Which Oil Do You Use And Why?

[Super Dave]

Last time I checked most or no car oils can hold up to that kind of abuse that a race bike will put out.

I'll state again that auto rated oil is different than diesel rated oil.  Auto oils have API "S" ratings and diesels have API "C" ratings.  Motorcycle oils have generally subscribed to old API SG rating, automotive API ratings from several years ago.

I will agree that some oils can increase power when compared to others.  Some might only do it for a short period of time before that "wears off".  It's back to cost.  I've seldom been in the position where I've had the fastest bike, but my stuff still works pretty ok in my "budget".

[Gixxerblade]

I'd like to chime in on the cost thing

How much do you spend on horsepower?

The numbers below have been rounded for easy math and this is just an example to show the idea.

Lets say you spend somewhere around $200 - per horsepower when building an engine. So if you increase your output by 10 horsepower you probably spent about $2000.00 to get there.

At first, Fuel like MR9 seems to be a great deal at $20.00 a gallon for 6 horsepower, but remember it's like crack, you keep wanting more so once you've spent that first $20 bucks your hooked.  So you end up using 10 gallons a weekend ($200) for 10 rounds ($2000).  So in the end you've now spent $2000 dollars over the course of a season for 6 horsepower - $2000 / 6 = $333 per horse.  Doesn't seem to be such a good deal now does it?

Now - who has tested different brands of oil on the dyno?

Well if you haven't I'll let you in on something - There's horsepower in them there hills!

So when your considering the cost of your oil you might want to consider the power vs. cost.

What oil do you use that gives you so much HP T.S.? :D Shell Rotella Syn-T 5w40. Yes it is a diesel oil but there has been much actual scientific evidence that it will not harm your engine. There are guys that I know that have compared oils like Amsoil and Rotella and there was not a shred of difference after a race weekend.

[dietDrThunder]

hey Gixxerblade,
I agree that it is outrages to spend $8 a quart on oil that you are going to drain out a weekend or 2 later. All the research that I have done on oils has shown me that there is a difference between car and motorcycle oil. I'm not going to get into the whole tech side of it because I haven't read up on it in the past year or so but keep in mind that a car revs out at about 6 grand (depending what car you have) and some bikes rev out at 14g or so. You gat the idea. Last time I checked most or no car oils can hold up to that kind of abuse that a race bike will put out. On the other hand if you are a race guy who changes there oil every weekend and is spending $40.00 every time to chance your oil gets old real fast.

I want to rehash neither a) what everyone has said, nor b) what I posted up in that linked thread (and others), but here's the very short version of my experiences:

I have sent maybe 30 different oil samples in for analysis over the years, comparing and contrasting everything from convenience store oil to expensive bike-specific synthetics. Every vehicle I own runs Rotella-T synthetic as a result of the information gathered.

Here is a good link if you want to learn a bit about oil:

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

[Gixxerblade]

Thanks dDT.

[Team_Serpent]

Hope you guys don't think I'm saying anything against the Shell oil

I've never had any experieance with it, could be good stuff

Was just trying to add to the thread

[weggieman]

Yes there are differences between car and bike oil. Biggest difference is the additives needed for transmission and clutch in your typical jap bike.

For my bikes over the last 35 years I have been a die hard Castrol user. Air cooled, liquid cooled, two stroke or four I always use Castrol. Just my little quirk. Never had an engine failure of any kind. You gotta stick with proven reliability.

[dietDrThunder]

Yes there are differences between car and bike oil. Biggest difference is the additives needed for transmission and clutch in your typical jap bike.

I've never seen any evidence that these additives make any difference in reports resulting from lab analysis of used oil, but I've certainly heard this quite a bit. I should have made clear that I'm not saying that any oil is junk (altough when I tested conventional Spectro, it was the worst of all, including 7-11 brand oil). I'm only relating my experience that the Shell stuff does a good job. Several others I've had tested also did a great job, including Motul at $10/qt, Amsoil at $9/qt, and Silkolene at $11.25/qt.

None of these out performed Rotella=T synth in any category, at $14/gallon...that's why I use it.

Cheers!

[weggieman]

Oil...........any kind is better than none................

[kvanengen]

There are a lot of good oils out there. I have always said that as long as you use a high end reputable brand like Silkolene, Motul, Castrol ect........ You get the idea. As low as it is a true motorcycle oil because there is a difference between a car and bike oil. I us Silkolene (ride) oil. It's about $7.50 a quart and it works great. I drain it every 1 to 2 weekend and I have never had a motor or clutch problem. But that is what works for me. Every bike is different.   

[russ1962]

...  I toss some sewing machine oil in when I see smoke.

[dylanfan53]

I use baby oil...

oops, wrong forum, sorry.

[EX#996]

I use baby oil...

oops, wrong forum, sorry.

When I saw you posted to this thread, I expected nothing less.....