Originally Posted By: Sledge_Hammer
Originally Posted By: dnewton3
Originally Posted By: Sledge_Hammer
Originally Posted By: dnewton3
Sledge_Hammer ....
First
Now, understand that you've opened up the hornets nest; I'm sure you'll agree. You seem to already have a preconceived notion here. I'd like to use that against you in a manner which may make you feel uncomfortable at first.
Let me ask you this:
What does "best" mean to you?
Best wearing?
Best cost?
Best ROI?
Best other what???
Until you define "best", in a much clearer and more detailed manner, you'll never get what you seek, because you really don't know what you're after.
I would recommend this approach ...
- Investigate several contenders using UOAs. Take the entire fleet, and run them all on one lube of your choice. Use the engines to first establish a baseline of understanding. Get your data together and do some macro analysis; looking at the set as a whole.
- Then, experiment with a different lube; do the UOAs again.
- Yet again, try some more, and UOA.
- It will take some time and money to find out what you want to know
I would state that the "best" oil is that which gives the longest OCIs AND sustains your desired wear rates. (You'll need to set condemnation limits for both totals and rates).
The reality is that not one person here can tell you what is "best", because it has yet to be discovered. Only by testing will a "best" oil come out of hiding.
There are two ways to manage your maintenance plan
1) to a predetermined time/distance (hours/miles); this approach can be "safe" when set conservatively, but offers a great opportunity for waste
2) to a condemnation limit (wear metal totals; wear metal rates, FP, Vis, etc); this approach takes time and understanding, but can pay for itself easily via savings AND healthy equipment, if managed properly
There are a LOT of great oils out there; many already mentioned. There is no "best" that we can recommend, despite all the marketing hype you'll see and opinions you'll read. There are times when synthetics can pay for the extra cost; many times they cannot. Syns are best utilized in very long OCIs and uber cold temps. Hot temps are not a major concern; if your cooling systems are up to par, then the engine oil should never get hot enough to warrant using a syn. Syns can help in the heat if your system is compromised; but that's a crutch you should not lean on for very long, or disaster will ensue. In some conditions, syns cannot stop things from failing; they can only deter the inevitable. However, if you're equipment is well maintained and your engines have no design flaws, then conventional lubes will do a fine job.
The "best" oil is the one that satisfies your criteria. The better you define it, the more you'll be happy with the result.
Start by reading this:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/used-oil-analysis-how-to-decide-what-is-normal/
Thanks!
yup, hornets nest...... lol
you are prolly right on doing all that, but there are soooo many variables in what we run on each truck that while it might give me some guidelines, i don't think it would be all that accurate. Filtration is different between the all the trucks, some of double cab side filters, some double single under the hood filters. some trucks will be in the city most of one oil change, some will be out in the oil field etc....
so, that is why I came on here.... What I mean by best is one the reduces wear the most, thus giving me the longest engine life. Down time is expensive and so is rebuilding engines.
You have "soooo many variables" to track, but somehow think a one-size-fits-all oil exists?
You don't think UOAs will be accurate, but are waiting for the opinions here to synergistically congeal into one cohesive agreement?
You clearly want the unicorn to prance into your maintenance garage and excrete the magic lube.
No problem ...
I'll tell you what the "best" oil is ( ... but don't tell anyone else, because it's a secret we only tell our "best" friends .... )
It's the most expensive synthetic you can find, changed every 3k miles.
Good luck in your endeavors.
well that's being a bit of a smart alack......
no, don't want no unicorn, just want what peoples opines are on the best for what we are doing and/or what the tests show, as I cannot find any direct comparison tests.
I listed what oils we use also in hopes that someone that knows would say "the tests on Mobile 1 is really good, bad or indifferent, same for the rotella T6.
You wanted a sincere response; that's the first response I gave you.
You indicated that you were going to ignore the salient advice, and stay on the path of opinions.
You got a terse response from me. What did you expect? We all have opinions; mine is that you're not really interested in facts as much as opinions that are going to coincide with your own.
There are two ways to approach this:
a) analyze your situation fully with science
b) guess at it with a flurry of mythology and rhetoric
Would this be any different that if you asked:
- What's the "best" toothpaste? (there are different ones based on whitining, sensitive teeth, etc)
- What's the "best" stereo speaker? (outdoor, indoor, size constraints, room size, listening preferences, power available from amp, etc)
- What's the "best" rifle? (target, large game, small game, varmits, accuracy, recoil, type of bolt action, weight for carry, etc)
- What's the "best" athletic shoe? (type of sport, fit to foot, preference of materials, etc)
Sir (making a gender presumption here), you must realize that your have already indicated you have a slew of different application considerations; what makes you believe there is a one-size-fits-all "best" oil?????
You are sorely mistaken if you believe this to be true. You define "best" as the least wear ... to know that, you're going to have to test the conditions. Again - READ THE ARTICLE I linked. You have to be able to describe/define/display what "normal" is, so that you can accurately identify any product that would cause a positive or negative shift in wear trend data. UNTIL YOU DO THIS, YOU ARE ON A WILD GUESSING CAMPAIGN. To know what is "best" wearing, you need hard data with long term results. The knowledge of "best" is NOT going to come cheaply or easily. But that is how YOU defined "best", so I gave you the answer on what to do.
Now, there are plenty of really good oils, all that will more that do the job of protecting your engines. The reality is that any decent CJ-4 or CK-4 is going to do everything your engines need; good wear control, appreciable cleaning abilities, aid in cooling, etc. That's what oils do.
The difference between "best" and "darn good enough" is the time/money it takes to make a selection. "Best" wearing will take a LOT of time and money to really understand how each engine performs, with the filters being used, and severity factors, etc. But "darn good enough" can be easily had by just choosing a well respected brand name oil and following the OEM OFCI plan. No fleet operator ever lived or died, was hired or fired, simply because of a lube brand choice. You are putting WAY too much importance into this. "Best" oils can be found, but it takes a huge amount of investment to get there. However, really good service can come easily, inexpensively, and quickly just by choosing a API licensed lube that fits the application(s). Not one of us here (at least anyone who is honest) can tell you what is "best" at this point, because you've only given us a short list of your desires. What we can help you with, should you choose to actually use facts and data, is decipher your UOAs AFTER you get plenty of data for use to go through. In the shadow of lacking data, it's all just a SWAG. We cannot tell you which oil is "best" because we have no data to go on. What we can do (and many already have) is give you a list of many competent lubes that will do a very good job, not break the bank, and be easily attained all while providing a more-than-acceptable wear rate.
Please spend some time looking over the HDEO diesel UOA section. You'll hopefully understand after spending some time there.
First read this:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/1664795/%22What_oil_should_I_use?__#Post1664795
Then read this again (if you even took the time to read it the first time I suggested it)
https://bobistheoilguy.com/used-oil-analysis-how-to-decide-what-is-normal/
Get the point I'm making? If you do, you'll do UOAs; that is the "best" advice you can take away from this.
If you don't get the point, then just label me a "
smart alack" and I wish you the best.
