Shell synthetic oil

[TURBOV6]

I was just at Wall-Mart and noticed this........Shell Rottell T Synthetic oil, for Desiel and gas engines, it full synthetic for $41.04/case, the case has 6 gallons in it. Is this oil any good? It seems kinda "too" cheap.

 

[Jeff]

I work for Shell, although I'm a deepwater oil production engineer. I have been to our R&D facilities, and talked with the guys who develop and test new formulations. Here's a little background.
First, when Texaco and Shell formed the Equilon partnership a few years ago they used the Havoline brand as their primary marketing tool. This meant that Shell oil took a major backseat in terms of consumer marketing. That being said, the Shell R&D group did the bulk of the work to develop the Havoline oil formulations as you buy them today. The problem? Well, Chevron just bought Texaco, so the Havoline brand name is gone...Shell had no marketing "hook". Thus, they bought Pennzoil/Quaker State. But my point is that we have the technology to develop some serious lubricants. Shell Rotella is a big-time name in commercial and industrial lubricants. This is probably why you are getting a good price on the stuff...no overhead for retail advertising...when was the last time you saw an ad for Shell oil...they only advertise gasoline.
Bottom line...it should be really good stuff, on par with the Mobil 1s and other "brand name" synthetics. I'll try to get in touch with some local product techs and see what they know about the stuff.
Jeff

 

[Fred 86 GN]

Supposedly very good oil...

I had a knowledgeable fellow who has owned several diesel trucks tell me that Rotella ought to be a great oil for a turbo car like our Turbo Regals. He told me that it does not break down like the other oils he has used -- ie doesn't turn black and get watery as fast.

Seems to make sense to me...diesels have turbos and tons of compression. They need an oil that will not breakdown from the turbo-induced heat too. He said his Cummins turbo diesel in his Dodge truck runs at 24 psi! I found that surprising.

Why don't we all save a bunch of money and buy this Rotella synthetic oil?

 

[Steve Wood]

Rotella has long been used for serious applications....I know my Porsche mechanic friends only use it and we all ways used in in our heavy equipment. Have not looked for it on the net but it is reputed to hold its properties extremely well. This was not the synthetic, tho.

 

[NCTTA]

I just got back from Walmart and the synthetic Rotella T is almost $5.00 a quart??? Not sure who got the pricing incorrect but you might want to scarff it up at that price.

 

[TURBOV6]

I did go there the next day, I went to the register to pay for it and the total came to about $138. WTF? So I said there was a tag for $41.04/case for 6 gallons in a case. So I was waiting for about 20min. and they told me sorry it was a misprint on the price tag, so being a "nice guy" I said ok and walked away. The price was for the "non" synthetic oil. After the incident I talked to a friend and said you could had bought it at that priced because they screw up, because it happen to him before. I went to the wallmart the week after and they took the price tag out. It was too good to be true.