PSD's and Synthetic test
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,821
Likes: 19
From: South Dakota
Originally Posted by arninetyes
By the way, I just picked up 4 gallons of Shell Rotella-T synthetic for $13 per gallon. That works out to $3.25 per quart - plus a Motorcraft filter from Walmart at $9.99. When I first bought the truck, the local stealership wanted $75 for an oil change. That is about what it costs me to do it myself and use synthetic.
I don't know how I'll like the Shell synthetic, but at that price, I thought I'd give it a try. I know the Shell Rotella dino oil works well.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,821
Likes: 19
From: South Dakota
Originally Posted by 444dieselrod
It just realy annoysm me when people make these statements, and have never tried it. Dont knock it till you try it, if you dont like it, do back to dino.
You live in South Dakota. it gets cold there, prlly close to the normal 0* days we have here. Dino oil turns to a glob a goo when its cold, synth doesnt. I dont realy care about the price, that why i have a job, I dont care if I can only go 3K on an oil change i have two days off a week, I have to do something on these two days.
The reason I went to synthetic is for its flow characteristics. When it was 25* and I had dino in it i had to use the block heater, and then the truck barely ran, BECAUSE the dino was so thick the injectors had a real hard time firing. with the synth. it has only not started ONCE, with NO BLOCK HEATER, and it was 0* and windy as H*LL. and I realy believe that was cuz there just wasnt enough heat, it smoked a WHOLE LOT, which means there was plenty of fuel. The real kicker for me was that the truck start, runs, and drives better with the synthetic. With these HEUI systems on the PSD they are REAL sesitive to temperature change, because they rely on oil to fire the injector.
All this was stated earlier in this post, just had to say it all again I guess.
Diesel Rod
You live in South Dakota. it gets cold there, prlly close to the normal 0* days we have here. Dino oil turns to a glob a goo when its cold, synth doesnt. I dont realy care about the price, that why i have a job, I dont care if I can only go 3K on an oil change i have two days off a week, I have to do something on these two days.
The reason I went to synthetic is for its flow characteristics. When it was 25* and I had dino in it i had to use the block heater, and then the truck barely ran, BECAUSE the dino was so thick the injectors had a real hard time firing. with the synth. it has only not started ONCE, with NO BLOCK HEATER, and it was 0* and windy as H*LL. and I realy believe that was cuz there just wasnt enough heat, it smoked a WHOLE LOT, which means there was plenty of fuel. The real kicker for me was that the truck start, runs, and drives better with the synthetic. With these HEUI systems on the PSD they are REAL sesitive to temperature change, because they rely on oil to fire the injector.
All this was stated earlier in this post, just had to say it all again I guess.
Diesel Rod
LOL, I never ever said that I was against synthetics, just that it they are a waste of money...in fact my F-150 used to get nothing but M1 5w30...till I put the numbers to the paper, and performed UOA's of my own vs convetnionals.
Heck, thru winter we average 0 deg weather, and -30F isn't uncommon. 10w30 conventional works just fine.
Believe me, I used to be on the synthetic band wagon till I spent time in the Oil and Lube Forum and BITOG.
Nothing but honest numbers in my previous post.
Last edited by superrangerman2002; Mar 14, 2005 at 07:53 PM.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 25,090
Likes: 1,111
From: Rio Rico, AZ.
I have to cast my vote for synthetic. My reason is how much quieter it is when it's cold. With the dino oil and cold engine with frost on the ground it started just as well and idled just fine, but when you try and drive away it was loud enough to vibrate the cab of the truck. Not so with Mobil 1 Delvac 5-40. Once warmed up, no difference at all.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,769
Likes: 95
From: Phoenix, AZ
Just pulled my last Blackstone report on my dino oil. Had 4K miles on it. Tested out below the norms for the miles, etc. I'm running the Oil Guard bypass and the AIS intake.
Anyway, saw a deal on the Synthetic Rotella T and bought a couple cases. The Rotella is much cheaper then the Mobil 1 , Amsoil, etc. Took the advice of a fellow PSD owner who has been running it a while.
Changed out my filters and filled her up with new synthetic. Thought I'd see if I can notice any difference at idle, oil temp, oil prssure, mpg, and oil test. Of course I also like the lubrication advantages. Anyway, I'll run a few oil changes through it before I come up with any pro's or con's. I'll send another sample to Blackstone in a couple of changes.
So far, it starts right up in cold weather a lot quicker, idle is normal and it seems a bit quieter, but it always ran a bit quieter after a change with the dino too.
Anyway, saw a deal on the Synthetic Rotella T and bought a couple cases. The Rotella is much cheaper then the Mobil 1 , Amsoil, etc. Took the advice of a fellow PSD owner who has been running it a while.
Changed out my filters and filled her up with new synthetic. Thought I'd see if I can notice any difference at idle, oil temp, oil prssure, mpg, and oil test. Of course I also like the lubrication advantages. Anyway, I'll run a few oil changes through it before I come up with any pro's or con's. I'll send another sample to Blackstone in a couple of changes.
So far, it starts right up in cold weather a lot quicker, idle is normal and it seems a bit quieter, but it always ran a bit quieter after a change with the dino too.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 10,600
Likes: 3
From: Carhenge
I sitched from mineral to synthetic 5-40 this winter because it is hard to find diesel rated 10-30. I don't think I'll be going back to mineral oil. The increased fuel economy I'm seeing will more than pay for the price of rotella synthetic at the same change interval as I was giong with mineral, and the other benefits are all gravy.
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