My Quest For The Best Oil on the Planet

Y’all are drifting off topic.

Personally, if it were my truck, I would run the Delvac 1 ESP 5W40 that you have been running for 5,000 mile intervals and call it a day. However, if you wanted to run a 30wt oil, to regain your extra 0.5 mpg I would look at:

1) Rotella T6 5W30. Thicker than most 30wt oils mentioned. Available at NAPA or Advanced A. Parts for $35/gallon.

2) Mobil 1 10W30 EP instead of 5W30, in an effort to end up with a 30wt oil, instead of a 20wt, at the interval’s end.
 
So just the marketing but no actual data?
Shell will not warranty the performance of their oil beyond the OEM interval, while Mobil and Castrol both will for up to 20,000 miles as long as that is accrued within a 12 month period:
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Great, more marketing department warranty crap. Still no data.

This forum loves leaning on these silly oil warranties.
It's as simple as Shell won't stand behind their oil being used beyond the OEM change interval, while the other two will. Yes, there's definitely a marketing angle to it, but if somebody plans to go that route, the confidence would be much higher with one of the two that advertises they will stand behind that capability rather than one that clearly won't cover it.

Beyond that, each application is different so there's no hard-fast rule that dictates just how long the oil will be safe to use. You'd have to use UOA's in your own specific usage profile to find that out and that's beyond the scope of the generalities that you and I are discussing here.

If we look at this objectively, both Mobil and Castrol, because they ARE claiming their product will do 20,000 mile intervals, are going to have additive packages that are robust enough to handle that interval. Shell doesn't need to go that hard because they don't make that claim. This will affect how the oils are blended. It doesn't mean there won't be outliers that will kill one of the 20,000 mile oils early though. Those Honda fuel diluting 1.5L engines are one that immediately comes to mind.
 
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It's as simple as Shell won't stand behind their oil being used beyond the OEM change interval, while the other two will. Yes, there's definitely a marketing angle to it, but if somebody plans to go that route, the confidence would be much higher with one of the two that advertises they will stand behind that capability rather than one that clearly won't cover it.

Beyond that, each application is different so there's no hard-fast rule that dictates just how long the oil will be safe to use. You'd have to use UOA's in your own specific usage profile to find that out and that's beyond the scope of the generalities that you and I are discussing here.
To the bold phrase, we don't know why that is though. It could be because the oil is not as stout, or it could simply be Shell has a more conservative legal team that has shied away from taking on any liability that comes with that marketing, or that Shell doesn't want to bother because their market research suggests customers won't not buy the oil because of that lack of phrasing. So to your second point about generalizations, yes.
 
I think it's ridiculous that people here, on a site that's very data driven, actually think there's merit to what the marketing department agreed on. Very gullible.
Yeah it does seem as though it’s a particular issue with you. Well, stick to facts I guess rather than “crap” as you put it.

Have you ever had a verifiable oil-related failure that a blender or manufacturer refused to cover under a warranty? Just wondering where this deep cynicism came from. And the whole thing about the board being gullible and all.
 
Yeah it does seem as though it’s a particular issue with you. Well, stick to facts I guess rather than “crap” as you put it.

Have you ever had a verifiable oil-related failure that a blender or manufacturer refused to cover under a warranty? Just wondering where this deep cynicism came from.
It isn't "deep cynicism", it's a grain of common sense.
 
I wouldn't do extended drains on any GDI engine, doesn't matter how good the oil is soot is bad for your timing chains.
That is an interesting note. Is there any documentation about soot being bad? Coming from the heavy diesel world, I'm used to it being a normal fact of life.
 
It's as simple as Shell won't stand behind their oil being used beyond the OEM change interval, while the other two will. Yes, there's definitely a marketing angle to it, but if somebody plans to go that route, the confidence would be much higher with one of the two that advertises they will stand behind that capability rather than one that clearly won't cover it.

Beyond that, each application is different so there's no hard-fast rule that dictates just how long the oil will be safe to use. You'd have to use UOA's in your own specific usage profile to find that out and that's beyond the scope of the generalities that you and I are discussing here.

If we look at this objectively, both Mobil and Castrol, because they ARE claiming their product will do 20,000 mile intervals, are going to have additive packages that are robust enough to handle that interval. Shell doesn't need to go that hard because they don't make that claim. This will affect how the oils are blended. It doesn't mean there won't be outliers that will kill one of the 20,000 mile oils early though. Those Honda fuel diluting 1.5L engines are one that immediately comes to mind.
Careful. You have another agitator on the hook. ;)
 
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