BINGO!
Why is rotella hated by some?
- Thread starter Redhawk454
- Start date
My 2008 Suzuki DL1000 bought new, never used oil and I used Rotella 15w40 in it for years. I used Rotella T4 in my 400 Cummins engines in class 8 trucks for years with 12,000 mile OCI with no oil usage issues. I still use T5 in my lawn equipment never having to top off the oil. Just my experiences.
I agree with you... but in the scheme of things Rotella isn't particularly overpriced... I' used it once in the current truck,, T5 to be exact, Tractor Supply was clearancing it for 9 bucks a gallon...
I've used whatever brand was cheapest that met the specs.. currently and on a recurring basis seems to be Delvac 1300, which has a 5 dollar a gallon rebate twice a year and generally retails for about 1450 per gallon at Walmart. Rebate program has recurred the last 4 years spring and fall. one time I got 4 gallons Delva at BJ's for 39.99 and got the 5 dollar a gallon rebate on 3 gallons.. or 25 bucks for 4 gallons.. not bad.
2023 Fall Mobil Delvac™ Rebate Program
Terms and Conditions
https://promotion.mobil.com/offers/delvacrebate/terms.asp?Rebates
It’s regional , for instance zegermans love liqui molly and sonax products, frenchies total or elf oils. It’s funny that here shell products are not respected also.
T5 10W30 is good stuff, basically the same PP as T6 5W40, for less money. Is it head & shoulders better than Delvac 1 5W40, or Delo 400 XSP 5W40? No, I really haven't seen a difference. It's all in how much one wants to spend.
I was at tractor supply the other day for a few things so I checked the oil isle while I was there. Surprisingly they were well stocked with diesel oil for once. Rotella was actually the cheapest name brand in stock. The price of Delo and Valvoline has jumped way up where they used to be cheaper than Rotella.
When rotella is on clearance I’ll buy. Harvest King oil gets my $$ though as much cheaper.
Wish Travelor had a 5-40. HK not available around here.
Better pricing maybe?
I have nothing against Rotella, but I think one could use pretty much any diesel oil out there now with no ill effects as long as it is changed at the correct interval. I've used Rotella for years, still have some on the shelf in my garage, but I wouldn't seek it out over any of the other brands, especially because they don't seem as competitively priced as before.
dnewton3
Staff member
Proof? Where's the UOAs to back this up? And how much do other oils shear in these genset apps? I believe this is anecdotal at best.
Moreso than that of Delo, Delvac or VPB? Just what is it that is "misleading" in the Rotella marketing?
It's market priced. Not any more expensive than the competitors like Delo, Delvac, VPB and others. There will always be regional sales pushes, and national rebates, for all brands. But overall, the market pricing of Rotella isn't any higher or lower than it's competitors in a long-term sense.
SOPUS has been the same group it has been for decades. Ashland isn't American owned any longer. XOM has been a global company for years, too. What's your point here?
What's not OK about it, at worst?
It's a good product. But not any more than other grp III products.
This may be true; I have no basis to make a judgement.
Maybe by some. But no more disliked than other brands by other folks. It's all about brand loyalty. Show me a dissatisfied customer for brand X and I'll find you a satisfied customer for brand X. It's rarely objective; typically subjective.
Define "better", and then prove it using objective data (not bench-racing claims and rhetoric).
Your "opinion" seems, overall, very tainted and pointed. I see a lot of claims in your statements, but not a shred of proof.
I've got close to 30,000 UOAs in my database. I see no evidence that the Rotella products are any better or worse, in a large marco-data sense, than any other comparable product. While there will always be anecdotal examples of success and failure, the overall market shows favorable performance from most brands, and it's darn near impossible to find a statistically distinguishable and discernible difference between them in most applications.
The "dislike" you speak of is based on the same sense of poorly defined parameters and lack of proof that exists for and against just about any brand.
your whole reply goes a long way towards reinforcing my opinion that motor oils in a given classification with similar certifications about the similarly, so price is probably the smartest way to go about choosing a motor oil as the rest of it makes so little difference it just doesn't matter.
I’ll add availability to this. Price alone is not enough. It’s nice to be able to source a product at a good price but if it has to be ordered online and waited for it doesn’t feel quite as good as walking into Walmart, Sams or just about any parts store and have it sitting on the shelf. I know it’s probably a regional thing but it’s (Rotella) available everywhere around here and it’s the lowest price also.
It’s also recommended by the manufacturer of my vehicle. I’m sure if it wasn’t up to muster it wouldn’t have the approvals it carries.
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I've been using mostly 5w40 Rotella going on 20 years.
No complaints.
I'd maybe switch to Delo XSP 5W40, but it's expensive.
Some of my stuff takes 10-12 gallons, so even at $22 a gallon it's not a cheap oil change.
No complaints.
I'd maybe switch to Delo XSP 5W40, but it's expensive.
Some of my stuff takes 10-12 gallons, so even at $22 a gallon it's not a cheap oil change.
I get it through Amazon for way cheap than locally.
Sounds like you met two idiots. I’ve met people who told me riding a motorcycle in gear is more dangerous than regular clothes because that “nylon slides too easily and you end up hitting things”. Far more ditch diggers than neurosurgeons on this planet.
I dont hate Rotella, looks like a great oil. But for what it costs up here, I can get what looks like an equally good oil, cheaper and one that is made locally.
1. Yes I have UOA’s. I was involved in a lawsuit over it. I’ve also been involved with many other Rotella shearing issues. I do have some pictures of main bearings from a major bus line that had several Rotella failures. As we went through a tear down there.
2. It’s pretty clear to me their marketing is misleading. It might not be to you, but that’s marketing. Everyone sees it differently.
3. If you call that market priced, you’re in need of more market pricing research. As, I don’t think it’s anywhere in normal market price vs quality. (Exception being T6.)
4. If you think SOPUS has been the same group for decades, then who’s still there in their lubricants department these days? Everyone I know has jumped ship and moved on. I could name names, but I prefer not to Dox people. And it’s also frowned upon on this site.
5. This is the internet. Welcome to opinions. We all have them. I have my proof, it would require me to opsec myself, and to reveal alot of the inner workings I see in the lubricants business.
6. I’m glad you have 30,000 samples in your database. We do that in a few months between all our oil analysis labs. Whether it’s Predictive, Polaris, what we send to majors, what we send to blenders, etc. Let alone the tens of thousands of retains we have. Both VoA and UoA retains.
7. It seems like you’re tainted too, coming out and attacking an opinion. Pretty foul way to converse overall, in my opinion. If you wanted to have a conversation, I could support my opinion. But you don’t, you want to attack and try to flex your 30,000 samples or what not. Congratulations, I’m glad you have those. That’s very good, oil analysis is great. More people should do it.
This is strictly my opinion on the product. Which is what OP asked for. Take it for what it’s worth. This is the internet.
Edit: Much to many people’s dismays, I don’t hate SOPUS. The other side of my family is the largest SOPUS joint venture in the U.S. We have also purchased 9? Shell distributors in 20 years.
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