Why Rotella T6 over a Euro 0w-40?

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lukejo

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Just curious, I don't run either in my vehicles...but why do so many on here run T6 in their gassers, when there are several Euro 0w-40 options. i understand T6 is a great oil, and I guess it is easily acquired more cheaply, but it seems that those who run it do so because they are wanting many of the characteristics of a Euro oil.
Just trying to learn...because I don't know.
 
Folks here argue often wrt to HDEO effect on gas cats - I'd only point out those tend to be expensive to replace yet one of the last warranties to expire ... it is just a matter of probability vs consequences ... (and hard to measure either) ...

I'd favor NOACK on GDI engines...
 
Over on the Kia/Hyundai forums/FB pages, there are many who run T6 5W-40 but who don't understand that this oil is not for gas engines and is NOT recommended by Shell to run in our DI turbo engines (many have asked). It's just a bad idea and due to the very different add pack in it, can lead to deposits and sludge (lots of fuel dilution and blow-by in our engines). It does NOT meet Kia's up-to-date oil requirements published in a TSB and I think might very well result in denied warranty claims.

In the RIGHT application, I'm sure it is a great oil!
 
Originally Posted By: WhizkidTN
Over on the Kia/Hyundai forums/FB pages, there are many who run T6 5W-40 but who don't understand that this oil is not for gas engines and is NOT recommended by Shell to run in our DI turbo engines (many have asked). It's just a bad idea and due to the very different add pack in it, can lead to deposits and sludge (lots of fuel dilution and blow-by in our engines). It does NOT meet Kia's up-to-date oil requirements published in a TSB and I think might very well result in denied warranty claims.

In the RIGHT application, I'm sure it is a great oil!


Per Shell, it carries gas approvals.
http://rotella.shell.com/products/t6-ful...t6-brochure.pdf

Hyundai is very lenient with their oil specs so honestly I don't see there being an issue with running an API SM xxw40 oil.
 
OP for your application, I don't think you'd see a difference in performance or end results if you were to use the 0w40 vs. the T6. The T6 will be a bit thicker.. that is about it. At normal prices, they seem to be pretty dang close too. $21 for a gallon of T6 vs. $25 for a 5 quart jug of a 0w40.

As I said above, T6 is gas rated so you won't hurt your cats either. I guess if you had a very bad oil consumption issue it would, but you'd have that with any oil.
 
T6 over one of the euro oils.... I'd be hard-pressed to imagine a real performance difference.

T6 bottles are labeled API SM and JASO MA/MA2, so let's not get too panicked about its use in gasoline engines. I think of it as a fleet oil rather than diesel-specific.
 
I take my own oil to the Hyundai dealership and watch them pour it in. My invoice only mentions a generic either, "synthetic or non-synthetic oil and filter change". Nothing about the oil i brought in. As a matter of fact, when i bring in 0W-40, the Technician says, "wow, you use the good stuff." Lol.
 
Originally Posted By: WhizkidTN
Over on the Kia/Hyundai forums/FB pages, there are many who run T6 5W-40 but who don't understand that this oil is not for gas engines and is NOT recommended by Shell to run in our DI turbo engines (many have asked). It's just a bad idea and due to the very different add pack in it, can lead to deposits and sludge (lots of fuel dilution and blow-by in our engines). It does NOT meet Kia's up-to-date oil requirements published in a TSB and I think might very well result in denied warranty claims.

In the RIGHT application, I'm sure it is a great oil!


Check out half a dozen or so UOAs/VOAs of Euro spec forty grade PCMOs and 5W-40 dual-rated HDEOs and then come back and explain how their add packs are "very different".
Oh, I guess they really aren't.
If T6 is "NOT" for gas engines, then why do you suppose SOPUS goes to the trouble of licensing it as an API SM?
To the OP, T6 is beloved of the turbo Subie crowd but it is no cheaper per quart than any Euro cert forty grade you'll find on an adjacent shelf.
Personally, if I wanted to run a forty grade synthetic, I'd select a Euro spec PCMO from Valvoline, XOM or Castrol although I have run Rotella 5W-40 in the past, when it used to be the cheapest syn on the shelf at Walmart.
 
Thought T6 was like a 12.6 NOACK and 160ish VI ? Has it become better than that ?
Not sure why Shell would want it to compete with their own flagship PCMO's ...
 
Originally Posted By: WhizkidTN
Over on the Kia/Hyundai forums/FB pages, there are many who run T6 5W-40 but who don't understand that this oil is not for gas engines and is NOT recommended by Shell to run in our DI turbo engines (many have asked). It's just a bad idea and due to the very different add pack in it, can lead to deposits and sludge (lots of fuel dilution and blow-by in our engines). It does NOT meet Kia's up-to-date oil requirements published in a TSB and I think might very well result in denied warranty claims.

In the RIGHT application, I'm sure it is a great oil!
So what does the SM rating mean?
 
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Originally Posted By: njohnson
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
If I could find it in a 5W30 locally I'd use it in my E-150.


Shell is coming out with the 5W-30.

The question is what retailers and stores are going to carry it.

http://rotella.shell.com/products/shell-...heavy-duty.html


I saw they're coming out with it. I'm hoping it isn't going to be like the elusive PU 5w30 to track down. I'd like to try it in my older van to see how it stacks up against the PU 5w30 I've been using in it.
 
We run it because we like it
smile.gif


Next ...
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
So what does the SM rating mean?


American Petroleum Institute standards on oils for gasoline engines. SM was the top rating prior to the current SN rating. There are a few HDEO oils that also meet the newer SN gas rating.
 
M1 0w40 was factory fill in my 02 saab, I ran it for a very long time. Most of the saab tuners as well as much of the community run rt6. Upon one oci rt6 was actually cheaper the m1-0w40 (m1 is almost always cheaper per oci) while running the rt6 I noticed the engine was quieter and seemed smoother.

A month or so before switching I had to replace the valve cover gasket and got a good look at the timing chain, cams and head. Not too long after this a uoa came back indicating some very minor coolant contamination of the oil. I swapped oils not too long after this oci but not because of it. Quite a few oci later and I pull the head off and notice it being much cleaner than last time. Its all relative/subjective but that as well as rt6 being slightly heavier and the saab 2.3 known for having low oil pressure are some of the reasons I've stuck with the slightly more expensive oil.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Folks here argue often wrt to HDEO effect on gas cats - I'd only point out those tend to be expensive to replace yet one of the last warranties to expire ... it is just a matter of probability vs consequences ... (and hard to measure either) ...


Of course, if the engine does not burn any oil, then the whole "HDEO effect on cats" is pretty much moot.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Originally Posted By: WhizkidTN
Over on the Kia/Hyundai forums/FB pages, there are many who run T6 5W-40 but who don't understand that this oil is not for gas engines and is NOT recommended by Shell to run in our DI turbo engines (many have asked). It's just a bad idea and due to the very different add pack in it, can lead to deposits and sludge (lots of fuel dilution and blow-by in our engines). It does NOT meet Kia's up-to-date oil requirements published in a TSB and I think might very well result in denied warranty claims.

In the RIGHT application, I'm sure it is a great oil!


Per Shell, it carries gas approvals.
http://rotella.shell.com/products/t6-ful...t6-brochure.pdf

Hyundai is very lenient with their oil specs so honestly I don't see there being an issue with running an API SM xxw40 oil.



Where do you see "gas" approvals in that T6 PDF from Shell?
It does have Diesel approvals but not gas ones (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Additionally, on those aforementioned Kia/Hyundai forums, they talked directly with a Shell Chemical Engineer and he flatly stated it was not for our gas engines and recommended several other Shell products.
 
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