Shell playing it safe?

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Hi,

After lots and lots of reading, I had settled on using Rotella T6 and T5 for our equipment. My family has a farm and we have various equipment I maintain. I've been doing the research, trying to select a high quality oil, and I thought I found it in Shell Rotella, but then I just read a few things that are concerning.

When the triple protection first hit the market a few years ago, the Rotella website had a section describing called Extreme Loads. Remeber that one? Where they said the oil was put to the test in the real world in Australia in these big trucks. Well, it has been taken off the website.


Then just a few days ago, I noticed theat the product info for T6 was changed on the Rotella website. In one section it used to say that the T6 contained "a novel and unique anti-wear system", now it doesn't say that anymore, yet, it still says that in the product data sheet on Shell's website.

Also, the datasheet for Pennzoil Ultra, when it first came out that it was for those wanted "the best", now it is saying for those who want "our best".

Is Shell just playing it safe with their marketing? I was all set to use their oils because all the reading I have done has lead me to lead that they produce good oils, now this has me wondering, what are they doing? It almost seems to me as if they themselves are taking a step back and don't want to say that their oils are top of the line, high quality products.

Can anyone shed some light on this?
 
Maybe they don't want to get sucked into a Castrol/Mobil ----- contest like has been going on the past few years. I've always found Shell to be pretty straightforward in their marketing, leaving the over-the-top "Twice as good! No,its 8x wear protection!!, Think with your dipstick!!" hype to Castrol.

I do think they get a little more silly with their Pennzoil and Qstate sub brands at times... "liquid ball bearings" my . :-/ But nothing totally over-the-top.

Or maybe they just re-wrote the ad page to freshen it up and chose different wording because a different writer did it this time. Its hard to know, and I don't read too much into advertising documents anyway.
 
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Maybe Shell has changed. IMO...they most likely know that their products are the best and that the people who use their oils are well aware of the fact that the oils are superior.

They might feel a little guilty about "patting themselves on the back" and having their customers rave about their oil all the time, might be too much for them to handle.

Sometimes when a champ knows that they are a champ....they don't need to express it anymore. I guess that it all goes back to that old saying "actions speak louder than words."
 
Wow you are really overthinking this! Talk about semantics. Rotella was good before and it's good now. Stop worrying so much.
 
Regarding your "In one section it used to say that the T6 contained "a novel and unique anti-wear system", now it doesn't say that anymore".

If now ANY OTHER OIL were using the additive that they were referring to then they would be correct to no longer make that statement.

It does not mean that they stopped using that additive.

I can understand your concern, because it also means they may have stopped using that additive.

Shell Rotella has been known as a good motorcycle oil for years, and now has JASO - MA rating. Any oil that can hold up in the demanding application of air cooled engines has to be a good oil.
 
Yes, I can shed some light on this.
Frankly, you're concentrating on the wrong information.

PDS's are a good place to start, along with VOAs. Then, look over the thousands upon thousands of UOAs to know how products really perform. I'll take data and facts over sales rhetoric and marketing hype any day.

Shell's Rotella product line is stellar, as are most of their competitors for that matter.
 
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Hi,
Over many decades I have worked with Shell in a number of areas and in a number of Countries. I have always found their lubricants to be excellent performers. I first used and visited their Labs in Sydney, Wellington and London in the 1970s and even at that stage their expertise was well known.

I used their synthetic gear oils and HDEOs much earlier than that

Rotella is not marketed here in Australia – Rimula is! Their HDEOs are probably the biggest sellers here and they have an enviable high performance reputation amongst Commercial users! They do a lot of field testing and two of my Customers have been involved in this for many years. Much of this is done in Road Trains (125 tonnes plus) in the Tropics. Some engine systems involve(d) no OCs – just UOA monitoring and top-up with planned filter changes - as part of the field test operations
However this comment from an English Industry Bulletin may be of interest:

STARTS
Meanwhile in New Zealand, Shell is defending 22 charges made by the country's Commerce Commission relating to an advertising campaign for petrol back in 2006/7. The charges, under the New Zealand Fair Trading Act, allege that Shell's claims relating to a fuel-economy-enhancing additive were misleading and that the imagery used in the ad campaigns overstated the additional distances gained from the additive. Shell's claims of 'significant' improvements have been supported by an expert during the hearing.. The court case continues.
ENDS

I have been a longtime Shell user of both PCMOs and HDEOs – mineral and synthetics - – they are excellent products!
 
Hey, even Formula Shell is a solid conventional. IMO, they have made a good name for themselves, but not necessarily to the vast public, yet.
 
Thanks guys, for all your replies! I really appreciate them! Thanks for putting my mind to rest. I was thinking I had made a good choice in picking Shell to run in our equipment, but since I haven't been using any of the Rotella oils, or other Shell products for very long, I don't have any experience with them, and after finding the stuff that I mentioned, I was just concerned. Thanks for all the assurances!

I know I'm probably over-thinking this a bit. I think I've probably gone too far in the opposite direction because going back several years ago, I wasn't this way, but I guess I got spooked. A few years ago, my thinking was that there were two kinds of oil, conventional and synthetic. Synthetic was the upgrade, but I was under the impression that the various offerings by the companies, more or less, performed the same. I didn't realize that the different formulations had an effect on engine cleanliness, and how much deposits they let form.
I kind of learned the hard way, when I first switched over to synthetics, I used Castrol Syntec for several years, not realizing that it wasn't the best for preventing deposits, and by the time I realized what was happening, it was already starting to give me grief. Now, this was in the late 1990's, and they probably have improved it somewhat, but I have steered clear of Castrol ever since. From then, I have tried Mobil 1, Amsoil, Pennzoil PP and Ultra, and after doing a lot of reading, I had settled on using Rotella, it seemed as if no sooner had I done so, then some of the stuff I read made me wonder if Shell was changing things around, so, I guess I got spooked!

Thanks again, everyone!
 
Originally Posted By: njohnson

I know I'm probably over-thinking this a bit. I think I've probably gone too far in the opposite direction because going back several years ago, I wasn't this way, but I guess I got spooked. A few years ago, my thinking was that there were two kinds of oil, conventional and synthetic.


That's OK. Say three "hail Molys" and four "our filters" and all will be forgiven.
 
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