I have read so many threads on motor oil recommendations I feel I'm surfing in circles. I live in SC and the summers are pretty brutal (90-100f). I want to go with a synthetic. Is an oil weight 0w40 sufficient? Should I go with 10w40 or 20w50? I've narrowed my choices to Amsoil 0w40, Mobil MX4T, Mobil (red cap) 15w50 and Rotella T synthetic 5w40. Thanks for helping me make a decision.

 

Hello hope you find that perfect oil soon - please let me know when you do! All kidding aside, I believe it comes down to both the outside air temp and the type of riding you do. If you do a lot of high speed runs for extended periods in hot weather, my personal preference would be to use a good 20-50W, perhaps a Mobil 1 20-50w motorcycle oil would do the trick. Another option would be a good heavy duty diesel oil, as these have great additive packages to protect your engine. On the inexpensive side Shell Rotella 15-40w is around $1.60 a quart at Wally World. On the high side, you could use the new Mobil 1 synthetic Truck and 4x4 motor oil 5-40w. Wally World just got it in around here for $4.77 a quart. From what I'm told it's basically repackaged Mobil Delvac 1 that is sold for over-the-road truck diesel engines. Personally I recently picked up some Amsoil 4x4 synthetic 0-40w, but I live in Minnesota and don't spend a lot of time at high speed, so it should work for me. Remembe to stay away from any oils that are labeled "energy conserving" on the starburst on the back of the bottle. Those oils contain friction modifiers and could cause slipping in engines that use a wet clutch. To further complicate things, just because a manufacture says their oils is "Xw-Y" weight doesn't mean much. You'd have to do oil analysis to find out the true weight rating on any given oil both cold and hot. So, my advice is to pick a good quality oil you're comfortable with and change it often. Enjoy the ride!

 

as far as automotive oils go i just learned a lesson, i used mobile 1 10w30 synthetic and found that it caused oil to weep out of a couple seals, come to find out its not desighned for motorcycles or atvs, also you have to look at the oil cetification such as sg,sf,jaso ma , if you dont see SG or JASO MA certification on the bottle dont buy it! what i had found out is without those particular certs is, they are desighned for bikes and quads, also stay away from diesle oils they are formulated totally different than car and motorcyle oils as well go to the mobile one site ( http:// mobile1.com) they pretty much explain the doos and donts of oils ,i just bought amsoil 20w/50 v twin synthetic for my quad due to the weather is getting warmer ,and soon to be in the 80s and 90s, so i want the xtra protection of the 20w/50 hope this helps after you read the info on the mobile one site i think you will understand oils alot better hope this helps

 

I use the Mobil 1 MX4T in my Kodiak 450 and my GSXR 750 and it's been good to me. A couple of my riding buddies use it also and that's why I switched. Not sure about your area, but it's $8/qt. here.

 

I just use the Arctic Cat synthetic oil. This way I know it is ment for my machine. Plus I have a 2 year warantee and if something goes wrong I want to show them I was using only "genuine" Arctic Cat parts.

 

Thought I might clarify a couple of things. Here is a link that explains what has happened to automotive oil over the past 10 years as it relates to autos and motorcycles.

http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm

The info carries over to ATV's as well. Note that the article talks about auto oils reducing the level of additives to meet emission requirements for autos. If you read the Mobil 1 site it talks about their motorcycle oil having additional additives to control wear. All well and good, and of course it doesn't contain friciton modifiers which potentially could cause wet clutches to slip.

However, you do not need to purchase expensive synthetic oil - or dealer branded oil - for your quad or motorcycle to gain the advantages of increased additives. Some of the best oils on the market are formulated for diesel engines. They don't contain friction modifiers. have some of the best levels of additives around, and stay "in grade" better than a lot of oils that imply that they will cure both snake bites and warts. Yes I know that these oils may not contain every certification that your manual says the oil bottle should have, but remember you're not putting the label in your engine and oil manufactures do not have to have indepent testing done on their oil, they only need to formulate it to meet the minimum specifications of API, etc. Diesel oils are not marketed as motorcycle/atv oils because the same manufactures would like you to purchase the designer label stuff for $5 a quart, while the diesel oil retails for around $1.60 a quart at Wally World. I'm not saying that the motorcycle/atv specific oil is bad, I'm sure it's great and I use it myself! But for those whose machines may be out of warranty and who want to save some cash, the diesel oils will fit the bill nicely.

For more information on oil, including both virgin and used oil analysis that separates the "do's from the don'ts" check out the following link:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

In the forums you'll find a section on motorcycles, which includes atv's. There are several posts relating to people using diesel oil in thier atv with great success.

Enjoy the Ride!

 

Well said waltrincon.

 

Walt,
I'm glad you posted that link. I was there a year or so ago and learned a lot from that site.

turbocoupe,
Did your experience occur on an older engine? Starting to use some sythetics in an engine that has many miles on it can yield leaky seals. Supposedly some of the additives in regular oils cause seals to expand or swell. Synthetics do not share these same additives and therefore the seals may no longer swell and allow oil to bypass. I have heard of this happening in older vehicles and it's the reason I don't run Amsoil in my older vehicles, only my newer rigs.

Back 40,
My opinion would be to stick to the Amsoil 0w40 Four Stroke.

 

treedoc , i put it in my brand new articat 650 le after putting mobile1 10w/30 in my machine roughly 20 miles, i went to do a belt adjustment and noticed my crank seal weeping oil DO NOT USE DIESLE OR CAR OIL IN MOTORCYCLES OR ATVs they are not the same, you have to look for SG certification on the label not API,certs my machine just turned 325 miles,i just switched to the new amsoil motorcycle oil 20w/50 v twin its (sg) and (jaso ma) certified which is for motorcycles and atvs which have no friction moderfiers and is compatible for wet clutches as well, after putting the amsoil in i went on a 15 mile ride and decided to pull the belt cover and inspect the crank seal , well good news no more leak, so to me that pretty much proves to me that auto and diesle oils are not compatible with atvs or motorcycles, go to the amsoil website or mobile 1 website they do a pretty good explanation why and why not to use auto oils in bikes, i paid 7900.00 for my new machine and im not going to ruin the engine,so be carful what u use for oil, before i got into this sport, a few months ago, i use to dragrace cars for 15 years in modified eliminator and also build my own transmissions, rearends, engines and chassis, just to give you my background, i did alot of oil tests with my race engs that cost me 10.000 to build myself and its pretty amazing what you find as far as bearing wear after tearing the eng down every year with different brands of oil.

 

I know they are all opinions and the majority of recommended oils are OK. I feel pretty good using Valvoline ATV 4-Stroke Oil. Meets or exceeds API SF/SG/SJ, JASO and MA.

Change the oil and filter regularly, regardless of the oil you choose.