rotella t6

[Biged243]

so I am bored and I ventured onto the b6/7 s4 board and came across this thread about rotella t6 and new studies/tests on it

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/627837-Oil-talk-Rotella-T6-is-not-that-good-after-all

If you don't want to read the forum post but wanna see the test results compared to newer formula oils here's the link

http://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

[p0isin]

Lots of people (including me) run rotella t6 on our b7 a4

[FraggyA4]

I'm impressed with the O'Reilly brand and quaker state. Seems like a sweet test, however I'm not sure it's as black and white as he makes it appear in his report. I have seen first hand what running non-synthetic oil in a tdi jetta can do. So many people ended up with failed followers after running non synthetic this could be that the non-synthetics had a lower psi rating if they had been ran in his test not really sure.

However this is very very far from real world results. If you go to TDIclub forum they have a thread that is a compile of thousands of people with blackstone oil results which basically shows you how much your engine is wearing by counting the metals in the oil. After all those results T6 and Mobil 1 have always shown the best wear results. Cool test though but I think I'll continue to run T6 or liquimoly.

If you're worried about engine wear then get your oil tested after every oil change. It can be extremely informative and help you know if anything is prematurely wearing.

[jimrobbington]

Yep, I've run T6 on my car for a while too. Rotella T goes in my motorcycle as well.

[Biged243]

Oh me too I have ran rotella t6 since my first oil change and in my bike when I had it. Like I said I was bored and wanted to share

[fly300kts]

Might be one of the few here but do not like the T6.
I only run Mobil 1 0W40

Phil

[vce1232000]

Might be one of the few here but do not like the T6.
I only run Mobil 1 0W40

Phil
I also run Mobile 1. I ran it since 1984 in my MK1 GTI. Never a problem[up]

[Endmass]

I'm impressed with the O'Reilly brand and quaker state. Seems like a sweet test, however I'm not sure it's as black and white as he makes it appear in his report. I have seen first hand what running non-synthetic oil in a tdi jetta can do. So many people ended up with failed followers after running non synthetic this could be that the non-synthetics had a lower psi rating if they had been ran in his test not really sure.

However this is very very far from real world results. If you go to TDIclub forum they have a thread that is a compile of thousands of people with blackstone oil results which basically shows you how much your engine is wearing by counting the metals in the oil. After all those results T6 and Mobil 1 have always shown the best wear results. Cool test though but I think I'll continue to run T6 or liquimoly.

If you're worried about engine wear then get your oil tested after every oil change. It can be extremely informative and help you know if anything is prematurely wearing.

I've changed a dozen or so of those cams (PD, mostly BEW) It has little to do with the oil.

Installing a PROPER grind of cam, and nitrided lifters and all issues are fixed, regardless of what oils were used in the car's life or afterwards.

My last oil change was liqui-moly, next is most likely going to be t6. I run rotella-t dino in my 1.6d, it seems to like it.



I must note that Rotella-t6 IS NOT a full synthetic, it's a group-III dino.

[ericpaulyoung]

Might be one of the few here but do not like the T6.
I only run Mobil 1 0W40

Phil


Ok . I'll bite. What verifiable data led you to not like T6?

[fly300kts]

Ok . I'll bite. What verifiable data led you to not like T6?

With my setup (Can vented outside):

Higher oil consumption
Much higher volume of smoke escaping the can drain

Phil

[ericpaulyoung]

With my setup (Can vented outside):

Higher oil consumption
Much higher volume of smoke escaping the can drain

Phil

Ok. So personal experience only. I run T6 and no consumption or smoke.

[dalmation53]

Might be one of the few here but do not like the T6.
I only run Mobil 1 0W40

Phil

T6 gives me more throttle response the mobil 1..

[trj]

Never tested oil in my cars. But I have been running Mobil 1 0w40 in both my cars for a long time.
The other cars gulps oil as its born to do so and my B7 doesnt burn any amount between oil changes.

[philip_g]

Ok . I'll bite. What verifiable data led you to not like T6?

because it's not OEM [rolleyes]

[Biged243]

Never tested oil in my cars. But I have been running Mobil 1 0w40 in both my cars for a long time.
The other cars gulps oil as its born to do so and my B7 doesnt burn any amount between oil changes.

I also haven't sent my oil in for test either. My oil consumption is, I have to add a quart every 4k miles or so. I could probably get by with not adding it since I change mine at about 5k. I just don't want to chance it. I think fraggy is right, the test weren't concluded in the real world use. Now is rotella t6 better than everything else. Nope, however not two cars are they same. Even if they are the same make and model with the same engine there are always slight differences between them. As for the oil, there are a lot of great oils out there and if my car didn't like the rotella that much then I would have tried a different oil until I found one that it liked. I am now kinda curious about that castrol oil platinum with titanium in it, or what every they had mentioned. Maybe one day I will try it and see if my car likes it but for now I will stick with rotella.

[philip_g]

I must note that Rotella-t6 IS NOT a full synthetic, it's a group-III dino.

No.
like 4 years ago it was reformulated from group IV based oils. You can find many posts on BITOG.com that mention it.

[ericpaulyoung]

You will be just fine with any modern synthetic.
EPY

[mr larry]

Anybody running Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Pure Plus Technology? Had it in for about 8000 miles now since seeing this site a few months ago. It's ranked #25 on its own (no separate additives) whereas the highest ranked Rotella T6 is at #119.

[Charles.waite]

You will be just fine with any modern synthetic.
EPY

But which oil will make my car run MORE just fine????


Anybody running Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Pure Plus Technology? Had it in for about 8000 miles now since seeing this site a few months ago. It's ranked #25 on its own (no separate additives) whereas the highest ranked Rotella T6 is at #119.

ranked in terms of what?

There is no universal "best oil"...

[FraggyA4]

But which oil will make my car run MORE just fine????



ranked in terms of what?

There is no universal "best oil"...

Ranked in terms of the guys test which basically runs the shit out of oil till it breaks down and he measures the pressure somehow. I'm not quick to jump and say that his test is the one test that rules them all. All engines run differently and the best way to find the best oil for it is to do oil analysis.

[mr larry]

But which oil will make my car run MORE just fine????



ranked in terms of what?

There is no universal "best oil"...

Ranked in terms of the site above which is the whole point of this thread. Seems like the guy put a lot of work into this comprehensively to just dismiss what he did IMHO.

[mr larry]

Ranked in terms of the guys test which basically runs the shit out of oil till it breaks down and he measures the pressure somehow. I'm not quick to jump and say that his test is the one test that rules them all. All engines run differently and the best way to find the best oil for it is to do oil analysis.

The "somehow" is to be found in the link. It is a very long read however.

[FraggyA4]

The "somehow" is to be found in the link. It is a very long read however.

All I know is a lab test only gets you so far for what something can do. As an engineer myself you tend to have a lot of assumptions that cloud what is really happening in real life. I would never take one of my vehicles at work run it on the dyno flash a program and say it's good to be sold be cause on the dyno it showed exactly what the engine should be doing. I always want to go drive it first verify that what the dyno said is correlating with what is happening on the track. Which is usually never perfect but it definitely gets you somewhere in the ball park of what it should be.

Some of the oils may be lower ranked but might be designed for a different environment, mechanical conditions, NVH, or just how the engine feels when its running with it. A lot goes into what oil is chosen for a specific engine and just because it one oil has the best wear properties from this 1 test doesn't mean it's the best suited for your engine. All I know is that most people are never going to reach the wear limit of their oil if they change it regularly and drive "normally". The only place I see this test being useful is on the drag strip where you are pushing the limits of an engine and running way outside the norm on conditions. Always be skeptical of a what someone says, that is the amazing thing about science, nothing is proven until its retested and verified by ones peers.

[mr larry]

All I know is a lab test only gets you so far for what something can do. As an engineer myself you tend to have a lot of assumptions that cloud what is really happening in real life. I would never take one of my vehicles at work run it on the dyno flash a program and say it's good to be sold be cause on the dyno it showed exactly what the engine should be doing. I always want to go drive it first verify that what the dyno said is correlating with what is happening on the track. Which is usually never perfect but it definitely gets you somewhere in the ball park of what it should be.

Some of the oils may be lower ranked but might be designed for a different environment, mechanical conditions, NVH, or just how the engine feels when its running with it. A lot goes into what oil is chosen for a specific engine and just because it one oil has the best wear properties from this 1 test doesn't mean it's the best suited for your engine. All I know is that most people are never going to reach the wear limit of their oil if they change it regularly and drive "normally". The only place I see this test being useful is on the drag strip where you are pushing the limits of an engine and running way outside the norm on conditions. Always be skeptical of a what someone says, that is the amazing thing about science, nothing is proven until its retested and verified by ones peers.

All good points (which he addresses in the link as well). This test, as you said, is only testing the wear protection of these oils. But the important thing to take away from it is that the test compares wear protection on an oil to oil basis...and on top of that he compared 142 different oils and combinations of oils. Has anyone else done that and published the results? To dismiss this test because it's "is only valid on the drag strip" seems to be really really foolish, especially due to this community's battle with cam followers.

Bottom line this is really good data. And until someone does a customized test with 142 different oils that's more applicable to the exact 2.0T operating conditions, I'd consider going with one of the 'Outstanding' oils vs. Rotella T6, which has a 'Modest' rating. It can't hurt, but to each their own.

[FraggyA4]

I'm not dismissing it off as worthless data but to be cautious on just using the best one because his test says one oil is the best. I read through his assumptions just as you did. But not everyone is as deep delving as us and will sometimes jump to the conclusion that the because this test says it's the best then it's the best thing for them when in reality it may not be.

[Mister W]

Running T6 and Castrol SPT 0-40 in the Audi and Volvo. Whatever one is in special. Cant say i saw a difference. Changing at 10 000km.