A few oil questions (F150, Motorcycle, General)

[Capt_Rum]

Sorry that this is in one section, it sort of spans a few questions.

1.) I followed the advice of some guys I motorcycle race with and put some Rotella 15w40 into my bike. Seems like great oil, just am worried about the 15W rating. Way I figure it though is that I dont run the bike below 35 deg F so the 15 weight should still be good. What do you think? Normally put 5W motorcycle oil into it but couldnt really figure out why.

2.) I have a 2007 F150 and am really liking the Rotella stuff. I can get a 20 Gallon drum from Walmart for about $50.00 and that is crazy cheap. Only problem is that the weights are quite different than what is spec'd. Would I be okay running the 5W-40 T6 in this truck?

1. What kind of vehicle you have..... 2007 5.4L F150
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4,etc.) and change intervals as well...... Certified For Gasoline Engines” by the American
Petroleum Institute (API). An oil with this trademark symbol conforms
to the current engine and emission system protection standards and fuel
economy requirements of the International Lubricant Standardization and
Approval Committee (ILSAC), comprised of U.S. and Japanese
automobile manufacturers.
To protect your engine’s warranty use Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 or an
equivalent SAE 5W-20 oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C930-A.
SAE 5W-20 oil provides optimum fuel economy and durability
performance meeting all requirements for your vehicle’s engine.

I change it every 5000km and the recommended is 5000km but required (for warranty is 10,000km)
3. Where you live..... Calgary Canada
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) Fairly easy, mainly highway but I do tromp on it every once and a while. In the winter I let it idle and warm up
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) 20 km each way on freeway, then probably 5 or 6 on side roads stop and go
6. Whether your car has any known problems only problem is I didnt buy it new so I dont know how good or bad the original maintenance was done so I am over compensating now trying to clean it up. Does get poor gas mileage even for a truck

3.) How does jumping viscosities vary the way an engine interacts with the oil (a link is fine, lots of threads on this site) i.e. needing 5w-20 and going to 5w-40. I know the lower rating number is cold flow and understand that one quite well.

4.) What about mixing viscosities, say you have 5-40 and some 15-40.... do you get adverse affects? or does it just modify it to a 10ish-40.

 

[DieselTech]

Your 07 Has VCT sensor that work off of oil for cam timing. 40wt really is too thick for it and 20wt is actually better oil. I can't tell you what to do but I'd stick with a synthetic 5-20 or motorcraft blend 5-20.

Don't think your getting better protection with a heavier oil because you are not.

 

[Capt_Rum]

^^ Fair enough, thank you. I didnt even think about the Cam Phasors. I would buy 5-20 Rotella if they made it. That is mainly what I am looking for. The rotella has performed well in our bikes and is so cheap that I would have preferred to stick to that.

Who makes a good 5w20 for a decent price? I dont have a 8,000 rpm turbo application so know my choices are a bit more open. Last thing I threw into the truck was Castrol GTX because I got 12L for $20.00 at Costco. Dont know if I should even ask how Castrol is viewed around here. :flame suit on:

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Too viscous. If rotella I would run the T5 10w30 MAX. Even this would only be needed on trailering through the desert - maybe ..

 

[chad8]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Your 07 Has VCT sensor that work off of oil for cam timing. 40wt really is too thick for it and 20wt is actually better oil. I can't tell you what to do but I'd stick with a synthetic 5-20 or motorcraft blend 5-20.

Don't think your getting better protection with a heavier oil because you are not.


+1.5 or run a quart of mmo in the rotella to lower the viscosity and clean the motor plus some lucas ucl to clean the fuel system . drain at 1000-2000 miles and go synthetic.

 

[DieselTech]

Best bang for the buck is Motorcraft synthetic blend. we have seen very good used oil analysis with it and it has a robust additve package. Walmart runs it for about 2.77 a qt. Use the 820S filter for 5-6k OCI and your truck will run for a very long time

 

[OVERKILL]

The 2V Modulars (not yours) seem to do well on the heavier oil. They were also originally spec'd for a 30-weight. Yours is an engine developed on a 20-weight, so I would stick with it. DieselTech's advice is sound.

 

[10bears]

Originally Posted By: Capt_Rum
Sorry that this is in one section, it sort of spans a few questions.

1.) I followed the advice of some guys I motorcycle race with and put some Rotella 15w40 into my bike. Seems like great oil, just am worried about the 15W rating. Way I figure it though is that I dont run the bike below 35 deg F so the 15 weight should still be good. What do you think? Normally put 5W motorcycle oil into it but couldnt really figure out why.

2.) I have a 2007 F150 and am really liking the Rotella stuff. I can get a 20 Gallon drum from Walmart for about $50.00 and that is crazy cheap. Only problem is that the weights are quite different than what is spec'd. Would I be okay running the 5W-40 T6 in this truck?

1. What kind of vehicle you have..... 2007 5.4L F150
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4,etc.) and change intervals as well...... Certified For Gasoline Engines” by the American
Petroleum Institute (API). An oil with this trademark symbol conforms
to the current engine and emission system protection standards and fuel
economy requirements of the International Lubricant Standardization and
Approval Committee (ILSAC), comprised of U.S. and Japanese
automobile manufacturers.
To protect your engine’s warranty use Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 or an
equivalent SAE 5W-20 oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C930-A.
SAE 5W-20 oil provides optimum fuel economy and durability
performance meeting all requirements for your vehicle’s engine.

I change it every 5000km and the recommended is 5000km but required (for warranty is 10,000km)
3. Where you live..... Calgary Canada
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) Fairly easy, mainly highway but I do tromp on it every once and a while. In the winter I let it idle and warm up
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) 20 km each way on freeway, then probably 5 or 6 on side roads stop and go
6. Whether your car has any known problems only problem is I didnt buy it new so I dont know how good or bad the original maintenance was done so I am over compensating now trying to clean it up. Does get poor gas mileage even for a truck

3.) How does jumping viscosities vary the way an engine interacts with the oil (a link is fine, lots of threads on this site) i.e. needing 5w-20 and going to 5w-40. I know the lower rating number is cold flow and understand that one quite well.

4.) What about mixing viscosities, say you have 5-40 and some 15-40.... do you get adverse affects? or does it just modify it to a 10ish-40.


Captain Rum,

I have a KLR650 and many on that website strongly recommend that weight of Rotella as a very good economy based oil for it due to this bike shearing oil pretty badly.

I personally use Castrol 20w50 Synthetic muscle car oil when I can find it. It's getting hard to find.

So what about heavier weight oils where it gets really cold? Well, here is one partial "off the wall" solution. Note that it won't help for heating things up at work!

I use a cheap "brooder lamp" with a 100w reptile infrared bulb in it as an engine heater under the motorcycle to alleviate my guilt when starting the engine cold. I have a remote in the house rigged to the heat lamp and an indicator lamp so I can tell when it's on. I heat it up for about an hour before use on cold days. Be careful of this, probably, if your bike leaks oil!

I don't know about where you live... maybe winter is snowy all the time. Where I live, there are plenty of motorcycling days with no snow in the winters. Just very cold.

Similarly, I have an engine heater on my cars for when it's bitter cold. Yeah, the synthetic oil I have in the F150 and the Buick flow well when cold, but I still think it's good to warm them up first. And, I like having the heater working in 1 minute... especially since the Buick can be cold blooded otherwise. So the main usage car is also plugged in to the remote switcher so I can heat it before use.

Before I retired and was using either on a schedule, I had a timer instead of the remote. Some of the timers are for more than just a light. The one I have is rated to 1850 watts (probably for a coffee maker??), so can carry a couple of engine heaters fine.

The remotes are rated to 900w, so one can carry the Buick's 600w heater plus the Kaw's 100w bulb no problem.

Well, anyway, those were some of my solutions.

I don't personally believe in mixing oils unless there is no other choice. But I'm not that knowledgeable about oil... maybe if I knew more I'd be more comfortable doing that.

Larry
10*B

 

[Capt_Rum]

Perfect, thank you everyone. I will stick with Motocraft syn. Seems fairly cost effective as well.

edit: [censored] you guys are responding faster than I can post.... haha

 

[DieselTech]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
The 2V Modulars (not yours) seem to do well on the heavier oil. They were also originally spec'd for a 30-weight. Yours is an engine developed on a 20-weight, so I would stick with it. DieselTech's advice is sound.


I agree on the 2V engines 40wt seems to work well, but too heavy for 3V VCT engines.

 

[Capt_Rum]

Diesel tech, you have the same truck as me. How is the PU? Obviously you like it.

Only real change on my truck is 35's with 3.73 gears so my engine has to work a BIT harder than normal

 

[10bears]

Originally Posted By: Capt_Rum
^^ Fair enough, thank you. I didnt even think about the Cam Phasors. I would buy 5-20 Rotella if they made it. That is mainly what I am looking for. The rotella has performed well in our bikes and is so cheap that I would have preferred to stick to that.

Who makes a good 5w20 for a decent price? I dont have a 8,000 rpm turbo application so know my choices are a bit more open. Last thing I threw into the truck was Castrol GTX because I got 12L for $20.00 at Costco. Dont know if I should even ask how Castrol is viewed around here. :flame suit on:


BTW, I agree with other posters about running the correct/recommended weight in your F150. Keep the phasors set on "stun".

Star Trek reference, obviously.

I still recommend warming them up with a heater when it's brutally cold out. But that's probably because I basically live in a refrigerator. Well, maybe not compared to Canada... Opinions will vary, of course.

L

 

[Capt_Rum]

Haha Thanks Bears..... I dont ride unless it is above +7 in town so +50????

I ride over a lot of bridge decks that freeze over right around 45 so dont risk it.

 

[DieselTech]

Originally Posted By: Capt_Rum
Diesel tech, you have the same truck as me. How is the PU? Obviously you like it.

Only real change on my truck is 35's with 3.73 gears so my engine has to work a BIT harder than normal


Capt, this is my 1st run on it. previously I ran Redline. At this point it reacts much like the highend Redline did....engine is SUPER smooth and milage is up. I'm running the first fill to 8,000 miles then I'll do a used oil analysis. Frome there it'll be 10,000 mile OCI.

The 5.4 in my 07 is just awesome. I love the truck!! Good choice. My 99 2V will be going on Ultra when I finish up my other case of redline 5-30.

Pennzoil recently answered a bunch of members questions on the forum and it was very impressive

The Pure1 and Bosch 3410 have been very good filters. I like the 820S, but I feel my startup was quieter with the bosch and Pureone

 

[10bears]

Originally Posted By: Capt_Rum
Haha Thanks Bears..... I dont ride unless it is above +7 in town so +50????

I ride over a lot of bridge decks that freeze over right around 45 so dont risk it.


Capt Rum, I sure agree! Riding on ice on a bike is something I really don't want to risk.

L

 

[Capt_Rum]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
Originally Posted By: Capt_Rum
Diesel tech, you have the same truck as me. How is the PU? Obviously you like it.

Only real change on my truck is 35's with 3.73 gears so my engine has to work a BIT harder than normal


Capt, this is my 1st run on it. previously I ran Redline. At this point it reacts much like the highend Redline did....engine is SUPER smooth and milage is up. I'm running the first fill to 8,000 miles then I'll do a used oil analysis. Frome there it'll be 10,000 mile OCI.

The 5.4 in my 07 is just awesome. I love the truck!! Good choice. My 99 2V will be going on Ultra when I finish up my other case of redline 5-30.

Pennzoil recently answered a bunch of members questions on the forum and it was very impressive

The Pure1 and Bosch 3410 have been very good filters. I like the 820S, but I feel my startup was quieter with the bosch and Pureone


Right on, that works for me. Seems like in Canada we have Pennzoil Platinum only. But that is just what good old google is telling me so I will have to wait and see. Yeah I absolutely love my truck, I want a sports car sometimes but that is usually when I cant get out on my bike. I have been running the Motorcraft filters just because I have read on F150 forums about guys with low quality filters breaking up and causing the cam phasors to fail so with that and the drain back valve I wanted to stick with their part.

Ill read up on some of the Pennzoil posts on here about their higher end stuff.

Appreciate all the help!



Originally Posted By: 10bears
Originally Posted By: Capt_Rum
Haha Thanks Bears..... I dont ride unless it is above +7 in town so +50????

I ride over a lot of bridge decks that freeze over right around 45 so dont risk it.


Capt Rum, I sure agree! Riding on ice on a bike is something I really don't want to risk.

L


Haha I only meant that at 50+ do I ride so hopefully the 15 weight is enough to not cause it to run too dry at startup. It is a strong V-650 though so it warms up quick and I usually let it idle a minute or two then take the first 5 or 6 minutes fairly easy.

Nice 650 though, my buddy and his family all ride them.

 

[DieselTech]

Theres nothing wrong with the 820 but after seeing filter cutopen I can tell you the bosch and P1 are not coming apart.

You'll be real happy with platinum also, but you should expect ultra on the shelves soon I believe.

PP is a beloved product on this forum and is great for cleaning as ultra is also

You can look in the VOA section. I did a virgin analysis on ultra. The Additive package is just outstanding. There are used oil analysis in the used oil analysis section on PP with 10,000 miles on that look outstanding aswell