Shell's Rotella T engine oil???

[Rob00Taws6]

Figured I go ahead an ask you guys, sparked my interest. I have hard some good things about Shell’s Rotella T, but it has been primarily on flat tappet cams in older engines. Charlie K. engine builder for Trans am specialists of Florida swears by the stuff. I know the tolerances in a 2000 ls1 are dramatically better than a 1977 6.6L Pontiac, theirs no flat tappet cam in an LS1, and synthetics protect against wear better than conventional oils. I’m just asking would any of you conceder using Shell’s Rotella T synthetic oil in an LS1? Has anyone used it? what you guys think?

[Rob00Taws6]

ohh and how would you compare Rotella T synthetic to an Amsoil, and Royal Purple?

[440 rwhp trans am]

i use it every day. im my f-250 diesel. i have never heared of it in a gas engine but i dont know. pensoil platinum ftw

[LS2Tuner]

It is a VERY good conventional oil. We use it in MANY of the race motors. It has a high Zinc content which helps aid in lubrication. It will be recommended by MANY of the cam company's to use during break-in for ANY cam that isn't a roller.

They are different blends though. I can't comment on their synthetic. We only use their conventional and it has been great.
If you were going to run a synthetic I would recommend Amsoil myself.

[blue02Z]

i like it. we run it in our dirtbikes which go thru so much more abuse than our cars can ever see and it holds up fine. its good stuff but i'd rather run pennzoil platinum(i am running right now) or amsoil 0-30. but non-the-less good stuff

[Sarge]

I got lower wear metals with Rotella 15-40 than with Amsoil 0-30. Of course I got then much better UOA's with Pennzoil Platinum 10-30 that with Rotella. Rotella is good oil for your motor...no doubt....but PP 10-30 is the real deal.

[C&Cbird]

I thought Rotella had removed all the zinc and other good stuff for flat tappet cams here a few months ago?

[Sarge]

Lowered it is more accurate.

[CamaroFan71]

Ive used Rotella in most of my trucks and its always done great. Ive seen motors in cars with 150K on them when the engine was torn down and they looked brand new inside.

[Firebirdjones]

We use it to break motors in,,,even with roller camshafts. I like the protection zinc provides,,,and even add a bottle of GM EOS on a fresh motor as well for added insurance,,,,which is basically the same thing the camshaft manufactures will sell you when you buy a new flat tappet camshaft.

Alot of guys switched to Rotella in their gas motors about a year ago (including us) when there was talk of the oil manufactures dropping the zinc content,,,it's nothing new really.

[Rob00Taws6]

Thank you guys; oil has always been a kind of gray area for me. All I know is I like to change mine a lot, and some feel slightly different than the next, never minded spending a few extra bucks on oil that’s proven to work and work well.

[Rob00Taws6]

Another question while we are on the topic? I read I think in an amsoil article that royal purple used molybdenum disulfide in their oils. Would this have similar characteristics to oils with added zinc? Or, would there be no effects because the engines there were using have roller cams?

[Sarge]

Zinc, Moly are both friction modifiers. Put on your reading glasses cuz here we go.
Antiwear and EP Agent Reduce friction and wear and prevent scoring and seizure Zinc dithiophosphates, organic phosphates, acid phosphates, organic sulfur and chlorine compounds, sulfurized fats, sulfides and disulfides Chemical reaction with metal surface to form a film with lower shear strength than the metal, thereby preventing metal-to-metal contact Corrosion and Rust Inhibitor Prevent corrosion and rusting of metal parts in contact with the lubricant Zinc dithiophosphates, metal phenolates, basic metal sulfonates, fatty acids and amines Preferential adsorption of polar constituent on metal surface to provide protective film, or neutralize corrosive acids Detergent Keep surfaces free of deposits Metallo-organic compounds of sodium, calcium and magnesium phenolates, phosphonates and sulfonates Chemical reaction with sludge and varnish precursors to neutralize them and keep them soluble Dispersant Keep insoluble contaminants dispersed in the lubricant Alkylsuccinimides, alkylsuccinic esters, and mannich reaction products Contaminants are bonded by polar attraction to dispersant molecules, prevented from agglomerating and kept in suspension due to solubility of dispersant Friction Modifier Alter coefficient of friction Organic fatty acids and amides, lard oil, high molecular weight organic phosphorus and phosphoric acid esters Preferential adsorption of surface-active materials.We can get into Seal agents, anti-foaming etc. but I'll stick with the basics here. Now the rocket scientist have used various compounds to achieve the goals over the years. As your question/statement is more along the lines of Friction Modifiers I'll dwell on that. Before I go on....allow me to say this about additives. A lot of aftermarket additives use zinc and phosphorus for extra protection. The problem is, when you overload an oil with this type of additive, your oxidation levels tend to increase, causing an attack on the base oil, which in turn can cause an increase of viscosity, (thicken the oil) .This is why it is important not to play home chemist and blend in aftermarket additives that are not designed to be in the oil to start with. Little extra at break in ain't no big deal. But I mean a little. After 500 miles get that shit out of there. Back on track......in the past 70+ years Moly and Zinc have been used as the foundation of a good friction modifier. We have found better modifiers in Calcium, Phosphorus. The tree huggers all are screaming that the Zinc can clog catalytic converters and Al Gore is gonna choke ( I'm not that lucky). Moly is still used today but is expensive for the wear protection it gives when compared to Calcium/Phosphorus.....so all the screaming from the solid lifter community about lower levels of Zinc are unfounded in my experience as the new SM rated oil and GF4 and GF5 oils have plenty of friction modifier and more importantly a higher film strength than the "old" stuff. Mobil1 is using salt. Yes SALT. As in Sodium. Hey it returns good results.
So my bottom line to all this is simple. We are moving to the newer, more improved oil additives. They are better. Folks do not like change and will fight and scream just like we did when radials replaced bias ply tires. Run Rotella if you want. Good oil...but just don't justify it because it has high levels of Zinc.

[Sarge]

And before all the old school guys jump my ass in the alley. The market is flooded with cheap ass aftermarket cams from SE Asia and South America. The metal hardness is bullshit. This has been going on for 10+ years. So some rocket scientist decides he would blame the oil additives and the lowering of zinc as the cause. No the cause is cheap ass foreign metal. I know Comp Cams and other cam manufacturers are screaming for the old solid lifter folks to use a higher zinc......and I disagree with them. They have not tested the newer add packs and are basing their claims on really weak data. I went at it with a Comp Cam "guy" on another forum and he gave up quick as he had no data to back up his claims....so he just said "Fuck You Sarge" and left. Oh well....

[Rob00Taws6]

Sarge, you are an oil scholar, thanks for the information!

[Wesman]

I think 15W oil is too thick for a new/rebuilt/low mileage gasoline engine, especially one like the LS1 with such close tolerances.

In a racing engine with larger tolerances, I'm sure it would be fine. But why not just run synthetic gasoline engine oil with API SM certification?? Thats going to be the best oil for a close tolerance street driven engine.

[drummer52910]

Hey sarge what about Chevron Delo 400 vs Rotella? Ive always used Delo on our machines at work but it seems like everyone else uses Rotella.

[Orcus79]

To add to Sarges elightenment of oils and cam faliures. A cam can also fail/die from improper break in periods, excessive ideling, oil starvation and lifter faliure. There are many ways a cam can fail.

[Sarge]

I think 15W oil is too thick for a new/rebuilt/low mileage gasoline engine, especially one like the LS1 with such close tolerances.

In a racing engine with larger tolerances, I'm sure it would be fine. But why not just run synthetic gasoline engine oil with API SM certification?? Thats going to be the best oil for a close tolerance street driven engine.

I break my new engines in on straight 30 weight Castrol.

[Sarge]

Hey sarge what about Chevron Delo 400 vs Rotella? Ive always used Delo on our machines at work but it seems like everyone else uses Rotella.

Chevron or Rotella...both are equal in add packs and base oils IMHO. Both good oils. Look at the specs on both....damn near identical.