Rotella T6 5w-40/Dart/Texas Heat

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GumbyJarvis

GumbyJarvis

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That time again. Oil light came on. 7500k on M1 EP and D+ filter
changed it after I got home to Florida in April on leave, it drove back on this fill and filter. 18hrs long distance highway

car sees temps ranging from 95-109F daily. Drives on post mostly during the week, with some hwy driving after work. Weekends it gets about 100-200mi hwy speed driving on weekends if not more.

I have some T6 5w40 sealed. I also am questioning changing the filter. Car now has 17500 mi on it, oil factory fill till 5k, then changed at dealer by my mother while I was deployed at 5K, I changed it at 10K.

I question changing the filter, though I haven't seen a messed up D+ in awhile. Change would be a OCOD or Mann I have in the trunk.

as well as 5w40, Texas heat shouldn't be an issue. Between the aftermarket magnaflow dual exhaust and other tweaks, obviously I'm not concerned with warranty.

anyones input? I know merkava would be all for this
 
5w40 is too thick for this regular NA 2L engine. Just keep using 0w20 or go 10w30 for better NOACK. AFAIK, the factory recommended fil is 0w20. Running thicker oil DOES have its downsides because it doesn't flow as well so hot spots in the engine will run even hotter.
 
+1. Not sure what makes you think that a 5w-40 HDEO is going to do anything useful for that car and engine.

If anything, Id look for an ACEA A3 type PCMO just to get a higher HTHS, but if the engine is NA, Id not even be concerned...
 
More along the lines I have it and need to find a use for it. It was 5.99$ a jug on clearance at kmart back home.

suppose I can do a trade and have my buddy trade me his ENEOS 0w20 to use in my car and we can use the 5w40 T6 in his whatever year F-100 three on the tree something or another ford.
 
Use what you have and change the filter.
I'd probably use a 0w40 next time to eek out a few more roachpower out of it.
 
Post on craigslist or kijiji for a trade. Rotella T6 is in high demand for aftermarket turbo applications, I'm sure someone will trade 0w20 for it.

I wouldn't run the same filter for 15k miles, especially since most modern compact cars are spec'd for tiny filters. If you can find an oversized D+ filter then maybe.
 
Originally Posted By: GumbyJarvis
More along the lines I have it and need to find a use for it. It was 5.99$ a jug on clearance at kmart back home.

suppose I can do a trade and have my buddy trade me his ENEOS 0w20 to use in my car and we can use the 5w40 T6 in his whatever year F-100 three on the tree something or another ford.


You can just mix it with your oil of choice. Thats what I did when I had a 5 L jug of Castrol Edge 0w40 that was for my BMW. I don't have the Bimmer any more so I just mixed it with a 5 L jug of 5w30 Castrol Edge and used the 50/50 blend in my daughters Cruze 1.4 Turbo and my wifes Saturn Vue with the 2.4 engine. I figured the viscosity @ 100 C would be around 12 cSt so it's still a heavy 30 weight oil.
 
Outside air temp and oil temp are not directly correlated. Your car was tested in Death Valley and worked fine there on its specified viscosity....Texas isn't that hot...so just stay with your OM recommended weight.

Further, your oil change light comes on sooner if the car senses extreme temps, so the heat has already been accounted for in the 0W20 specification.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: GumbyJarvis
More along the lines I have it and need to find a use for it. It was 5.99$ a jug on clearance at kmart back home.

suppose I can do a trade and have my buddy trade me his ENEOS 0w20 to use in my car and we can use the 5w40 T6 in his whatever year F-100 three on the tree something or another ford.


Sounds like a solid plan.
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
5w40 is too thick for this regular NA 2L engine. Just keep using 0w20 or go 10w30 for better NOACK. AFAIK, the factory recommended fil is 0w20. Running thicker oil DOES have its downsides because it doesn't flow as well so hot spots in the engine will run even hotter.


At 212 * f, the difference in viscosity is hard to discern with the naked eye, both are way thinner then you would believe...

And, yes, a 40 grade flows JUST FINE ... this irrational fear of thicker oils is laughable, they may not be needed in every application, but they really don't hurt anything at all.

Run the T6, and see if you note any difference... you probably won't be able to tell, the engine MIGHT feel a tad sluggish when warming up. Maybe...

And anyone who says ambient temp does not effect the oil temp is dreaming, drivers with a REAL oil temp gauge will see temps move around in summer heat or winter cold. It may not be extreme differences, but a 10 * c hotter change in oil temps is like running a grade thinner oil... TEXAS heat and ROTELLA T6 seem like a reasonable match to me...!
 
Originally Posted By: geeman789

And, yes, a 40 grade flows JUST FINE ... this irrational fear of thicker oils is laughable, they may not be needed in every application, but they really don't hurt anything at all.

Run the T6, and see if you note any difference... you probably won't be able to tell, the engine MIGHT feel a tad sluggish when warming up. Maybe...

And anyone who says ambient temp does not effect the oil temp is dreaming, drivers with a REAL oil temp gauge will see temps move around in summer heat or winter cold. It may not be extreme differences, but a 10 * c hotter change in oil temps is like running a grade thinner oil... TEXAS heat and ROTELLA T6 seem like a reasonable match to me...!


+1

Run the T6. (And, use the MANN filter).
 
Wrong. Valvoline's oil engineer stated in a video that running thicker oil than recommended will cause hot spots to become hotter. If you knew anything about engine cooling you'll know that oil flow is crucial to cooling areas of the engine that coolant can't reach such as RIGHT UNDER THE PISTON where oil squirts to.

Will it blow the engine up? Of course not, but why argue with engineers that actually designed the engine and wrote the manual.

BTW, I have a friend with a Turbo'd Miata who switched from the recommended 5w30 to Rotella T6 5w40 and he instantly noticed a HUGE difference in how fast the revs dropped when lifting off to shift. Thicker oil will rob you of power/mpg you can't argue with physics.

Originally Posted By: geeman789
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
5w40 is too thick for this regular NA 2L engine. Just keep using 0w20 or go 10w30 for better NOACK. AFAIK, the factory recommended fil is 0w20. Running thicker oil DOES have its downsides because it doesn't flow as well so hot spots in the engine will run even hotter.


At 212 * f, the difference in viscosity is hard to discern with the naked eye, both are way thinner then you would believe...

And, yes, a 40 grade flows JUST FINE ... this irrational fear of thicker oils is laughable, they may not be needed in every application, but they really don't hurt anything at all.

Run the T6, and see if you note any difference... you probably won't be able to tell, the engine MIGHT feel a tad sluggish when warming up. Maybe...

And anyone who says ambient temp does not effect the oil temp is dreaming, drivers with a REAL oil temp gauge will see temps move around in summer heat or winter cold. It may not be extreme differences, but a 10 * c hotter change in oil temps is like running a grade thinner oil... TEXAS heat and ROTELLA T6 seem like a reasonable match to me...!
 
Originally Posted By: geeman789


And anyone who says ambient temp does not effect the oil temp is dreaming, drivers with a REAL oil temp gauge will see temps move around in summer heat or winter cold. It may not be extreme differences, but a 10 * c hotter change in oil temps is like running a grade thinner oil... TEXAS heat and ROTELLA T6 seem like a reasonable match to me...!


Having lived in Texas, and having owned a car with a REAL oil temp gauge, I stand by what I said: air temp and oil temp are not directly correlated. Oil temp varied more with load on the engine (in my case, a turbo engine) than with OAT.

Note that I said not directly correlated. I did not say "does not effect" (sic). Those aren't the same thing at all.

Texans like to think everything there is bigger, hotter, more...whatever. But the truth is that the car manufacturers test in the hotter conditions of the California Desert, and this car's manufacturer recommends a 0W20. So, if you really wanted to got heavier for the heat, I might go 0W30.

Please note my sig line, I am not afraid of 40 weight oils...but I do think that it's better to follow manufacturers' recommendations.
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
But the truth is that the car manufacturers test in the hotter conditions of the California Desert, and this car's manufacturer recommends a 0W20.


And ask yourself WHY?

Answer: CAFE. Period.

The OP should use his 5-40 oil and not give it a 2nd thought. While not optimal, many vehicles have used 20-50 and gone 300,000+ miles. An oil change with 5-40 is will be more than fine in this car in his climate and driving patterns.

Irrational fear of any viscosity over 5-20 by the public has gone on far too long. Everyone should just Chill.
 
And ask yourself WHY?

Irrational fear over 5W-20 has gone on far too long here on BITOG.

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: Astro14
But the truth is that the car manufacturers test in the hotter conditions of the California Desert, and this car's manufacturer recommends a 0W20.
And ask yourself WHY?

Answer: CAFE. Period.

The OP should use his 5-40 oil and not give it a 2nd thought. While not optimal, many vehicles have used 20-50 and gone 300,000+ miles. An oil change with 5-40 is will be more than fine in this car in his climate and driving patterns.

Irrational fear of any viscosity over 5-20 by the public has gone on far too long. Everyone should just Chill.
 
gfh - First, you didn't engineer this car, and you don't have any information from Dodge that recommends a different weight oil than the 0W20 (FYI, I looked up the owner's manual online to see what was recommended) so to say "CAFE. Period" doesn't have anything to support it.

Next, Dodge recommends a 0W20, not a 5W20 in this car, so it's synthetic, or at least synthetic blend.

Why are YOU so afraid of a 20 Weight oil? The only irrational fear here is the anti 20 weight...cars have gone hundreds of thousands of miles on 20 weights...cars with several hundred horsepower run just fine on 20 weight...again, I am not afraid of any weight oil.

Gumby - you could run anything you want in this car, but the question is: what do you gain by deviating from Dodge's recommendation?
 
Exactly right. The constant harping about how "CAFE made me do it" is tiring as well as specious. Unhappiness with CAFE is not a valid reason to deviate from the manufacturer's recommendation, nor is it even a technical argument. It is emotional, plain and simple.

BTW, the burden of proof is not with those that advocate what the manufacturer specifies. THe burden of proof falls on those who claim it is somehow detrimental to the engine, and why one should deviate. As far as I have seen here there is no technical reason to avoid the recommendations as given.

Originally Posted By: Astro14
gfh - First, you didn't engineer this car, and you don't have any information from Dodge that recommends a different weight oil than the 0W20 (FYI, I looked up the owner's manual online to see what was recommended) so to say "CAFE. Period" doesn't have anything to support it.

Next, Dodge recommends a 0W20, not a 5W20 in this car, so it's synthetic, or at least synthetic blend.

Why are YOU so afraid of a 20 Weight oil? The only irrational fear here is the anti 20 weight...cars have gone hundreds of thousands of miles on 20 weights...cars with several hundred horsepower run just fine on 20 weight...again, I am not afraid of any weight oil.

Gumby - you could run anything you want in this car, but the question is: what do you gain by deviating from Dodge's recommendation?
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
Wrong. Valvoline's oil engineer stated in a video that running thicker oil than recommended will cause hot spots to become hotter. If you knew anything about engine cooling you'll know that oil flow is crucial to cooling areas of the engine that coolant can't reach such as RIGHT UNDER THE PISTON where oil squirts to.

Will it blow the engine up? Of course not, but why argue with engineers that actually designed the engine and wrote the manual.


Then why does Ford require 5w-50 in the BOSS 302 and GT Track Pack Mustangs and 5w-20 in the GT? (the latter two sharing the same engine) The reason of course is that this topic isn't as black and white and as simple to break down as people like to think it is.

The easy solution is to just run what the OEM dictates unless the engine is modified to produce more power than stock and THEN you may need to step up a grade or two to maintain adequate OP and protection depending on how much you've increased oil temperature. This ties into Astro's point about oil temperature corresponding with load more than it does ambient, which I can basically agree with. While the oil temp on my car definitely changes with ambient, I can alter it from whatever it is at by driving the car harder.

Ultimately, every engine is different and what may work for a BMW S62 or Ford 5.0L may not work or be necessary for a Dodge 5.7, Chevy 6.0....etc.
 
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