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Rotella plus zinc additive?

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Old 06-08-2017, 10:55 AM
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Default Rotella plus zinc additive?

Anybody running both?
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 11:38 AM
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Wouldn't recommend it. Maybe 1/4 dose, but definitely not the full amount. The new formulation has been tested and is still within spec of having enough zinc for flat tappet cams, but its possible to have too high of a zinc content also.
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 01:18 PM
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Lot's of good reading here https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/ as to why most additives (including zinc) isn't good for any oil. Also does a pretty scientifically sound debunking of needing extra zinc for our flat tappet engines.

It's a long read but an eye opener. If you want the short version just stick with a quality filter and rotella and change it every 3,000 miles. Regularity is the key.
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 01:42 PM
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Agreed, skip the additive and use good ol' Rotella T4 by itself. It has ample zinc.
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 02:54 PM
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That was an interesting read. The new rotella was like 144 down on his list. Makes me rethink my next oil change.
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Chrisw7562
Lot's of good reading here https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/ as to why most additives (including zinc) isn't good for any oil. Also does a pretty scientifically sound debunking of needing extra zinc for our flat tappet engines.

It's a long read but an eye opener. If you want the short version just stick with a quality filter and rotella and change it every 3,000 miles. Regularity is the key.
Hmmm I read some of this article and while it says using diesel oil can be fine, certain gas motor oils have much better wear protection and that Zinc content is not correlated to wear protection. it also basically says that our fetish with Rotella is completely folklore.

Castrol GTX 5w30 looks like a great one...
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Jeff Blake
Hmmm I read some of this article and while it says using diesel oil can be fine, certain gas motor oils have much better wear protection and that Zinc content is not correlated to wear protection. it also basically says that our fetish with Rotella is completely folklore.

Castrol GTX 5w30 looks like a great one...
That's essentially what I got from it. Compressability, heat breakdown, and shear protection appear to be the only factors anyone should take into account. And correct viscosity.

Also makes me want to push my addition of an oil cooler up my mod list
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Jeff Blake
Hmmm I read some of this article and while it says using diesel oil can be fine, certain gas motor oils have much better wear protection and that Zinc content is not correlated to wear protection. it also basically says that our fetish with Rotella is completely folklore.

Castrol GTX 5w30 looks like a great one...
I read that article over and over for about two months and considered all kinds of alternatives. I would encourage you to do your own "testing" with different oils in your own rover (to a certain extent). What I found is that the lighter weight oils led to the Rover Tick in my engine. Any of the heavier weight 15w40 oils worked much better at quieting down my engine. I choose to use the dino Rotella because it's cheap and gets the job done for 3,000 miles.

Our engines aren't high performance builds with super tight tolerances so some of the things that make those oils perform well on his blog just don't apply to our engines (in my opinion). But there are plenty on this board that use non diesel oils with great results. My first oil change was with T-6 Rotella and I've done Royal Purple and a number of high end oils over the past year. Finally gave the dino Rotella a shot and it runs well, doesn't tick, and doesn't seem to leak as much. I change it every 3,000 miles with an extended Mobil-1 filter and don't have any issues.

I like the guys blog and the info is great, just filter the info with some common sense and a little experimentation on your own and you will figure out what's best for you.
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 04:13 PM
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Yeah, good points. Rotella t4 15w-40 seems to work great for me. No tick. 50 psi all the time under load, 13-16 at idle (hot), and temp of 165-190. Stays pretty clean, change often, readily available anywhere for $13-15/gal. I also use shell v-power pretty much exclusively
 
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Old 06-08-2017, 04:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Chrisw7562
I read that article over and over for about two months and considered all kinds of alternatives. I would encourage you to do your own "testing" with different oils in your own rover (to a certain extent). What I found is that the lighter weight oils led to the Rover Tick in my engine. Any of the heavier weight 15w40 oils worked much better at quieting down my engine. I choose to use the dino Rotella because it's cheap and gets the job done for 3,000 miles.

Our engines aren't high performance builds with super tight tolerances so some of the things that make those oils perform well on his blog just don't apply to our engines (in my opinion). But there are plenty on this board that use non diesel oils with great results. My first oil change was with T-6 Rotella and I've done Royal Purple and a number of high end oils over the past year. Finally gave the dino Rotella a shot and it runs well, doesn't tick, and doesn't seem to leak as much. I change it every 3,000 miles with an extended Mobil-1 filter and don't have any issues.

I like the guys blog and the info is great, just filter the info with some common sense and a little experimentation on your own and you will figure out what's best for you.
​​​​​​

he mentioned that in the average commuter vehicle, the highest ranked oils on his list were entirely unnecessary.

Funny how you mention the lighter oils allowing a tick, I experienced the same thing. Quiet with 15-40, rattle with 10-30. I really wish I knew what component was making the noise so that we could determine if it was detrimental to engine life or not. My guess is that bearing tolerances have grown too large to facilitate adequate oil pressure with 10-30.
 


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