Shell Rotella T synthetic 5w-40 after two weeks

That's a much better comprehensive explanation. Thanks for posting it.

 

Thorn asked a question that seemed to me like he had no understanding of oil or engines and then subsequent comments indicated he had knowledge and opinions but was not wanting to share until someone took the bait. I was foolish enough to think he needed a simple explanation.

 

Disagree in my case, the car smoked with synthetic and does not burn oil. Had an engine Rebuild with heads and pistons in 2004. It only smoked when I changed to the so called modern oil like you suggest. Simple as that. FYI old cars that sit for a while can also have a sticky valve from non use yiu know

 

I'm sorry, but smoke with no burn is impossible: If it smokes, it burns, as smoke is burned oil. The 5W-40 shows you earlier when your valve rubber rings are gone: check the engine compression. A thicker oil (like the 20W-50) of course has more difficulty to pass through a seal, but I bave the 5W-40 in every F engine I own and no smoke at all.

As said, if an engine does smoke with the 5W-40, means it needs some service and not a different oil

ciao

 

It wasn't a baiting question; more of a statement of "why on Earth" sort of thought. As in "why would you use soda as shaving cream..."

Sorry if my tone wasnt understood.

 

Wow this is an old thread haha.

I was told by a Shell engineer directly that Rotella T synthetic uses the same group III hydrocracked slack wax base stock as Shell Helix oil. Shell calls it by its proprietary name: 'XHVI Group III base stock'. The only difference is the additive packages. All the talk and research about ZDDP is great but it should be noted that Ferrari engines do not run as high valve spring seat or nose pressures as old V8 engines running upwards of 3x more. Those are the engines that really need serious cam lobe protection.

 

Ive owned this car for 15 yrs now - thanks for the concern but I’m good, thanks

 

Welcome back to your 10 year old thread! Do you now have 10 years experience with this oil, and what do you think now? I think it's a fantastic opportunity to get your longitudinal experience feedback.

 

the alleged effect of the added phosphorous is not really a problem in my 30 + years experience! I have never seen a catalytic converter harmed by any shell product! Yes, theoretically it COULD cause an issue and the automakers cooked up a new formula/ standard to help preclude that possibility! ( doubtless to preclude any warranty claims or eager litigators ! ) I, personally will use either of the formulations w/ full confidence. You can do as you like and listen to and trust whomever you like I am just sharing my experience and opinion . to me, any added phosphorous, Zinc ( within reason ) is a good thing! most pre-assembly lubes and special break-in oils. additives have been known to contain a lot of it!

it is not much different than "car " oil we have historically liked it as it contained a lot of zinc which is a very good additive ! as the, ( some) automakers expressed concern ( mayhaps not well founded ) about the effect on catalytic converters , they changed the formula slightly and substituted other additives ( boron I believe ? ) which may not work as well .

 

is it possible you/we are overthinking this? not just myself have never had an issue !
I suggest we ask an oil engineer ( like Blackstone labs ! ) in academia we are trained to "defer to the senior researcher" LOL

 

Is this the point when I mention I'm happily using Valvoline VR-1?

 

Yes one could posit that a Ferrari engine does not " need " a high (er ) zinc level but it will be unlikely to cause harm in my experience, (and IMHO )

oil threads are always a hotbed of controversy! why I said what Blackstone labs said : allmost all good synthetics are about the same ! ( as far as wear anyway ! ) LOL !

 

While I personally recommend and adhere to the pure label/designation (SN, CJ, etc) - that particular endpoint is basically quite valid.

Funny story: Before I got educated on such things, I was one that believed that once you change from dino to synthetic, you must always continue to use synthetic. Why did I believe this? Because the guy at the oil change place told me this, right before I chose synth oil the first time in my DD. I mentioned this during a lecture once, and my teacher was sympathetically amused. He understood why I thought this was true, then explained why it isn't... and also why I was told this.

 

Sorry Thorn, I misinterpreted your intent. I have seen so many oil threads on car forums get ugly that I am probably over sensitive to guys that play dumb and then snipe everyone else when it turns out they are a Chem E with a career in oil research. I also use VR-1 in all my cars but not because of anything to do with API standards or testing rather my local air-cooled Porsche engine builder recommended it. I figured if he puts it in street and race engines he builds and warrants the work it is probably all right for me to use. Personally I would rather follow the recommendation of someone that works and services engines like ours every day.

I imagine the testing that oil companies perform bears little resemblance to using a ‘70’s technology engine a couple of times a month for relatively short runs and for many, not at all during the winter. Lots of cold engine starts after much oil has found its way to the sump, carbs dumping gasoline on start up that washes oil off cylinder walls, moisture build up in oil for sitting so long and increased carbon buildup on valves, piston crowns and combustion chambers due to short runs.

 

This is a blast from the past for sure. But yes, currently running Rotella T synthetic in my hot rod 74 Porsche Carrera with 2.8LS twin plug, ITB EFI (AEM Infinite, full sequential) rig. 39mm/38mm ports, headers, 10.6:1 cpr, DC65 cams, 964 oil pump, Carrillo rods, about 290bhp, car weighs 2200lbs. Is GT3 fast.

Below is the only pic I have at the moment, from last summer when things were somewhat coming together. Love me some Rotella T syn though. Not sure I would run it in a car with cats though.
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Is a short run when oil temps don't climb to the centre tick mark? I wonder how much that reflects usage for owners on this thread. I very rarely run the 308 out for less than an hour & occasionally use it in winter if road salt is fully washed away. (VR1 btw, on both my 308s).

 

But my catless GTBs should dig it...

911 mill looks amazing!

 

I believe that the T6 version of Rotella was only introduced in 2009 - before that you would have been using T5 for 20+ years.

The real calling card of Shell T5 and T6 over the years was that it was a higher detergent oil, necessary for dealing with the soot in diesel engines - and that it was cheaper than other synthetics. That it had an SM, then SN, rating was a bonus for automotive users - often the recommendation was to run Rotella for an oil change or two to clean up the oil galleys, then switch to a better specification synthetic oil. Ironically, T6 was recently reformulated to reduce the zinc content to meet the latest specification requirements - but no big deal for us, because as noted above the Ferrari engines have never actually required high zinc content like the old single cam OHV American V8s with really stiff valve springs - that's what is meant by "flat tappet engines", when someone says their flat tappet engine needs high zinc content oil. Any Ferrari engine is not a "flat tappet engine" in terms of high cam lobe pressures or zinc requirements.

If you want the best Shell product for your Ferrari, use the Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W40 - that's actually the oil that Ferrari recommends, and it meets all the tougher European specifications. Not all synthetic oils are created equal, and the specs matter. The toughest specs to meet right now are VW504, MB 229.52, Porsche A30 ( only cover xW30 oils), for xW40 oils you really want one that meets BMW LL-01, MB 229.5, VW 502, Porsche A40 (and Ferrari). Find the VW 50400/50700 and MB 229.52, compare those to the earlier versions 50200 or 229.3. For a laugh, look at API SN and see how it's nowhere near the Euro specs.

Lubrizol has a Relative Performance Comparison Tool which lets you select the specifications to compare: https://online.lubrizol.com/relperftool/pc.html - you can see which oil specifications protect better for wear, sludge, fuel economy, piston deposits, aftertreatment compatibility, and oxidative thickening.

Honestly, Rotella T6 is cheap, that's it's only advantage over the other premium synthetics that meet the tougher Euro specs these days.

 

I don’t know what time it would take to burn off any water but a quick search found some other discussions on the topic like this one:
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1535105
But I imagine it condenses back in pretty quick so I would think the issue is how long it sits before the next drive.

 

Oil threads are always interesting but I read them a bit like wine connoisseurs debating the merits of various wines or skin care specialists discussing anti-aging creams.

For me, I have my favorite synthetic 0W40 that I buy at Walmart and I have stopped worrying.

The following is an interesting thread that starts on the topic of gearbox oil, wanders over to engine oil and wanders back onto gearboxes:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/145950643/

Within the thread is a link to an interesting video regarding engine oil by RedLine Synthetic Oil Co.:



And it also contains some direct correspondence with Red Line regarding recommended frequency of oil changes:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/145951692/

There is another thread which quotes a long magazine interview with the owner of Blackstone Labs. Their recommendation as to what oil to use was, to me, surprising:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/article-about-blackstone-labs-in-roundel-magazine.570454/

 

This is a great post Gordon. There are no better torture tests than Porsche's A30/A40 or Mercedes 229.52. That said, they are performed on and considered for modern turbo engines running generally tighter clearances, and turbos. I don't concern myself too much with A30/A40 unless I'm running clearances that tight with sensitive turbos etc.

 

You can go with anything you trust, I just share what I have experience in my cars, and let you guys know, this is the main purpose of this forum; right? Correct if I'm wrong, but all respect to you!

 

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Have you send the sample? If you do, please share with us?!