Another thumbs up for Rotella T Syn
 

Initially when I purchase this car I searched the forum looking for recommendations on motor oil. I always like the underdog products that fly just under the radar because they don't carry the major advertised label. Anyway, on to my experience.

Initially I did not have any HLA noise. Changed unknown oil with rotellaT syn 5w-40 . All was quiet then I started to get a weird rattle noise from the rear of the engine on passenger side. After posting the noise to the forum it was deemed HLA noise. I started to notice a slight drop in oil pressure. Concerned that the filter had trapped some sludge I decided to change the oil just shy of 3k miles. I am amazed at the weight of the filter after this change. I know it is soaked with oil, but I have changed a lot of oil. This was surprising. So, it appears that this oil is excellent at removing garbage that has accumulated in the engine. The oil that came out was dark. New oil went in. I idled the car until up to operating temp. I then revved the engine to the rpm range that I normally get the HLA noise. QUIET, fantastic. I didn't have to run anything other than this oil through the engine to take care of the noise. I'll change the oil again in about 3k miles and see what the oil looks like.

Side note: I don't recall if this had been mentioned in a previous thread. The NAPA gold filter (just removed) and the wix filter (just installed) appear to be the same.

I run the non synthetic Rotella T, been on it for about 2500 miles now. So far from what I can tell, its been the best oil I've possibly ever used. For the lowest price too. $10 for a gallon jug, hard to beat. Oil pressure is higher than its ever been, engine is quiet, but that could be because its newly rebuilt. Either way, I plan to continue running this oil, or maybe going with the synthetic, though its a bit thin for my taste.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/images/s...nt_product.jpg

Chris

I just changed the oil yesterday with Rotella Syn. My HLA noise was gone within 10 seconds of start up. Nice.

Put it in my Jeep recently and will go in the Miata next oil change. The advantage is that it is designed for diesel engines that experience much harsher conditions, plus has stronger "detergents" to keep things clean. Why do you think they get so many miles out of diesels?

I use Mobil 1 Extended, has the same effects you all mention but without the price tag of Rotella and difficulty in finding it locally.

$19 a gallon for syn rotella at walmart. I thought it was very reasonable for a great synthetic

virgin UOAs:
http://www.butler-machinery.com/reso...Oils/New_6.jpg
now look at delvac1
http://www.butler-machinery.com/reso...Oils/New_4.jpg
now go back and look at Mobile1 0w40
do you want Moly or not?

in this the 5w30 synth sheared to a 30w in a street driven turbo subaru, which is fine with me:
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...ost=good-times


I think any light cold-pour oil would stop the HLA noise in your case.

it has lots of zinc, phos, holds viscosity fairly well with shear from a turbo. If I could find delvac1, I'd run that. M1 0w40 is looking really attractive too.

That's what I run in my car. I typically get a couple seconds of HLA noise on startup, after which it quiets down. When the noise lasts longer than that, I know it's time to change the oil.

Question: I know that Mobil frequently reformulates their oil, seemingly to be competitive with other brands. The dates shown above seem to be pretty old, does anyone know of more recent results?

What dates are you talking about?? This thread was started yesterday. And if you actually try a search, there are more than a few threads on Rotella.

here's one from a turbo neon:
Mobile One 0W40 4500KM - 04 Dodge SRT4 2.4L Turbo - Bob Is The Oil Guy

Too bad we can't get German Castrol. I think Rotella 5w40 synth is the best option for me due to the potential for track time if I ever get my act together due to the 11.5AFR which typically triggers shear. I'm not sure what to think about delvac/rotella lack of moly...as in, I genuinely don't know. This is what makes the HDEO/diesel oils so cool. These oils typically have less oxidation/nitration protection to lift viscosity with the fuel contamination.

I've spent a lot of time looking at virgin and used oil analysis data. The prevailing themes are kind of strange. It seems that 10wXX oils have pulled the zddp and moly packs supposedly for emissions reasons. Look the the data I posted above, it supports that. It seems that 0wXX and 20wXX oils are the way to go for the protection we want on the track (moly/zinc/phos).

Why not send your oil to Blackstone and report the results? I'm going to change the oil in my prior to my first track day on 5/22 and send off a virgin sample with the "2-track hour" sample and see what we get. I want to know if the synthetic Rotella is better for me than dino Rotella specifically looking at fuel contamination.

Zoomin: I am referring to the original sheets provided above from Butler/Cat. The sample dates are 4-5 years old.

Hustler: I just got my car, but have several years of track experience in another brand. All I will do for my first Miata track day is try to keep the thing together. I really need to get my car more fully sorted before I try sending off any oil samples, I think in my case that would be a waste of $$$. Once I get the car to where I feel it is decently tuned, I will likely start some oil analysis. Until then, I am keenly interested in what others' experience has been. For the first event, I will likely go with the Rotella T 5W40 Synthetic, which is readily available and cheap at the local Walmart.

So what is good and what is bad with those breakdown charts?

I'm currently using Royal Purple 15/40

Tell me where you are getting M1 Extended for less than $10.50/gallon (what we've paid for the last 10 gallons of Rotella T 15w40 my roommate and I have used).

The zinc and phosphorus are the last line of defense in your oil after the oil film breaks down. They are high pressure lubricants that form a sacrificial layer on the metal surface in case the oil itself fails. It is added to the oil in the form of ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl Dithio Phosphate). It has been added to motor oils for over 70 years to protect wear parts of engines.

The problem is the EPA says fuck you, your engine must die. The EPA has regulated starting in 2009, that no significant degradation of catalytic converter performance should occur before 150,000 miles, and the slight amount of oil that your engine will burn in that time will slightly reduce the effectiveness of your catalytic converter if the oil contains zinc or phosphorus. Therefore no zinc and phosphorus for you (the EPA thinks you should buy an new car instead anyway). Molybdenum is another EP (extreme pressure) lubricant that is present in some measure in most oils.

Camshaft manufacturers (Crane, Comp Cams, Lunati, etc.) Have had a rash of cam lobe failures in the last few years since the amount of ZDDP has been gradually phased out. The "modern oils" are made for newer engines with roller lifters or cam followers instead of flat surface "rubbing" contact style parts like ours.

General Motors has bulletins out that instruct technicians to use GM E.O.S. (engine oil supplement) in all crate motors and after major wear component replacement at startup and for break-in. E.O.S. has a high dose of ZDDP suspended in a small amount of base oil. You can buy GM E.O.S. over the counter at GM dealerships or online.

There are dozens of articles on ZDDP and what happening with your oil available online. For instance: healey.org - Motor Oil and Your Healey - ZDDP

I run Rotella mixed with a little Rotella Synthetic each change and have done so for years. The heavy diesel oils haven't removed as much ZDDP as the gas engine oils and they are superior in other additive packets as well (superior detergents and viscosity extenders). Some boutique oils are available with similar benefits and probably work very well, but pricing and ready availability keep me loyal to Rotella.

Good luck.

i ran this for a while then switched to m1 5w40, well because mercedes had oil consumption issues with 0w40 and switched so now that's what's in our 500 gallon tank at work and free m1>all....didn't notice any difference, happy customer either way;)

edit: every car i own btw