knocked the sludge loose in chunks only to clog up the oil pickup screen. Engine failure, ensued.  So, the myth started that old engines couldn't use detergent oil, even newly rebuilt ones with clean internals, (which detergent oil would keep that way)!  Myth created and propagated.

Now we have the "new fangled" synthetics (been around since the 1940's) and more myths ensue.  Synthetic oil has a far more tightly controlled molecule size than refined crude.

They all (Crude based or Synthetic based) have an additive package (detergents, friction modifier, viscosity modifier, etc.) blended with them before sale to consumer.  The additive package varies from brand to brand and blend to blend, all hidden from purchaser view.  Still, the myths continue about synthetic vs crude based, casting undue aspersions onto the "new-fangled" oil by people who don't understand either "old" or "new".
Ain't humanity, advertising, and marketing wonderful?

Cheers,

[750K]

Myth maybe TT, but they go hand in hand. Yes the old gasket is the ultimate cause of the leak but if the stronger detergents in the synthetics weren't introduced the leak might not have started in the first place. It's not one or the other, it's a combination of the both. At least in the case of my wife's 400 twin, it didn't leak a drop of oil till she started using the synthetic motul oil and we had changed the oil a few times prior to her buying the motul.

[w1sa]

The claims that synthetic oils cause oil leaks in older service engines that have only been run on older spec oils, 'because the synthetics contain higher levels of detergents', has always been a contentious one.

If it's true, wouldn't the same apply to the use of modern diesel oils?......they (diesel oils) are always reputed/stated to contain the highest levels of detergents to combat the typically higher level of deposits........and yet bike owners are always touting the benefits of using diesel oils!

Currently,  Shell literature for Rotella T multi-grades  predominantly state that they are 'low emission'/'low saps' oils......these oils were designed and formulated to meet the requirements of the most recent engine designs incorporating the most advanced emission/energy rating rules. As such these engines incorporate DPFs and other advanced emission control devices......What this means, is that multigrade rotella T oil is/must be very low in ZDDP (zinc and phosphorus)..........and that is not something which many regard as desirable in an oil used for 'flat tappet' style engines........especially high revving air cooled designs, like our '70s hondas.

So, modern rotella T multi-grades would not be my first choice, unless there were no other better suited oils available.

I steer away from any oil (for use in these bikes) that is formulated to comply with the most modern low emission, energy saving/conserving design rules.....and look for oils that satisfy the earlier formulations that also (still) contain enough of 'the right stuff' for these engines......and, many motorcycle oils are just as defficient in having less than healthy levels of ZDDP (moderm MCs also have cats etc fitted)...........The argument is, that zddp reductions have been supplemented by the inclusion of other EP additives (moly, boron, calcium etc compounds).....well, if they are so superior to zddp for boundary layer protection etc at the extreme of performance/service requirements, why haven't they totally replaced zddp as an EP additive?...........of course!.... it would be argued that substitutes are so much more expensive, and the manufacturers are only trying to keep the price of their products down/competitive as long as possible, by retaining zddp in their formulae at all..

[dave500]

can i empty a tube of zinc sunscreen into my next oil change?hey im serious.