Anyone consider Valvoline Premium Blue 15w40?

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Has anyone used or thought about using VPB 15w40 conventional in their motorcycle? It looks like it has the same certs as Delvac 1300 other than VPB is SM and SN rated where as Delvac is only SN rated? Am I missing anything in a comparison with VPB vs Delvac 1300 or T4?

Just curious as VPB isn't talked about as much. Tractor supply has it and I might try it if its similar enough to Delvac or T4.
 
Done it.
A slight, although noticeable grab of clutch at engagement point that never went away.
I chalk it up to the particular Honda it was in, and it wasn't uncomfortable or bad, just a different feel.
I'd say you'll find it to be fine.
VPB still has over 1000ppm of P and Z if that interests you. Delvac was dumbed down with it's recent formula.
 
Do, any name brand HDEO is good in a bike. The result will be either fine, or some mini-issue like clutch engangement that will have you looking elsewhere. But, you won't know until you try
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Done it.
A slight, although noticeable grab of clutch at engagement point that never went away.
I chalk it up to the particular Honda it was in, and it wasn't uncomfortable or bad, just a different feel.
I'd say you'll find it to be fine.
VPB still has over 1000ppm of P and Z if that interests you. Delvac was dumbed down with it's recent formula.


To be honest I don't know what P or Z does for oil so I'm not sure if 1000ppm is good, bad or neutral. My knowledge of limited but I'm always up for a quick education.
 
Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
Do, any name brand HDEO is good in a bike. The result will be either fine, or some mini-issue like clutch engangement that will have you looking elsewhere. But, you won't know until you try
smile.gif



That's just it, you font know until you try even if it's to satisfy curiosity or for the sake of variety.
 
Hey man, Z and P is zinc and phosphorous. Motorcyclists generally are concerned about their oil having enough anti-wear additives in their MC oil.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4806549/Re:_Zinc_vs_molybdenum#Post4806549

[Moly is shy-ed away from because it's commonly used as a friction modifier. These can inhibit the lockup of the clutch, or at least cause an increase in heat at the clutch during shifting.]
 
Originally Posted By: Brian553
Hey man, Z and P is zinc and phosphorous. Motorcyclists generally are concerned about their oil having enough anti-wear additives in their MC oil.

The chemical symbol for zinc is Zn, not Z.
 
I'd happily try their Premium Blue One 10W30 in my newer Honda. No big reason I wouldn't try the 15W40 version of Premium Blue in my older Magna.
 
The biggest aspects of HDEO that appeal to me is the shear resistance, wear protection and then price. None of our bikes are high performance and we have 4 bikes on the road so more oil for less would be nice. I like the idea of a good 15w-45 for my vstrom 1000 clutch basket and it also has gear driven cams chewing up the oil along with the transmission.
 
Kschachn, I gotcha!

CK-4 oils will help to maintain the shear stability. You could also try mixing in 20w-50 synthetic MC oil (a lot of people like Valvoline and Mobil's offerings--just two options) if you want to make sure it stays in grade. If you don't want to go that route and just stay with a HDEO, Rotella is one of the few right now that keeps ZDDP levels back to SM standards. Most CK-4 oils ought stay in grade for the most rigorous shared-sump bikes (exception probably being Rotella T6), but Delo XLE 15w40 and Rotella T4 both show that it meets Allison TES-439 (shear stability spec.)
 
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Originally Posted By: Goodkat
Am I missing anything in a comparison with VPB vs Delvac 1300 or T4?


Only one oil has JASO MA on the back of the bottle. Why experiment? It makes no sense. You have a wet clutch, why not just stick with the very readily available and easy to find and affordable Rotella? What do you gain by trying Delvac or premium blue?
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Goodkat
Am I missing anything in a comparison with VPB vs Delvac 1300 or T4?


Only one oil has JASO MA on the back of the bottle. Why experiment? It makes no sense. You have a wet clutch, why not just stick with the very readily available and easy to find and affordable Rotella? What do you gain by trying Delvac or premium blue?


Yes, it pays to experiment.
Any 15/40 HDEO will work in a bike just fine in any bike but some bikes will shift better with one brand over the other, there is no reason to just stick to Rotella and accept it as the only one.

Unknown to most Rotella is NOT JASO listed/rated/approved oil.
Rotella just takes the extra step to make a statement that their oil meets Jaso standards.
Other companies do not make that statement, dont know if there is a reason other then they are not after the MC market or dont want to bother testing or whatever. Its not like I do not believe Shell/Rotella in that statement but just making sure everyone knows it is not a Jaso Approved Oil it is an oil that the maker says meets their standards.

A safe choice for sure but I personally did not use it in my metrics, I found other HDEOs gave me longer lasting good shifting but not by a huge margin and if someone wants to be "safe" then Rotella is just fine. Im talking the 15/40 oils and firmly believe if you ride only in temps above 45/50 degrees or so in a shared sump bike any HDEO 15/40 oil is superior to a 10/40 in a shared sump bike.

Being I dont have a shared sump bike anymore, I dont follow and have not looked into if the new CK4s area all safe like the Cj4 s ...

If you live in the hot climate I even more firmly believe that you are better off with Valvoline 4 stroke conventional motorcycle oil in the 20w50 weight.
Cost almost the same as an HDEO at roughly less then $5.00 a quart in Walmart (or walmart online), add a dollar if its in a auto parts store.
In hot weather the Valvoline 20/50 will blow away any 15/40 in shift quality, good stuff.

Great stuff, great shifting in my Yamaha 1300, ran a number of UOAs on it back in 2011/12 right here in this forum.
 
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Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Goodkat
Am I missing anything in a comparison with VPB vs Delvac 1300 or T4?


Only one oil has JASO MA on the back of the bottle. Why experiment? It makes no sense. You have a wet clutch, why not just stick with the very readily available and easy to find and affordable Rotella? What do you gain by trying Delvac or premium blue?


Yes, it pays to experiment.
Any 15/40 HDEO will work in a bike just fine in any bike but some bikes will shift better with one brand over the other, there is no reason to just stick to Rotella and accept it as the only one.

Unknown to most Rotella is NOT JASO listed/rated/approved oil.
Rotella just takes the extra step to make a statement that their oil meets Jaso standards.
Other companies do not make that statement, dont know if there is a reason other then they are not after the MC market or dont want to bother testing or whatever. Its not like I do not believe Shell/Rotella in that statement but just making sure everyone knows it is not a Jaso Approved Oil it is an oil that the maker says meets their standards.

A safe choice for sure but I personally did not use it in my metrics, I found other HDEOs gave me longer lasting good shifting but not by a huge margin and if someone wants to be "safe" then Rotella is just fine. Im talking the 15/40 oils and firmly believe if you ride only in temps above 45/50 degrees or so in a shared sump bike any HDEO 15/40 oil is superior to a 10/40 in a shared sump bike.

Being I dont have a shared sump bike anymore, I dont follow and have not looked into if the new CK4s area all safe like the Cj4 s ...

If you live in the hot climate I even more firmly believe that you are better off with Valvoline 4 stroke conventional motorcycle oil in the 20w50 weight.
Cost almost the same as an HDEO at roughly less then $5.00 a quart in Walmart (or walmart online), add a dollar if its in a auto parts store.
In hot weather the Valvoline 20/50 will blow away any 15/40 in shift quality, good stuff.

Great stuff, great shifting in my Yamaha 1300, ran a number of UOAs on it back in 2011/12 right here in this forum.


I'm glad you posted this because I thought I had read that although Rotella claims it JASO MA MA2, it's not recognized by JASO. To me its like helmet companies claiming their helmets are DOT approved based off their own inhouse testing vs helmets that are SNELL approved. Seeing the DOT sticker may make a customer feel better but it may not be as substantial as its implied.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub...JAS#Post4803519

I changed the oil in my wife's CTX700 with more Delvac and I tried VPB in my VSTROM 1000 yesterday. As far I can tell there is no clutch slippage and the bike didn't explode. I leave for a 7 day trip tomorrow so we'll see how it goes. So far I'm pleased with how the bikes run and shift with conventional HDEO. I don't think we'll be riding these bikes below 45 degrees but if we do I'll probably throw Valvoline 10w 40 in them. My DR650 is the bike I'll keep insured all year so I can ride it on the nice winter days we get every now and then. It fill get a lighter weight oil at point and I'll block the oil cooler.
 
I like hdeo alot...my current bulk 'frankenbrew' is mostly traveller 15w-40 & valvoline 15w-40 (white bottle formula) with leftover frankenbrew from last season (various 15w-40's & 10w-40's); good results in several common sump motorcycles with straight hdeo's and frankembrews with hdeo in it
 
Well I finished our 7 day trip where we logged 2100 miles through Michigan, Canada (Niagara Falls), New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. At times the temps reached almost 100 degrees, especially while sitting in traffic and border crossings. I'm very happy with the performance of the VPB 15W40. I haven't experienced any clutch slippage and the V Strom 1000 runs like a smooth sewing machine. Shifting is just as good at 2100 miles as it was when fresh from the Jug. I'll change it at 3500 or maybe push it out to 4000. Maybe after this season I'll do a UOA since I've never done one before. There were a few 450-500 mile days, a couple in high heat, and I never noticed a degradation in shifting or saw the temp gauge climb. I'll also add that I'm still happy with how Delvac 1300 is performing in the wife's CTX700. I'll happily continue to use either oil.
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Goodkat
Am I missing anything in a comparison with VPB vs Delvac 1300 or T4?


Only one oil has JASO MA on the back of the bottle. Why experiment? It makes no sense. You have a wet clutch, why not just stick with the very readily available and easy to find and affordable Rotella? What do you gain by trying Delvac or premium blue?



15 years running HDEO's in bikes and JASO MA/MA2is still the best indicator of how good an oil is in a shared sump. IMHO....of course. I've tried many others and while their performance is darn good, I will stick with an oil that is JASO MA2 cause clutch performance is noticeably better, especially on my WR with a Recluse EXP3.0.
 
I was a big fan of the delo 15/40 and delvac 15/40 until they went to the CK rating about 800ppm of ph n zinc now.I run rotella t4 in my yz450f.The talk about moly also,in the clutch suppose to slip I think is a myth,take a look at redlines make- up herds of moly in it.I would use big blue if ph n zinc are above 1000ppm.
Keith,
18 YZ450F
16 ST SLIM
"LETS JUST RIDE"
 
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
I always start with the Allison list because their testing is for shared sump use, wet clutch, wet brakes, etc.

Allison

then work out which one feels best at the clutch lever
smile.gif



Yeah, when I was comparing the VPB bottle to the Delvac super 1300 I noticed that the VPB did not say Allison approved. Since I can't tell the difference and since Delvac is cheaper I'll probably go back to that.
 
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