TheSamba.com :: View topic - Official "What oil / additives should I use" topic

Sat Jun 21, 2025 10:07 am

oprn wrote: I don't know if it has been covered here yet or not but for all you heavier is better folks I am seeing ads now for 60wt "racing" oil.

Not my cup of tea but some may want to try it. It's gotta' make your car faster... no?

I cant believe AutoZone and O'Reilly here only carry 60W VR-1. I asked the counter and they thought I was speaking a different language asking for 10w-30 or 20w-50. I used to buy it from them only a year ago. Force me to go online yet they wonder why stores are empty. Screw'em

Mon Jul 28, 2025 9:06 am

I called Shell customer support and talked to one of their technical folks.

He told me that Shell Rotella T1 has 1100 ppm of Zinc. Shell Rotella T4 and above has 1200 ppm of Zinc.

Hope that helps as I could not find a definitive answer online.

Wed Jul 30, 2025 8:13 am

DesertSasquatchXploration wrote: I cant believe AutoZone and O'Reilly here only carry 60W VR-1. I asked the counter and they thought I was speaking a different language asking for 10w-30 or 20w-50. I used to buy it from them only a year ago. Force me to go online yet they wonder why stores are empty. Screw'em
My Wal-Mart has 5 quart jugs of VR1 10W-30 and 20W-50 for about $5 per quart which is a really good price.

Tue Aug 26, 2025 6:22 pm

boburban wrote: I called Shell customer support and talked to one of their technical folks.

He told me that Shell Rotella T1 has 1100 ppm of Zinc. Shell Rotella T4 and above has 1200 ppm of Zinc.

Hope that helps as I could not find a definitive answer online.

I'm sure someone will chime in and say diesel oil shouldn't be used in gasoline engines, but those ZDDP levels in Rotella look about the same as an oil analysis chart I posted in this thread 10 years ago. As far as the anti-foam agents, I can definitely understand not using it in a engine thats gonna be spinning high rpm.

Anyway I've been using Rotella 15-40 and 10-30 in my VW's for 20 years, I've used VR1 10-40 too with similar results, Rotella is just easier for me to get and is cheaper.

Tue Sep 16, 2025 3:44 pm

Not sure if this has been posted somewhere in this monster thread, but the guys goes thru a bunch of oil additives he says destroy engines. He's really down on the zddp additives and Marvel Mystery Oil, among others.

Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:51 pm

boburban wrote: I called Shell customer support and talked to one of their technical folks.

He told me that Shell Rotella T1 has 1100 ppm of Zinc. Shell Rotella T4 and above has 1200 ppm of Zinc.

Hope that helps as I could not find a definitive answer online.

What phone number did you use for their customer support? Rotella T6 5w40 was one of my chosen oils for years when it carried an "S" rating. If not having an "S" rating just means it is going to harm a catalytic converter without doing other harm, I would like to know as none of my aircooled engines have cats.