Greetings,
I have a gasoline Sprinter, ie. Mercedes 3.5L V6. I drive it about 80% highway and it commonly sits for 2-7 days between being driven.
The first 3 oil changes were Rotella. The 4th and last was AMS. These were all low sulfur 229.51 oil because I was taking it to shops that predominately serviced diesel Sprinters. I never liked that it was getting low sulfur oil when it didn't need to be, so this time I'm going to change the oil myself.
I've always understood the HDEO's to have a more rigorous testing standard, so I'd planned to switch to a HDEO spec'd for pre-DPF's engines. (Are there even any these days?)
However, looking at the numbers and price the M1 0W-40 looks like the better oil after all. It has a higher TBN, identical HTHS, but slightly less phos & zn.
My recollection was Zn (or is it moly?) is important for dry starting when all the oil is in the pan. Given the van is driven very intermittently, am I better choosing one of those over the others?
One more question. I drive about 7-8k/year, and the spec'd change interval is for 10k miles or 1 year. I don't want to change oil by the calendar if there isn't really a reason to given my driving style (occasional easy hwy). Is it a problem to go 16-18 months (call it two Portland winters) on the same oil? I'm not taking lots of short trips, so how important is it to change oil every 12 months? Does a high TBN oil solve the calendar problem?
Thank you.
(I've read the T6 thread and am aware of the risks of phos in the cat. I'm OK taking that risk.)
I have a gasoline Sprinter, ie. Mercedes 3.5L V6. I drive it about 80% highway and it commonly sits for 2-7 days between being driven.
The first 3 oil changes were Rotella. The 4th and last was AMS. These were all low sulfur 229.51 oil because I was taking it to shops that predominately serviced diesel Sprinters. I never liked that it was getting low sulfur oil when it didn't need to be, so this time I'm going to change the oil myself.
I've always understood the HDEO's to have a more rigorous testing standard, so I'd planned to switch to a HDEO spec'd for pre-DPF's engines. (Are there even any these days?)
However, looking at the numbers and price the M1 0W-40 looks like the better oil after all. It has a higher TBN, identical HTHS, but slightly less phos & zn.
My recollection was Zn (or is it moly?) is important for dry starting when all the oil is in the pan. Given the van is driven very intermittently, am I better choosing one of those over the others?
One more question. I drive about 7-8k/year, and the spec'd change interval is for 10k miles or 1 year. I don't want to change oil by the calendar if there isn't really a reason to given my driving style (occasional easy hwy). Is it a problem to go 16-18 months (call it two Portland winters) on the same oil? I'm not taking lots of short trips, so how important is it to change oil every 12 months? Does a high TBN oil solve the calendar problem?
Thank you.
(I've read the T6 thread and am aware of the risks of phos in the cat. I'm OK taking that risk.)