Bringing up Rotella T again....

[Bob The Builder]

I have been using Rotella T 15-40, and then switched to Rotella T6 full synthetic in an old motorcycle of mine. With the conventional Rotella, I had a lot of valvetrain noise....after switching to the slightly thinner T6, the engine actually got quieter, which I assume could have been the result of the T6 being more slippery...based of course on my official finger test.

My question though is more about film strength of the Rotella, which I have read to be around 70,000 psi. Rotella has great zinc and phosphorous numbers, but could those numbers be lowering the oil's ability to stick to the internals?

Now take Valvoline's VR1 oils. Both the "conventional" and synthetic versions have equally high levels of zinc and phos, but also contain moly, and both of these oils stick better in tests...with film strengths at over 101k.

Would this indicate that the Valvoline would be better suited to an old motorcycle with a noisy valvetrain....I'm betting that when I get around to changing out the Rotella, the bike will become noticeably smoother and quieter, proving that oils with a higher film strength are better in a particular engine.

What do you guys think?

 

[BigCahuna]

I use both oils in my bike. Rotella in the primary, and VR-1 in the motor. 60k miles and the motor noise isn't as bad as some other bikes I've heard, and the rotella works great in the primary plus the price is right for both oils. What year is your "old bike".,,,

 

[Johnny2Bad]

I think the real question you want answered is "is 70,000 psi a sufficient film strength for use in my motorcycle motor and/or transmission?"

If it is, then there is no additional benefit to go with the 100,000+ oil, at least for that particular specification.

I would be shocked if an oil specified for use in Diesel motors had any issues whatsoever with film strength.

 

[Shannow]

re the 70,000psi film strength, I'm presuming that you are talking about the Rat tests ?

Ignore them...

 

[Bob The Builder]

It's a 75 Honda XL250.

 

[BigCahuna]

If you bike was speced for SAE 10w40 automotive oil when it was made, and that's whats been used for the last 41 years in it,anything made today is worlds better then oil made back in the day. Valvoline's MC oils 10/40 or 20/50 would be a good reasonable priced oil to use in it.,,,

 

[buck91]

I've found that Rotella runs decently quiet in my XS850. Definitely quieter than the M1 and about comparable to valvoline's 10w40.

 

[Bob The Builder]

Yep. I've read a lot of great things about Rotella. I switched over to some oil I found at WalMart made by Valvoline called Heavy Duty Diesel High Mileage Semi Dynthetic With MaxLife in 15-40

Say that really fast a few times. Anyhow, I haven't been able to find a single fact about this stuff online. What I have found though, is that the XL is much, much quieter and smoother with it. This is over both the regular and synthetic Rotella.

What has me curious though, is when I got the bike, I immediately drained the oil and filled it with cheap dino just to flush it, and took a temp reading at the cylinder and recorded it after a few rides. With reg Rotella, no real change in temp, but with the 5-40 synth version, temps dropped 15 to 20 degrees measures at the same area.

With the new Valvoline, temps appear to have gone back to the original numbers, yet the engine is soooo much quieter, and smoother. Just my backyard observations.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: Bob The Builder
It's a 75 Honda XL250.


My first bike was a new 1981 XL-250. I rode it over 11,000 miles in the 2 years I owned it. Would have ridden more if we had decent weather in northern WV. FWIW I used 10W-40 in mine and it held up well with 2K intervals. I never saw much of anything in the screen when I pulled it.

 

[Bob The Builder]

Cool. It's pretty much a gutless wonder, but a cool bike nonetheless. I enjoy it right up until some dude passes me on a Harley or rice rocket...I feel so inadequate. lol

I've checked the screen a couple times, and nothing here either.

So far, so good with the new oil. I just wish I could find more in depth info on it.