I just got my latest edition of Turbo Diesel Register and there was a great article about engine oil.
They tested all of the popular oils used by us cummins guys.

A surprise to me was that Shell rotella (which is what I use), was among the worst of all the oils.

From what I could see, Cummins Valvoline blue (I think that's what it's called) is about the best when considering price. It was a top performer at only 9 something a gallon.

So now, I'm wondering about diesel fuel conditioner. I add this to my tank every now and again. I also usually use it to fill the fuel filter canister when changing the filter.

Does anyone know which one is best? Has there ever been a comprehensive comparo test on these?

thanks

 

What was the best oil?????????
Brandon

 

ahhh, okay...I may get flamed by TDR membership...but oh well.

ok, some oil engineer guy tested like 21 different oil's.

The six best were:

Cummins/valvoline premium blue at 9.98/gal
Shell Rotella T synthetic at 17.36/gal
Cummins/valv. prem blue sythetic at 21.89/gal
Pennzoil long life at 9.98/gal
Chevron Delo 400 at 10.88/gal
Red line diesel synthetic at 35.00/gal

The order does not matter on these top oils. All are about equal.
So, with this in mind, you may as well pay less and get pennzoil, chevron or cummins/valv.

The worst were:
Shell Rotella T Triple protection
Amsoil premium synthetic
Castrol Tection
Chevron Delo 400 LE

The article basically implied you would be an idiot to use any of the last place oils. They even commented only to use them if you have a particulate trap on your vehicle!

There were a bunch of oils in between the best and worst.

If anyone uses an oil not mentioned above, let me know and I'll tell you how it performed.

The test was "blind", so he didnt know which oil's he was testing.

 

another quick thing...

The oils were tested for everything from viscosity to calcium content and TBN...etc...There was lots of science behind the evaluation that would take me hours to type on here.
The guy who tested the oils had some pretty impressive credentials...including being a consultant for Nascar/NHRA...

I dont know if this helps anyone on here.
But, I have been helped many times here, and am glad to be able to give a little back.

 

i am going to start using the Valvoline Premium Blue.

 

I saw that oil article, very interesting. I only wish they would have tested Cenpeco 15w-40, that's what I use in my truck. We've used it on the farm for years and everybody around here swears by it. It would have been cool to see how they would have ranked it against the others though.
Aaron.

 

I just read that article and it looks like they tested the CI version of VPB. As the TDR went to print, they got the CJ version in and it seems that it's near the bottom of the ho-hum oil.......

where can one get the CI version of the VPB?

 

What about Delvac and Schaeffer? Rotella and Delo 400 are amongst the best in my book. But they did just switch to a CJ-4 base, so that will hurt the performance some. That's why Delo 400 (CI-4+) ranked among the best and Delo 400 LE (CJ-4) among the worst. lol... Funny to see Amsoil Synthetic amongst the worst.

 

I remember when TDR did a comparison test of air filters and found that a Brand X airfilter was freer flowing than no airfilter at all.
The test was supposed to be "scientific" also.
Sort of made me skeptical about any testing they publish.

 

I believe Delvac was somewhere around the middle of the bunch...

I dont know anything about thier air filter test...but this one seemed pretty valid.

I cannot remember all of the credentials for the guy testing these oils...but he had been in the business for a long time and if a multi-billion organiztion like NASCAR uses him...
He also has all kinds of prestigious awards that I dont have time to go look up right now.

I trust this test, and as a result, will be changing the oil I currently use.

Anybody else who read the article? Do you guys think it b.s.?
Opinions?

 

There is another big thread going right now about CJ blend of oils that references the TDR article. https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=136899

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/TDR57_Oil.pdf


I believe the important thing here is to stay away from CJ blend of oils if you own any truck other than a new 07.5 or later 6.7 Cummins.

 

Is Premium Blue a CI-4+ oil?

 

To everyone who read that article (I did), please keep in mind that the REAL test to how an oil performs is a used oil analysis.

To view real world data, check this link out: http://theoildrop.server101.com/foru...=0&Board=UBB26

 

Yeah I agree. Sorry but my distributor has almost 600k on his truck with only 2 oil changes but a lot of testing. Amsoil is what is staying in my baby!!!

 

He ran the same oil for 300k miles?