[Vwdiesel] Rotella Synthetic

[dominique cormann]

The oil is just fine.

If you are planning on using it for the 6 months or 10K mile interval
that most TDI owners use, then this oil is just fine.

On Freds TDI web forum you will find many users of this oil, and a few
threads on oil analysis's that were done that show it handles this
interval just fine.

A group 3 oil is more then adequate for this application. Buying a group
4 oil for the normal TDI drain interval will not give you more
protection. A group 4 based oil will flow better at arctic like
temperatures ( you'll gain a ~5C advantage ), and it is more stable, so
it can be used if you wished to extend your drain time beyond what VW
recommends. Otherwise, both will perform the same until you start to
beyond the temp or mileage limits.

The rotella product has a pour point of -40c, which is more then what
most people will need.

https://thegenesisnetwork.equilon.com/genesis/prodinfopdf/out/ROTELLA%20T%20SYNTHETIC.pdf

The rotela synthetic has a TBN of 10, and the Delvac 1 has a TBN of 12.

A higher TBN does NOT mean an oil protects better. It just means that it
will likely stay base longer.  During that that time the oil will not
perform any better. So paying more for a higher TBN number alone will
not buy you any more protection, unless you need the higher TBN number,
your just wasting money.

The TBN of the Rotela synthetic is adequate for the interval used by
most TDI owners. If you plan to go longer, or are going to use higher
sulfur fuels, then investing in a higher TBN oil is justified. Otherwise
buy the rotella if its more convenient and/or cheaper.

That all said, we use Delvac 1 5w40 in a saturn SL2 with yearly oil
changes, so i'm not biased against the product. I just think its
overkill without benefit if used for 10K/6 month changes, in a diesel.


On Sat, 15 Feb 2003 19:01:05 -0600
"TexasTDI" <TexasVWdriver at hotmail.com> wrote:

> It's a good oil.  But at $19 a gallon, is overpriced IMO.  It's a Group 3
> oil.  That means it starts out as a dino oil (it's made with dino oil
> basestocks).  Group 4 oils like Mobil Delvac-1 and Amsoil are made with 100%
> synthetic basestocks and only cost about $20 to $25 a gallon.
>
> Also, the TBN (total base number) is very important.  The higher the number,
> the better the oil protects the motor.  Delvac-1 and Amsoil start with a TBN
> of 12, whereas Rotela Synthetic only starts with a TBN of 8.5 .
>
> Chris Thornton
> 1991 VW Jetta GL 2 Door 1.6D - 234k miles
> 2000 VW Golf GLS 1.9TDI 130hp/229ftlbs - 76k miles
> Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants Dealer #1098500
> http://www.amsoil.com
> http://texastdi.com/6/ubb.x
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Val Christian" <val at swamps.roc.ny.us>
> To: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
> Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2003 6:28 PM
> Subject: [Vwdiesel] Rotella Synthetic
>
>
> > Anyone have comments on Rotella 5W40 "synthetic"?  The application is
> > a TDI.
> >
> > Val
> > _______________________________________________
> > vwdiesel mailing list
> > vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
> _______________________________________________
> vwdiesel mailing list
> vwdiesel at vwfans.com
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   o  |~>                                      Dominique Cormann
| (\._[~]                                 dcormann at rogers.com
|~|) |~~|                             http://kozmik.guelph.on.ca