Shell Rotella T6 Out of Stock! Any available? Any Alternatives?

[fraugher]

Thanks for your discussion, is the Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 that everyone raves about the dark blue bottle that is indicated for Diesel engines? Thank you.

 

[EdMat]

Thanks for your discussion, is the Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 that everyone raves about the dark blue bottle that is indicated for Diesel engines? Thank you.

View attachment 195688

Yep...

 

[fraugher]

Thank you EdMat, excellent. Could you tell me why I should use 10W40 instead of 5W40, or why one brand is better than the other?? Haha, that's just a joke. Thanks again.

 

[ARtraveler]

Must be a typo in the OP. He says F6 but that seems to be non-existent so he must have meant T6. The T6 is what he is saying is out of stock at parts stores and Amazon.

I changed the information in the thread title to T6.

 

[EdMat]

Thank you EdMat, excellent. Could you tell me why I should use 10W40 instead of 5W40, or why one brand is better than the other?? Haha, that's just a joke. Thanks again.

Actually I use the 15W40 version, but then our average temperature is a lot higher than yours.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Could you tell me why I should use 10W40 instead of 5W40,

In case that wasn't part of the joke -

Do you ride in weather cold enough to justify 5W? If not, then there's no benefit in using 5W.

 

[T.P.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-HdFsoBGU

Here is what I found, If you find any- PLAN AHEAD

T.P.

 

[pegasus1300]

when it was on sale a couple of years ago really cheap I bought 10 bottles of the stuff. I guess that was a good move now that it has become unobtainium.

 

[ned64]

Check with O'Reillys auto part store near you if you have one. They might have it. Here where I live they show they have rotella t6 at store I go to .

 

[K80Shooter]

My local Tractor Supply also stocks it.

 

[mecsw500]

Just in case you need a lot of it, Comolube.com sells Rotella T6 15W40 Full Synthetic in 55 gallon drums? Enough there for a lifetime of Spyder oil changes I think.:2thumbs:

 

[cravenfun]

10-40w Valvoline currently in mine. No T6 locally, the diesel guys just scoff it up when it hits the shelves.
BRP specs the 5-40w because that's what is used in their snowmobiles. They sell and service a lot more sleds than Spyders so it's a one size fits all oil for their 4 strokes and the bottom 5 number for the ones that have to start in subzero temps.
As long as any oil is JASO approved for wet clutches your go to go in our machines.

 

[Haze]

No T6 at my local WalMart.

I found T6 at HomeDepot below the cost at Walmart

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

No T6 at my local WalMart.

I found T6 at HomeDepot below the cost at Walmart

:clap::clap:......Thanks ....Mike :thumbup:

 

[mecsw500]

Spend a bit more on either Amsoil 10w40 m/c or Mobile 1 10w40 4T and you'll be even better off However, if you insist on staying at 5w40, this might be a considered option .. https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-Powe...641210637&sprefix=castrol+5w40,aps,132&sr=8-2

Castrol is essentially what Triumph puts in my twins and triples. Seems to do the job and I suspect most of their triples put way more stress on the oil than the 1330 Rotax. The Rotax being dry sump-ed will have a much greater oil capacity, less problems with oil starvation with sideways g-forces on cornering, and a more constant oil temperature. So, anything truly fully synthetic, approved for wet clutch systems and endorsed by a name brand motorcycle manufacturer who "recommends" 10,000 mile oil change intervals is highly unlikely to cause a 1330 Rotax to grenade due to oil related failures with 5,000 mile oil and filter changes. With a 7,000 rpm rev ceiling and producing 115 bhp out of 1330 cc it is hardly the same stress on the oil as Triumph 1200 triples producing well over 150 bhp at 10,000 plus rpm.

If you change your oil regularly, more often if you abuse the red-line or live in a severe heat, cold and/or high dust climate, any choice of the major independent oil brands, or those of the big 6 motorcycle manufacturers will be just fine. I'm not going to lose sleep over which exact brand of high quality oil sits in the sump of my Spyder or motorcycles, or cars for that matter. I'm sure they are not all quite the same and have their own brand specific advantages and disadvantages, and differing prices too, but I think the vast majority of any quality brands are up to the task. I suspect any name brand oil with 5, 10 or even 15 W40 rating will work fine as they all run to the 40 rating when warmed up. If you live in Arizona or the likes I'm sure 20w50 will be just fine too.

If Triumph changed their oil supplier from Castrol tomorrow, I wouldn't worry about it in the least. Same goes if Can Am changed their supplier for XPS. I think it makes about as much difference as filling street tires with air or nitrogen, to be honest.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Castrol is essentially what Triumph puts in my twins and triples. Seems to do the job and I suspect most of their triples put way more stress on the oil than the 1330 Rotax. The Rotax being dry sump-ed will have a much greater oil capacity, less problems with oil starvation with sideways g-forces on cornering, and a more constant oil temperature. So, anything truly fully synthetic, approved for wet clutch systems and endorsed by a name brand motorcycle manufacturer who "recommends" 10,000 mile oil change intervals is highly unlikely to cause a 1330 Rotax to grenade due to oil related failures with 5,000 mile oil and filter changes. With a 7,000 rpm rev ceiling and producing 115 bhp out of 1330 cc it is hardly the same stress on the oil as Triumph 1200 triples producing well over 150 bhp at 10,000 plus rpm.

If you change your oil regularly, more often if you abuse the red-line or live in a severe heat, cold and/or high dust climate, any choice of the major independent oil brands, or those of the big 6 motorcycle manufacturers will be just fine. I'm not going to lose sleep over which exact brand of high quality oil sits in the sump of my Spyder or motorcycles, or cars for that matter. I'm sure they are not all quite the same and have their own brand specific advantages and disadvantages, and differing prices too, but I think the vast majority of any quality brands are up to the task. I suspect any name brand oil with 5, 10 or even 15 W40 rating will work fine as they all run to the 40 rating when warmed up. If you live in Arizona or the likes I'm sure 20w50 will be just fine too.

If Triumph changed their oil supplier from Castrol tomorrow, I wouldn't worry about it in the least. Same goes if Can Am changed their supplier for XPS. I think it makes about as much difference as filling street tires with air or nitrogen, to be honest.

For Spyders it's NOT the engine that wears out the OIL .... it's that fact that the engine SHARES the OIL with the TRANSMISSION .... The tranny " shears " the oil much more than the engine ..... JMHO .... Mike:thumbup:

 

[Valkrocket]

Spot on Mike. :agree:

 

[GeorgeXP700]

Being that Shell Rotella is a diesel oil have you thought about checking at a truck stop or a truck shop?

 

[mecsw500]

For Spyders it's NOT the engine that wears out the OIL .... it's that fact that the engine SHARES the OIL with the TRANSMISSION .... The tranny " shears " the oil much more than the engine ..... JMHO .... Mike:thumbup:

Yes, but so do all motorcycles I have owned too, well apart from most of the BMW's I had that had dry clutches. Given the increased oil capacity of the dry sump-ed Spyder over the motorcycles I've had, I think oil breakdown due to shearing will be less of an issue on the Spyder. All of my motorcycles have survived relatively high mileage no matter what the manufacturer recommended in oil type, so I'm still going to sleep soundly. I see old Suzuki GSXR1100's with high mileage and those things were air / oil cooled and I'm sure they really beat the oil up.

I managed over 90,000 miles out of my old Laverda 1200 Mirage in the 80's, and that thing was air cooled with roller bearings and ran its whole life on 20w50 mineral oil. I had a Honda VF1000R and I put a fair few miles on it in the 90's and that ran on what was then Honda's semi-synthetic oil. It was a complex V-Four engine with gear driven cam-shafts which really sheared oil, let alone the transmission.

If synthetic oil was suddenly unavailable tomorrow, I would still happily run a quality mineral oil in my Spyder, but drop the change intervals and not worry about it. I don't think I've ever had an oil related engine failure or even excessive wear on a 4-cycle engine in recent memory to be honest.

Yes, a good synthetic is the way to go in a Spyder obviously, but I'm not sure there is one best manufacturer's solution. Any quality brand with the right specifications will work just fine in my book.:thumbup:

 

[pegasus1300]

:agree: