Synthetic Oil

[HEMIMANN]

I do no towing whatsoever. I live in summer year round (snowbird). I change my oil/filter (with my hands) evey 3k miles or 6 months, whichever comes first (never gone more than 3k miles). My strategy is simply to do everything possible (other than not driving the vehicle ), to prevent the dreaded hemi-tick -- incuding no idling, best filter (Fram XG2), best oil, etc. I'm just looking for confirmation that Red Line is still viewed as the best oil for the hemi (I base "best" on an aggregation of the 3,000+ posts that I've read here and other sites), so if there IS suddenly something better - I'm always listening and wanting to know!!
I'm also (unfortunately) a believer that the Chrysler Engineers do NOT by themselves, call the shots with regards to oil recommendations - there are some other forces at work here .... just based on my 30 yrs experience as an Engineer in a LARGE US Healthcare Company -- all decisions are not based on longevity of the product. (I could be wrong, but I think I'm err'ing on the safe side)
I know ... perhaps a bit excessive - some would even say wasteful, but hey there's lots of worse things to burn $$$ on.
I really appreciate conversing with folks on the Ram Forum site!
Thanks!
John

Ah - I see you're in Beer Town - I'm originally from Madison, so I know your climate well. Since you're not a big tower, I recommend Red Line 5W-30 year round, unless you get piston slap on cold startups in winter. I mean, even if you keep the truck in a heated garage, you'll still have left it outside some time - at work, stores, etc. Milwaukee is a lot milder clime than Madison. Even so, it still gets colder in Milwaukee than where some members developed piston cold slap with 5W-30.

If that's a concern for you, or if you do hear slap on 5W-30, switch to 0W-30 for winter. If you go with HPL Super Car 0W-30, that should be good year round, because they advertise using a more expensive shear-resistant VII polymer additive, so the oil should last a normal change interval. We are yet unsure if Red Line's change to their 0W-30 formula is still adequate for Hemi's (I have inventory of previous 0W-30).

As @Burla notes (he is Forum fluids application expert), HPL is a new supplier to us, and a number of us are just starting to use their oils. From what I've read, they are top notch and could be more optimal than Red Line for our public truck usage (Red Line targets racing mostly - we ended up using a race oil to band aid the Hemi lubrication design defect).

 

[MontanaHandyman]

Ah - I see you're in Beer Town - I'm originally from Madison, so I know your climate well. Since you're not a big tower, I recommend Red Line 5W-30 year round, unless you get piston slap on cold startups in winter. I mean, even if you keep the truck in a heated garage, you'll still have left it outside some time - at work, stores, etc. Milwaukee is a lot milder clime than Madison. Even so, it still gets colder in Milwaukee than where some members developed piston cold slap with 5W-30.

If that's a concern for you, or if you do hear slap on 5W-30, switch to 0W-30 for winter. If you go with HPL Super Car 0W-30, that should be good year round, because they advertise using a more expensive shear-resistant VII polymer additive, so the oil should last a normal change interval. We are yet unsure if Red Line's change to their 0W-30 formula is still adequate for Hemi's (I have inventory of previous 0W-30).

As @Burla notes (he is Forum fluids application expert), HPL is a new supplier to us, and a number of us are just starting to use their oils. From what I've read, they are top notch and could be more optimal than Red Line for our public truck usage (Red Line targets racing mostly - we ended up using a race oil to band aid the Hemi lubrication design defect).

Can you remind me what RL changed in the 0w30 formula that makes it not as beneficial for the hemi? I just purchased 2 gallons on sale at Amazon...was thinking I mite mix it with some of my old stock and throw in some Lubegard. (and how could I tell if the oil I just purchased is the new formula?)

PS: just looked at the specs on RL website and they say 0w30 is still SN, not SP...did they just not get around to updating the site?

 

[HEMIMANN]

Can you remind me what RL changed in the 0w30 formula that makes it not as beneficial for the hemi? I just purchased 2 gallons on sale at Amazon...was thinking I mite mix it with some of my old stock and throw in some Lubegard. (and how could I tell if the oil I just purchased is the new formula?)

PS: just looked at the specs on RL website and they say 0w30 is still SN, not SP...did they just not get around to updating the site?

@Burla was in contact with their Rep. The stated purpose was to go from API SN to API SP, in effect marketing to mass consumer market - not racers. SP changes additives to lessen LSPI (which doesn't affect Hemi's and is ostensibly a harmless additive change), but SP also has a "fuel saving" aspect to it that oil suppliers lessen viscosity to a very low value within the SAE viscosity grade range. This is opposite of what Hemi engines need.

I'll use HPL's published spec data for their two 0W-30 grades for an easy example -
API SN viscosity @ 100C is 12.2 cSt
API SP viscosity @ 100C is 10.0 cSt

 

[MontanaHandyman]

@Burla was in contact with their Rep. The stated purpose was to go from API SN to API SP, in effect marketing to mass consumer market - not racers. SP changes additives to lessen LSPI (which doesn't affect Hemi's and is ostensibly a harmless additive change), but SP also has a "fuel saving" aspect to it that oil suppliers lessen viscosity to a very low value within the SAE viscosity grade range. This is opposite of what Hemi engines need.

I'll use HPL's published spec data for their two 0W-30 grades for an easy example -
API SN viscosity @ 100C is 12.2 cSt
API SP viscosity @ 100C is 10.0 cSt

RL says the viscosity for their 0W-30 is 11.7 on their website, so doesn't look too bad...?

 

[HEMIMANN]

RL says the viscosity for their 0W-30 is 11.7 on their website, so doesn't look too bad...?

It isn't - that's for the original formula. @Burla I believe asked them when the spec sheet will be updated.

 

[Travis8352]

Can you remind me what RL changed in the 0w30 formula that makes it not as beneficial for the hemi? I just purchased 2 gallons on sale at Amazon...was thinking I mite mix it with some of my old stock and throw in some Lubegard. (and how could I tell if the oil I just purchased is the new formula?)

PS: just looked at the specs on RL website and they say 0w30 is still SN, not SP...did they just not get around to updating the site?

They said they wont update the site until the new product has enough market penetration

 

[HEMIMANN]

Wowsa - we always introduced new spec sheets at the time of new product introduction. This is very strange to me.

 

[Travis8352]

Wowsa - we always introduced new spec sheets at the time of new product introduction. This is very strange to me.

Thats my opinion to. Seems misleading

 

[Ramerica]

Anyone have theories as what is causing piston slap with Redline 5w20/30? Possibly the viscosity at 100F? At 100F RL 5w20 is 53 and the 5w30 is 71. The PUP blend I'm on now is 46-48 with no slap.

Should I bother factoring pour points just worry about keeping my 100F viscosity below 50?

 

[HEMIMANN]

Viscosity too high. Remember, SAE viscosity grades have a wide range of viscosity. Red Line has always been on the high side, being a polyol ester base oil blend.