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I was told that shell totella t6 synthetic is the right oil for all small engines. Using it in my z465 right now as well as my la140. Am i doing the right thing. Please and ty for your info.--paul

I think that is all KENNYv runs in everything he has, gas or deisel. The current popular thing seems to be HDEO and synthetic in multiviscosity for 4 cycle OPE on this forum if you want the best or better than average at least. On other forums it can vary but T6 or Mobile 1 is very popular. Just a few years back the big fad seemed to be HDEO in 15w40. I live in a small town, i have talked to many people, only one uses a synthetic oil. Every lawn tech i have talked to uses 30 weight in the summer, will put in 10w30 if you ask for it. They pretty much think oil is oil. Just for giggles I asked 8 people in one day at random what kind of oil was in their lawntractors, all 8 were useing plain oil 30 weight. Another time i asked 6 people, 4 women and 2 men what oil they used in their push mower. The two men had no idea other than the oil that came with it. Two of the women said the mower had oil in it already, they saw the man from the store put the oil in. One woman said she did not know, she added from some old bottles that were in the shed when her husband left her for a younger woman. One woman proudly announced she used STP 10w30 from Dollar General and changed it every single year. The one fellow I know who used 10w30 Mobile 1 said he changed it every three years. When I asked him if He thought this oil had enough zddp in it he replied Mobile 1 had no such thing and did not need it whatever it was. One other fellow told me his lawnmower deck was so slick because he used Penzoil with moly, said it blew out the muffler and penetrated the paint. My 89 year old neighbor has told me 30 times that Mobile 30 weight was the best oil made since he began to use it this year on his old rider. Poor guy is so blind he cannot see that the oil he bought is 0w30, not 30. I think you are ahead of the general population, no worries.

as i understand it, there is no zinc in straight wt oil anymore do you add zinc?

misaqope said:

All the parts of the technology have been ensured for the kids. The play field and best essay writing services is highlighted for the comfort behavior of the man for the society.

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Do you write essays that make absolutely no sense too?

You want Zinc, Shell Rotella T-4 (15w-40), has over 1,200ppm of zinc, excellent for solid lifter engines. & it meets JASO M & MA standards.

Shell Rotella also makes a straight 30wt oil.

John R said:

Shell Rotella also makes a straight 30wt oil.

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Yes they do, but after speaking directly to Shell, they informed me they could NOT recommend the straight 30w for my air cooled Kawasaki, since it has very little ZDDP (zinc)..

Their ph # is on a jug of their oil to verify, if needed.

jetta said:

as i understand it, there is no zinc in straight wt oil anymore do you add zinc?

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So why the hell do you think B & S , Kohler , Honda , Kawasaki and every other engine maker plus the aftermarket engine parts companies get oil specially blended to suit the engines.
Zinc has been removed from AUTO OIL not MOWER OIL

So no you are totally wrong there is still zinc in SOME oils, just not what you buy from Walmart for use in cars.

This is the reason I use Valvoline VR1 oil
"Valvoline VR1 Racing Oil: Contains 75% higher zinc than SN or SM motor oil with a balanced additive package designed to work in both racing and traditional applications. Valvoline provides this product in both multi and mono viscosity grades: 20w50, straight 50, 10w30, straight 30, straight 40 and straight 60.
Longer-Lasting Zinc/Phosphorus: Valvoline uses an advanced zinc/phosphorus additive that keeps higher levels of phosphorus in the motor oil where it protects the engine instead of poisoning the catalytic converter."

I often wonder why people who know absolutely nothing about oils are hell bent on using anything else but the oils that are specially formulated for air cooled small engines that get occasional use.
As a person who builds race engines you would have a better than average understanding of oil than most on this list but please remember, 99% of those here have no idea apart from the total B S they see on TV adds.
While the racing oil will not hurt your mower engine, it does not have the anticorrosion package and water dispersal properties of mower oil .
Racing oil is designed to run under extreme conditions usually for very short periods ( 1 session ) the get drained & replaced with the storeage oil or fresh oil after each race.
It is also designed for use in a controlled temperature enviroment on a water cooled engine with a radiator and temperature control system that manages engine temperatures to a very fine degree.

After mower oil the next best thing to run is air cooled motorcycle oil, in particular the "enduro oils".

Or working on the KISS principle ,the same oil you use in your car /truck and changed very often.

Yep, the same oil I use in my Autos.

I love it (especially on youtube) where people say you must use xyz super oil from unicorn poop (that's why it is purple i guess). My "newest" car is 17years old (190Kmiles), my mowers are from the 80's, had snowblowers from the 60's, had a 70's bobcat - all using plain dino oil in original motors.

The people who tell me im using the wrong stuff have a 2 year old car and new riding mower...
Moral of the story- any respectable oil brand name and you can't go wrong.


ps- boobala, do u have Theresa's phone #???

upupandaway said:

I love it (especially on youtube) where people say you must use xyz super oil from unicorn poop (that's why it is purple i guess). My "newest" car is 17years old (190Kmiles), my mowers are from the 80's, had snowblowers from the 60's, had a 70's bobcat - all using plain dino oil in original motors.

The people who tell me im using the wrong stuff have a 2 year old car and new riding mower...
Moral of the story- any respectable oil brand name and you can't go wrong.


ps- boobala, do u have Theresa's phone #???

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I did, but so many guys were callin her to "hit" on her ( I assume) that she got an unlisted number on her land-line, and bought a new cell-phone and uses a encrypted number .... :laughing:..:laughing:

As a rule, I never post on oil threads because people will say I'm nutz but been doing this for decades...

My drain oil from my cars and farm tractors gets 'recycled' through my small engines and then finally recycled in an oil furnace. Never has an issue reusing oil. Always Rotella synthetic 5-40 too.

Well ain't that funny.
Had a friend with a 60's motorcycle which of course filtered the oil via a sludge trap & setteling tank.
HE did the exact opposite.
When he got home from a ride he lubed the chain then drained the oil.
What came out was visibly clean looking and he kept it in a can when he had accrued 2 gallons he used it to change the oil in his truck.
Bottom ends on his bike were suppose to be serviced at 30,000 mile intervals, his was on the way out when he bought the bike , he put another 80,000 on it a sold it on when he gave up motorcycling in the same condition as when he bought it.

HE was a very practical man & as he used to say
Oil is the cheapest & easiest part you can put into your engine.
30 oil changes = a gasket set
40 oil changes = a set of rings
210 oil changes = bottom end rebuild

My "newest" car is 17years old (190Kmiles), my mowers are from the 80's, had snowblowers from the 60's, had a 70's bobcat - all using plain dino oil in original motors.

I just wish there was a site that actually lists the additives in off road type oils. Meeting or exceeding an earlier version of a certain oil doesn't tell anything these days. Current API SN oil is not the right stuff for some older engines regardless of what the label says.

Tom the addatives are all $ 10 words so mean very little to anyone other than Petrolium chemists and I doubt if more than 1/2 of them could decipher them and of those who could less than 1/2 could tell you what they do.

7394 said:

[h=2]Technical Data Sheet Shell ROTELLA T4 Triple Protection 15W-40[/h]

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And I don't really see any info on the additive package but I do see the API SN designation. And I just bought a 2 1/2 gallon jug of the stuff. Can't win.

I changed the oil in my John Deere rider this spring, Kohler Vtwin, used Valvoline 10w30 and started smelling oil burning when I would pull in the shed after mowing, never smelled that before. Changed it quickly to the Rotella 15w40, still smell the oil burning. I had been using Kohler 10w30 before, looking to go cheap. That's what I get. Going back to Kohler oil when I can get to it.

Tom- Sorry this was the link I intended to post. Works great in my Z, & am gonna switch my push mow over to it as well. It's an old B&S Flathead.


http://pqiadata.org/Shell_Rotella_T4_15W40_4192017.html

Tom- is it possible you have a slight oil leak that is giving you that smell ?

Rotella has it's very own distinctive smell..

Thanks for that link. Looks like an actual honest and complete analysis. Now we know.

7394 said:

Tom- is it possible you have a slight oil leak that is giving you that smell ?

Rotella has it's very own distinctive smell..

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Well....... Never thought of that. Thanks!

:thumbsup: Worth a good look anyhow..

I don't see the Ford Powerstroke approval. Am I overlooking it? I thought we determined that T4 met the Ford spec?

Cpurvis- IDK about Fords. But I read this.

For a full listing of equipment approvals and recommendations, please consult your local Shell Technical help desk.

Inquiries:

Shell Lubricants
Shell Media Line
(713) 241-4544

I don't have a Ford Powerstroke, either, but I have a friend who does. That's what got this whole thing started--I bought him a case of Mobil Delvac only to find out it didn't make the Ford approved list. I don't even remember what made me look into that but I'm glad I did. I'd hate to be responsible for the demise of his Powerstroke.

Well, your heart was in the right place.. I think Ford /like Harley would prefer to sell their 'own' brand of oil, or pay to be on the approved list. They do that with Dexos approved for GM oils.