Rottella 15-40 now can hear my valves

Before I start I do not want to start a "What oil do you think is best" thread. It's been flogged to death.

Last oil change on my 05 CBR600RR I tried out the Rottella-T 15-40 dino oil. I almost imediately noticed I can now hear my valves. Anyone else experience this with this oil?

Again... please keep the "I use Brand XYZ synth with turbo boost and crank case elves" to a minimum.

I still dont understand why people are using diesel oil in there bike to save a couple bucks,Diesel motors max rpms are like 5500-6000rpm not 12000rpm

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumpingjupiter

Before I start I do not want to start a "What oil do you think is best" thread. It's been flogged to death.

Last oil change on my 05 CBR600RR I tried out the Rottella-T 15-40 dino oil. I almost imediately noticed I can now hear my valves. Anyone else experience this with this oil?

Again... please keep the "I use Brand XYZ synth with turbo boost and crank case elves" to a minimum.

I haven't tried it in my bike, but I did put it in my Zetec engine in my van, and you're right, it did change the acoustics quite noticeably. I'm not sure if it's my valves or some other part of the internals.

Better? Worse? I don't know, but it is different. It's a rear-engine, so it's a bit hard to locate a sound from the other end of the vehicle.

I don't know if this is a problem or not. There are plenty of good long-term reviews if Rotella dino oil in the same engine as mine, so I'm leaning towards just living with it. I may switch to the Rotella Synthetic at the next change, to see what difference that makes. Gotta make a trip to Wal-Mart in Bellingham soon...

Robyn

Yes. I used it based on all of the glowing reports on Rottella-T.

No I have never noticed any changes in any noises, and I have used it on my three motorcycles ('04 Honda VFR & '04 Suzuki AN400 & '80 Kawasaki KZ440) Mazda Miata, Ford Van, pressure washer and generator for years with zero problems.

I did a ton of homework on the issue and it's a very fine oil indeed for motorcycles and cars.

As to your question about valve-train noise I suggest you firstly look in the manual to confirm the required weight range, and if it's correct then let me know under what conditions you heard the valve-train noise, and at what level the oil is at, and if you pre-filled the new oil filter prior to install.

Cheers,

Chum

10-40 is recommended for most street bikes (mine included). Oil level is fine.

All conditions. Warm/cold. Low revs/high revs. (Gets louder and higher fequency at high revs obviously).

Oil level was the first thing I checked cause my truck makes valve train noise when it's low on oil.

Maybe my oil pump is getting tired and doesn't like pushing the thicker juice around. I didn't think 15w would be an issue because it's summer. However, since summer has turned into extended spring... Maybe I'll drain a liter and ad a little bit of 5w-30 to thin it out a bit.

Since it takes 10-40 (as do all my bikes) 15-40 will be just fine. We do not experience enough extremes in temperature here in the lower mainland for it to matter. All the testing I have read about indicate it's very robust and the weight range specs are excellent.

Insufficient oil to the top end is one reason for excess valve-train noise, as is excessive valve-train wear, or an out of adjustment timing chain, or improper valve clearances.

Do you have a stethoscope handy to isolate the noise source?

$15.00 bux

www.princessauto.com...ord=engine&pop=0

One of the other reasons I like it is it's wet clutch friendly!

I don't recommend mixing 5w30 and 15w40. They have totally different additive packs. Because rotella is not JASO certified and uses a diesel engine additive pack the ash content is higher. This can lead to more carbon depsosits and sludges left behind as the additives used in the oil break down. Pernsonally I don't see any reason for why you would have extra valve train noise.