Why is Rotella only available in strange weights?
- Thread starter grampi
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Rotella is an HDEO, mixed fleet oil where those "oddball" viscosities are prescribed and normal. It isn't a designed or marketed for passenger car and light truck gas engines. Shell does make oil for those applications in the "Formula" line.
It is primarily a diesel oil; the target market doesn't warrant a wide range of viscosities.
Rotella comes in 10w30 BTW.
Rotella comes in 10w30 BTW.
Originally Posted By: grampi
Typical motor oil weights are 5w30, 10w30, 10W-40, 20W-50, etc. Rotella comes in 5W-40, 15w40, and other oddball weights. I wonder why they don't make their oils in the typical weights?
Rotella T5 comes in 10w30 and 10w-40 grades.
Typical motor oil weights are 5w30, 10w30, 10W-40, 20W-50, etc. Rotella comes in 5W-40, 15w40, and other oddball weights. I wonder why they don't make their oils in the typical weights?
Rotella T5 comes in 10w30 and 10w-40 grades.
...and 0w30 as well...When I look at the Rotella wall at my UFA, it looks normal to me...
... and, it's one of the few Wal-Mart options for many european cars. (It's not on "the list", but most agree that it's an excellent option.)
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Perhaps chasing the niche market?
That teeny, tiny niche market of Diesel engines
Seriously, part of it is marketing. There are plenty of diesel operators who wouldn't buy a Shell Branded diesel oil, but I'd be willing to bet that nearly every diesel operator in the US has heard of Rotella.
The weights offered meet the demands of Diesel engines, thus the presence of what you consider to be weird weights. 15w40 is more or less the 10w30 of diesel oils. The old standby, so to speak...
Perhaps chasing the niche market?
That teeny, tiny niche market of Diesel engines
Seriously, part of it is marketing. There are plenty of diesel operators who wouldn't buy a Shell Branded diesel oil, but I'd be willing to bet that nearly every diesel operator in the US has heard of Rotella.
The weights offered meet the demands of Diesel engines, thus the presence of what you consider to be weird weights. 15w40 is more or less the 10w30 of diesel oils. The old standby, so to speak...
I'm currently using a Blend of Shell Rotella, Triple Protection, conventional 10w30 and Formula Shell 5w30 conventional all in SM.
The Shell Rotella, Triple Protection, conventional 10w30 is, IMO, hard to find but the Rotella 15w40 in Dino is everywhere here in the NE,along with the Shell Rotella T6 5w40 Full Synthetic and T5, Synthetic blend, 10w30.
It's the Shell Rotella Triple Protection, 10w30 in Dino that is hard to find....IMO....because of the low price and retailers would rather stock the higher priced T5 Synthetic Blend. Who knows how much synthetic is in the blend?
The Shell Rotella, Triple Protection, conventional 10w30 is, IMO, hard to find but the Rotella 15w40 in Dino is everywhere here in the NE,along with the Shell Rotella T6 5w40 Full Synthetic and T5, Synthetic blend, 10w30.
It's the Shell Rotella Triple Protection, 10w30 in Dino that is hard to find....IMO....because of the low price and retailers would rather stock the higher priced T5 Synthetic Blend. Who knows how much synthetic is in the blend?
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Nothing ' strange ' there ?
Now if they came out with 7 1/2 - 32 1/2 ... that would be strange !
BTW is Castrol Syntec strange for coming in 5-40 ?
Now if they came out with 7 1/2 - 32 1/2 ... that would be strange !
BTW is Castrol Syntec strange for coming in 5-40 ?
Originally Posted By: bruno
Nothing ' strange ' there ?
Now if they came out with 7 1/2 - 32 1/2 ... that would be strange !
BTW is Castrol Syntec strange for coming in 5-40 ?
Ok there's still hope for me then. I'm still searching for the "710" grade that's stamped on my filler cap!
Nothing ' strange ' there ?
Now if they came out with 7 1/2 - 32 1/2 ... that would be strange !
BTW is Castrol Syntec strange for coming in 5-40 ?
Ok there's still hope for me then. I'm still searching for the "710" grade that's stamped on my filler cap!
The 710 cap goes by a different name sometimes... I forget which.
Comes from living upside down !
Originally Posted By: grampi
Typical motor oil weights are 5w30, 10w30, 10W-40, 20W-50, etc. Rotella comes in 5W-40, 15w40, and other oddball weights. I wonder why they don't make their oils in the typical weights?
Oil is built for an application. Diesel Trucks usually call for 15W40 or 5W40 Synthetic.
Here is how we got here:
Diesel oils had to be more shear stable with the pressures of cam driven injectors and gear driven cams and water pumps. When the first multis came out for these engines it wasnt possible to make a 10W40 that was stable enough so we ended up with 15W40.
15W40 became short-hand for Diesel Oil in the USA. Many Diesel Engine owners manuals specifically prohibit the use of 10W40 although they may allow the use of 10W30 in winter temps. When Synthetic came along and it was possible to build wider spread oils that were shear stable 5W40 allowed for the "Sidestepping" of the blanket prohibition on 10W40 in owners manuals.
PS Rotella T5 is available in 10W30.
Typical motor oil weights are 5w30, 10w30, 10W-40, 20W-50, etc. Rotella comes in 5W-40, 15w40, and other oddball weights. I wonder why they don't make their oils in the typical weights?
Oil is built for an application. Diesel Trucks usually call for 15W40 or 5W40 Synthetic.
Here is how we got here:
Diesel oils had to be more shear stable with the pressures of cam driven injectors and gear driven cams and water pumps. When the first multis came out for these engines it wasnt possible to make a 10W40 that was stable enough so we ended up with 15W40.
15W40 became short-hand for Diesel Oil in the USA. Many Diesel Engine owners manuals specifically prohibit the use of 10W40 although they may allow the use of 10W30 in winter temps. When Synthetic came along and it was possible to build wider spread oils that were shear stable 5W40 allowed for the "Sidestepping" of the blanket prohibition on 10W40 in owners manuals.
PS Rotella T5 is available in 10W30.
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Originally Posted By: biodiesel
Rotella is available in 0w30, 0w40, 5w40, 10w30, 10w40, 15w40 etc.
If you lived in Canada you would see more of these grades on the shelves. For some reason they are more difficult to find in the States.
I would think that the 0w30 and 0w40 oils are easy to find in Canada because of the extreme cold.
That in mind, there are plenty of places in the USA where using a 0w30 or 0w40 is a smart idea.
Rotella is available in 0w30, 0w40, 5w40, 10w30, 10w40, 15w40 etc.
If you lived in Canada you would see more of these grades on the shelves. For some reason they are more difficult to find in the States.
I would think that the 0w30 and 0w40 oils are easy to find in Canada because of the extreme cold.
That in mind, there are plenty of places in the USA where using a 0w30 or 0w40 is a smart idea.
Another "strange" thing with Rotella, that I found out yesterday, is that the Walmart jug is only 4 qts and costed $20.58, that about $5.15/qt. We've never had any heavy-duty equipment or diesels so this was a first purchase regarding Rotella. I went with the Rotella T6 5W-40 and ended up getting 2 jugs to complete my next oil change. 1 qt was around the 6.50 mark and I feel violated when I've bought individual quarts before. Yeah, yeah, I can hear it now, "You would rather buy a $20 jug than pay an extra $1.35," and I answer, YES. If what is left in the second jug doesn't get used in the next oil change, it will go in something at the house.
Diesel engine oil is commonly sold in gallons, not quarts...gallon jugs or five gallon pails or 55 gallon drums. The prices cancov quoted are about right for a Full Synthetic oil. The conventional 15w40 oil is priced with other dinos.
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: biodiesel
Rotella is available in 0w30, 0w40, 5w40, 10w30, 10w40, 15w40 etc.
If you lived in Canada you would see more of these grades on the shelves. For some reason they are more difficult to find in the States.
I would think that the 0w30 and 0w40 oils are easy to find in Canada because of the extreme cold.
That in mind, there are plenty of places in the USA where using a 0w30 or 0w40 is a smart idea.
I've never seen Rotella in 0wX in the US. I even had my brother look once in Minneapolis -- nothing.
Originally Posted By: biodiesel
Rotella is available in 0w30, 0w40, 5w40, 10w30, 10w40, 15w40 etc.
If you lived in Canada you would see more of these grades on the shelves. For some reason they are more difficult to find in the States.
I would think that the 0w30 and 0w40 oils are easy to find in Canada because of the extreme cold.
That in mind, there are plenty of places in the USA where using a 0w30 or 0w40 is a smart idea.
I've never seen Rotella in 0wX in the US. I even had my brother look once in Minneapolis -- nothing.
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