Oil topic..cheaper oil vs expensive oil

I use Schaeffers in my OTR truck, and it’s about $22-$23 a gallon, which is about $10 more than the Rotella that I use in my local trucks.

 

Rotella-T. Listen to this, one job I had, the boss used nothing but Rotella. I was out and needed a gallon of oil, they didn't have Rotella so I put in Delo. I figured better that than low. When I got back, I told the boss, he said bring it in the shop and they changed the oil.

 

I would say synthetic oils shine in the cold temp start up. They can flow faster when cold and still give you the same protection when engine is hot like 5w-40
They also cost more so. You can become a Dealer for Amsoil and get cheaper and never actually sell any oil. I did that it simple online and $35 or something. I ran Amsoil when I had my own truck then Rotella had their synthetic oil. You can get that at Walmart for like $20 a gallon. Nobody has been able to prove if different brands are really any difference.. not sure if Rotella has 5w-30 oil yet in synthetic

 

If it meets mfg requirements, run it.

 

When I had my truck, synthetic was in it's infancy, and was way more expensive. I think synthetic has it's merits, but if you have an oil burner, it gets pricey. In my 4 wheeler, I read, Walmart oil is the #1 selling oil in America. It's repackaged Quaker State and I use it.

 

I have done oil analysis for years on my trucks.
I used Co-op brand 0W40 synthetic in my last truck. Oil analysis was always fine. Truck was at dealer one time , had them do oil change, they used Shell Rotella T6 synthetic. The following oil change I put back in the Co-op. But when I got the analysis results of the Shell, all of my metal wear numbers were half of the Co-op numbers.
So after that I switched over to the Shell and the analysis numbers settled in about one third of the Co-op numbers.
The Co-op numbers were always fine, within spec. But the Shell numbers were much better. I translated that to mean longer wear life for my engines.

 

I'm no expert on this subject and don't pretend to be. There are many threads written about oil and oil additives out there. One that got my attention was wrote by Rawze.com about Lucas oil additives and his views on using it. Up here in Canada, the emphasis is on cold starts in -30c weather. If you research the subject, it's scary to imagine the damage caused by cold starting. Most trucks won't even start in this weather without using ether or some type of starting fluid. This has led to drivers idling trucks all night and with DPF/DOC issues, carbon/sludge/varnish build-up and premature engine damage. Using engine/bunk heaters tend to drain batteries quite severely and risk losing cranking amps to turn over engine. Some have equipped their trucks with APU units which has worked with excellent results saving fuel and idle damage.
Trucks up here tend to switch to a thinner oil during winter, then back to 15W-40 in summer. As long as the oil meets manufacturer's requirements both summer/winter (warranty), regular drain intervals and oil samples, I think we tend to fall victim to "miracle cures" for our engines.

 

We dump 0W-40 in everything year round up here in northern Alberta. If you look at the ambient temperature range of 0W-40 and 15W-40, you'll see that 0W-40 actually covers a broader temperature range than 15W-40.

15W-40 typically covers 50C to -9.5C
0W-40 typically covers 40C to -40C

 

Oil mixing can cause strange reactions between viscosity agents. One gallon might not have created enough sludge to be a problem, but I can understand why your boss made that call.