Oil Recommendations
 

As the title says, I'd like some opinions of different oils and filters. I'm currently running Rotella because it was in the truck when I bought it. I'd really like to hear your opinions and stories of your experiences. Thanks in advance!

most everyone is going to say use Amsoil. for engine trans
I'm using Valvoline 15w40 for engine and Cummins engine oil filter. only because its free to me
if i had to pay i'd probly use the same.
I used to use Fram filter but not anymore the Crimp leaked on a oil filter i had on my truck once and never used it again. I guess that could happen to any filter maker. But since cummins filter is free i use it

I also use Valvoline synthetic ATF+4 trans oil. Again Free to me so. :tu:

I run Rotella and WIX filters, and have for 170K without any problems. Tranny and Rear are running Mopar fluids, changed at recommended times.

i run cummins approved valvoline. and a guy i know that works for UTA the transit system in Utah. he said thats the only thing they run in the 5.9 and 6.7 cummins busses that drive around all day everyday ..

also if your pocketbook can handle it royal purple is great but for $130 a change i think i'll be fine with the valvoline

We have always used Valvoline blue without any problems. AFE ProGuard filters are what we also recommend:tu:

i am running royal purple in my 08 cummins and afe oil filter

I run the AMSOIL of course. Kinda depends on what you want out of your oil. Are you good with changing it at OEM intervals or are you interested in stretching it out a bit? I currently have 24000 miles on my oil. Just got an OA back yesterday. All is still ok.
Synthetics have their advantages but they come a little price. That price can be negated if used how they can be.

Thanks folks! Heath, I'll be giving you a call in the near future. I have some things I would like to discuss with you.

I now run Valvoline 15w/40 Cummins oil and add two bottles of ZDDP with every oil change. I run WIX oil filters.

I used to use Rotella until they changed their formula reducing the Zinc. The '07 and up engines are fine running the newer oils but the 06 and earlier engines need the old formulas with the higher zinc levels. The newer oils comply with new government standards to help with emissions.

I've long been a fan of Valvoline oils, and was intrigued by their new formula that is specific to Cummins engines. To ensure that I'm getting sufficent zinc to protect camshaft and lifters I add the ZDDP.

If you read closely on the Valvoline bottle it is specifically for the ISM and ISX Cummins, no mention of the ISB engine that is in our trucks.

The ISM and ISX engines are heavier duty engines. Is there a concern with using this oil in our lighter duty ISB engines?:humm:

Does anyone have any information on the OEM Mopar oil that came from the factory, or that perhaps the dealers use?

Oil Change Intervals
 

Since were talking oil, just curious how long most of you guys go between changes? I do not do much pulling but living in the mountains causes a little more work. Also, does it matter having the aftermarket mods done :humm:

Thanks

I run Amsoil in my truck with an Amsoil filter. For stock trucks the normal service mileage recommendation is 25,000 or 1 year, but if you have mods or tow heavy or any other reason to consider it severe duty then they recommend 15,000 miles. I usually change mine around the 15,000 mile mark. I don't run my truck hard, I only tow about 12,000 lbs 2,500 miles or less a year, but I do have a programmer.

Doug

Thanks Doug, souds like Amsoil and use the severe duty guidelines is the way to go. I plan on changing the oil when I get home from Iraq in early Feb even though the oil only has about 5000 miles on it because it will have been in there for over a year.

Chet :tu:

Well at the moment im using delo and running a fleetguead filter. I will be puting a bypass on in the future when it starts to warm up agian. Been thinking of the amsoil. I have that in my 96 dodge and its good stuff. Shell aint bad stuff neither is the mobil delvac. Realy as long as it conforms to the API standards to your engine you should be fine. Seeing as all the brands stated above do I say you should be fine.

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Well if you are fueling hard like from bigger injectores and working it hard ex sled pulling, raceing , heavy towing, extended ide time then yeah its a good idea to change it a little sooner. Least thats what I would do.

When I asked the dealer about the oil they use, I was told they can use any brand of oil they want for oil changes, but if they need to use oil for warranty work the oil they have to use is Mobil oil and it has to be purchased from Dodge.

Still looking for an answer to my question above. Anyone know?

The bottle you read was probably for the new LE oil (CJ-4). The ISX with it's poor EGR design will chew up any oil and spit it out. (not real familiar with the ISM)

I personally would not run CJ-4 oil in an engine that you have run CI oil in (mileage based) for the exact reason listed before. The new LE oils have lower levels of naturally occurring ingredients then older blends.

I have heard multiple stories and seen a couple of engines that have run CI oil for all there life, when changed over to the LE (CJ-4) oil it caused premature bearing failure do to the lack of additives.

This is my opinion and knowledge based on working with an 18 truck fleet with many shop contacts beyond that. I am not a petroleum engineer!!!!!

The "LE" stands for LOW EMMISIONS. Thats it. Developed for the new engines, with strict exhaust requirements. thanks california...

Running the new CJ-rated oil in an older engine is a win-win for two reasons. #1, the lower level of "naturally ocurring ingredients" (:humm:) I believe probably refers to lesser amounts of the old ZDDP anti-wear formulation found in the the CI-rated oils. The newer formulations with their accompanying new anti-wear additives have a slightly lower overall TBN rating. But they have performed as well or even better in many cases as evidenced by a growing body of UOA evidence. Myth busted.

#2, the new CJ-rated oils and their accompanying formulations were specifically designed for much greater soot control capabilities with new dispersant and detergent technology to support much higher levels of soot production from the emissions systems in new diesels. So, you get just as good (arguably better, time will tell) anti-wear performance and better soot control with an engine that produces less soot. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. :tu:

But for those who still burn LSD the new CJ-4 oil does not hold up as well as CI-4+ oil.

The EPA would interested to know where you can purchase LSD for on-highway use. It will be phased out from all availability including heavy trans (locomotives) and marine by February 2011. :w2:

Nadir,

This had been talked to death many times over, but once more LSD is legal to use for on road use until late 2010. FYI some of the Flying J truck stops still sell LSD like the Flying J on I-70 & Exit 359 Limon Co according to the Flying J web site along several other Flying J truck stops in other states like AZ, GA, IL, IN, KY, UT just to name a few.

I realize that, and that's why I don't understand why people keep clinging to it. Are you stocking up on CI oil? What will you say after 2010? 2011? 2012?

Sorry dudes, but time marches on. Cling to the past or get with the program, your choice. :tu:

And OBTW, CJ holds up just as well or better than CI4+. Why would you think otherwise? Starting TBN? That too has been discussed to death all over the Internet.

:edit:

Amsoil is and will continue to make the CI+ oil. In their testing it does hold up better and last longer but will clog up the new DPF systems on the new trucks. The CI is a better choice for the pre-2007 trucks.

Doug

Yeah right, got it. Now show us a manufacturer or vendor who's testing reveals their product to not be best. :w2:

Amsoil will continue to make anything they can sell. As will any producer or blender. It won't be long before the market for CI-rated oil dries up, just like every previous API rating before it.

There is nothing special about Amsoil. As long as they can find people to believe the Amsoil legend they will continue to make whatever they can sell for a premium price to unwitting customers.

Now show us another manufacturer or vendor who publishes the third party ASTM lab results and spells out all the competitors. Explain to us all why, when Mobil was directly asked specific questions about how they compared to the testing against Amsoil, and the testing results that Amsoil published, they had no answers and skated around the questions. Tell us all why, if Amsoil isn't better, how they can get away with publishing all the ASTM results naming the other companies and their results if they weren't true. It seems to me that if they were lying then there would be lawsuits against them and they would no longer be in business. If you have done so much studying and investigating on oils and their manufacturing processes then you should know that Amsoil does not use their own testing results for their advertising publications. Also, if there is nothing special about Amsoil compared to everyone else, then why doesn't everyone else reccomend 25,000 mile oil changes for gasoline engines and up to 50,000 mile intervals for diesels or more with oil analysis monitoring? Why will the other companies not offer the warranty that Amsoil does? Why do other companies claim that they are "synthetic" yet still just use a group III base? These questions could go on all night but so they don't lets just say that the proof is there for those that want to look that Amsoil really does do things better and makes a superior product. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that other oils are not good, or that everything else is junk, or your truck will blow up if you don't run Amsoil, I am saying that Amsoil is better.

Doug

You got alot of questions there, Doug! Maybe you should start some investigating and get to the bottom of this?! Personally, rather than playing the straw man, trying to refute concocted testing programs that amount to nothing more than marketing hype, or contradiciting the same old he-said she-said poppycock that gets continually bandied about the Internet as it is here once again, I'll just rely on the existing body of good old UOA evidence from a huge variety of independent unrelated sources which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt there is NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT AMSOIL.

Well, maybe the price. But by the time you run out to the end of those extended long drain intervals (which almost nobody really does, BTW) and pay for a couple/three UOAs to make sure you are not ruining your engine, the cost becomes literally triple what you will incur with more mainstrem brands on reasonable 10-15k UOA's, and you're not risking your engine. You might be surprised to know you can reach those same intervals with the syn varieties of Delvac, Rotella, Mobil or any other quality brand under the right conditions. I've done it. Amsoil is big into the bypass filter thing for obvious reasons. It supports their marketing strategy.

Let's see now. My choices are: spend less, keep engine safe, or OTOH, spend more and risk running oil too long. Hmmmm :humm:

Whatever blows your skirt up, dude! :lol:

all im gonna say is we run Rotella at work at 36k intervals in ISX ISM and whatever 8.3's are...and have been doing it for a while now and have no bad things happen. I do believe that even though the zinc level is lower im guessing they use some kind of synthetic additive to take its place..JMHO

I run rotella and fleet guards onmy truck FYI

All of my above questions were rehtorical questions with obvious answers. I have the answers, and the testing data. You're saying that you are saving money by running your oil and doing UOA's every 10-15K. If you go by Amsoil's recomended change interval for diesel's of up to 50,000 miles or longer with UOA's then you will be doing 5 UOA's by then. Lets say that you find a good sale on your oil and filter and you change it for $50 then you do your 5 UOA's at $20 each. Now at the 50,000 mile mark you are at the $150 mark, if your oil even lasts that long. Now at the 50,000 mile mark I've spent about $110 plus $20 for my first UOA, and $20 for a filter for a total of $150. You didn't say when you change your filters so I didn't include them in your total, but if I did you can see the results. Now in that 50K I've enjoyed better fuel mileage and easier cold weather starts and increased protection without having to do the 5 UOA's and multiple filters all the while having a warranty to back me up. Now in real life, very few people will do either of these. I don't know where you get all of your information, but I'm not new at this and I do have published tests from multiple sources and multiple UAO's from my trucks. I used to run Rotella, and had many many miles with it. I always did UOA's and changed it before I needed to. I had hard starts in cold weather and just figured it was a diesel thing. I changed to Rotella's so called synthetic and it was a little better, I tried several other brands "synthetics" and they were really no different than Rotella's "synthetic" until I tried Amsoil. I noticed a difference in how quiet it was, and it smoothed the idle out, and I got a little better fuel economy. I was excited about that, then it got cold again and the truck started like it was 50*. The truck no longer did the lope when I started it in 20* weather and I maintained my fuel mileage from warm weather. Now you can say whatever you want to about Amsoil or any other oil out there, but Amsoil does make a superior product and I've lived it through 3 trucks now. Maybe it's not woth the extra $ up front for you to justify it, and I'm not trying to sell you on it, but through experience and research I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that Amsoil DOES have something special about it!

Doug

Shell Rotella T 15w 40 with one quart of Lucas oil treatment and a Cummins brand oil filter is all i have ever used and in my eyes is the only kind to use A++ stuff i hope this information helps out!!

I use Amsoil, for fairly obvious reasons. I've got about 20k miles on this last change with just an amsoil filter (no bypass). I am about ready to do an oil analysis on it to see how it looks, then I will probably change it, just because.
Scott