are there any opions out there on using rotella oil in your rods, street cars or whatever. From what I can find on line it seems that it may be formulated to a higher quality and I,ve seen rebuilders recommend it for break-in so why not after? thanks ,D.
I think it is one of the few that still contain zinc which aids in cam break in.I just buy a bottle of zinc additive .I also think that people have a tendency to blaim engine failures on oil way too much ,when its oil restriction problems or a block that wasnt cleaned well pior to building ...
I think most Rotella is formulated for over the road trucks. Not sure if that is good or bad for rods.
As I understand it, Rotella was recommended because it had higher zinc levels (apparently flat tappet lifters need the higher zinc levels). Unfortunately it seems Rotella has changed up their ingredients and it no longer contains the needed levels of zinc that it used to. If you are running roller lifters/cam the high zinc levels are not needed. There are a couple of posts on this site regarding zinc levels in modern oils, and Rotella is mentioned. From what I can gather, with the lowered zinc levels in Rotella there is no benefit to using it.
Rotella is avaiable nearly anywhere. It has had sulphur content reduced, but still contains more than 1000 PPM zinc, which a flat tappet engine needs. It is avaiable in 10W30, or 15W40. For my old engines, this is a great choice.
I believe the below quote is correct. Check current formulations. I liked 15-40 Rotella better than 20-50 Castrol BEFORE the formulation changed. Now: 20-50 Valvoline racing oil - buy it at Autozone during the yearly 1/2 price sale.
The government EPA has implemented a reduction in all additives known to cause health issues. No oil has the additives for wear protection it once did (even diesel truck oils). Research your API classifications noted on the bottle of oil and you will see. The manufacturers have adjusted the material(s) they use to offset the wear protection. Synthetics (high end stuff not Wal-Mart) are the only option to provide superior wear protection. All race engine companies use it and all major car mfg' companies have switched to synthetics. Certainly other ways to adapt to this as mentioned by others with a bottle of "Snake Oil". If you keep the oil fresh, it'll all be fine. Happy motoring !
Rotella is a good oil, mainly used for diesel engine purposes, I have used it in industrial gasoline engines but never in an automotive application
Rotella is fine. The Corvette guys (NCRS) have some guys that did some comprehensive investigation and found Rotella to be a sufficient OTC oil to use without using a zinc additive. I use this oil in my '68 Corvette and my '48 Chev without any issues.
I run rotella synthetic in everthing I own.. my dd is at 194k and uses 1/2 a quart every 3-4k miles still has great oil preassure, with no problems.. before that was in a high milage sbc and had no issues to speak of either.. 2 things I never cheap out on.. brakes.. and oil changes..
Good to know I have 5 qts of it myself and was debating to use it in the next oil change on my firebird ,Thanks
Rotella 15W40 is now 1125 ppm ZDDP,Motorcraft Diesel 15W40 is 1335 ppm ZDDP, 5 quart jug at Autozone or Wally World around $16.
Due to EPA regulations all oil sold for use on public highways has had the zinc levels reduced. Including Shell Rotella because all new diesel trucks have catalytic converters. The zinc gets into and ruins the new converters. Brad-Penn is making oil using the old Kendall formula with the high zinc levels. They also make "break-in" oil with extra zinc added for flat tppet cams.Valvoline Racing oil still has high levels of zinc also. Comp Cams used to recommend Rotella but no longer do because of the reduced zinc level. They have their own brand of oil now.
thanks for all of your interesting feedback,ihave yet to go on the HAMB without learning something,such a great site! D.
Aeroshell 100W 100 grade SAE 50 is the best for all aircooled motors. They have added TCP to one version 100W+ and this is excellent for antiscuffing of cam followers. For auto aplications 15W50 can be used as long as the tolerances aren't too close in the engine bearings. These are the most popular types for aviation reciprocating engines that are worked hard like helicopters. TCP can not be used in engines that have any kind of fiber lined clutch since it will cause it to slip. I can't use 100W+ in my old Harleys because it would affect the clutch linings and disks but I can use just 100W with no TCP. For cars with high performance engines you can find a Lubriplate distributor that has the high ZDDP levels in most straight SAE grades. I believe it's the GPO series oils that have the 1200 PPM of ZDDP blended in. They even have the old SAE 20W20 that was used in the early 50s flat heads when they were new. I can get it from my local Purvice Bearing Shop. Kerby
I have a friend who showed me 20 years ago about Rotella in his old gas and diesel tractors. During a rebuild I could'nt believe how clean the head and components were , so I asked him what he used. He had a 66 pontiac catalina that made it to town once a week and 10 mile round trip barely enough to get it warm but when we replaced the valve cover gaskets at 160,000 it was clean, no gunk! I've used it in my toyota trucks w over 318,000 miles , still clean, no gunk during last timing gear change. I beat the truck. 15w40 all year long.
so lets say you are changing cams to roller cam, is it a simple change over , or do you have to do other parts other than roller lifters??????,
Thank you, everytime this comes up we have the "Rotella is great" brigade. But as you point out it is not all equal. Look at the damn rating people. That'll make the difference. CI-4 is good CJ-4 not so much. And they have tweaked the spec a couple time since it came into being. When they will totally make CI-4 go away is anyones guess.
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