Shell Rotella T6
06-21-2016, 01:36 AM
#1
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Shell Rotella T6
Thinking of running Shell Rotella T6 5w40. It's a Diesel engine oil, really good oil. Rated for gasoline engines too. I get a good price on 20litre pails.
It's not mb 229.5 but tons of guys use it in all kinds of high performance cars.
It's not mb 229.5 but tons of guys use it in all kinds of high performance cars.
06-21-2016, 01:49 AM
#2
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I have run the Rotella in the past and was pleased with it, would definitely run again no questions asked....also been down the Mobil and Pennzoil path but I can honestly say the oil I felt THE best running was 15w-50 LiquiMoly....but DAMN it's high!!!!
06-21-2016, 08:13 AM
#4
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2012 P31 C63 Coupe Trackrat, 2019 GLE63S Coupe Beast
Was just going to say that ^
I'm thinking about it as well. Have been doing M1 0W-40, initially treated once with LiquiMoly CeraTec and now following up with LiquiMoly Mos2 and car seems to like it.
I'm thinking about it as well. Have been doing M1 0W-40, initially treated once with LiquiMoly CeraTec and now following up with LiquiMoly Mos2 and car seems to like it.
06-21-2016, 09:31 AM
#6
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Try adding the LiquiMoly CeraTec first. Made a big difference in my car.
06-21-2016, 10:43 AM
#7
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2012 C63;1971 280SE 3.5(Sold);2023 EQS 450 SUV 4 Matic (Wife's)
I am running the Shell Rotella T6 5w40. Only have 1000Km on it so far. I will do a UOA when I change it but it will not be till the fall or winter. No complaints so far.
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06-21-2016, 12:17 PM
#9
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W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
The biggest difference in the Rotella vs. M1 is the chemical makeup of the detergents & dispersants. The Rotella has a fair amount of Magnesium (dispersant) whereas the M1 uses Calcium (detergent). Detergent effectiveness drops off more quickly over time and then the dispersants are what keep the garbage suspended in the oil. The main drawback of the Mg dispersants is that they become more abrasive as they oxidize, and *if* you're burning oil through the combustion chambers, they can form solid deposits on the piston crowns, which is not a concern with a healty motor.
Having said that, the T6 is more stable at high temperatures than the M1 (with our inadequately-sized oil cooling capabilities on the C63 this is IMHO a big plus), and in terms of HTHS and wear protection, the T6 is near the top of the pecking order and I like it a lot for flat tappet engines like the M156. And, at half the price of M1, you can afford to change it twice as often, which is key to having the best engine protection. I wouldn't run it year-round in Canada (my C63 is my DD), but that's what I run in my "massaged" summer toy P-cars that only see ~3000 fairly-hard-run kilometers in warm weather between oil changes. I've never seen cleaner engines in my life, and the wear protection of the T6 is second to none.
Just my $0.02. BITOG is an excellent resource on the topic, as are some of the Nissan GT-R forums. The GT-Rs are brutal on the oil (very high temps) and a lot of the guys that track them love the T6, subject to it being changed often enough. Just change the oil regularly... whether it's M1, Motul or Rotella. They are all excellent until the additives start wearing out.
Having said that, the T6 is more stable at high temperatures than the M1 (with our inadequately-sized oil cooling capabilities on the C63 this is IMHO a big plus), and in terms of HTHS and wear protection, the T6 is near the top of the pecking order and I like it a lot for flat tappet engines like the M156. And, at half the price of M1, you can afford to change it twice as often, which is key to having the best engine protection. I wouldn't run it year-round in Canada (my C63 is my DD), but that's what I run in my "massaged" summer toy P-cars that only see ~3000 fairly-hard-run kilometers in warm weather between oil changes. I've never seen cleaner engines in my life, and the wear protection of the T6 is second to none.
Just my $0.02. BITOG is an excellent resource on the topic, as are some of the Nissan GT-R forums. The GT-Rs are brutal on the oil (very high temps) and a lot of the guys that track them love the T6, subject to it being changed often enough. Just change the oil regularly... whether it's M1, Motul or Rotella. They are all excellent until the additives start wearing out.
06-21-2016, 01:40 PM
#10
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The biggest difference in the Rotella vs. M1 is the chemical makeup of the detergents & dispersants. The Rotella has a fair amount of Magnesium (dispersant) whereas the M1 uses Calcium (detergent). Detergent effectiveness drops off more quickly over time and then the dispersants are what keep the garbage suspended in the oil. The main drawback of the Mg dispersants is that they become more abrasive as they oxidize, and *if* you're burning oil through the combustion chambers, they can form solid deposits on the piston crowns, which is not a concern with a healty motor.
Having said that, the T6 is more stable at high temperatures than the M1 (with our inadequately-sized oil cooling capabilities on the C63 this is IMHO a big plus), and in terms of HTHS and wear protection, the T6 is near the top of the pecking order and I like it a lot for flat tappet engines like the M156. And, at half the price of M1, you can afford to change it twice as often, which is key to having the best engine protection. I wouldn't run it year-round in Canada (my C63 is my DD), but that's what I run in my "massaged" summer toy P-cars that only see ~3000 fairly-hard-run kilometers in warm weather between oil changes. I've never seen cleaner engines in my life, and the wear protection of the T6 is second to none.
Just my $0.02. BITOG is an excellent resource on the topic, as are some of the Nissan GT-R forums. The GT-Rs are brutal on the oil (very high temps) and a lot of the guys that track them love the T6, subject to it being changed often enough. Just change the oil regularly... whether it's M1, Motul or Rotella. They are all excellent until the additives start wearing out.
Having said that, the T6 is more stable at high temperatures than the M1 (with our inadequately-sized oil cooling capabilities on the C63 this is IMHO a big plus), and in terms of HTHS and wear protection, the T6 is near the top of the pecking order and I like it a lot for flat tappet engines like the M156. And, at half the price of M1, you can afford to change it twice as often, which is key to having the best engine protection. I wouldn't run it year-round in Canada (my C63 is my DD), but that's what I run in my "massaged" summer toy P-cars that only see ~3000 fairly-hard-run kilometers in warm weather between oil changes. I've never seen cleaner engines in my life, and the wear protection of the T6 is second to none.
Just my $0.02. BITOG is an excellent resource on the topic, as are some of the Nissan GT-R forums. The GT-Rs are brutal on the oil (very high temps) and a lot of the guys that track them love the T6, subject to it being changed often enough. Just change the oil regularly... whether it's M1, Motul or Rotella. They are all excellent until the additives start wearing out.
06-21-2016, 02:35 PM
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I define frequent as the level at which your UOAs show that the various oil additives still have plenty of life left (a UOA only shows how much life is left in the oil, not how good the oil is). It varies greatly on your driving style. Frequent short trips will produce the most moisture in the crank case and you need to neutralize the acids, so the additives that would degrade the most in this case would be measured by the TBN. If you track the car, the moisture from the crank case will easily evaporate but the oil will suffer a lot more from heat degradation, which mens viscosity breakdown and increased oxidation. If you drive reasonably long trips (30+ minutes) at decent RPMs and don't track the car, you won't experience oil breakdown due to either excessive temperatures or mopisture in the crank case so the same oil will last five times as long as the tracked car and twice as long as the "short trip" driven car. There's no universal number... in other words, in the same engine and using the same oil, you could be throwing out perfectly good oil at 5K miles that could easily go for another 5K, or if you track the car you could already be past the useful life of the oil. Does that make sense?
As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... if you track or drive the car hard enough that your oil cooler fan turns on, I'd dump it every 2K miles at the most. If you mostly drive short distances, I'd dump it every 5K miles. If your daily commute involves driving 45 minutes each way to and from work over a nice twisty road, I'd change it every 10K miles at which point it will likely still be in better shape to provide adequate protection than in either of the previous two examples.
As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... if you track or drive the car hard enough that your oil cooler fan turns on, I'd dump it every 2K miles at the most. If you mostly drive short distances, I'd dump it every 5K miles. If your daily commute involves driving 45 minutes each way to and from work over a nice twisty road, I'd change it every 10K miles at which point it will likely still be in better shape to provide adequate protection than in either of the previous two examples.
06-21-2016, 03:01 PM
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I define frequent as the level at which your UOAs show that the various oil additives still have plenty of life left (a UOA only shows how much life is left in the oil, not how good the oil is). It varies greatly on your driving style. Frequent short trips will produce the most moisture in the crank case and you need to neutralize the acids, so the additives that would degrade the most in this case would be measured by the TBN. If you track the car, the moisture from the crank case will easily evaporate but the oil will suffer a lot more from heat degradation, which mens viscosity breakdown and increased oxidation. If you drive reasonably long trips (30+ minutes) at decent RPMs and don't track the car, you won't experience oil breakdown due to either excessive temperatures or mopisture in the crank case so the same oil will last five times as long as the tracked car and twice as long as the "short trip" driven car. There's no universal number... in other words, in the same engine and using the same oil, you could be throwing out perfectly good oil at 5K miles that could easily go for another 5K, or if you track the car you could already be past the useful life of the oil. Does that make sense?
As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... if you track or drive the car hard enough that your oil cooler fan turns on, I'd dump it every 2K miles at the most. If you mostly drive short distances, I'd dump it every 5K miles. If your daily commute involves driving 45 minutes each way to and from work over a nice twisty road, I'd change it every 10K miles at which point it will likely still be in better shape to provide adequate protection than in either of the previous two examples.
As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... if you track or drive the car hard enough that your oil cooler fan turns on, I'd dump it every 2K miles at the most. If you mostly drive short distances, I'd dump it every 5K miles. If your daily commute involves driving 45 minutes each way to and from work over a nice twisty road, I'd change it every 10K miles at which point it will likely still be in better shape to provide adequate protection than in either of the previous two examples.
12-04-2016, 10:59 AM
#13
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I define frequent as the level at which your UOAs show that the various oil additives still have plenty of life left (a UOA only shows how much life is left in the oil, not how good the oil is). It varies greatly on your driving style. Frequent short trips will produce the most moisture in the crank case and you need to neutralize the acids, so the additives that would degrade the most in this case would be measured by the TBN. If you track the car, the moisture from the crank case will easily evaporate but the oil will suffer a lot more from heat degradation, which mens viscosity breakdown and increased oxidation. If you drive reasonably long trips (30+ minutes) at decent RPMs and don't track the car, you won't experience oil breakdown due to either excessive temperatures or mopisture in the crank case so the same oil will last five times as long as the tracked car and twice as long as the "short trip" driven car. There's no universal number... in other words, in the same engine and using the same oil, you could be throwing out perfectly good oil at 5K miles that could easily go for another 5K, or if you track the car you could already be past the useful life of the oil. Does that make sense?
As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... if you track or drive the car hard enough that your oil cooler fan turns on, I'd dump it every 2K miles at the most. If you mostly drive short distances, I'd dump it every 5K miles. If your daily commute involves driving 45 minutes each way to and from work over a nice twisty road, I'd change it every 10K miles at which point it will likely still be in better shape to provide adequate protection than in either of the previous two examples.
As a VERY GENERAL rule of thumb... if you track or drive the car hard enough that your oil cooler fan turns on, I'd dump it every 2K miles at the most. If you mostly drive short distances, I'd dump it every 5K miles. If your daily commute involves driving 45 minutes each way to and from work over a nice twisty road, I'd change it every 10K miles at which point it will likely still be in better shape to provide adequate protection than in either of the previous two examples.
12-04-2016, 02:49 PM
#14
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Correct. A continuously run motor at constant low revs will place the least demand on the oil. No moisture accumulation in the crank and thus acid buildup, and no excessive mechanical shear.
12-04-2016, 03:48 PM
#15
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AMG3.2 (11-05-2017)
12-04-2016, 04:28 PM
#17
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I was going to say...I have known of so many corvettes that hve had the motors let go. I think Car and Driver blew 2 motors, one on their long term tester and one on their lightning lap car. And then Motor Trend couldn't get their C7 ZO6 to work last year. And my buddy had i think lifter issues or something on his LS7. And those are just engine issues. Don't get me started on the failed fuel tank my friend has on his C7 stingray that had 3000 miles. It dumped all the gas into his garage.
12-05-2016, 12:19 AM
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C63 amg Custom 67 Camaro GLK 350 4matic 2017 AMG GTS
Which one do you like best now? I was thinking of running this or a zinc additive. I hate to run away from what the factory says, but I know their are better oils out there. Thanks in advance.
12-05-2016, 12:30 AM
#20
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Is this the stuff? How to add it? Anytime or on oil change? How much to add?
Sorry for the questions, but I plan on keeping the car forever, so engine longevity is high on my list.
12-05-2016, 06:33 AM
#21
Guys - While I am clearly biased, as I work for a company that produces oils - be VERY careful with oil additives. The manufacturers of your engine oil say not to put additives in it, as do the makers of the engine.
That's got to mean something. You are putting your engine at risk for no good reason. A quality engine oil will provide enough protection to have the motor internals outlast most other parts of the car.
That's got to mean something. You are putting your engine at risk for no good reason. A quality engine oil will provide enough protection to have the motor internals outlast most other parts of the car.
