Best 15 W 40 Diesel Oil

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DeereGuy

Joined
Dec 31, 2007
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Indiana
Hi Guys-

Just curious as to what you feel is the best 15W40 diesel oil is out there. I'm new here and I haven't had the chance to look around to see if there are any more posts like this one, so if there is I apologize. I have used Mobil Delvac 1300 Super for years, until the local supplier went out of business. Now I run John Deere Plus 50. I farm so it is easy to just get oil at the dealer. I have been happy with it but the price is getting outragous. I have considered Rotella, local Tractor Supply store has a pretty good price on it and will cut me a deal for quanity. Here is another question for you, who makes Tractor Supplys' Traveller motor oil? They didn't know at the store. Just curious. Thanks!
 
Do some thread searches. You will come up with plenty. Your question and subsequent response are contradictory. You ask "best" and then talk price. Rarely can you get best and price. In anything you buy.
 
IMO, you can't go wrong with Rotella, when used in the proper viscosity, proper drain interval, etc.

Other good HDEO choices are:

Chevron Delo
Valvoline Premium Blue
Motorcraft
Mystic

There is no "best" oil. What works best for one engine might not work well for another, for example.
 
My personal favorite 15W-40 is a syn blend called Schaeffers. A long life oil, shear resistant, low wear numbers, good fuel economy. Hard to find locally, but easy to order and free shipping for orders over $300. For non-synthetic oil, I would buy on price/quantity. In my experience, not enough difference in quality between all the main retail brands to pay more for one or the other. The Travellier brand is most likely blended and packaged by Warren Performance Products, who makes some stuff for WalMart (Super Tech) and many other private labels. Not bad stuff, but probably not state of the art either.

http://www.wd-wpp.com/index.html

In Indiana in the winter, I would be using a full syn 15W-40 (Amsoil), syn blend (Schaeffers 15W-40), or syn 5W-40 such as Rotella or Schaeffers -all for better flow during cold starts, unless indoors or plugged into a block heater on those frigid mornings.
 
I tried Chevron Delo 400 15W-40 in our Isuzu Trooper based on the good wear rates people were experiencing in their engines according to UOA's. I'm one of those guys who likes to stand in front of their cars and listen to it idle. What struck me as I listened to the Trooper's engine on the first trip out, after installing the Delo 400, was how noisy it was at idle. This was after it was already fully warmed up and at normal operating temperature. The engine was definitely louder than it had been with the previous oil (Amsoil).

This last oil change I tried Shell Rotella Triple Protection 15W-40. I must say I'm really liking this oil. The Trooper's engine is really quiet and smooth at idle.

If I had to pick a HDEO based on how the engine sounds like as it is running, I would pick Shell Rotella Triple Protection. Of course, a UOA between the two oils might reveal a different tale.
 
I agree with Salesrep; "best" is a relative term.

The "best" oils at the high end of the price scale are going to be your fully "synthetic", high quality base stock oils such as Amsoil, Schaeffers, Mobil 1 Delvac, etc. My belief is that these can pay dividends when longevity is considered (such as with bypass filtration and long OCI's), and when extreme cold starts or potential overheating threaten.

On the other hand, conventional (or regular) base stock oils perform perfectly well in many engines, tested over many, many millions of miles in road service. Here you can get a good value for your money by using any brand name oil, including those such as the farm supply rebranded oils.

The most important issues to me are: does the oil meet the weight and revision level ratings, and where can I find any good brand on sale? In other words, if I can get a 15w-40 for summer, or a 10w-30 for winter, in the CI-4+ for my Duramax or Kubota at any local auto parts store or Wally World or farm supply chain, then I'll be fine. There are hundreds of UOAs on this site that support this conclusion. With this reasoning, I have been know to buy Rotella, Tection Extra, or Delo, based upon which brand is the best bargin when I walk into AAP or Wal-Mart.

Regarding your question about who makes the TSC Traveller brand, I think it's Citgo, but I wouldn't lay any bets on that as I have no proof. It's quite possible that the farm supply brands are bought on a regional basis, and blended by the low cost bidder at the time. Still, presuming they are made to the API and ISLAC standards, there is no reason not to consider them. Someone else might be able to chime in here.

Sure, some oils will perform better in a particular engine for a given use, but that involves long term testing and many UOAs. That's why most of us BITOG people gravitate to the computer each day, to see who's accomplished what, with which brand of oil. But overall, this is nit-picking subtle distinctions that will not likely effect engine longevity.

Assuming your post was seeking a quick answer to the "best" oil, I'm afraid you're going to come up with no solid answer; each BITOG person here probably has a personal "best" based on individual experiences. The "best" is what you determine "best" means to you, not us. I believe the act of changing your oil/filter on a consistent basis (hours or UOA) is far more important than what brand you use.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Steelhead
what engine?
what type of usage?
how often OCI do you want?
rig parked in heated garage/storage or outside in Indiana winters

with the JD Plus 50 you are paying for a top line full synthetic PAO/ester 0w40 HDEO that JD has extensively tested in their farm equipment/industrial/marine commercial engines under extreme operating conditions
http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/partsinfo/oils_and_lubricants/oil_0w40.html


I have a pretty good idea who makes the JD+ in Canada and it may be full PAO up here, but it does not say in the product specs that it is full PAO.
Remember Castrol and Mobil days? "Synthetic does not always mean true synthetic.
 
Originally Posted By: D-Roc
Originally Posted By: Steelhead
what engine?
what type of usage?
how often OCI do you want?
rig parked in heated garage/storage or outside in Indiana winters

with the JD Plus 50 you are paying for a top line full synthetic PAO/ester 0w40 HDEO that JD has extensively tested in their farm equipment/industrial/marine commercial engines under extreme operating conditions
http://www.deere.com/en_US/parts/partsinfo/oils_and_lubricants/oil_0w40.html


I have a pretty good idea who makes the JD+ in Canada and it may be full PAO up here, but it does not say in the product specs that it is full PAO.
Remember Castrol and Mobil days? "Synthetic does not always mean true synthetic.


From the MSDS search utility:
John Deere Plus 50/Supreme Engine Oil 0W-40 Esso Petroleum Canada/Esso Imperial Oil/Pétrolière Impériale

Looks like XD-3 to me ...but then again ..maybe not..
From the actual MSDS sheet:

Product Identifier: JOHN DEERE PLUS 50/SUPREME ENGINE OIL 0W-40
Application and Use:
Mineral oil for gasoline and diesel engines
Product Description:
Semi-synthetic based lubricant and additives.
 
Last edited:
I agree with most of these guys..."best" is a relative term.

As already noted, "best" can be directly related to cost...and while one oil might be "best" for one application, it might perform poorly in another.

With that said, I run 10k OCIs on the newer CJ-4 15w40 Rotella in my Cummins with excellent UOAs (showing it works very well in my application).
 
Rotella is my favorite, but not in all trucks. My 1996 Powerstroke uses 2-3 quarts of oil in a 5k oci. But since I switched it to Delvac I dont use any in 5k. Fuel milage is the same.
 
The Schaeffer 7000 is good as well as the Moly X200(I think that's the name of it). If you have no interest in extending oil intervals the Rotella is fine.
I can run anywhere from 400-600hrs on the Schaeffer oils before changing oil in my tractors. I run the Schaeffer 9000 5W40 in everything now. It's the best oil for the money avalible right now.
 
Stroker444

I saw your post regarding Delvac. I have a 2002 F350 PSD 7.3 and it will use 1-2 quarts between changes on the Rotella T 15w40. Although I think the Rotella T 15w40 is a decent oil, the Delvac sounds interesting with no useage between your 5000 OCI. Are you running the Delvac 15w40?


Thanks
Ruby
 
I liked an XD3 Elite (?, a dino/synthetic blend) as the engine was a bit quieter, but when I couldn't get it anymore I started using a Delvac 1 / M1 T&S 5w40 and Delvac 15w40 blend, either 33% or 50% synthetic. One could do the same with Rotella if interested. Now that the dino has gotten more expensive one can more easily justify running 100% synthetic.
 
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
my choice would be XD-3 Extra 15w40. It's nice stuff!


Do you have any UOA's with it?
 
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