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Rotella 15w40 vs Valvonie 5w40 extreme, and the winner is....

100K views 358 replies 114 participants last post by  KB3MMX 
#1 ·
Well in todays event we have the current champ, ok what Ive been running since I got the truck but its the current one to beat since its what Ive run and has done fine, is Rotella 15w40 motor oil weighing in at a modest $11 a gallon. Yeah!

In the challengers camp we have Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme Full Synthetic Motor Oil 5W40. Weighing in at THIRTY FREAKIN dollars a gallon. Booo hiss hiss, hey its my wallet so it hurt so boooo hisss.


The rotella has done me fine so far so can valvoline hold a candle to an oil that cost a good bit less than HALF of what the rotella is demanding price wise? Or will this be another example of oh well I think it might of been a little better than the old dino oil but not worth the extra money contest.

Well the day opened with the usual draining of the current champ and nothing new here. Looks like tar and is as black as an oil can possibly be. After removing the oil I installed the new washer I got from napa. If you havent seen one of these, get one. Its the brass washer for the drain bolt but it has a rubber sleeve on the inside of the washer. No brainer here, 50 cents and no more oil drain bolt leaks.

After first cranking up it took a very short time to quiet out nicely. Injector noise seems to be down a good bit. Might be the 5w40 weight oil vs the 15w40 oil but so far the valvoline gets the points here. Land slide? Not for $30 a freaking gallon. So even though valvoline improved it, it didnt improve it $30 a gallon worth.

Next after running the truck for about 5 minutes I had to move it from where I changed the oil back to its parking spot. The pedal seemed a good bit more responsive. Hmmm. So the motors more peppy now. Ok another win for valvoline. $30 worth? Hell no, but an improvement none the less.

A short time later I had a service call to head out for. Well after adventuring down the driveway I noticed it was definitely a bunch more sensative on the pedal. Another improvement. After making it out to the highway and pulling out in the road I start pushing down on the pedal serious style now. The back end came loose and did a minor slide to the side which I got back straight and it caught traction pretty fast and went on. So some freaking how I picked up a real difference in power from an oil change??? Never seen anything like this!

So based on each mini test done and my playing down the highway Id have to say the verdict is.

Rotella can KISS MY ARSE and its Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme Full Synthetic Motor Oil FTW and I will be running nothing but it from now on.


Yeah $30 a gallon is a big step up per oil change but when I can get this kind of a difference theres no way Im going back. I havent tried rotella synthetic and dont plan on it since its not that much cheaper and I know Ive got a winner with valvoline synthetic. So I highly recommend going from rotella normal to valvoline synthetic but to be honest the rotella synthetic could of had the same results. Just something for others running the 7.3 to consider next oil change time. Try it, ya might like it :D
 
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#2 ·
I pay about $25/gal for Premium Blue Extreme. I've seen Rotella 5w40 for $16/gal but it's not a full synthetic. You will be able to extend your drain interval on the Valvoline so it's not a total loss.

I never tried it on a 7.3 but you can't give me anything else to run in a 6.0!
 
#3 ·
good to hear.

But you did compare a conventional oil to a synthetic,...and even though I personally think Rotella is junk,....it wasn't a fair comparison/fight.

Doesn't really matter though,...the only thing that matters,..is you are happier with the decision you made....

But like LRTmatt said....now you can extend your drain interval.....by atleast DOUBLE
 
#4 ·
Yep I meant to mention that, I did mention going from 15w40 to 5w40 could account for some of the change..


Again this is the only oil brand/type change Ive ever done and could actually tell the difference. Night and day difference.
 
#9 ·
Id of called bs in a heartbeat if I hadnt of seen the difference myself. Thing loves the new oil.
 
#10 ·
Very interesting! Congrats on the results, I might just have to give this a shot. Like you, I have been a Rotella 15w40 user since day #1, but I'm willing to experiment.

You guys say double your change interval... Well I change mine now every 5k, so would it be safe to assume that maybe 8-10k change intervals are possible with the Valvoline Extreme Blue?
 
#12 ·
Sweet. Now, when I change to the fully synthetic oil, are their any problems with the conventional Rotella that is left in the HPOP, Oil rails, oil cooler, etc when it mixes with the new Synthetic oil or should that little amount of oil left over not make any difference when it mixes with the 16qts of Valvoline Blue?
 
#13 ·
It's fully compatible and will mix for the initial change unless you do have powerstroke help guy do "top oil change" for you! It's amazing how many Rotella users swear it's God's gift to oil until they actually try something else. I know, I was one of them.
 
#14 ·
Oh I know, that guy is a freakin boob :pointlaugh:

Next oil change will be Valvoline Extreme Blue here, I'll report back if I have any interesting results like the OP had. Thanks guys.
 
#15 ·
Well when I was running rotella 15w40 I couldnt go 10k if I wanted to. Truck ran like crap at 3000 to 3500, kinda that feeling of change it now or walk.
 
#17 ·
Hopefully one of the others can chime in on that since I just switched I have no idea how its going to do for the summer.
 
#19 ·
I ran it all this past summer. Even though it's a 5w pour weight, it's still a 40 weight oil at operating temperature. Ford didn't initially recommend it for the Powerstroke, but their story has changed a little now that they have a Motorcraft 5w40 synthetic.
 
#21 ·
So this oil is 5w40 Synthetic Valvoline Blue Extreme just making sure i got it right. im going to try it im not getting good results with my rotella 15w40 in my OBS since the big injectors.
 
#24 ·
Here is the plan that I follow.

Delcac 1 oil/$135.00 for 4 gallon

1 quart of TX-7 oil additive every 10,000 miles.

Change truck filter every 5000 miles and sample. I use only filters from the International dealer.

Drop and drain at 20,000 if oil samples show ok.

Change the FS 2500 filter at 20,000 (partial oil filter that filters to 3 microns).
I can still see through the oil and read the items on the dipstick.

Don't try extended oil use past 10,000 miles unless you have a good oil sample program with the TBN check. TBN checks are a look at the additive package from the oil sample. I use Blackstone Labs for oil samples.

JonFord :ford:
 
#31 ·
I run regular rotella for the most part 130k so far. I have tried the deleo and delvac but the truck just runs noticeably better on the rotella. I bought 4 gallons of the syn rotella and will be giving it a try this oil change to see how it does. Why is everyone going to the valvoline syn? Is it because of the base stock used in it? I wanted to try the schafers 9000 out but nobody in my area sells it and I'm not going to run oil I have to mail order.
 
#32 ·
I went with the valvoline this time because of two things. One I wanted synthetic this time to try it and two I figured trying a different brand was a good test also. So I did both by going with the valvoline.
 
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