I was going to put AMSOIL heavy duty diesel and marine synthetic oil in my 96' Cummins but a freind said that Delo 400 heavy duty motor oil is the same thing just a lot cheaper? any input? I only want the best for my truck. I daily drive it and race it on the weekends..
Which synthetic oil in a 96' Dodge Cummins 12v?
- Thread starter Sudia247
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Cummins recommends Valvoline, that's what I would run if it were my truck.
The Amsoil AME is very good, and designed for extended drains. So in my opinion, if you are not taking advantage of that, it ain't worth the extra cost. For an upgrade to regular ole 15W-40, I would recommend Schaeffer 7000 15W-40. I have found it to be an excellent oil for a reasonable price. They also make an excellent 5W-40 (9000 series).
BTW, conventional Delo is a far cry from Amsoil, but still a good oil.
BTW, conventional Delo is a far cry from Amsoil, but still a good oil.
I know Valvolines extreme heavy duty diesel states on the site its "Cummins approved for 5,000-mile oil drain extension, under normal duty, for 2007 engines" Sounds like if I raced it over the weekends it would shoten the life even more, and also its saying that for the 2007 engines, in so many ways my 96' Cummins is different and can run differently than the 2007 one...
Since you race that truck, I'm gonna guess you have added a chip that adds more fuel and/or increases turbo boost. With potential fuel dilution of the crankcase oil and the added heat and cylinder pressures resulting from these mods, you might do better in hot weather to use something with a step up in viscosity such as amsoils 20W-50 "high performance" oil that is a CI-4+ rated diesel oil. Then perhaps switch to a 5W-40 syn in winter. A less expensive alternative to that 20W-50 Amsoil is Mystic 15W-50 2 gallon jug at o'reilly, a quality CJ-4 diesel-rated syn-blend.
Delo 400 is a good oil just not a full synthetic like the AME so you won't be able to run the extended drains unless you get a bypass filter. Sounds like you have the fuel turned up on your 12v so you need to keep an eye out for fuel getting into your oil. Have you ever done a UOA ? It might be a good idea to get you a sample kit and pick a oil to setup a baseline then go from there.
I run the Schaeffers 15w40 7000 and have been happy with the results via UOA. SalesRep is a good person to deal with on this site and can put together an order for you. I found a rep who lives South of Sacto, back in 2007 who was clearing out a bunch of CI4 + so I bought what he had. Good products !!!
What part of town do you live in ? I am north of Arco and drive a silver/white extended cab 4x4
Bo
I run the Schaeffers 15w40 7000 and have been happy with the results via UOA. SalesRep is a good person to deal with on this site and can put together an order for you. I found a rep who lives South of Sacto, back in 2007 who was clearing out a bunch of CI4 + so I bought what he had. Good products !!!
What part of town do you live in ? I am north of Arco and drive a silver/white extended cab 4x4
Bo
The extended drain on the Valvoline oil is for over the road/semi engines-I would add that the Cummins B is usually easy on oil, you may find via UOAs that regular 15W40 may do just fine with regular changes.
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I would add that the Cummins B is usually easy on oil, you may find via UOAs that regular 15W40 may do just fine with regular changes.
Our 2003 Cummins (Commonrail) is doing 10K with ease on Rotella 15w40. That includes a mild +100HP tune and towing 9,000 pounds.
I have UOAs posted of Rotella 15w30 and Rotella 10w30.
I would add that the Cummins B is usually easy on oil, you may find via UOAs that regular 15W40 may do just fine with regular changes.
Our 2003 Cummins (Commonrail) is doing 10K with ease on Rotella 15w40. That includes a mild +100HP tune and towing 9,000 pounds.
I have UOAs posted of Rotella 15w30 and Rotella 10w30.
Originally Posted By: Sudia247
I was going to put AMSOIL heavy duty diesel and marine synthetic oil in my 96' Cummins but a freind said that Delo 400 heavy duty motor oil is the same thing just a lot cheaper? any input? I only want the best for my truck. I daily drive it and race it on the weekends..
Everyone has their opinions so here is mine. I believe your choice of Amsoil HD and Marine oil is a very good one. That is what I plan on trying in my moderately fueled 98' 12V after my old stash of CI-4+ Mobil 1 5W-40 is gone.
An UOA is a helpful way to tell if you have chosen the right oil, Blackstone Labs is the one I use for this.
Also, please tell your "friend" to do some research and learn the difference between synthetic and dino engine oil.
I was going to put AMSOIL heavy duty diesel and marine synthetic oil in my 96' Cummins but a freind said that Delo 400 heavy duty motor oil is the same thing just a lot cheaper? any input? I only want the best for my truck. I daily drive it and race it on the weekends..
Everyone has their opinions so here is mine. I believe your choice of Amsoil HD and Marine oil is a very good one. That is what I plan on trying in my moderately fueled 98' 12V after my old stash of CI-4+ Mobil 1 5W-40 is gone.
An UOA is a helpful way to tell if you have chosen the right oil, Blackstone Labs is the one I use for this.
Also, please tell your "friend" to do some research and learn the difference between synthetic and dino engine oil.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Valvoline Premium Blue Classic or other CI4+ oil. If you have the engine fueled up way over stock, you'll want an oil with enhanced TBN and soot-dispersion characteristics.
If it were me, I would actually want a CJ-4 oil...better at handling soot than CI-4.
Valvoline Premium Blue Classic or other CI4+ oil. If you have the engine fueled up way over stock, you'll want an oil with enhanced TBN and soot-dispersion characteristics.
If it were me, I would actually want a CJ-4 oil...better at handling soot than CI-4.
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
I would put soot handling between CI4+ and CJ4 as about equal. CI4+ was created to deal with soot issues when EGR engines first came out in 2003. I don't think CJ4 is as good at wear protection as CI4+.
CJ-4 oils were designed to handle more advanced EGR than CI-4. And based on most uoas on this site cjs perform better in stock to moderate ocis, cause of they are better at handling soot than the older oil. On the spec sheets CIs look better but IMHO Cjs produce better uoas running ULSD.
I would put soot handling between CI4+ and CJ4 as about equal. CI4+ was created to deal with soot issues when EGR engines first came out in 2003. I don't think CJ4 is as good at wear protection as CI4+.
CJ-4 oils were designed to handle more advanced EGR than CI-4. And based on most uoas on this site cjs perform better in stock to moderate ocis, cause of they are better at handling soot than the older oil. On the spec sheets CIs look better but IMHO Cjs produce better uoas running ULSD.
I would add that unless you are NOT running ULSD fuel and running extended OCIs the added TBN of CI-4(+) is not going to be a bonus.
You are gonna have a large amount of soot and fuel so I would Change out dino often or use syn with UOA to determine changes. I use delo 400 in all our diesels. I have cummings, cats, t444e, GMC's, and isuzus and they all run great and have run delo since new. All the OCI's are different for the different makes and it ranges from 10,000km yearly to 100 hours monthly. All run the 15W-40.
i got a '96 12 valve, same situation as you, dd on the weekdays, rsce on the weekends. i run rotella in mine. what have you done to it so far?
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