The OIL thread. All oil related questions here.

[vmax2extreme]

Re: Oil change time

Just bought my 2004 vmax this spring and its time for my first oil change. Just curious what every one runs for oil? What is the capacity? Filter from the dealer sufficient? I live in Iowa so I don't intend to run a heavy oil like 20W50... I was thinking 10W40? What about synthetics?? Just curious what the opinions are.

Im getting ready to do an oil change since Im servicing my '05 clutch. Going with the Rotella 15W40 and I have always used a auto Bosch 3323 filter which is 1" longer than the stock one.

 

[4gasem]

Re: Oil change time

Just bought my 2004 vmax this spring and its time for my first oil change. Just curious what every one runs for oil? What is the capacity? Filter from the dealer sufficient? I live in Iowa so I don't intend to run a heavy oil like 20W50... I was thinking 10W40? What about synthetics?? Just curious what the opinions are.

Hey Gundoc, I live in IA as well. A good oil that many run is Shell Rotella T 15W40. I prefer the Rotella 5W40 which is synthetic.

I also run an M-110 Mobil 1 filter on it.

This is a diesel oil and therefore is higher in zinc and is NOT Energy Conserving like car oils.

It's a great oil for bikes.

Chris

 

[fmcandrew]

Re: which motor oil do you use?

Not to add fuel to the oil fire, however I feel the need to share my experience with my '95 Max (8k on the clock). When I first got the bike I figured I'd put in one of the best...so I threw in Mobile 1 Racing 4T full synthetic 10-40. Put 600 miles using that stuff. My bike ran well but shifted for ****. Motor was noisy (even warm), clutch engagement was just off the bar (even with relentless bleeding) and I couldn't find neutral to save my life. My initial thoughts was that this was just the way it was owning a Max. Then I did some reading and heard from many of you that diesel motor oil was the way to go and Rotella was on the top of the list. Figuring it couldn't be any worse I drained $50 bucks worth of oil and threw in $17 Rotella T Triple 15-40. My ride into work this morning:

1) Motor was noticably quieter when warm
2) Shifting was 100% better, no missed shifts, no clucking
3) Clutch engagement felt significantly better (that one really surprised me)
4) Finding neutral is a breeze (my Max actually has neutral!!!!)
5) Odd side benefit - my Max seems to run cooler?!?!? My legs would become very hot from the heat off the radiator running the Mobile, now (and I need to reconfirm this later today) things seem to have cooled off quite a bit.

Now, I'm not saying Rotella is the second coming of Jesus or anything and I can't speak to the wear protection or MPG differences, but I can say that riding my Max has, overnight, become significantly easier, and thus a lot more fun.

All good in my book!!

Frank

 

[tugla]

Re: which motor oil do you use?

rotella not the second coming of jesus but can you call the mobil oil the devil hahahaha

glad to hear your bike running a lot smoother.
ive found mobil to also cause slight engine or knocking noises in 5.3l gm trucks, so stopped running that syn and went back to good old penzoil syn, which from what i hear is exactly the same as rotella just re-bottled under pennz, so no wonder it runs great in my trucks.

 

[vmax2extreme]

Re: which motor oil do you use?

I'm about to do an oil change once I swap up my clutch to a DD mod. I will be using the Rotella 15w40 triple T grade too. I have an '05 with just over 7k and clutch is slipping. I think my old oil is crap!

 

[sdt354]

Re: which motor oil do you use?

Not to add fuel to the oil fire, however I feel the need to share my experience with my '95 Max (8k on the clock). When I first got the bike I figured I'd put in one of the best...so I threw in Mobile 1 Racing 4T full synthetic 10-40. Put 600 miles using that stuff. My bike ran well but shifted for ****. Motor was noisy (even warm), clutch engagement was just off the bar (even with relentless bleeding) and I couldn't find neutral to save my life.

Had Mobile1 in my bike when I bought it. 12k mi. Clutch slipped under load. After many oil changes with conventional 10-40 still slipped. Changed fiber disk, which weren't that bad. switched to 15-40 Rotella T. Clutch grabed much better. Went to DD but stuck with Rotella. I think synthetic may be a superior lube, but not suitable for a wet clutch in a Gen1. IMHO
Steve-o

 

[Rand-5107]

Re: which motor oil do you use?

Switched to amsoil at 2000mi. Switched to mobil 1 in 1992. It shifts good and my clutch doesn't slip yet. I think that changing it often is the important thing.

 

[4gasem]

Rotella oils will have a LOT more zinc in them... DO NOT use with catalytic converters.

If the Penz was diesel oil it could be the same, but rotella IS NOT regular car oil.

Transmissions LOVE zinc... Cats DO NOT!

I run Rotella syn in mine with NO issues... Dyno'd 124... No slippage with my fat ass on it either. lol

Chris

 

[sdt354]

Re: Oil change time

Im getting ready to do an oil change since Im servicing my '05 clutch. Going with the Rotella 15W40 and I have always used a auto Bosch 3323 filter which is 1" longer than the stock one.

+1 on the Bosch Filter. More surface area=more filtering and more cooling area.
Steve-o

 

[firefly]

Been using an oil additive "Mr moly" for the past few years, 4 oz every oil change, it has molybdenum and some kind of conditioner for wet clutch plates to prevent slipping, its mainly used in car limited slip differentials which has wet clutch like max, this additive significantly quiets the engine, makes it run much smoother than the best synthetic oil, runs less hot & shifting is insanely smooth.
my bike has ~70,000 Miles with no leaks, no oil consumption and no clutch slipping.

 

[bro.betterley]

which Mr. Moly product are you using found there web site and wasnt sure which one?

 

[firefly]

which Mr. Moly product are you using found there web site and wasnt sure which one?

The automatic transmission supplement, use only 4 oz per oil change
http://www.mrmoly.com/html/automatic_transmission_supplem.html

 

[bro.betterley]

the automatic transmission supplement, use only 4 oz per oil change
http://www.mrmoly.com/html/automatic_transmission_supplem.html

thanks

 

[RaWarrior]

I'll agree about the Mobil 1, shifting was smoother and neutral much easier to find after draining the Mobil 4T and going with Rotella.

Plus Rotella is pretty cheap, you can get a 5qt jug of it for a less than 2 quarts of Mobil 4T. Winner in my book.

I noticed Dale Walker seems to be crazy about this X-1R oil additive stuff, seems like a similar gig to the Mr.Moly. There's also an oil additive made by Blue Marble that makes claims of "treating" engine surfaces for less internal friction.

The problem with all these miracle additives is they never have solid, scientific tests to prove effectiveness. Just testimonials from Joe Nobody and some arbitrary claims. The article on the Mr.Moly site about the pontiac running w/o oil for 105 miles is interesting....but it proves absolutely nothing. They would have needed an identical car, with identical mileage, that had been maintained in an identical fashion without any moly to drive without out and see if there's a difference. The car with dollar store oil changed maybe every 25k miles might have gone 150 miles.....who knows? Without a control, the bench tests and claims are meaningless.

 

[firefly]

I'll agree about the Mobil 1, shifting was smoother and neutral much easier to find after draining the Mobil 4T and going with Rotella.

Plus Rotella is pretty cheap, you can get a 5qt jug of it for a less than 2 quarts of Mobil 4T. Winner in my book.

I noticed Dale Walker seems to be crazy about this X-1R oil additive stuff, seems like a similar gig to the Mr.Moly. There's also an oil additive made by Blue Marble that makes claims of "treating" engine surfaces for less internal friction.

The problem with all these miracle additives is they never have solid, scientific tests to prove effectiveness. Just testimonials from Joe Nobody and some arbitrary claims. The article on the Mr.Moly site about the pontiac running w/o oil for 105 miles is interesting....but it proves absolutely nothing. They would have needed an identical car, with identical mileage, that had been maintained in an identical fashion without any moly to drive without out and see if there's a difference. The car with dollar store oil changed maybe every 25k miles might have gone 150 miles.....who knows? Without a control, the bench tests and claims are meaningless.

The solid proof for me is actually using it (Mr moly) for the past ~60,000 miles of daily riding, this is not like anything you tried, the X-1R is nothing to compare it to.

I've been using Rottela diesel 5wt-40 synthetic for ~ 3 years & I can say it is the smoothest shifting oil I ever used & it got insanely smoother with Mr Moly added to it, I also used amsoil for ~ 6000 miles, it was OK but Rottella was smoother and readily available.
The only thing about 5wt-40 is its protection of the transmission, oil molecules get smashed and squeezed by gears & having a stronger lubrication film is needed.

Molybdenum is well known & is not a joke like other additives. with additives that prevent clutch friction plates from slipping Mr moly is a winner IMHO.
try it & you'll never stop using it, the effects are near instant quieting to the engine & a slight increase in idle RPM, the engine gets much smoother in ~ 5 min.

another serious oil additive is Liquimoly for motorcycle wet clutch
http://www.beemerboneyard.com/lqmrboadd.html

I agree 99% of additives are snake oils but 1% are worth using.

 

[MADMAX]

Is this what some of you are running?

 

[tmosel]

I use the Rotella T6 synthetic 5-40 and love it.

 

[firefly]

I use the Rotella T6 synthetic 5-40 and love it.

Actually T4 was better with max, they changed the formula with T6.

 

[Sonoran6]

question about oil.

oil was low about a week ago so i added 1/4 quart. level just under the full line on the oil window. yesterday it was low again... i have not noticed any smoke in the exhaust or smelled oil burning, even on cold start up. what should i do to get this fixed??

 

[Sonoran6]

went on chat to get some advice for this, maxcruiser gave me some steps to do. checked my airbox at the crankcase breather for more oil than just residue. no pool, just some slight oil residue. pulled plugs.

also noticed when i had the airbox cover off a slight mist coming up from the carbs on the left side (if youre sitting on it) when i gave it a little throttle. the bottom left carb shot out a real small 'pop' of fire... searching for the oil problem and i may have uncovered another? I have only had my vmax 2 weeks now and have very little exp with working on bikes. anyone care to diagnose?