Recommended Oil

[chuckcloutier]

I see a common recommendation of Shell Rotella 15w40, just curious, why so thick? Regular or synthetic? My 1981 FI has 52000 on it. I put about 200 miles a year on it and it is stored for 5 or 6 months every year. Is Shell Rotell 15w40 still the best choice? Everyone says it's for diesels.......

[dantye]

I see a common recommendation of Shell Rotella 15w40, just curious, why so thick? Regular or synthetic? My 1981 FI has 52000 on it. I put about 200 miles a year on it and it is stored for 5 or 6 months every year. Is Shell Rotell 15w40 still the best choice? Everyone says it's for diesels.......

That is a LOW mileage car, if it's first time around! Most comments on this forum seem to imply that Rotella provides better protection in "flat tappet" engines, but oil is like religion - the more you try to understand. the more confused you get. At 200 miles a year, you could probably get buy with generic 10w30 if you change it after the first 10 miles then again before you store it. But if you want to change it just once each year at the beginning of the season, Rotella would be my choice. It also depends on how you drive it. If you race in 3-50 mile races each Summer, 20w-50 might be best. To get the maximum confusion about oil, check here: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

Wishing you more miles and more fun!

[124ADDHE]

the manual states 15-40, lots of people run 20-50 in the summer. This is not a modern engine

[surfingfreeman]

Check this out, I just used their engine break in oil for my start up and then will try their 30wt
http://www.penngrade1.com/