Car oil?

[SvenDGAF]

I just did an oil change, and as i had some (brand new sealed) 10w40 semi-synthetic motor oil i used it. Is there a difference between 10w40 oil semi synthetic marketed for cars and 10w40 part sythetic for motorcycles?

I figure that 10w40 is 10w40 no matter what it's for? :ummm:

 

[KJShover]

Some car oils have friction modifyers that can cause a motorcycle clutch to slip.

I've been using Valvoline 's Max Life synthetic blend in 10w/40 flavor for quite some time and I have nothing but good things to say about it. I haven't had a lick of problems. I used to run the rotella T 5w/40 synth. but for my bike the Valvoline works better.

It shifts nice, quieted down the engine noises.

Thinking back on all my bikes through the years, I've never ran motorcycle specific oil in any of them. Its always been what ever was on sale car oil and changing it regulary.

 

[VMAX1260]

what do you suggest for a v-max synthetic or semi-synthetic. i don't know in other countries but in greece there is a rumor that synthetic oil damages v-max engine? is it tue?

 

[satariel666]

I run semisynth and fullsynth as well and it was no diffrence for me.

Mostly Im buying Motul 300V or Motul 5100.

 

[KJShover]

in greece there is a rumor that synthetic oil damages v-max engine? is it tue?

Nope, I'm using a synthetic blend. while others are using full on synthetic oil (Rotella T 10w/40, seems to be most popular).

 

[rebar]

Thinking back on all my bikes through the years, I've never ran motorcycle specific oil in any of them. Its always been what ever was on sale car oil and changing it regulary.

Me either until Chris urged me to drain the GTX car oil I just filled.:confused2::ummm:

Using rotela at the moment.

 

[naughtyG]

I use the mineral kind of Shell Rotella-T 20W50 - works great and it's made for cars.

 

[EvilD]

There is no way synthetic oil will harm an engine, worst thing that can happen is seals will swell and leak. Your clutch may slip, same foes for a car with an LSD, has clutches in it, running synth gear oil in some of them doesn't work all that well

 

[RagingMain]

Biggest thing is to make sure it does NOT say
"Energy Conserving"
On the back in the little circle.
If it does your clutch will slip.

I have been running Mobil 1 racing 15w-50
I like it because even when bike is at NOT I still get close to 10 psig at idle on my pressure gauge

 

[RaWarrior]

If you want way more discussion on this that you'll ever care to read, see the "oil thread"....

The general consensus is to use whatever you want. Mineral, semisynth, full synthetic, MC branded oil, car oil, diesel(rotella) oil, whatever. Use a weight that matches your climate. A heavier 20-50 or so works well in very hot climates, where if you are in a more temperate area or ride in cooler weather, 10-40 is probably better but it honestly doesn't make much of a difference.

Avoid anything marketed as "high mileage" oil...they often contain friction modifiers that aren't wet clutch friendly...same for "energy conserving" oils. Other than that, you're golden and it's tough to go wrong.

 

[2fear]

If you want way more discussion on this that you'll ever care to read, see the "oil thread"....

The general consensus is to use whatever you want. Mineral, semisynth, full synthetic, MC branded oil, car oil, diesel(rotella) oil, whatever. Use a weight that matches your climate. A heavier 20-50 or so works well in very hot climates, where if you are in a more temperate area or ride in cooler weather, 10-40 is probably better but it honestly doesn't make much of a difference.

Avoid anything marketed as "high mileage" oil...they often contain friction modifiers that aren't wet clutch friendly...same for "energy conserving" oils. Other than that, you're golden and it's tough to go wrong.

+1, I use mobil 1 full syn 10-40 for motorcycles and full syn in the diff with no problems..

 

[Heretic]

I've ALWAYS ran 10-40 or 20-50 Valvoline car oil in my bikes and I've never had a problem keeping clutches in them. I have recently switched to Rotella 15-40 and the only difference I see is that the valve train makes more noise than with the Valvoline.

I think any kind of oil is OK as long as its changed regularly.

 

[ripinanroarin]

Guys be careful.....car oil is not desighned to run at 8000rpm or 9000rpm for that matter. Car oil will cavitate and your oil pump will be sucking froth and bubbles at high rpm instead of oil. Car oil will foam at high rpm. Motorcycle oil is made to run at extream rpms. If youve gotton away with it sor far, your lucky. I first noticed this in my hot rodded harleys, and they were only running 7200rpm. When I took out the plug out of the oil tank and looked in after a hard run...it was all foamy. When I switched to motor cycle oil , the oil in the tank looked normal. Just my 2 cents.

 

[RaWarrior]

I've only seen frothy oil when there is too much oil in the crankcase.

I accidentally put almost double the oil in my lawnmower once, and when I started it it was belching smoke all over the place. When I drained some out, it looked like an $8 frappacappachino latte thing at an overpriced coffee shop. Then it was fine again and the oil looked normal.

I don't really see how an oil's properties could prevent it from getting air beat into it either. Thinner liquids would allow the bubbles to escape faster, but most oils have anti-foaming agents added to specifically prevent this even in the case of overfilling and mechanical aeration.

My bike had always had the Mobil 1 "4T" full synthetic racing oil in it from day one when I bought it, so I kept using it. By 6000 miles or so I noticed neutral was getting tough to find and first gear engaging was getting more "clunky" than usual, so even though the oil was barely a brownish color(nowhere near black), I changed it out and the trans was smooth as ever again.

 

[pumacorp]

remember maxes are old school technology which means loose clearances ,,,not like the new stuff at all which uses thin synthetics ...So dont listen to what oil is better just understand with loose clearances its better to use heavier oil 20-50 to fill those nice gaps between the bearings..

the newer cars and bikes have really tight clearance ,,so much that it calls for a thin sythetic.....Castrol 20-50 is a nice oil and fine for bikes..I drag down the track alot and never had a bit of problem with old school castrol...

Also pcw uses castrol and they know the vmax motor better than anyone..

 

[Woody]

this might help
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html

 

[mud_shark86]

Just picked up some amsoil 10-40 synthetic. But at $15 a litre I see why guys turn away from it...I think the max holds close to 4 litres? Have to check the book hhahaa..only had the bike 2 weeks now lol. I guess i'm hooked on amsoil though...run it in my sled, atv and now bike...I picked up a bottle of lucas 10-40 but put it back on the shelf. I never heard of how their plain old oil is. More about how to take knocks out of your engine or a slipping transmission fixer upper hahahaha.

 

[slowpoke]

i just started running the rotella 15-40 or whatever it is and all seems well. a bit more noise in the top end than the royal purple 10-40 though which is odd...

 

[EvilD]

I switched from Rotella 10w-40 to Castrol Motorcycle 20w-50 and teh bike is noisier and harder to shift.