hi
i run 5w40 rotella synthetic all year , exclent oil psi and i change it every 20,000 miles and use a 3894 fleetguard filter . 302,000 miles no problems yet so im a stickin to it !

 

Plugging in your truck doesn't heat the oil pan. Even running my ESPAR heater to get the engine to 70°C doesn't translate to the oil until you start and run the cold oil through the oil cooler, which is an oil heater for the first couple of minutes run time.

To each their own, but its up to the owner. I work with industrial machinery and have seen what different oils offer over the life of the engine.

 

Where you live and because of the normal climate of that area, using synthetic would be in your best interest. Also, so would plugging in the truck every night before you drive it.....especially since you work only about 11 miles from home. Thats probably not enough time for the engine to reach full operating temp, let alone the oil also reaching optimal temperature to burn off moisture. Thats not even mentioning the work your batteries are asked of if you aren't driving long enough between starts in cold weather like that.

As for knowing if an oil is "man made" synthetic or not, you may just have to look up the oil brand on google and see if there's anything which indicates one way or the other. Thats not to say that any synthetic isn't better than regular oil either. Synthetic is superior on many levels but that doesn't mean its a necessity for what you want either. Sometimes its just a waste of money even though some guys will swear by what they use. So application and situation usually determine whats best. And also.....switching back and forth between synthetic and then regular oil is perfectly fine. Just dont even mix oil brands, types, or viscosities and you'll be fine.

 

I'm not trying to start an argument but I can't understand how synthetic is a waste of money unless I live in Siberia or Alaska. I live in the south and it gets a bit warm around here.

As far as cost, Amsoil synthetic plus Ea(25k mile) oil filter for my truck $126.05 off Amsoils website. Last oil change I went 14k. Basic rotella change every 3k. That's 4.5 oil changes -vs- the synthetic. What's a gallon of rotella go for? Honestly? I have no clue, $10? $12? Say $10, plus the $15 filter so you have $45 for one oil change. Seems low from what I remember spending on oil changes when I first got the truck.

For numbers sake though, $45 x 4.5 = $202.50, Amsoil saved me $76.45 on this oil change alone. The last oil change save me just as much. Now think of it from the greeny perspective, 14k and I dispose of 3 gallons of oil and one filter, 14k with rotella and I dispose of 13.5 gallons of oil and 4 filters? Not a green peace member but only seems logical. Some of you folks who use these trucks to putt back and forth to work 3-4 miles down the road with an occasional boat to the lake thing could go more miles on one oil change than I do making the savings even greater.

As I said, not starting some rotella, amsoil, purple power war just stating the basic economics that I have learned from using what I use and going by the fact that most guys I meet that run standard rotella still change their oil at 3000 miles or any standard oil for that matter.

 

Your point is valid but.....three things I can say. 1) is that synthetic would only be worth the extra cost "IF" someone actually did use the extended drain method and most people dont, 2) there is no reason why you shouldn't run your regular 15-40 for at least 7,000 miles. Anyone who actually changes their 3 gallons of diesel oil every 3000 miles is simply uneducated and is throwing money away. Even at that, some guys run their oil longer if their oil analysis comes back good, and 3) your "green" reasons for the volume of oil used makes it sound like people are throwing their used oil away which is absolutely not what the majority of people do. Not only because its illegal to do so but because its easier to take your used oil to a recycler where then oil companies purchase it and cook it down again, to be used over and over and over. Oil never goes bad and can be recycled forever. So really, that recycled oil means that they technically dont need to pump as much crude out of the ground for motor oil since most of it is reused, thusly even more green. So really, if your Amsoil change cost you $126 and my Valvoline change cost me $60.....and yours lasted 14,000 and mine lasted 7000 miles then its a wash.
But as you mentioned, I'm also not trying to argue because I too think that synthetic has its place and I use it myself in certain applications as well, but to say that its always better no matter the case.....I just dont agree.

 

5w40 rotella isnt true synthetic oil. Its a class III synthetic which is still petroleum based. Mobil1 is one of the few companies that have a true class IV synthetic oil. It's more expensive for a reason.

That being said, I run 15w40 rotella for my truck (break in) and will run 5w40 "synthetic" after break in.

 

I have almost 10k on new engine, and was considering using synthetic, I currently use cummins blue or delo and stratapore filter. but the question is I dont think my rings are seated i do get small blow-by. when is the truck considered broke in to put synthetic. I'm not worried about any seals leaking they are all new. except the vac/power ster seal. I do try and have towed 10k to 14k to help a friend which helps the break in. but who knows when its broke in.

 

There is no sensible way to argue whether synthetic is "worth it" or not-- this calls for a personal assessment of benefit, which is inherently subjective. So arguing over drain intervals, cost, worth it, etc is utterly pointless.

So let's instead focus on some consideration that are *not* subjective:

1) Synthetic base stocks are superior in everything a base stock is supposed to do. They have better high temperature oxidation resistance and better low temperature flow performance. Viscosity index for a synthetic base stock is almost always higher (a good thing).

2) Base stock is only half (arguably the less important half) of oil performance. The other half is the additive package. Whether a lubrizol or oronite or custom-in house additive blend, the kinds of additives used and the ratios of them can have a huge effect on overall oil performance and cost.

3) ALL oils (like tires) are compromises of often mutually-exclusive traits. You want an oil that stays clean and "lasts" a long time? Just cut back the detergent levels so that the crud stays in the engine. An oil with great wear performance tends to make deposits. A higher detergent oil doesn't protect as well. Higher TBN neutralizes more acid, but doesn't reduce weak acids caused by carboxylate formation (which tends to attack bearings and plug oil filters).

4) The best oil advice I've gotten from an oil expert here at Cummins was to change oil based on fuel consumed, not on mileage. The rate at which junk is dumped into the oil is correlated most strongly (almost perfectly) to the rate at which fuel is consumed. Then make this proportional to oil pan capacity.

It ends up being a "Gallons per gallon" ratio of fuel burned to oil pan capacity. A common benchmark is 200gallons of fuel burned per gallon of oil capacity.

Thus, if you have a 3 gallon oil pan capacity (round up the CTD's 11 qts since it can handle 12 safely), this would equate to 600 gallons of fuel consumed.

Depending on how you use your truck (your mpg), this could be as much as 12000 oil drain interval if you get 20mpg because you always do highway driving empty.

Now, you might think that 12000 miles is a long time for a B series to go on an oil change.


But scale that same 200gal/gal ratio up to an ISX and you'll see that it's not that long of a drain interval. An ISX holds 11 gallons. So the ratio tells us we'd be able to burn (11*200)= 2200 gallons of fuel on a drain interval. At 6mpg, this is 13,200 miles. If we are only getting 5mpg (say, heavy haul), then it drops to 11000 miles. The simplicity and effectiveness is beautiful.


The beauty of using the gallons of fuel consumed instead of mileage is that MPG is almost perfectly a proxy for duty cycle. Lots of cold start or stop and go driving kills fuel economy-- and automatically shortens drain interval using this method. Same thing with heavy towing vs running empty.

So remember that ratio: 200 gallons of fuel burned per gallon of oil pan capacity. It will serve you well in protecting your engine without wasting money throwing away oil that's fine.

Justin

 

Bravo!!!^^^

 

Nice addition HOHN.....especially the part I quoted. Personal preference will overrule no matter.
One point to be made about longevity is what makes diesel engines happiest. And that is running a constant RPM over long periods. This is why long haul engines, locomotive engines, and generator engines last so long. Being around the trucking industry for decades, its amazing how long those engines will last. Even in short haul, guys will start their trucks in the beginning of the day and never shut them down until the day is over. Its all the start up/shut down and engines not reaching proper working temps which is the most destructive. As for oil.....I've seen old timers owner operators run their trucks on straight 30 weight which they buy bulk in 50 gallon. No big name brand, nothing special, just 30w, and their engines never miss a beat. That doesn't mean I condone that but its just an example. Lets not forget the thread of the guy with a 1.8 million mile ISB. He was a hotshot driver which means that truck always had a trailer hooked to it and kept its legs stretched out on the highway. Yes, he ran synthetic at 10,000 miles intervals but would he have gotten the same results on regular 15-40? Probably. Again, its all personal preference.

 

SO any synthetic oil will be ok to run in these things?

 

I know of a million mile plus ISB that changed oil every 30K with dino Delvac 1300. So absolutely the long highway miles are easiest on an engine.

My truck sees the most abuse imaginable-- cold start, hot rod 3miles to work, shut off. Repeat to go home. Repeat 5x weekly.

Because of this terrible duty cycle, I use Rotella T6 full syn, and no-- there's no cost justification for it at all. This engine would probably outlast the truck even with a lesser dino oil. But I'm doing what I can to ameliorate the operating conditions.

 

I'd stick to one that's rated CJ-4 for diesels. MOst automotive synthetics don't have the soot dispersants needed for diesel use.

 

Oh ok, good to know! I was running mobile 1 in my '05 Dmax, Ill see what I can find for this rig. Thank you

 

Yes, thats a good point to make. ONLY use any oil which is rated for diesel engines. And even at that, if you're bargain hunting for cheap no name oil then at least make sure it has SAE rating which meets or exceeds your engines year.