Fresh from Canada -- Rotella T5 0w40 Blend

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BITOG'ers,

I was in Toronto over the weekend, and stopped at a Canadian Tire on my way back to Ohio. I wanted to check out their oil selection, of course!

I left the store with a 5L jug of Shell Rotella T5 0w40 synthetic blend...don't see that in the US! My intentions were to use it in my wife's '06 Jetta TDI this coming winter (currently using RT6 5w40 all year).

Upon closer inspection of the bottle, I see that this oil is CF / CG-4 / CF-4 / SJ Certified. Those are pretty old certifications -- my question is -- should I hesitate before using this in my wife's 2006 Jetta TDI this winter?

Thanks,
Matt
 
Nope. Rotella oils are top-notch.

This isn't a blend, it's a full-syn - the T5 10W-40 is a blend, AFAIK.
 
Originally Posted By: Matt_N
BITOG'ers,

I was in Toronto over the weekend, and stopped at a Canadian Tire on my way back to Ohio. I wanted to check out their oil selection, of course!

I left the store with a 5L jug of Shell Rotella T5 0w40 synthetic blend...don't see that in the US! My intentions were to use it in my wife's '06 Jetta TDI this coming winter (currently using RT6 5w40 all year).

Upon closer inspection of the bottle, I see that this oil is CF / CG-4 / CF-4 / SJ Certified. Those are pretty old certifications -- my question is -- should I hesitate before using this in my wife's 2006 Jetta TDI this winter?

Thanks,
Matt


AFIAK only CI-4+ and CJ-4 API oils have been used in PD TDIs. You would be in uncharted waters using a CG-4 oil.
 
I also would not use it in your wife's PD. Nor would I use Mobil 1 0w40, several cars running it on TDIClub have succumbed to the dreaded cam/lifter wear.

I'd continue using T6 or one of the other excellent CJ-4 synthetic 5w40 oils out there - Mobil 1 TDT, Schaeffer 9000, Amsoil DEO, Red Line, etc...
 
[censored]. Any suggestions for what I do with this stuff? It was $40, and I kinda can't return it now ;-).

Would you put it into a 2002 BMW 525iT with the M54 motor?

I was so excited when I bought it...didn't look at the API certs. Haha.
 
Originally Posted By: Matt_N
[censored]. Any suggestions for what I do with this stuff? It was $40, and I kinda can't return it now ;-).

Would you put it into a 2002 BMW 525iT with the M54 motor?

I was so excited when I bought it...didn't look at the API certs. Haha.


Does BMW allow API SJ oil in it?

You could sell it on BITOG....rare item here in the US
laugh.gif
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
This isn't a blend, it's a full-syn - the T5 10W-40 is a blend, AFAIK.


I believe it's a blend, at least it pretty much says so on the bottle. The T5 0w-40 says synthetic technology or something to that effect, while the T6 5w-40 says full synthetic.
 
As far as I understand the marketing approach, all the T-5 products are "blends" (meaning semi-syn in our BITOG world). If it says T-5 on the label, it's semi-syn.
 
Originally Posted By: Matt_N
Would you put it into a 2002 BMW 525iT with the M54 motor?


I would, without hesitation or worry. The double VANOS system might not like it - although they seem to work fine on Mobil 1 0w40, so who knows.
 
I checked the BMW owner's manual today. They spec the BMW Synth 5w-30 (of course), but otherwise only mention using an API SH 5w30 or 5w40 when that is not available. No mention of BMW LL-01 or ACEA A3/B3 in the owner's manual...kinda surprised me.

I think I'll try the T5 0w40 in the BMW this winter and see how it does. Last winter I ran M1 0w40 and sustained quite a bit of fuel dilution and visc loss (ended up in the mid 11's @ 100C). We'll see if this does any better...more than likely it's just my driving cycle. Frequent short trips don't help. Maybe an HDEO will better cope with fuel...
 
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