I guess you should run what you like best and do used oil analysis reports on your oil to make sure it's looking out for you during it's life in your engine. I went to Scheaffers because I can get it delivered to my door for about $18.00 a gallon. It's a full synthetic however I'm not sure what oil group it falls into. I'm going to keep tabs on it via used oil analysis. I can tell you it starts quick and my milage hasn't changed any. It is a 5w-40 though.

 

I have considered the Scheaffers as well. I have gotten contacts for a couple of suppliers in British Columbia but as of yet haven't contacted them.

 

I've also heard the Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme 5w40 is excellent. It's a Group 3-4 synthetic I believe.

 

Hope I am not hijacking .................

I have run Schaeffer 9000 for 5 Oil Change Intervals. In the last 3 analyses, the lead numbers started climbing. Nothing too bad, just a confirmed, steady climb in the concentration. This has been reported by 3 other people (that I am aware of) on posts across several forums. Who knows if it is a real problem. Because of the lead, I have switched to Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme recently and will report the UOA when I get it. I also switched to Schaeffer 7000 in my sons 7.3L and the lead jumped up in it as well (3 OCI's). Many knowledgeable folks say Schaeffer is top notch oil, it appears that my trucks (and a few others) do not seem to "like it".

Schaeffer 9000 is in the "Group III / Group IV blend" category. It is 20-25% Group IV. Group III is defined as "severely hydrocracked" base stock. At one time, Group III was not called synthetic. Now it is allowable to call it a full synthetic - although I have read that there is a minimum amount of Group IV that has to be added in to the Group III to call it a full synthetic (I haven't confirmed this yet). The improvements in the hydrocracking process have made the Group III base stock into a very fine product. Most of what I read states that the Group III oils are the most "cost effective" oils.

You can get a clue on what base stock an oil uses from the CAS numbers in the MSDS sheets (note that the VII's get higher for the Group IV and V base stock classifications).

Group III CAS #'s:
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 175pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=233 border=0 x:str><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 175pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 8521" width=233><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; WIDTH: 175pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" width=233 height=17>178603-64-0,</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BORDER-TOP: windowtext; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; WIDTH: 175pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" width=233 height=17>178603-65-1,</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; BORDER-TOP: windowtext; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 0.5pt solid; WIDTH: 175pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 0.5pt solid; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" width=233 height=17>178603-66-2</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Group IV PAO's (VI of 155 +):
68649-12-7
68037-01-4
163149-29-9
151006-63-2
151006-62-1
151006-60-9

Group V Diester (VI of 170 +):
28472-97-1

Note:
Viscosity Index (VI) is an empirical number indicating the rate of change in viscosity of an oil within a given temperature range. Higher numbers indicate a low change, lower numbers indicate a relatively large change. The higher the number the better. This is one major property of an oil that keeps your bearings happy. These numbers can only be compared within a viscosity range. It is not an indication of how well the oil resists thermal breakdown.

 

Too expensive for my blood

 

Thanks for the info Mark. I guess I'm just trying to find a syn. that my truck will like. Mainly for colder weather, piece of mind. I don't plan on running it any longer than I would the dino.

 

I really like Mobil-1

 

Great post Bismic. I too checked out UOA on BITOG forums. The Valvoline did not have many reports but I have seen quite a few guys running it and had it recommended to them by performance shops and retailers. None of these guys that recommended it sold it, so the info SEEMED unbiased. I'm glad to see some info on the Schaeffers from someone who ran it and stayed on top of it with UOA reports. I might be changing again if I see the same results, at least I know what to look for. Where did you have your UOA done Bismic? Blackstone? Did they point out the climbing lead numbers? What exactly is the source for lead in the used oil? Fantastic Info!!!

 

I personally would not use RP, it is not a "great" oil. It is okay but nothing special, check UOA's. Use mobil, rotella, delo, schaeffer's, amsoil, etc.

 

Like someone else in this thread stated earlier, I didn't notice any improvement with the Royal Purple over the Dino oils, so I tried other stuff. As a matter of fact, I haven't seen really any noticeable improvement from any of the synthetics I have run (Rotella, Mobil 1, Royal Purple or the Schaeffers) except for the better starting in the winter. I'm running Schaeffers because I get it for $18.00 a gallon delivered to my door. It starts good, has good acceleration, just like the other synthetics, and the milage seems to stay constant. Even the Rotella synthetic is now over $20.00 a gallon at Wal mart. So, the Schaeffers seemed like the way to go. We'll see.

 

Thats my oil choice to.
Its tried and proven for many years.

 

I have used the Delo 400, Mobil 1, Rotella T, Royal Purple, and Amsoil. I noticed in both my Duramax when I had it and my F250 that both trucks were noticable noiser with RP and Amsoil. This doesn't mean they are bad oils but I just noticed a bit more noise. I have always been a fan of Mobil 1 but finding at Walmart or anywhere in the quantities I need has been tough. Recently I moved to Rotella T 5W-40 Syn CJ-4 that Wally world now stocks. I have alot of friends who swear by this stuff who have diesels. In the end I think Mobil 1, and Rotella T are the most common and most liked. The kicker is regular oil changes, either oil will do you well, if they are are changed regulary. I am going to get slammed for this but even with Syn I still change mine every 5000 miles. It's cheap insurance for an expensive motor and it's worth the longevity. I am not a fan of extending oil changes just my 2 cents.

Pit

 

I had Blackstone run the routine analysis. On one oil change, I caught two samples and sent one to Blackstone and one to Polaris. The results are:

Oil change 1-7 : Lead is 0 to 1. Switched to Shaeffer 9000 after 5th OC.
Oil Change 8 : Lead is 6
Oil Change 9 : Lead is 7 (both Polaris and Blackstone)
Oil change 10: Lead is 8

OCI is apprx 5000 miles

The lead in my sons 7.3L truck came back at 11 and then 16. The copper (3 to 10) and iron (11 to 24) came up also.

Again, sorry if I am hijacking, but my point is that on some of the less commonly used oils - I would HIGHLY recommend getting the UOA work done. My numbers held low for two OCI's and then started going up. I have heard a lot of good things about Royal Purple and now Valvoline. I chose Valvoline, but I will continue w/ the UOA.

I had great numbers w/ the Motorcraft oil, but I changed it every 3k miles.

In picking an oil (stick w/ CI4+ or CJ4), I would say look for the viscosity rating you want (15W40 or 5W40, etc), then pick an oil with a high viscosity index (over 150), and then do the UOA. Probably can't go wrong w/ this approach.

 

No slamming here as I do not intend to extend oil change time due to running syn either.

 

Wow! Thanks for the MSDS #'s!!!

I'm one of the people having the same problems with Lead and Iron numbers using Schaeffer's. My analysis came back good (Blackstone) for several changes done at 5,000 to 6,500 miles using the 9000 5W-40, and then all the sudden the last 2 analysis came back with higher wear #'s.

Schaeffer's must have changed something. I was using the CI4-Plus oil the whole time, so I can't blame it on the new CJ rating.