S13alldayyo

What is your thought on the oil "rotella" 15-40 on a sr20det engine wether it be stock or high 300s to the wheel, just trying to find out if I should stick with Castrol 10 30 with some lucas or just go rotella 15 40


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jr_ss

5w-40 would be better, the T6 offering from Rotella.

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PoorMans180SX

THIS. /Thread. There are about 290348293847239048 threads on oil on the internet, do your own research, and for heaven's sake, don't be cheap when it comes to your engine's lifeblood.

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Mikester

LOL didn't realize these guys were posting- almost said to solicit jr_ss' input since he lives in Failorida

My from the hip thought is that there are fuck-tons of oil-related topics (damn it- someone already said that too haha).

HOWEVER, I'm at work and kinda bored

10W30 is perfect for Florida and pretty much any other climate between 60* north and south latitude. If the motor hasn't been recently rebuilt, stick to any reputable synthetic, change every 4mos or 3000-5000mi (whichever comes first) and enjoy. If it HAS been recently rebuilt, use regular non-detergent SAE 10W30 for the first 1,500-2000mi (with an oil change at 500-ish) then switch to synthetic.

Anyway... No need to overthink it- For your SR, nearly any synthetic 10W30 is a perfect and economical choice for it to run strong & last; the brand is irrelevant so long as you use the recommended oil type & weight. 15W40 probably wouldn't hurt it, but probably isn't the best thing for it.

I have a 400+hp fully built SR; I use 10W30 and will never switch unless someone from SAE (Society for Automotive Engineers) gives me a goddamned good reason to do so. The key is doing regular and preventative maintenance... and using sound maintenance practices.

Although I have my own 2-3 choices of oil brands, my car is not a daily driver so I tend to splurge if you know what I mean...

BTW, jr_ss' car is AMAZING & worthy of 5W liquid gold if it would make his motor happier... But his car is not a DD & his engine is so far from stock... so his choice of oil is based on very different parameters

For general, daily driver purposes- If it ain't broke, don't fix it- Stick to Castrol...

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S13alldayyo

I have read almost every single thread, rotella to me seems as a good choice over regular oil, diesel oils claim to have more additives for protection an additives that clean the motor better, Wich to me sounds better then regular gasoline oil (due to catalytic converter) but who runs one on a sr anyways.


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S13alldayyo

I also change my oil every 3k miles since I installed the swap with k&n filter but these people always talking about spinning a bearing isn't so fun on a swap I spent 4kplus


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Mikester

Same people spinning bearings are the same ones using fluids that weren't meant for their cars, treating them like shit & adding boost completely ignorant of the damage they are doing.... then bitching when motors go boom. However, there are also plenty of bearing threads to base your assumptions on here too...

If you want to use Rotella, go ahead and don't look back. If you read all the threads, then why start a new one? If you want to use diesel oil, go ahead and let us know how it went. If you understand anything, it's that more expensive oil does not mean better for your car. Usually with a higher price comes specific purposes. At most of our levels, there is nothing that some crazy expensive, exotic oil can do that regular Castrol can not... other than make us feel better every time we turn the key. I'm not saying to cheap out- just saying to be real and that more expensive does not gurantee that it would be any better.

BTW- I don't understand your last post. Could you clarify? Grammar is important when trying to relay a thought

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S13alldayyo

Clarified- I change my oil religiously every 3k miles (Castrol 10 30 and a k&n oil filter) I'm just always hearing about people spinning a bearing (especially on mobile 1 oils) or very thin oil such as Mobil 1.


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S13alldayyo

Thus giving me a reason to change from 10 30 to 15 40 diesel oil with better additives


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Mikester

^^All I can say is "It's your motor."

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S13alldayyo

You never had anything to say in the first place


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ultimateirving

T6 rotella has my vote. Been using it for 2 years but I also run e85 and it's supposed to have properties better engineered for th corrosive fuel.

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S13alldayyo

E85 is great for oil, it won't contaminate oil I can't wait till I go E
I'm still trying to figure out Wich rotella to run. Isn't 5 40 to thin on cold startups? Since that is was t6 is


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ultimateirving

You want thin oil for cold startups. That's the point of dual viscosity. Flows like. 5w protects like a 40w

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S13alldayyo

I see I'll give that a thought


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karnzklutch

I would go with the Rotella T6 (5w40). Worked in my old sr20, and even works well in my new ej20 subaru forester. Oh its also cheaper than mobil 1 and such! Oh and in both of those cars I used this oil in winter.

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S13alldayyo

2 votes for the synthetic blend


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!Zar!

lol at people scared to run diesel oil.

I've been running diesel oil in my s13 for ages.

ZERO problems. I stand by it 100%

Only reason I would suggest not running diesel oil is if your car still has a catalytic converter.

All of the detergents will rape your CAT.

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KendallH

0W-30 Amsoil for my SR after the break in. Do your research on how oil actually works and stop using frozen molasses thick oil...

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S13alldayyo

My friend has a honda doing 400 to the wheels on a completely untouched motor only arp head studs and he uses thick ass oil and it's still alive after 2 years


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S13alldayyo

24 psi and all he does is run his car


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Z28ricer

Do some research on what manufacturers who've done far more research than you'll ever pull off, suggest for oil in the climate where your car spends its time.


Rotella 15-40, especially in hot climate, winter months if down south and you want to bother 5-30, not really necessary, if your car has no cat and you really want some real protection get ZDDP additive.

ultimateirving

Then wtf u asking us for. Go do what Honda boi does.

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S13alldayyo

Smh.


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S13alldayyo

Thank you, I will be switching from Castrol to 15-40 rotella I have made my mind thanks guys.


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mechanicalmoron

Remember that heavy oil can also cause lubrication failures.

Thick oil doesn't drain back to the pan as fast, so it can contribute to starvation. It also is more prone to form cavities or bubbles that can't escape in time, and get sucked in the pickup - and air does not lubricate, foam does not lubricate, and air has very low viscosity and is very compressable compared to oil, which can allow the oil film to collapse.

Additionally, higher weights are more a high-clearance thing, like if you had a totally balls to the wall motor, meant to be sloppy to handle high hp. (like, a thousand, not a probably internally stock 3-400 motor, like your example.)

Low weight oils can shear, which could presumably cause a bearing to seize and spin, but high weight oils, though they increase oil pressure, obviously can't flow as well (especially in a motor designed for lower weights).

I've read at least one account, with no evidence or anything like that, from someone who claimed he'd cranked a racecar on a cold morning with strait weight 50 in it, and spun a bearing. I've been worried about this myself, because I run 20w50 WITH oil thickener in my KA, because of excessive wear and VERY excessive smoke (even with thick oil). Frankly I think it's amazing that my bearings are still where they belong, especially considering I have a tendency to drive the piss out of it despite the oil. High RPMs are a bit scary. But never any problem on startup beyond some valve clatter, even in the bitter cold. So that said, I don't know that it's true about spinning them with heavy oil, unless they where already damaged.

As someone with an unfortionate amount of experience in thickeners ("conditioner", "stop-leak", "no-smoke", etc) throw that lucas out. It's no more "cushioning" than any other oil, it's just higher viscosity - however, it doesn't have the same additives as your oil, so you'd effectively be diluting that expensive shell, or whatever. If you want thicker oil, use the next weight up. (you're already talking about an extra weight, so.... I'd call it a day, if it's a healthy motor) If you want oil so viscous that they don't sell it (like me.... trust me, you don't) or if you want to, for some reason, thicken the oil you're already using, use a smaller amount of a thicker product. Lucas isn't that thick, you can buy "ring-seal" or whatever that's MUCH thicker, and MAY actually have some additives, and that costs half the price (for a smaller bottle, but one with the capacity to thicken your oil to a greater degree). That way, you dilute your additives less.

But, I have no idea what most people actually race on, or run on for high horsepower.... I know rotella has a good reputation on bitog, and I know that being diesel, car, or motorcycle oil does not necessarily determine what oil preforms best, I seem to recall reading a real-world test where diesel shell won, for harleys, I think.....

Oil is an exhausting, massive subject. bitog can tell you more than you would ever want to know, some of which is more or less questionable, some of which is indubitable.

Amsoil and shell are commonly accepted as some of the best. mobil 1 is supposed to be great, if you don't have long change intervals (it turns excessively acidic). Personally, I'm a creature of habit, and valvoline is my habit - and generally considered a fine oil. Just don't buy dollar store oil, and you'll be fine.

MrMigs

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like what you want is an oil that's not too thick on cold starts and also doesn't thin out too much on hard running.

Supposedly, you can check this using an oil pressure gauge. The right oil for you will not have excessively high oil pressure at start and also will maintain a good oil pressure during hard running.

Makes sense to me, but I haven't actually tested this out on my own, so I'm hoping someone can confirm.

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Mikester

In other words... for the average daily driver/weekend warrior- The oil that Nissan engineers determined would be the best all-around choice for the SR when they designed it.

OP, I've got lots to say. Just not to people who start 'help me decide' threads; then simply lay in wait for someone to tell them what they want to hear.

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S13alldayyo

I've searched numerous threads and just wanted some final ideas from you guys but I guess that's too much to ask. Anyways I've already chosen what I'm going to use in my next oil change and I'm sure it will be a great choice.


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MrMigs

Long story short, I agree with you, but it sounds like op wants some Extra piece of mind.

What would you do to have that extra piece of mind that the oil you're running is working properly with your car? How would you know that your oil pump is functioning well also? I'm curious what your opinion is on that, aside from having the extra diagnostic reading from an oil pressure gauge, which is why I recommended it for op.

Ok, but how will you know that it's doing what you want? What will you base that on?
On a sidenote, those people spinning bearings could also have suffered from worn out oil pumps or oil starvation in hard sweeping corners. Tomei/Greddy/etc oil pan helps prevent this. I don't want to tell you what you should do, but this is just from my experience.

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