Yeah, I run Rotella HD-30 in some small engines. They really like it. I might try the 5W-40 Synthetic Rotella this summer.

 

Not sure about gas engines, but I personally wouldn`t use Rotella-T. Every (diesel) engine I`ve ever tore into that had Rotella in it was filled with sludge. I hate that stuff... If you`re going to use a diesel oil use Chevron Delo-400 or Valvoline 15w40 would be my suggestion, but that`s just my .02

 

I don't know of any reason not to use diesel oil in a gas engine. The way I understand it, special oil is need for Diesel engines to help with the soot. From what I've seen, Rotella isn't very well thought of in the diesel community. I run Delo-400 in my Mercedes Diesel. I run Castrol in my gasoline engines (usually 20w-50 or 10w-40).

 

Agreed, I run it also in my 06 Suzuki LT-R450. Also ran it in my truck after I did the plenum, no effects. I believe it is about $3.50 a quart, 12 dollars for a full gallon. The idea behind the Rotella, is like Purpl said, it is high in zinc, similar to amsoil, but much cheaper. It is really good for tappet engines (Single or Overhead cam engines). ATP racing engines, which is a well known engine builder in the Motocross world, swears by Shell Rotella T 15w-40, and says it has the least amount of breakdown on their race motors. Go figure, but it is good oil. With that said, I still think I am going to switch back to Mobil 1 and Lucas oil treatment next oil change and stay with that.

If you want to run it, by all means go for it, no ill effects what so ever and you'll have money to spare.

 

I don't know where you got your intel, and maybe you're only looking at the import diesel community, but where I'm from, Rotella is the standard for over the road trucks and 3/4- 1 ton trucks.


The only reason I run Rotella is the fact that we buy it in 55 gallon drums what with all the other diesels living here. I have noticed no gain or loss in the performance, but I feel more comfortable in the summer time using that 40 weight. In the winter time, with lows getting to -10 or so, the motor will be a little slow to start, but that is to be expected. That's another reason why I keep up with my battery in the winter as well.

Now, we have torn down several diesel motors that ran nothing but Rotella since they were purchased new. With religious oil changes, the internals had very little sludge. This brings me to my next point. I don't care what oil you use or what sludge fighting additive you use along with your oil, the only way you can fight sludge is if you change your oil on a regular basis. If you take a motor and run it 3-4K over it's oil change schedule, then you will have sludge.

 

I`m not gonna argue with the fact that people swear by Rotella-T... I`m just saying that tractors that use Superlube 518, Farmoyl, Delo-400, or Valvoline are generally spotless when I tear them down. Maybe that`s because Rotella is cheap and the guys who are too cheap to regularly change oil are the ones who run it. But, everytime we service an engine we`ve rebuilt that had sludge in it before was spotless after we told the farmer to switch oils. So I guess that`s where my insight comes from, my personal experience with it...

 

Couple of things on this. I did some reading on this when I got my HS Rockers because you need to soak them in an oil high in Zinc before install. Through my reasearch I found that:

A: Rotella 15-40 is better for flat tappet cams than regular oil, only issue being the cat

B: They were pulling the Zinc out of most all oils due to "greener" community.

http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/gar...-oil-gone.html

 

my boss always uses Mobil Delvac 15w 40, never had a problem

 

I've been running Wal-Mart Supertech 10w-30 or 40 full syn. for 300,000 K in mine.I change it at 3-6 k, and it's still clear. Good stuff, and cheap.

 

with the oil being clear, that means its not cleaning the inside of the motor....you want dark oil after 3K or whatever....