What oil are you using in your stock doodlebug engine?

#1
I'm using Shell Rotella T Triple Protection Full Synthetic Diesel Oil 10w30. Its got great wear protection according to shell's website. I just started using this oil, having switched from Royal Purple. Before that it was Walmart Supertech oil. Curious what others use in their 98cc Lifan side-valve engines?
 
#2
Any oil, as long as it is clean, is good. I have used Delo 400, cheap Shell 10w40, 10w30, Castrol 5W30, and some others. Whichever I have a coupon for or is on sale at Wally World is what gets used.
 
#6
My Lifan is also in a Schwinn frame, not a stingray though, a repop cantilever frame (guess if its repop, its not really Schwinn though). I like my lifan engine, and it runs quite nicely with the gov removed. I got a gallon of the shell oil on sale for $14, and its enough to last me about a year and a half.
 
#7
I use whatever is leftover from oil changes in my vehicles. Sometimes it's Castrol edge from the vette, sometimes it's normal Castrol 20w50 oil from the jeep. Never worried about it. As long as it's clean is my only concern
 
#13
I have several stock 97cc engines I run pretty hard. I like WalMart SuperTech Full Synthetic 5W30 or 10W30 whichever is available. I get the 5 qt bottle for approx $20. I put approx 15oz in mine, so oil change is only approx $2. I change whenever the oil starts to look dirty.

I also use same oil in my 4 cycle kart engines (Briggs Animal, 6.5hp Clone) with good results. I change oil after every kart race event, so I use a fair amount of oil. If the oil looks good, I recycle it and use it again. When it comes out black and milky looking, I dispose of it properly (take used oil back to WalMart).

To recycle, I save it in plastic bottles and let it gravity filter for 6 months to a year. Over time, all the impurities will drop to the bottom and the stuff on the top looks like new unused oil. Saves a few $'s. :thumbsup:
 
#14
I started out with Supertech oil, but after noticing how quickly it would get dirty, I wanted something better. I was changing my oil every few weeks due to how dirty it was getting. I switched to Royal Purple, but several members of my forum recommended Shell Rotella T. There are several variations of Rotella availabe, I went with Triple Protection which has superior anti-wear characteristics. I also consulted my doodlebug owner's manual to see how often I actually should be changing my oil, and the manual says every 20 hours. I put about 2 hours a week on my bke commuting to work, so 20 hours comes out to roughly 10 weeks. I would not feel comfortable going 10 weeks between changes with Supertech oil, but I definitely should be able to with Shell Rotella. Its a heavy duty diesel engine oil (can be used in any 4 stroke), so I trust it in my bike. Even at $2, changing when the oil looks dirty makes it more frequent and therefore more expensive. I picked up a gallon of shell oil on sale for $14 and its enough for me to do 10 oil changes, so that's $1.40 an oil change, and should last me about a year and a half.
 
#15
Edit: I just redid the math, and its enough to last me almost 2 years. I also store used oil in a gallon jug, but after 3 months its still black. I've got no plans to recycle it (and actually never heard of anyone doing that until now).
 
#16
I used to run the synthetic in the vette and change it every 3000 miles. I would then filter it through a paint filter and run it on the jeep for another 3000. But being cheap is hard work. Now I run the synthetic till the dic says change it. Jeep gets clean cheap oil now.
 
#17
I don't know if Royal Purple or Rotella is synthetic, but it's always more expensive where I shop. I buy SuperTech, cause it is rated just as high (API SN...), and is the cheapest.

Some of the guys that race Briggs Animals use Amsoil Synthetic Oil rated for diesel engines. We run the engines pretty hard and a race is 30 minutes long. We tape of the blower housing to restrict air to the flywheel fan to save a little HP. So, cylinder head temps can run 500 degrees or more (I usually try to keep mine closer to 400 plus). I run the SuperTech synthetic instead. When I tear down my engine it looks great, so I think why pay more.

I'm not an expert on oil, but I believe the main advantage with synthetic is it will take more heat before it chemically breaks down. I remember an old Mobile One commercial where they put regular oil and Mobile One in a frying pan. At some high temp (600 degrees?) the regular oil was totally burned up and the Mobile One looked normal.

So my theory is: if the oil is still good, but just a little dirty, should be OK to let the impurities settle out and reuse it. I would never do that with regular oil, I think it breaks down over time and looses it's lubrication properties. I would never go to the trouble to pour it through a filter, way too much work. Just put it in a plastic bottle (clear family size soda bottles work well) and leave it alone. Be patient, in a year it will look pretty good. :thumbsup:

I know, if you are type A personality (I am not), letting something set for a year is not feasible, so not for you. :shrug:
 
#18
Holy Moses, I just re-read your first post, chazdaddy. $20 for a 5 quart bottle makes supertech more expensive than Rotella. $20 for 5 quarts makes it $4/qt. Rotella is $14 a gallon (my wife said they had it at walmart for $12 a gallon, guess I'll check there when I need more oil in 2 years). But even at $14, that's $3.50/qt. Thats $1.31 per oil change. Recycling oil may seem ok to some people, but I would never do it. It's not because I can't let it sit for a year, its because I don't trust it.
 
#19
I will have to check my prices again, but the SuperTech I am buying is full synthetic. I assume at $12 gallon the Rotella is regular oil, but don't know.

It is very easy to pay $30 to $40 a gallon (4 quarts) for full synthetic oil (price Mobile One sometime). So, I thought at approx $20 for 5 quarts, I was getting a good deal. Plus, I know from experience the oil I am using is very good oil.

My recycling method is not for everybody. As I understand it, one of the selling points for synthetic oil is you can go longer between oil changes, like 6,000 miles instead of 3,000 miles. What I am really doing is taking the oil out at 3,000 miles, gravity filtering it to remove impurities, and putting it back in for another 3,000 miles,

If you don't use much oil, probably a waste of time to recycle. On average, I use 4 to 5 quarts of oil a month. Sometimes, I change it before it is hardly used at all. So, the recycling idea occurred to me. It's an experiment, but seems to be working well, not a lot of trouble for me, and saves a few $'s. Works for me. :thumbsup:
 
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