Looking for an alternative to Rotella T6. Ipone?

Joined
Oct 1, 2016
Messages
14
Location
Barrie, Ontario
I ride a 2016 Suzuki GSXS1000 (same engine as the GSXR1000 but detuned).

I've been using Rotella T6 for years because it's reasonably priced and easy to find, however the price has been steadily creeping up over the past few years (it now costs just over $50 for a 5 litre jug) and now I'm starting to wonder if I can get a better oil for a similar price, or an equally good oil for a lower price.

I tried doing some research on the internet but when I tried searching for some of the oils people recommend, they are not available here in my town in ontario, and I don't want to rely on ordering online for my oil changes, I wanna just pop into a local store and get my oil any time.

A local store carries something called Ipone semi-synthetic for $37 for a 4 litre jug. It's 10w40 and JASO MA2 so it sounds like it should work well with my bike. Anybody know anything about this oil? Will I be giving up anything by going from a fully synthetic to a semi-synthetic oil? Will I need to do more frequent changes? I've been changing every 10,000 kms with T6. I put about 10,000 kms per year on my bike, mostly weekend rides and the occasional multi-day touring trip, no racing/track.
 
It does appear on the JASO Filed Motorcycle Four Cycle Gasoline Engine Oil List, so that is a good sign. Blenders do not have to register their brand with JASO but it helps to figure out which ones actually meet the specification rather than just sound like they do.

It really doesn't matter what the base stock composition is.
 
I think its just for 2strokes....I have 1L of it :)

It smells like.....strawberies for first 5minutes...then it gets annoying (like burnt plastic) :)
 
Well I bought the ipone, I'll see how the bike runs with it.

By the way, I still got a liter of T6 that I don't want to waste, would there be any concerns with mixing the T6 and the Ipone for my next oil change?
The T6 is 5w40 full synthetic
Ipone is 10w40 semi synthetic
 
I can totally understand!

What is the cost of a quart/liter of Mobil 1 10w40 4T up there?
I just checked the websites of several local stores and can't find any motorcycle oil from Mobil 1.

But Motul 7100 is $79 for 4 liters, that's about $59 USD. I heard that's a really great motorcycle oil, I haven't tried it though. It's probably overkill for me considering I don't race my bike.
 
That's too bad you can't get the Mobil 1 motorcycle oil up there. I like it a lot.

How about Redline motorcycle oil?
 
Mobil 1 Racing 10w40 4t was available at Walmart in Canada, but it is now being discontinued. My local store have the liter bottle on clearance for $9 CAD. Regular price was probably a hard sell at $17/liter...
 
If $9 per liter works for your budget I would buy it up from WalMart and use it with confidence for 10,000 km oil changes (6,200 miles). Get a good supply and it could last you for years.
 
If $9 per liter works for your budget I would buy it up from WalMart and use it with confidence for 10,000 km oil changes (6,200 miles). Get a good supply and it could last you for years.
I bought all 8 litres, that gives me 3 complete oil changes. I’m all set for the next 3 years on my brand new Yamaha Tenere 700.
 
Well I can report that my bike is running great after several thousand kms with the ipone semi-synthetic (plus a liter of leftover T6 I mixed in that I didn't want to waste). No difference in shifting feel compared to T6 that I've been able to notice. I guess ipone is my new go-to oil for my bike.
 
M1 motorcycle and M1 15-50 car oil IMO are really the same thing. the motorcycle oil is $10/qt and the car oil is 23$/5 qts at wal-mart. the T6 is even less. As long as it is not "Energy Conserving" it will be ok in a bike. Glad you found a good replacement iphone. :)
 
M1 motorcycle and M1 15-50 car oil IMO are really the same thing. the motorcycle oil is $10/qt and the car oil is 23$/5 qts at wal-mart. the T6 is even less. As long as it is not "Energy Conserving" it will be ok in a bike. Glad you found a good replacement iphone. :)
They are close to the same oil when you compare the zinc and phosphorus for sure on paper. But my used oil analysis shows far less zinc and phosphorus in the 15w50. In my use, the 15w50 sheared down to a low 40 weight in about 4,000 mi. 10w40 4T sheared just a tad lower in 5,000 miles however it started a lot lower to begin with.

I do not think they are in the same ballpark based on overall shift quality retention as well.

However no flies on 15w-50, I'll stick with 4T.
 
They are close to the same oil when you compare the zinc and phosphorus for sure on paper. But my used oil analysis shows far less zinc and phosphorus in the 15w50. In my use, the 15w50 sheared down to a low 40 weight in about 4,000 mi. 10w40 4T sheared just a tad lower in 5,000 miles however it started a lot lower to begin with.

I do not think they are in the same ballpark based on overall shift quality retention as well.

However no flies on 15w-50, I'll stick with 4T.
Cant disagree at all with your UOA and it does fall in line with my experience. The shear down is noticeable in shifting feel at ~4.5k interval. In fact that's how i know its time to change shifting gets bit notchy. I have run the 4T but to me the difference was not substantial and at less than half the price for good protection @ slightly lower OCI i just dont see $10/qt value. No engine issues in last 20 years using the M1 or T6 car oils in pretty much everything.
 
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