Does Rotella Synthetic 5w-40 have adequate anti-wear additives when compared to Mobil 1 0w-40 and 5w-40? I'm only running my GM 5.3L about 10K/year and would like to do 2 changes/year. Do you see any problems going with the Rotella, or would one of the Mobil 1 products be significantly better for this application? On another note, this truck sits for a couple weeks at a time without a start. Would one oil be significantly better than another for protecting in this situation?
Anti-wear additives & extended sitting
- Thread starter blsnelling
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I can't answer to what Rotella contains, but I'll share my experience. I've used 5W-40 Rotella synthetic in my 5.2L '97 Jeep Grand Cherokee for the past 3.5 years and 40k+ miles with no problems. I do 4K mi. or 6 mos. changes and the vehicle does occasionally sit for 1+ week when I'm travelling. I consistently use ~1qt/2k miles with this oil which is a bit less consumption than w/ dino 10w-30. One issue worth noting is that this oil does not meet ILSAC GF3 or, last I saw, have the API Starburst and per the Rotella forum the oil's higher anti wear additives may affect catalyst operation. I've passed 3 years of state inspections without a problem. Overall I am very happy w/ this oil and the biggest problem is availability at the local Wallymart.
You bring up a good question, do typical PC auto oils contain anti rust additives to protect during extended storage with more than just an oil film?
This type of protection is very important with piston aircraft oils, both AeroShell and Exxon Elite advertise their protection and Mobil 1 m/c oils also mention this in their literature. Typical GA aircraft and m/c's tend to have a lot of idle time.
Can any of the BITOG experts expand on this type of protection?
Rgds, w&w.
You bring up a good question, do typical PC auto oils contain anti rust additives to protect during extended storage with more than just an oil film?
This type of protection is very important with piston aircraft oils, both AeroShell and Exxon Elite advertise their protection and Mobil 1 m/c oils also mention this in their literature. Typical GA aircraft and m/c's tend to have a lot of idle time.
Can any of the BITOG experts expand on this type of protection?
Rgds, w&w.
Thanks for the reply. As far as my concern about setting for extended periods. my greatest concern was how a particular oil protects from metal-to-metal contact. Does the Rotella have more anti-wear additives than the Mobil 1 products, or less? I know there's no moly in the Rotella, for example.
MolaKule
Staff member
Most HDEO oils contain about 0.12% or better of ZDDP (or equivalent AW adds) and extra rust inhibitors.
Schaeffer's #700, Amsoil 15W40 AME, and Delvac 1 are all good oils for engines that sit idle a lot.
Schaeffer's #700, Amsoil 15W40 AME, and Delvac 1 are all good oils for engines that sit idle a lot.
Do you recommend against the Rotella Synthetic 5w-40 or Mobil 1 0w-0 in the GM 5.3 for any reason? Which would be better? I'm looking at changing every 6 months with about 5K-6K miles on the oil.
If your looking at religious oil changes every 6 months with only 5K miles, then almost ANY oil would suit your needs. There are some dino oils that will go that distance, easy. But for your concerns, you'd want an oil with some ZDDP and moly. A lot of members think that there are other protection chemistry out there besides moly, but I don't buy into that. Moly and ZDDP have been a time proven AW agent. Look for an oil that is SL rated. The newer stuff that is coming out will have less levels of ZDDP because the industry claims it ruins the catalytic converters.
[ April 01, 2004, 09:49 AM: Message edited by: Schmoe ]
[ April 01, 2004, 09:49 AM: Message edited by: Schmoe ]
The Rotella Is now rated CI-4 but I don't think it contains any Moly.
I'm using Rotella 5W-40 in three cars at the moment, including a GM 3.8 V6 which sits a lot. Rotella has high levels of ZDDP and calcium sulfonates, so it has very good AW and anti-rust properties. The calcium sulfonate and its cousin, barium sulfonate which is mostly used in steam-cylinder and marine oils, reduce the tendency of condensation droplets to form rust spots or cause corrosive wear on bare metals, in addition to providing detergency. ZDDP is a good corrosion inhibitor also, protecting bearing surfaces that sit unused for a while. I think this oil is a good choice for moderate oil change intervals in cars that aren't used regularly, as are the majority of HDEOs.
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