SP 5W-40 vs SQ 5W-30
- Thread starter jghall00
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There are cheap 5w-40's out there. I remember buying Quaker State 5w-40 for 21.97 in store. Unfortunately they removed it from in store and only sell it online I think for 23.22 but you can get Castrol Edge Euro 5w-40 for 23.97 in store which is less than a bunch of other regular pcmo oils which wouldn't pass the stringent tests the cheaper Quaker State of Castrol euro can.
Keep running Castrol 5W-40 Euro (SP or SQ) or any other 5W-40 Euro oil and change it every 5K miles. This will assure you problem free 60K and over miles. Make sure you always use Euro ACEA A3/B4 or ACEA C3 oil. These are turbo car oils.
Does your engine burn any oil, if yes - how much?
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Nope. Not that I've noticed. I'll check again before the next change but in the past it's always stayed full between changes.
Just to let you know that at 1.4 TBN that oil was gone. Also, the 35 ppm iron is not a good sign either. The flash point at 375°F is low too and there was no fuel in the oil. That oil new/virgin would have a flash point of around 430°F. The viscosity at 9.6 cSt was low too. So, I would avoid longer OCI than 5K miles.
Castrol Magnatec 5W-30
Viscosity, Kinematic 100°C: 11.2 cSt
Flashpoint: 210°C/410°F
https://www.castrol.com/content/dam...oils/pds-castrol_magnatec_5w30_022113a_en.pdf
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But 5,000 OCI with SP 5W-40 or SQ 5W-30? Under the prior usage scenario, in comparison to this Magnatec UOA, which one would have held up better?
Carlostrece
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I don't disagree with what you said above, but the example of an allegedly cheap 5w40 oil used in @Navi's post was 5w40 Rotella T6. See the 2nd Amsoil chart he posted. He referred to the cheap 5w40 in that chart as outperforming all highend 0w30 and 5w30.
I'm just saying that 5w40 Rotella T6 is not a cheap oil. I didn't say there no other brands of 5w40 that are cheap.
Lets just say it WAS a cheap oil years ago. There is now high demand in the trucking industry and high demand for this oil thus why the price got bumped up.
There is some inflation and deflation going on here but the formulas and engineers behind those formulas remain the same.
In regards to Shell T6 5W40 it is an HDEO designed for heavy duty tractor/trailers. It WAS cheap years ago but because of higher demand in the trucking industry its no longer as cheap as it once was. The formula has remained the same. To note I would NOT put Shell T6 5w40 in a gasoline engine because its not good for the catalytic converter according to Shell customer service. Its not rated for gasoline engines. To me T6 is a cheap oil being sold for a higher price because of demand/inflationary pressure, but not because its a wonderful magical formula.
The oil on sale at Walmart right now is Castrol 5W40 Euro at around $24 for 5 quarts. That was not a cheap oil in the past and because of supply/demand its at $24 per 5 quarts. I remember seeing it a few years back at $35 for 5 quarts! If you look on Castrol's website they get a little cheeky about how they are superior to Mobil 1, but what they are saying is absolutely true in that its a great formula. The Castrol is an expensive oil being sold for cheap at Walmart. Take a look at the images I posted from Blackstone Labs. In both the GM 5.3 V8 and turbo engine Castrol came in 2nd for the V8 and 3rd for the turbo which is excellent.
Carlostrece
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A lot of folks at Jeepforum think Rotella 5w40 and 5w30 are the bee's knees. I think it's quite a good oil for diesel and older gas engines. It's not strictky a diesel oil. It says right on the jug that it's a multi-vehicle oil for mixed fleets of diesel and gas vehicles. Good for certain gas vehicles, especially older models.
There's valid reasons why it's in high demand, which caused it's price to rise relative to many other oils. That doesn't just happen by accident.
If you contact Shell Customer Service they will tell you its not rated for gasoline engines and the reason is mainly its not friendly to catalytic converters.
Shell Customer Service
Phone: 1-877-536-6324
Email: [email protected]
On the data sheet for the oil it only mentions diesel engines and there are no gasoline engine API ratings listed.
https://www.shell.us/business/fuels...w-40-full-synthetic-heavy-duty-engine-oil.pdf
There are a lot of people who still use it in gasoline engines. The engines wont get damaged by it, but the catalytic converter might wear prematurely.
Yes, you are right about the OCI and everything.
However, I didn't understand your question and concern about API SP vs SQ. Is it related to which one has better timing chain lubrication?
The thing that I'm trying to tell you is to make sure you run Euro oils where there is ACEA A3/B4 or ACEA C3 designation on the back of the bottle, because those are oils designed for turbo engines.
API SP or SQ is a secondary concern. Yes, it better be API SQ.
But if you are looking to satisfy the API SQ approval only and disregard the ACEA certification that would be a big mistake.
Poisoned would be a better term, and only if rather large amounts of the oil are being burned in the engine. If you aren't consuming a lot of oil then it isn't an issue.
If you have fuel dilution then no oil within the same grade is going to significantly hold up better than any other, especially on a short OCI. And again with that Blackstone analysis you don't know what is going on, if anything.
I'd continue to use an oil with a minimum HT/HS of 3.5 but probably not Castrol 5W-40. There are better options such as Mobil 1 0W-40 or ESP 5W or 0W-30.
SQ might be a new spec, but that doesn't mean it's a new oil I'm sure that many, many SP oils already met SP spec and had no reformulation required to meet SQ. I'd be stunning if Valvoline Restore and Protect, for example, doesn't or didn't already meet SQ.
I prefer 40 grades for everything now just to get you out of the limits by ILSAC and energy conserving impose on formulation. Energy Conserving grades aren't just lower viscosity, but they are actively being formulated for LOWER HTHS to improve fuel economy.
I personally don't value that tiny mpg improvement of low HTHS as I do the higher wear protection of higher HTHS. The only "safe" option then to avoid a weaker add pack and low HTHS VII package is to get away from the grades subject to those rules and stick with 40 grades.
I prefer 40 grades for everything now just to get you out of the limits by ILSAC and energy conserving impose on formulation. Energy Conserving grades aren't just lower viscosity, but they are actively being formulated for LOWER HTHS to improve fuel economy.
I personally don't value that tiny mpg improvement of low HTHS as I do the higher wear protection of higher HTHS. The only "safe" option then to avoid a weaker add pack and low HTHS VII package is to get away from the grades subject to those rules and stick with 40 grades.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
It's name on the bottle, webpage, and data sheet is Rotella T6 MV. The MV is an abbreviation for multi vehicle. The fine print clearly says it's for mixed fleets of gas and diesel engines. Lots of experienced Jeep guys use it in Jeep 4L, and 4.6L strokers. That's been the case for 30 years. I'vd never heard of a Jeep getting a clogged cat from it. Also, lots of businesses, including trucking companies, use it in their gas and diesel vehicles.
Chevron Delo 5w40 is a different animal because it says for diesel engines only.
You can’t compare oils by iron wear rates between a Subaru EJ and an LS1. The only way you could do that is if the same engine family (and really the same engine) was used for all oils.
These charts are from a Blackstone newsletter. The explanation which was left out here is that there is no difference in wear metals between oil brands that can be detected via a used oil analysis. Even between conventional, blend, and synthetic. The biggest factors in wear are viscosity, engine type, and engine use. Blackstone’s words, not mine.
Shell T6 MV 5w30 is an older formula, its rated API SN. When Shell came out with this they had high hopes, but I know of no one using this. There is no point in using this and I think Shell has this in low production. Notice how you can only find it in a few places and the few places you can find it the price is ridiculous.
Whats the point of using that when you have Mobil 1 Delvac 5W40 ESP going for $23 for 4 quarts?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-De...7?classType=VARIANT&athbdg=L1300&from=/search
You could also use Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5W40 or the Euro 5W40s.
At $35 for 4 quarts you can even make an argument for using Amsoil 0w40 endorsed by Lingenfelter...
If thicker is better than why would you want to put in a 5w30? While Shell T6 MV 5w30 is at 12.1 cst @ 100C Mobil 1 Delvac 5W40 ESP is at 13.7.
If we went down the "mixed fleet" argument than Delvac 5w40 is the real way to go.
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