As you well know oils have changed and with the older engines we need our ZDDP, many rodders have used Shell Rotella Diesel which is toward the bottom on this comparison.Take your time and read the whole article for a real oil education the chart showing the brands is at the bottom http://www.turbodieselregister.com/TDR57_Oil.pdf
Thanks for posting this Jeff! Looks like I need to find me some of that ***mins oil... Or maybe NAPA Universal fleet plus.
Jeff when was this test done ? Does it tell you at all ? Reason is I read a different article in a hotrod/car magazine last year (don't remember) that said they tested all theses oils and so on . They said that the Valvoline was just border line acceptable along with Rotella . The article also said NOT to use any diesel oils because of the cleaners that's in the oil . That's not good for engines from what I was told . Still a very interesting article . Just asking . Jim
Jim,That's why you really have to spend some time reading this in detail as you can compare the amounts of detergents and the other chemicals contained in the oil before you make a choice,looking at this from a common sense point of view I would think having a clean engine internally is a good thing to a point, if you select one of these for a new build the higher detergent should not be an issue providing it is not excessively high.Now if we were to switch oils on a 50,000 mile plus engine you should look for a lower detergent rating and gradually wean it.
It's funny how this page and the FordBarn seem to have the same topics at times. For you folks in the states you have a plethora of products to choose from. Why not use oil that is designed for 4 stroke engines and not worry about all this diesel stuff. Castrol oils have synthetic oil formulated for cl***ic cars. Check this link. http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915470&contentId=7032644 Regards
re: It's funny how this page and the FordBarn seem to have the same topics at times rick55 it's because some of us belong to both, but use other names on different forums. Not all FordBarners have '52-'56 Fords, so they wouldn't be in this group on the HAMB. Ron
The reason I ask how old it was , is because these companies change their oils from years to years trying to make one better than the other . If this was lets say 3 or 5 years old it may not be the correct mixes in the same oil as we can buy off the shelf today . If I did read the article correctly , this was done in the year of 2007 which would make this test 5 years old , correct ? With all the EPA and tree huggers complaining about all the pollutants from the gas , oil and so on that we send in the air each year , new regulations keep changing them all the time . That's was why I asked when this was issued . To compare different oils and consider what each oil has that might better benefit an engine , I would really want something that was current and recent to compare them to , wouldn't you ? Also the only other thing that I would consider is , with so many different oils on the market , wouldn't really be best to have ALL the oils on the market tested that we can buy on the list to make a good choice and not be bias to just a few . With just a small percentage of oils they used on that list , it doesn't give us a complete opportunity to get the best results of oil for our engine . There are many oils that in certain parts of the country you just will not find on a shelf to buy . That's why I question some of these tests done by independent companies . They only pick and choose a few different oils to test when we can walk into a store and see 20 more different kinds on the shelves . It's really crazy with all the different kinds of oils I see on the shelves and worst of all , it confuses the public on which oil to use for what car or engine . I have looked on the back of the oil containers before and it's crazy to what it says . Some even go as far as what car or engine and years to use the oils for . Like I said before , it's a very interesting and educational article ! Jim
There is an important fact I need to point out in the article,some of the oils rated at the bottom are actually better for older gas powered engines if the detergent level is too high that can cause lifter wear as noted in the article.The detergent is the TBN rating and the Cali*** content based on that from the list compare the Rotella T with a TBN of 8.77 and Calcium of 2488 to the Delo 400 the TBN is 7.82 and Calcium is 1593 and still has a healthy ZDDP.Now several recent oils like Joe Gibbs and Brad Penn preach the ZDDP on their websites but do not list the breakdown of components as in this article.
I totally agree with you on that point . A lot of these oil companies don't want to give away their bread down for reason that someone will copy it and undersell them . I can see the point of that . I would think you could find out someway though maybe the EPA or a place like that . I am sure they have to register the complete bread down in Calf. if it's sold there . I still say if you buy the regular older oils we used for many years , NOT synthenic , and add a bottle of ZDDP to our oil , we should be just find with the protection . Heck our engines lasted this long with people using the cheapest junk they could find so we should be OK . One thing to remember is the synthenic oils aren't good for flat tap engines since they are so thing and don't leave ea thick enough film for our bearing to ride on . That's the part I watch out and tell people the most not to use and stay away from . I have read a few articles about that as well . A good 10-30w or 10-40w oil should work fine with the ZDDP additive . If you trust an certain oil with zinc then use that . Seems like no 2 comparisons from different companies doing these tests ever come out the same ! So who's oil do you trust with you baby ? Jim
I asked the guys from H and H flatheads and they told me a 30w with zinc additive is what I should use in my flatty so I get valvoline 30w and put in a zinc additive and seems to work for me . but great info with this chart thanks for all the reasearch you guys are great.
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