Rotella T 15w40 CJ4 4500 miles 07 Harley XL883

[G-MAN]

Here's the UOA data for my run of Rotella T 15w40 CJ4 in my 07 883 Sportster. This oil was in use from late Dec 06 until June 1, 07.

My observations:

-Excessive fuel dilution came from many short rides during cold weather in Jan, Feb, and March. This has resulted in the low flash point and slight drop in viscosity. For at least 50% of the time this oil was in use it would rarely get over 175F. Even in hot weather it would rarely get up to 200F.

-Looking at the UOAs of other 4-cam (Sportster/Buell) engines, they seem to throw a lot of copper into the oil.

-Harley uses RTV to seal the cases, not gaskets, so I think the high silicon is leaching from the RTV not an air filter issue.

Overall I think this oil held up extremely well considering the fuel dilution. TBN is still strong; viscosity still solidly in the 40 wt range. Nevertheless, I think my next UOA using the Penn-Grade 1 20w50 will be better.

I'm still awaiting the official interpretation from Terry.

 

[fuel tanker man]

Is there 5100 total miles on the odometer?

Could be a lot of break in wear still showing up, especially since this would only be the second OCI (the first being the factory fill).

We accidentally left some Rotella 15W40 in a Caterpillar road tractor engine for a little over 35,000 miles. (The driver responsible for getting the truck serviced said he "forgot")...

Anyway, the stuff still had its 40 weight viscocity, and the wear metals looked better than we'd seen on shorter OCI prior to that, even on the same engine.

Rotella is good oil. The 20W50 might outperform it, but if you get lower copper with the Pennzoil I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to better oiling, but rather would suspect this current UOA has some break in wear in it.

Dan

 

[buster]

I think the oil did extremely well considering all the fuel dilution. Wear is low. Silicon is likely from the gaskets as you said.

 

[G-MAN]

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Is there 5100 total miles on the odometer?

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Yes, the bike is new and this was the first oil change at 600 miles.

One thing this has shown me is that the oil used during the cold months needs to be dumped in the spring no matter what the mileage.

Oil that's in there now is not Pennzoil, it's Brad Penn's Penn-Grade 1 racing oil.

 

[G-MAN]

Just got the report from Terry. Can't post specifics other than to say he was impressed with how Rotella performed and this is a good UOA.

 

[Terry]

Hey,! my raw data and that Master of Law/Arts icon make this really big! And I have really BIG screens to read lots of data fast at once...

The oil did excellent and I can't share too much about why I think Rotella T CJ4 is so good because I worked for Shell last year. It is the sleeper oil for many here at BITOG that want performance at reasonable cost. WILL perform as a near synthetic (I said it Gary). 10w30 CJ4 Rotella is a wonderfully wide use lubricant.

Dan, you are correct the oil took a severe hit from wear-in and fuels. Gary this is why I think your temps are lower now with the Brad Penn, less gas interrupting the tribolayers, not just EP.

Correct me if I am wrong but Brad Penn racing is a PAO blend so that PAO should contribute to helping transfer heat more effectively.


Terry

 

[G-MAN]

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Hey,! my raw data and that Master of Law/Arts icon make this really big!

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The illustration on the left is a Doctor of Laws; on the right, Master of Arts.

 

[Harley Anderson]

Thanks for the uoa, I will be posting one soon on my buell ulysses which is pretty much the same motor. I am suprised how well dino rotella held up, even with cj-7 formulation and a lower starting tbn. Makes me think the amsoil I am running will do the job for over 10k without depleting itself. How much makeup oil did you use over the 4500 miles interval?

 

[G-MAN]

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How much makeup oil did you use over the 4500 miles interval?

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It was about 4 to 8 oz. It took me awhile to figure out the optimum oil level on the dipstick. If you run it at the top of the stick it will use it/blow it out until it's down about half way and from then on it won't use anymore. So the second time it got down on the stick I didn't add any.

 

[teven7492]

HI Terry... what type of work did you do for Shell?

 

[Terry]

Same work I do for any oil,lube,additive company, analysis consult, primarily on Platinum Program.

 

[TimVipond]

I would think the excessive fuel in the oil from Jan, Feb and March short rides would have volatilized off by June. Any chance the fuel is able to slip by the rings more easily with a 15W40 dino instead of the Harley recommended and factory fill 20W50 synthetic?

 

[G-MAN]

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I would think the excessive fuel in the oil from Jan, Feb and March short rides would have volatilized off by June. Any chance the fuel is able to slip by the rings more easily with a 15W40 dino instead of the Harley recommended and factory fill 20W50 synthetic?

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I think it's a common misconception that fuel in the oil just boils off and thereafter everything his honky-dory. Some does boil off, but a lot doesn't and the oil is forever "scarred" afterwards.

 

[fuel tanker man]

"I think it's a common misconception that fuel in the oil just boils off and thereafter everything his honky-dory. Some does boil off, but a lot doesn't and the oil is forever "scarred" afterwards."

Good point... and this is why it is unwise in my opinion (and that of many others) to run an oil longer than 2500 to 3000 miles in any engine which is prone to fuel dilute the oil. Trying to get your money's worth from a high buck synthetic by extending the OCI in a Harley engine is playing Russian Roulette.

Use a good, moderately priced dino oil and change it often (at about 2500 miles). That's the key to a long and healthy engine life.

Dan

 

[GeorgeCLS]

Or, use a very high quality, high priced synthetic oil and change it often.. It is only 3 or 4 quarts!! Ehen one considers the initial cost at $20,000+/- for a machine, it would seem to be well worth having simply "the best" engine oil lubricant money can buy...
George Morrison, STLE CLS

 

[TucsonDon]

Is the Harley XL883 a bike that has a shared engine and tranny sump design?

 

[G-MAN]

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Is the Harley XL883 a bike that has a shared engine and tranny sump design?

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No. The V-Rod is the only Harley where the transmission and engine share a common sump. The Evolution XL engine is dry sump. The primary and transmission share a common sump.

 

[TucsonDon]

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Is the Harley XL883 a bike that has a shared engine and tranny sump design?

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No. The V-Rod is the only Harley where the transmission and engine share a common sump. The Evolution XL engine is dry sump. The primary and transmission share a common sump.

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Thanks G-Man. Bear with me for a moment while I display my lack of knowledge of some of this stuff. So the Harley XL883 has a separate transmission oil from engine oil. That would mean that this UOA of Rotella T 15W-40 CJ-4 is not a good indication of the shear strength of the oil in a Honda shared-oil design, right?

(I've got the Rotella 15W-40 CJ-4 in my Goldwing right now. 1,000 miles on it so far. I'm thinking about going to 3K and then doing a Blackstone on it.)

 

[TimVipond]

I'd dump it now and get an analysis. You're flying blind at this point, unless you know of another Goldwing that has done this with an analysis.

 

[G-MAN]

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Thanks G-Man. Bear with me for a moment while I display my lack of knowledge of some of this stuff. So the Harley XL883 has a separate transmission oil from engine oil. That would mean that this UOA of Rotella T 15W-40 CJ-4 is not a good indication of the shear strength of the oil in a Honda shared-oil design, right?

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The transmission in a Harley XL883 has its own oil separate from the engine oil.

Lot's of bikers with Japanese bikes use Rotella T in their shared sump engines with good results. Take a look at the motorcycle section of the Rotella forum.