Why is there an oil debate?

bdevries

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hey all,

I've spent the past hour reading threads in this subforum and have yet to find anything remotely consistent. It seems everyone uses whatever they feel like!

The service manual says 10W30 or 20W40(or Yamahlube 2 or 4).. So... other than brands, why are people straying from this?

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread but I hadn't seen anyone bring this up.
 

FIZZER6

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hey all,

I've spent the past hour reading threads in this subforum and have yet to find anything remotely consistent. It seems everyone uses whatever they feel like!

The service manual says 10W30 or 20W40(or Yamahlube 2 or 4).. So... other than brands, why are people straying from this?

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread but I hadn't seen anyone bring this up.

Oil is the one service item that no one will ever agree on.

Most will argue that full synthetic is better (and I agree) and the Yamahlube is not synthetic but costs the same as some good full synthetic oils that are suitable. With oil grades, as long as the last number is the same as what the manufacture recommends you are fine. Example: A lot of guys use the Shell Rotella T6 Synthetic that comes in 5W40. This is just as good or better protection than yamalube 20W40 with the benefit that it will likely protect better when you start the bike below freezing temperatures because the cold viscosity is thinner (5W v. 20W). Both oils behave like 40W oil once the engine is up to operating temp.
 

mnuttall87

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I'm not asking which oil is better than the other, I'm simply asking why people don't just follow the service manual and buy what Yamaha specs.

Because its a service item. Think of a specified item as more of something like a certain size tire will only fit on the back wheel. The specified size is 180/45/17. Let me know how putting a 225/45/18 on there works out for you.
 

bdevries

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Because its a service item. Think of a specified item as more of something like a certain size tire will only fit on the back wheel. The specified size is 180/45/17. Let me know how putting a 225/45/18 on there works out for you.

You're saying what Yamaha spec's is more of a recommendation? I just find all of the opinions are what to use to be pretty useless, since the fact that everyone using something different kind of dilutes the value of each opinion.. Maybe people should just refer newbies to the service manual and then perhaps recommend a brand, not that it REALLY matters that much... 10W30 ___ is the same as 10W30___.
 

FinalImpact

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Because its a service item. Think of a specified item as more of something like a certain size tire will only fit on the back wheel. The specified size is 180/55/17. Let me know how putting a 225/45/18 on there works out for you.


Let me fix that for you.... ^^


Ya gotta figure availability plays a huge role as not all brands and mixes are available even in the same town, let alone across the great pond!

That and we are people!

Has anyone tasted their oil lately? :tard: :popcorn:
 

lawlberg

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I'm not asking which oil is better than the other, I'm simply asking why people don't just follow the service manual and buy what Yamaha specs.

Because people believe that some oils are better than others. Everyone fancies themselves an expert/engineer/mechanic - and yeah - yamalube tastes the best
 

iviyth0s

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Yamaha tells you to use Yamalube to keep you in their pocket, if there were "YamaGrip" tires they'd recommend them too, but you don't see the manual saying "only use the Bridgestone Battleaxes tires your bike came with" instead they simply note to use the correct size of tires.

Like FIZZER6 said, with oil, as long as it's thick enough to protect the bike when it's fully warmed up then it's good oil.
 

FIZZER6

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I choose the best oil available for the best price. To me that means paying the same price as you would for Yamalube for something that is likely better. To each his own. As long as you have oil in the crankcase and it's motorcycle rated for wet clutch use, you will not know the difference. Blah
 

iviyth0s

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I choose the best oil available for the best price. To me that means paying the same price as you would for Yamalube for something that is likely better. To each his own. As long as you have oil in the crankcase and it's motorcycle rated for wet clutch use, you will not know the difference. Blah
Or even if it's not haha, still no issue with my Euro Car Mobil-1 0W-40 :D
 

FIZZER6

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Or even if it's not haha, still no issue with my Euro Car Mobil-1 0W-40 :D

Even if it has friction modifiers most riders who ride like a sane person will probably never feel the clutch slip. Now if you like to drag race or ride like an idiot on the streets you might notice more clutch slippage.
 

iviyth0s

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Even if it has friction modifiers most riders who ride like a sane person will probably never feel the clutch slip. Now if you like to drag race or ride like an idiot on the streets you might notice more clutch slippage.
Only time will tell, it didn't say energy conserving on it and I have hammered the bike from like 8-12K the other day to entice a mustang (he didn't bite).

I'll have to wait until it's nicer and I can get some high RPM shifts in
 
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FB400

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I've always stuck to the recommended weight oil as the range of 10w30 or even 10w40 should cover most riding temperatures.. no reason to mess with that.

Given I always preferred the piece of mind given by a full synthetic in the cages I have owned and maintained the high revving Yamaha Fz6 motor needs something a little more durable than conventional motor oil - so I wouldn't think of using anything other than full synthetic oil in the bike no matter how expensive it is.

As to brand a fan favorite is the Rotella full sythetic blue jug - this I think largely to the lowest cost of any synthetic available. It is decent oil but I don't like the negative effect it has on downshifting and finding neutral. MANY will argue with me on that point so that is just my opinion and I vote with my oil change $ with other brands.

Brands I have used and liked conistently better - Mobil1 4T, Castrol 4T and Valvoline 4T in that order of preference.

Given that the oil is the life blood of any internal combustion engine I can see why it is a hot, debated topic. In the end you will have to try a few brands and decide what gives you the most confidence.. especially when running this sucker all the way to redline. What oil do you want protecting your motor when you push it that far? you decide :D
 
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Motogiro

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hey all,

I've spent the past hour reading threads in this subforum and have yet to find anything remotely consistent. It seems everyone uses whatever they feel like!

The service manual says 10W30 or 20W40(or Yamahlube 2 or 4).. So... other than brands, why are people straying from this?

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread but I hadn't seen anyone bring this up.


There was a professor, I think at UCLA that did some actual studies using/ developing standards to come up with actual empirical data that showed a specific brand that retained shear factors for longer time periods than other brands but in our world with how powerful corporations work you can count on data being more a hypnotic state than actual truth. I'm not saying it's not the truth. I'm saying it may not be the truth. If you look at requests for what kind of this or that you'll find a lot of advice that's good based on what has been successful for people and a lot of rhetorical argument based on marketing/packaging and not actual fact.

I remember a day that a person said to me, "I'll never use BlaBla oil again because my engine threw a rod!" So I looked around and that brand of oil was still around and being bought. I could say to myself, "Wait till those poor bastards that bought this brand oil find out when their engines all blow!" Fact is I never heard anyone state they had an engine failure related to oil except the ones that had oil and then lost the oil while continuing to run the engine.

Oil threads as with any brand products threads, up for discussion tend to turn into opinionated, argumentative banter as opposed to intelligent informative discussion. They don't have to be and I think our forum and it's members do a great job these days in these discussions. :)

I think the facts are most all of the oils do a great job at what they have been designed to do. If they didn't there would be a lot of engine failure.

Here's an interesting sight where actual testing of the oils is done for used motor oil. Interestingly they even list metals to show wear factors of engine parts. Bob Is The Oil Guy | The Internet's Number One Motor Oil Site
 
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