Synthetic Oil

Oil of Choice

  • Castrol Syntec/Edge

    Votes: 233 8.4%
  • Royal Purple

    Votes: 325 11.7%
  • AMSOil

    Votes: 396 14.3%
  • Valvoline Synpower

    Votes: 160 5.8%
  • Mobil 1

    Votes: 992 35.9%
  • Other

    Votes: 660 23.9%

  • Total voters
    2,766

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Ramerica

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How would a greenhorn distinguish piston slap from a bad lifter tick?
 

Burla

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Piston slap only happens when cold, the pistons shrunk more then the block, metal shrinks in cold. If you ever have warm piston slap, you have some real issues.

The dangerous tick is warm idle lifter tick, if it ticks when oil and engine is warm.
 

Eric Cartman

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so what flavor of mobil 1 is everyone using EP ? I am reading good things about EP flavor
Mobil 1 EP is excellent motor oil. For the price, it doesn't get any better.

It went OK, wasn't super rattley/noisy but both RL and HPL are quieter.
It's not possible to hear an audible difference by switching from one oil to the other. It's called cognitive bias.

Try this experiment:

Put HPL or Red Line in your HEMI. Let three or four of your friends listen to it running. Then change the oil to Mobil 1 FS 0W-40. Ask the same people to listen to it again and suggest to them that the engine is now quieter on this oil and ask them if they think it is.

It's called cognitive bias and everyone does it. On forums people do it to each other all the time.

At the end of the day, if HPL or Red Line makes you feel better, then it's worth every penny. That's all that counts.

The UOA looked pretty good:
Looking at your Blackstone UOA, Red Line didn't perform any better or worse than Mobil 1 FS 0W-40 in your HEMI. That means that the HEMI is an engine that just needs good clean oil and a decent filter, and sane OCIs to run for a very long time. Provided you didn't get a batch of bad lifters, of course.

I just prefer an oil that has everything in it instead of having to add LG or whatever
Lubegard BioTech is not an additive snake-oil, it's a mild top treatment for your motor oil. In practice it ads a negligible amount of improvement, if any, to an already awesome motor oil - Mobil 1 FS 0W-40.

I like how quiet it's now running too since switching to HPL.
I hope you realize that HPL motor oils are formulated by the same person who formulated many of the oils that Mobil is selling, including Mobil 1 FS 0W-40. HPL is very good oil, but it can't make your engine sound any different than Mobil 1 or any other oil. You'd need to go down to using something else than motor oil to get a HEMI to sound any different. A HEMI has large noisy rocker arms and noisy injectors, so people think the hear all kinds of stuff when they listen to it. It's trashy, but by no means is it a bad engine.

What facts do you have to back up the claim that Blackstone UOA's are full of inaccuracies?
Blackstone is unable to measure fuel dilution. They have a history of giving bad advice in those "interpretations" they write. A real tribologist should write those notes, not the lab assistant that ran the sample.

They guestimate fuel dilution by the flashpoint that's also no accurately measure by them. It beats me how they can mess that one up. Finally, their viscosity measurements are also all over the place. At least their spectrographic analysis okay. However, sometimes they mix up the samples and you end up getting the results from someone else, with comments that apply to your vehicle.

Unfortunately we're not allowed to post links to other forums. Google some of the things I mentioned and you will easily find the test results, including the humorous apologies from Blackstone for when they mixed up customers' results.

Oil Analyzers is owned by Amsoil so there's that...
Nope, they're not owned by AMSOIL. Oil Analyzers is Polaris Labs. AMSOIL just like to put their brand on the kits they re-sell, just like on everything else they do. Do you really think that AMSOIL blends their own oil? Nope, they don't, especially their API licensed and the Euro oils they sell. All of that is shipped to them by rail and all they do is put it in bottles with their name on it. It's marketing at its finest. Anyway, it's harder to get a Polaris Labs account. Oil Analyzers is cheaper, and the sample goes straight to Polaris. Also, it would foolish for AMSOIL to tamper with customes' oil samples or results. Don't you think?

The dangerous tick is warm idle lifter tick, if it ticks when oil and engine is warm.
What causes that warm idle tick?
 

ramffml

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It's not possible to hear an audible difference by switching from one oil to the other. It's called cognitive bias.

One of my hobbies is high end audio, I'm well aware of confirmation bias. I do however have very good ears. Not only can I hear it, you yourself can actually hear it too on several YT videos floating around comparing the engine noise running one oile (I believe it was amsoil) vs Redline.

I suggest you dig deep down for some humility and try your own experiments, you may actually learn something!
 

Burn2k12Ram

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One of my hobbies is high end audio, I'm well aware of confirmation bias. I do however have very good ears. Not only can I hear it, you yourself can actually hear it too on several YT videos floating around comparing the engine noise running one oile (I believe it was amsoil) vs Redline.

I suggest you dig deep down for some humility and try your own experiments, you may actually learn something!
Some people are only ever going to hear what they want and not actual fact. Not worth the energy it takes to try and steer them otherwise.
 
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Burla

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weird one, silicone and aluminum in base visc 6 and nothing else. Some silicones have some type of plating effect, but I'm sure this would mess up your wear portion of your uoa. It is not only this one, but a couple more aluminum motor oil additives out there. I have no opinion on it at this point. I would be curious to micron ratings.

OIP.jpg
 

Yardbird

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I know for a fact that Castrol Magnatec 5w20 ran much quieter than Castrol Edge 5w20 in my wife's Ford Edge with a 3.5 engine.

It was noticeable as soon as I started the car, and every time I heard it running. The valve train clatter was louder.

I'm still running Edge, on the second oil change with it. I would go back to Magnatech, if Castrol still made it.

I've read that the GTX in a white bottle is the old Magnatec. But, it doesn't say anywhere on the bottle about the "intelligent molecule" Magnatech had, whatever that was.

I have two gallons of PUP 5w30 arriving today for the 3.6 in my Ram. I have never in my life put Pennzoil in anything. You couldn't have paid me to put it in anything back in the 70's when it clogged engines up so badly. But, the technology in the PUP, the UOAs I have read about it, and YouTube head to head test with PUP have convinced me to try it.

I went 5w30 because the VOAs I saw shows PUP to be blended on the low side of its rated viscosity, so 5w30 will likely end up as a high 20w. At least that's my thinking.

These 3.6 engines with the electric fans that don't come on enough to cool down the engine until 220 degrees also factored into my decision to go with a 5w30. Plus, the owners manual reads that 5w30 is fine.
 

HEMIMANN

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Off the topic a bit but What year is your Harley? I have a 2021 Road glide with the M8, it rattles a bit on cold starts then quiets down. Currently using Mobil 1 V Twin but thinking on trying Redline 20-50 once to see if it runs quieter or have heard some say that adding some Lube Gard Biotech will quiet them down also.

Well, it is the Synthetic Oil Thread, and lubrication is lubrication, so......

I bought new 2021 Softail Heritage Classic with M8 107 engine. Mine never did just clank at startup - it clanked all the time! So did gear shifts.

I'd suggest Mobil 1 V Twin + Lubegard will be close to Red Line. Since we're supposed to change engine oil annually regardless of mileage (I don't approach maximum 5k mileage for OCI), I'd say choosing either would be a good choice.

As important is changing the transmission and chain case lube. Definitely go Red Line there, since these are drive boxes that don't get contaminated by combustion blowby, therefore the OCI's are much longer. And they don't take nearly the amount of oil the engine does. There are two different oils for these boxes - RL Chaincase Oil and RL Shockproof Gear Oil. You'll be amazed how these lubes quiet down the clanking. Which means they lubricate much better.
 

HEMIMANN

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weird one, silicone and aluminum in base visc 6 and nothing else. Some silicones have some type of plating effect, but I'm sure this would mess up your wear portion of your uoa. It is not only this one, but a couple more aluminum motor oil additives out there. I have no opinion on it at this point. I would be curious to micron ratings.

View attachment 508316

Yeah, silicone isn't a great lubricant, but I recall it is a polar molecule so does plate out, plus has the highest flash point of any quasi-lubricant. It's the only thing that could lubricate the skip car slides on blast furnaces. We also used it to preserve super-hardened steel military breechcases that could have any lubricant with hydrogen in it.

Obviously the ultra high temp capability isn't needed for engines, so if this is just a plating additive, lubegard would be the better choice. Not sure what the aluminum is for. Yeah, it's soft and used in journal bearings, but ???
 

06 Dodge

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Blackstone is unable to measure fuel dilution. They have a history of giving bad advice in those "interpretations" they write. A real tribologist should write those notes, not the lab assistant that ran the sample.
Well guess I will check out Cummins oil test kits next time..
 

BLUKTY2

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amsoil 0w30 ss looks like a good hemi oil.
For the last 15,000 miles or so I was using Amsoil SS 0W-40 year round. While I have no complaints on it's performance, I decided to switch to a dedicated winter and summer oil, primarily because going with a 5,000 mile OCI means I change my oil twice a year anyway.

So this fall I switched to SS 0W-30 and will use SS 5W-30 next spring for the warmer months.

I only have about 1,500 miles on the 0W-30 but so far so good. Engine is quiet throughout all operating conditions and temperatures so at this point I have to agree with you.
 

danielmid

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For the last 15,000 miles or so I was using Amsoil SS 0W-40 year round. While I have no complaints on it's performance, I decided to switch to a dedicated winter and summer oil, primarily because going with a 5,000 mile OCI means I change my oil twice a year anyway.

So this fall I switched to SS 0W-30 and will use SS 5W-30 next spring for the warmer months.

I only have about 1,500 miles on the 0W-30 but so far so good. Engine is quiet throughout all operating conditions and temperatures so at this point I have to agree with you.
5k OCI on Amsoil seems shorter than getting your money's worth, is that more time based with the seasonal switch?
 

HEMIMANN

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5k OCI on Amsoil seems shorter than getting your money's worth, is that more time based with the seasonal switch?

It's more Hemi-based. Read back about the poor oiling to the lifter rollers & sensitivity of oil flow to contaminants. This is not about how long the oil lasts.
 

danielmid

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It's more Hemi-based. Read back about the poor oiling to the lifter rollers & sensitivity of oil flow to contaminants. This is not about how long the oil lasts.
Oh I've been here through most of it. 5k still seems short for a higher cost oil is all I'm saying, a cheaper oil would "likely" have similar protection for those OCI.
 

HEMIMANN

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Oh I've been here through most of it. 5k still seems short for a higher cost oil is all I'm saying, a cheaper oil would "likely" have similar protection for those OCI.

It is. Changing high value, long life capable oil because of a defective engine design sucks, and we all know it.

Guys are using PUP 5W-30 with Lubegard for that reason. I'm considering it as well, even though I retired and the pandemic put the clamps on lots of activity, therefore few miles.

If I was still working and putting on miles, you bet I'd drop Red Line, esp. since they jacked their prices yet again. Last year was getting on sale for $11.95 per quart, now $16.95. That's a 42% price jump.

Crude oil stock (PAO made from ethylene gas in crude wells) price is back down. POE is made from alcohol and acid, and is only a % of Red Line base oil. NO WAY is this price increase a cost increase. It's a friggin' profit gouge by Phillips 66.
 

ramffml

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Oh I've been here through most of it. 5k still seems short for a higher cost oil is all I'm saying, a cheaper oil would "likely" have similar protection for those OCI.

How much did you pay for your truck? Because these things go between 45k to 80k. Let's say you pay 50k for a nice Ram, are we really quibling about an extra 30 bucks twice a year for a top tier oil? I spend more on coffee in the drive through during that time period when it'd be far cheaper to make it at home.

Sometimes we're are our own worst enemy. I get it, I have the same instincts when it comes to not wasting money, but when it comes to my truck I've long accepted that it's going to cost a few bucks extra every month for proper gas (89 to 91) and proper oil.

After you make that decision and mentally set aside the budget for it, it hurts less when the time comes to put the cash on the counter
 

Travis8352

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How much did you pay for your truck? Because these things go between 45k to 80k. Let's say you pay 50k for a nice Ram, are we really quibling about an extra 30 bucks twice a year for a top tier oil? I spend more on coffee in the drive through during that time period when it'd be far cheaper to make it at home.

Sometimes we're are our own worst enemy. I get it, I have the same instincts when it comes to not wasting money, but when it comes to my truck I've long accepted that it's going to cost a few bucks extra every month for proper gas (89 to 91) and proper oil.

After you make that decision and mentally set aside the budget for it, it hurts less when the time comes to put the cash on the counter
Amen to that!
 
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