Motoguzzi and Aprilia both prefer the garlic scented Rotella. Keeps the vampires away!
Rotella 15w40 T4 & T6 in Motorcycles
- Thread starter Jay Freddy
- Start date
Motoguzzi and Aprilia both prefer the garlic scented Rotella. Keeps the vampires away!
I had the same experience with Rotella T6 5W-40. Shift quality went downhill fast and by 2000 miles it was really clunky and notchy. I switched back to regular 4T motorcycle oil. Haven't tried the Rotella 15W-40.
Wouldn't you want the higher moly count in the T5 for your Yamaha 125cc scooter and 140cc push mower that lack the shared wet clutch found in motorcycles specced for JASO MA/MA2? That's with me assuming that your scooter does use a dry CVT of course, as most 150cc and under scooters do.
The Blackstone T5 VOA shows virtually no molybdenum.
From what I understand, Shell uses the same add pack for all their Rotella oils, so a spike in moly on one flavor in one tesis such as that video is likely an error in testing or sampling, and not necessarily an actual increase in moly.
Also, as of June 2023, new bottles of T5 10w30 now bear the JASO MA MA2 label. The formula hasn't changed, Shell just decided to include the letters on the bottle.
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15W40 and 5W40 have the same hot engine (100C/212F) oil viscosity specification (40) so there is no difference in them if you get stuck in traffic on a hot day. The "W" viscosity rating is at 0 F, which I don't think you'll be encountering in the summer in Dallas.
Im certainly no expert, but my understanding is that, the wider the spread between the Winter rating (W) and the hot rating, the more they rely on viscosity index improvers, or "VII", to achieve those numbers. As oil wears, the VII will break down before the base oil, meaning that a 5w40 in a shared sump motorcycle will act more like a 5w30 after a certain distance, usually less than the manufacturer recommended OCI. So to say there is "no difference" isn't entirely accurate. If a bike is spec'd for 5w30 its probably fine, but if you're actually aiming at 10w40, the 5w40 might not be the best choice.
That's why about every motorcycle manual I've seen always specifies a 10W-xx, 15W-xx or 20W-xx motor oil. Never see a 0W-xx or 5W-xx in the OMs.
The more synthetic oils rely on the properties of their better lubricants, which are thinner when cold than conventional petroleum oils, and thicker when hot than conventional oils.
The more conventional oils rely on more VII additives.
Sorting out which is which is a consumer nightmare, since in the USA the definition of "synthetic" got muddled by Castrol.
New oil word... Shart.
Eg., "If your bike calls for 10w30..... It will love T6, 5w40..... Cause it will shart to a 30wt in a shared sump rather quickly.
Wait, it has the actual JASO logo showing compliance? Or just the same old reference (suitable for)?
It's not registered with JASO. Shell just decided to put the letters on the bottle. Ironically, Shell recently stopped putting the JASO MA letters on the T6 variants, but instead have a lil graphic of a motorcycle on the bottle.
The truth is Rotella is older than JASO. And people have been using it in motorcycles long before JASO even existed. JASO MA is helpful, but it's not definitive, the way I originally thought.
In fact, apparently even Honda's standard GN4 motorcycle oil is not actually registered with JASO, they just claim to meet the spec and put the letters on the bottle, the same as Shell.
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Reviewing this thread and wanted to expand a bit on this.
A 30 is not always quicker than a 40. It depends on the test and what "quick" means. Let's say it means "time to build oil pressure" and you have a cold start engine. Which one will build oil pressure faster? The 30wt, every time. You all know this already.
But let's say you have a hot shutdown and then restart. NOW which builds oil pressure faster? Usually, it will be the 40wt. At some point, the oil gets thin enough that the engine becomes much more "leaky" and your oil pump's efficiency is reduced. And a less efficient oil pump plus more leakage within the oil system means the 30wt both leaks down faster and pumps up slower.
I do find it interesting that on large engines where over a million gallons of fuel must be burned before overhaul that 40wt oil is still used, even with peak cylinder pressures up to 220+ bar and oil temps in the 110-120c range.
And as long as we are talking about the righthand part of the Stribeck curve, more viscosity means thicker oil film, all else being equal.
I don't know how much cross-over there is under the whole Shell umbrella (Rotella, Quaker State, Pennzoil), but the JASO registration list does show that the "Shell Advanced 4T Ultra" is formally registered with JASO.It's not registered with JASO. Shell just decided to put the letters on the bottle. Ironically, Shell recently stopped putting the JASO MA letters on the T6 variants, but instead have a lil graphic of a motorcycle on the bottle.
The truth is Rotella is older than JASO. And people have been using it in motorcycles long before JASO even existed. JASO MA is helpful, but it's not definitive, the way I originally thought.
In fact, apparently even Honda's standard GN4 motorcycle oil is not actually registered with JASO, they just claim to meet the spec and put the letters on the bottle, the same as Shell.
Watch this thread to see what Shell/Pennzoil says to my question about their motorcycle oil being JASO MA2 rated, but not registered with JASO.
Pennzoil Q&A – General Motor Oil and Maintenance Topics
Hello BITOG Members, Pennzoil here! We are excited to continue the conversation around the industry’s trending topics. Starting today, we invite you to submit your questions in this thread for Sean Nguyen, Pennzoil Technical Scientist and Automotive Lubricant Specialist. Questions can range...
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