Rotella...an interesting conversation with a former Shell Exec. - Ducati.ms

Ironbutt270 · Nov 11th, 2010, 2:35 pm

I put this in the "oil room" as I thought you might find it interesting. Not suggesting it's good, bad or trying to get anyone to try any brand of oil, however I recommend that you run OIL...lol...

At any rate, about two years ago a former CFO level exec left Shell and came to my (former) company. I had an opportunity to chat with him over dinner one night about motorsports and eventually the topic turned to oil. Long story short, he told me over the last several years Shell had started to formulate a few "universal packages" primarily due to cost in producing and maintaining so many SKU's. He said the lack of Shell motorcycle oil in the states was marketing based and that the same oil/very similar product could be bought here under different names. We changed conversation at that point.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned that Rotella now sports a JASO MA rating...facinating. Not sure why they did that, and did it quietly (or maybe I missed it) but the former CEO's story sounds like it may have some merit...

FWIW...

steverparker · Feb 8th, 2011, 8:26 pm

That may be all the evidence i need to switch to rotella

Red-line · Feb 8th, 2011, 11:47 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by steverparker

That may be all the evidence i need to switch to rotella

Yes, the new Rotella T6 carries the JASO MA rating.

steverparker · Feb 9th, 2011, 6:28 am

yes I understand that, i would check it before i bought it.

ZDM · Feb 10th, 2011, 10:41 am

Funny you mentioned T6 as it's been a hot topic on almost all the motorcycle specific portals from CBR to Goldwing to Triumph boards....it's available locally here at Autozone..

**Chuckracer** · Feb 10th, 2011, 4:08 pm

It's available everywhere.

People just don't wanna hear they don't have to buy designer oil for their designer bikes.

Nothing has changed in Rotella oil 'cept the testing certification.

"Some manufacturers recommend JASO-MA certified oil. AMSOil and Golden Spectro are JASO-MA certified. Some people consider this important. Interestingly, although Honda recommends a JASO-MA oil, Honda oil is not JASO-MA certified. Mostly JASO-MA is pretty much equivalent to SH. In fact, the JASO spec is mostly a reaction to the decrease in zinc-phosphates in SJ and SL oils, and the added molybdenum disulfide in energy conserving oils. Personally, I don't care about JASO standards - they're really not on my radar."

All About Motor Oil

tonered · Feb 10th, 2011, 4:33 pm

It is just good that a motorcycle rated oil can be bought for less than boutique dollars. Hell, with this info, I may just do a mid-cycle oil change to use up my M1 15w-15 and swap over to T6.

Have a good one.

Ducoddy-SS · Feb 15th, 2011, 10:38 pm

I just drained the oil and replaced the filter in my 900SS and plan to put a gallon of the T6 in tomorrow...And I will probably use it in my ST3 next...
Mike

drewworm · Feb 16th, 2011, 12:01 pm

I have a question: What makes the used oil so black?

I have many vehicles and the oil is always the blackest black when I drain it.

2003 F350 Superduty: Rotella (non-syn) every 7500 miles.
2000 Astro Van: No-name oil (non-syn) every 3000 miles.
2008 Ford Expedition: Mobil 1 syn every 7500 miles.
KTM XC 450: Motorex syn every 5 hours (this is the only oil that has a more greenish tinge than black). This oil appears very dirty but I attribute it to the fact the KTM transmission/clutch and motor share the oil.
Ducati 999: Motul syn every 2000 miles. Bike is new to me. 1st oil change oil was black.

The Ford Expedition is brand new to me and since Wifey drives stop and go with no HWY use I figured I'd go with Mobil 1 for what I consider more protection from the very first oil change. I honestly expected the oil to look "pretty" when I drained it. Nope....BLACK.

So what I didn't read in the attached oil information article (which was very enlightening) is why the oil would get so black. The fact that all my oil from various vehicles, with various oil types, and various change intervals leads me to believe the oils "look" pretty much the same. Is the black appearance proof the oil life is used up? Should I shorten intervals on all these vehicles?

SteveM · Jun 20th, 2011, 7:32 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by drewworm

I have a question: What makes the used oil so black?
...

The fact that all my oil from various vehicles, with various oil types, and various change intervals leads me to believe the oils "look" pretty much the same. Is the black appearance proof the oil life is used up? Should I shorten intervals on all these vehicles?

Motor oil contains advanced polymers that darken with repeated heating cycles. It's added to modern formulations to make you worry about your oil and to cause you to change your oil earlier than you would if it didn't darken. This formulation technique was actually started in the 60's when Harleys and Triumph's dominated the market so that they could "mark their territory" with more authority. Anybody who remembers those days remembers the dark puddles of oil that defined a motorcycle parking place.

Obviously, I'm jerkin your chain. Oils turn dark from combustion byproducts that blow by the rings and around the valve seals. It's normal and really doesn't have much affect on the lubrication properties of the oil. Diesels are particularly bad about blackening their oil. I had a Mercedes Benz diesel that would turn a new change of oil black in a few hundred miles. If black oil was a detriment, diesel engines wouldn't last 20K miles.