what weight oil an what kind oil does everyone run. and how often do i need to change fuel filters

 

I use Rotella 5W-40 synthetic and change the fuel filters every 15k miles using Motorcraft filters.

 

I run Valvoline Premium Blue 5W-40 synthetic. I see fewer active regens with this oil.

 

I used Motorcraft 15w-40 for 50,000 miles and switched to Rotella T6 5w-40.
I change fuel filters every 15,000.

 

I run this stuff



And do this every 30,000km

 

I was getting very frequent regens while using Rotella T6, so I followed Romeo Scorpions
and changed my oil with Valvoline Extreme Blue. We drove to canada thursday over 300 miles, soot count was at 1.9 when we left and only climbed to 2.3 after 300 miles. i have never had that happen before. then after alot of city driving in caanda it did a regen on the way home. Soot dropped to .85 from the regen, it usually drops to 1.2-1.4 after a regen. So my initial results seem to prove that the change in brands of oil seems to help alot.

 

You are comparing long trips and city driving not the oil.

For the OP, the recommended oil is 10-30 if using fuel without bio. and 5-40 syn. if you use bio-diesel. Since you never know what you are getting, I use Rotella T6.

 

Plus one on the 5W40 Premium Blue Extreme. I tend to run Valvoline 15W40 in the Summer months, but the 5W40 performs the best by far. A lot of people rave about the Rotella T6, but it didn't impress me at all. Soot generation was through the roof with T6 and when I switched back to Valvoline it was like somebody flipped a switch. I think the T6 preference is driven mainly by cost. I just paid $30/gal for Premium Blue Extreme the past Saturday and I see the T6 for less than $20/gal usually and sometimes on sale for around $16. To each his own, I guarantee you it was costing me more than $30 per oil change in extra fuel for frequent regenerations.

The number one reason to use the Valvoline is that it is Cummins approved. If the holy grail of diesels approves of it, it has to be good stuff. After all, people have bought hundreds of thousands of Dodge trucks just because of Cummins, right?

 

No I comparing all my regens over the last 2 years with plenty of trips to Canada to this trip after the oil change. I have never gone that many miles between regen even when towing my 8000 lb trailer.

 

Ok, I dont understand I guess. If regens are triggered by DPF getting filled, which is a byproduct of diesel combustion, how can a different oil affect that?

I want to understand.

 

i have no idea but it seemed to work,
Also I first started noticing my increased regens when I had the nox reflash done and changed oil the same day, I always blamed it on the nox reflash.

 

The ash content of the oil is the biggest factor. That is why you are only supposed to use CJ-4 rated oil in DPF equipped engines. Some manufacturers even warn of rapid DPF fouling if you use oil that is not at least CI-4+ or CJ-4 rated.

If you really want to learn about synthetic motor oil quality, do some research on base stock and what type each supplier is using. There is a lot of interesting reading material when it comes to synthetic oil. My first question would be how does Shell manufacture a premium synthetic diesel oil for less cost than the average synthetic oil for gas engines?

 

Here is some info on Valvoline Blue. I may switch to it next time I need an oil change.

https://valvoline.com/products/comme...ed-products/10

 

The way this occurs seems to be through the PCV system. Gasses from the crankcase/oil are routed into the intake for combustion, where they apparently create something that loads up the DPF. I discovered or should I say confirmed this accidently.

For a few hundred miles, my active regens suddenly dropped to near zero, with soot levels that would rise, then drop down again, never getting to an actual regen. I drive the same route regularly, so a change like this is quite noticeable. I couldn't figure out was going on.

Why the change?

I finally noticed the smell of diesel exhaust. That's when I found that I left the oil filler cap off. It was laying on top of the battery. I put it back on and my regen frequency returned to normal (bad).

The oil was Rotella T6

Based on another FTE forum member's recommendation I tried the Valvoline Premium Blue. Turns out what he discovered is true.

 

Thanks, thats the part that I was missing. Based on the link provided, the Valvoline isnt synthetic. There is a Valvoline Extreme Blue that is however. I wonder if this would occur with both?