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Oil Weight for Turbo D

25K views 57 replies 27 participants last post by  NeonPinHead 
#1 · (Edited)
Should I just stick with recommended 5-30 or should I switch it up to something else with the turbo setup on her?

Also, should I still only fill to recommended spec, or is a slight overfill required at all?

Thanks!:tank:

EDIT:

General Thread Consensus = Rotella T 15w-40
 
#3 · (Edited)
Wow, 20-50, that's some pretty heavy stuff! Would that possibly bring up my hot idle oil pressure?
 
#6 ·
And these heavier weights are OK for a stock y8 oil pump?

Jumping to 20-50 seems like a massive jump, I feel better moving to 15-40 first.

Isn't Rotella designed for diesel engines (not that it matters I suppose), I know we use it in all of our Cat equipment at work.
 
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#11 ·
Just doesn't have all the additives in it. And its not really a heavy oil guys its a 40 weight at warm which I will take a heavier oil for a little more bearing film and besides d's don't rev to high to really need a lighter weight oil.
 
#10 ·
Yeah 10-30 is sounding like the most logical first jump, lol. I always use Mobil 1 full syn in all of my motors so I like knowing I can get it in 10-30.
 
#15 ·
after reading alot of oil test i went with the rotella t4 10w-30 i believe, its a synthetic mix diesel oil that has a great zinc count and a few other high temp things that matter the most, even ran it in my car after the turbo with no problems..its about $16 a gallon at wally world
 
#20 ·
Go find out your turbo brand and see what they recommend

I personally would not recommend thick ass oil

I would use synthetic 5w-30. If you are worried that it will get hot with the turbo and break down, go buy a $30 oil cooler and an ebay 10-20 dollar sandwich adapter
 
#23 ·
15w40 is thick when it's only 30 degrees or less out here in chicago winters. The first number is the viscosity when the oil is cold. I'd personally use mobile 0w40, same thickness when it warms up, but nice and thin for when you start the motor and need that crucial lubrication.
 
#24 · (Edited)
depending upon where you live, you may need that however, especially in a multiweight oil you do not want to have a very large spectrum between the lowest and highest viscosity when cold/warm.

Why? because they add in "viscosity index improvers" basically they are small molecules of plastic that grow larger with heat and that makes the oil thicker. Thats all fine and dandy, but since they can only grow larger with heat, and not shrink that means that your 0w-40 oil is actually 0 weight with a shitload of viscosity improvers to make it 40 weight when warm.

Now usually this isnt a problem, however those viscosity improvers tend to break down rather quickly (more quickly than the base oil) when they break down, they dont "grow" quite as much or at all. That leads to either a thinner oil, or wrong thickness oil.

So the best solution to this would be a straight weight oil, because a straight weight oil has Viscosity improvers as well since when you heat oil the viscosity goes down the improvers are required to keep it at the needed viscosity instead of water. Or switching to a multigrade oil that has a smaller spectrum between the winter and warm weights (instead of 0-40 try 10-40 for less improvers).

I dont know why, but i thought i would just add that in.
 
#25 ·
I love a thread with a split number of people saying opposite things.

I guess I'll just make up my own damn mind. :p Thinking about trying out 15w-40.
 
#27 ·
Thanks Frodo. I am thinking heavily about giving the Rotella a shot.

Are you using the base dino Rotella, or the synthetic T6 stuff?
 
#30 ·
Sounds good. Going to look at the rotella when I'm at the store today.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app
 
#34 ·
I did my change today and opted with the Rotella T 15w-40 as many have suggested and like, and I must currently give my thumbs up to it. Quieter valve train and better hot pressures across the board. I think I like, and it was cheap! $25 for oil and filter, ohhhh yeah!
 
#38 ·
Sometimes the most simple threads just don't exist. :) Or at least for the application you are trying to apply it too. I couldn't find any other threads regarding oil weight for turbo D's.
 
#41 ·
Oil pressure gauge > BS in thread.

A good 10w30 is fine unless you are tracking the car or making enough power to heat up the engine during one run at a drag strip.

Look at what the modern factory turbo cars are running. They don't normally go too thick.
 
#43 ·
I like 5w30, full synthetic, with a good base stock, opinions abound but the better the base stock the better the oil will hold up to your high temp turbo.

Any addatives eventually go away as they are used up, the only way to know when this is happening is to have a new sample tested, and then take used samples at intervals.

$0.99 oil at the dollar store could be fine if its changed often enough, but the same can be said for $5.00 oil, it truly depends on use and initial quality.

If I ran a drag car I might run that $0.99 oil one day at the strip and feel fine, but thats just a guess without the testing.

I change my oil every 3k regardless, I like to see clean oil in the engine, 3k pretty much makes this happen, but tests on some of the better oils have been shown to allow much longer oil change intervals.

As for what is the right weight oil, it is more a function of bearing surface, oil pressure, and force exerted on the bearings, also important is the type of bearing clearance you are running, along with the oils shear properties.

I surely do not feel qualified to answer this question with any authority, but I will say that I feel better using known high quality synthetic oils over dino sauce.

JGTC-EG
 
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