Opinions for Best 4 Stroke Motor Oil Wanted

[2Tim215]

I would like some advice/opinions on what the best motor oil would be. I realize sport and utility may be different so maybe someone could specify on best brands for each. Yamaha brand is quite pricey, am I really getting what I'm paying for? I do oil changes on everything that I buy whether for resale or keepers so would appreciate the help!

[oldskool83]

ive been using shell rotella 15w40 in all my bikes off and on road now, its strong stuff made for deisels and been working really well.

xr200r, 300ex, cbr600f4, gsxr750 cbr929rr not a problem with any of them and they get beat on hard.

[fabiodriven]

YAY! Another oil thread!

[rdlsz24]

Any wet-clutch compatible oil that gets changed regularly is best.

Rob

[2Tim215]

YAY! Another oil thread!

Sorry, I did a search for Motor Oil and nothing came up.

[posty2100]

there are many good oils to use

I use Honda GN-4 which is recommended for honda atvs/atcs

can be pricey but worth it to buy a good oil

http://utahvalleypowersports.com/images/GN4-Honda-Oil.gif

[fabiodriven]

Sorry, I did a search for Motor Oil and nothing came up.

Not your fault man. The search feature has been lackluster at best lately. There's at least a thread a week on motor oil. Lol...

[Thorpe]

Valvoline 4 stroke, atv oil... Its what I use. Why? Because its Valvoline, its not too spendy, and readily available...

[inv3ctiv3]

Why not just use what Honda recommends? Just use GN4

[2Tim215]

Not your fault man. The search feature has been lackluster at best lately. There's at least a thread a week on motor oil. Lol...

Must be, I searched for a few things before posting and came up with 0 results. I appreciate the replies everyone. I have been using Yamalube and don't mind spending extra if there's really a difference. A Wal-Mart mechanic told me that their oil is actually Mobil in a different package. I couldn't help to wonder if Yamaha or Honda actually has their own brand or if their also packaged with a name change. Thanks again!

[Dirtcrasher]

I use Valvoline but ran the Walmart brand for years without an issue. Never lost a clutch, no scoring on journals etc etc.

Someone just said it the other day and I've said it before - As long as you change it often, IDC WHAT brand of oil you use as long as they all have the same service rating albeit ALGI ACI??? whatever it may be.

Lastly, I ride, my machines don't sit and I let friends ride them too so the oil does get a test of time.

If Honda oil makes you feel more secure, by all means go ahead and use it. It's probably 400% more than the cost of Walmart oil and 300% more than Valvoline oil.

I'd really like to try the VR1 oil that SWIGIN suggested in numerous threads and I trust his judgement!! but NAPA isn't anywhere close to me............

Step 1) Clean oil, good gas, inline filter
Step 2) New oil filter
Step 3) Keep your airfilter clean and the spray on oil is easy and cleaner to use. I apply grease around any air filter sealing areas or the hole in the back where the support goes. Don't overtighten the clamp or the filter slides off of the plastic. I am gonna whip up some airbox support rings for all my models............
Step 5) Keep a good plug in there and read it to fine tune your jetting.

JETTING, by far, ahs the most severe consequences to any engine and the colder it gets, the more motors seize due to the denser air and leaner running condition........

Thats all I got :D

[whyzee]

Gotta agree with DC about everything that he has tried.
I'd go with the Honda GN4 ( like above) for wet clutches. I tried the Maxima ATV formula for wet clutches and it made my clutch slip like crazy! Garbage and $8 a quart!!!

Honda GN4 all the way.

[Mr_RPM]

i like to use semi synthetic oils, such as yamalube and honda's HP-4. i use a mix of mobile 4 stroke snowmobile oil (wet clutch compatible) with bit thicker oil, like regular GN-4 in the winter, i get to use all types of oils as my father takes home brand new oil jugs all the time from work, so i rarely buy oil, so i dont really notice prices fortunately. i have also had no problems running full synthetic in mine, i have had a 22 dollar quart of synthetic motorex in my trike. no difference to me, all in all the important thing to me in changing it alot, nice thing with the 110 is it only uses 1 quart, so i change it probably close to every tank of gas, lol why not if its free ya know.

[fabiodriven]

I'd really like to try the VR1 oil that SWIGIN suggested in numerous threads and I trust his judgement!! but NAPA isn't anywhere close to me............



There's a NAPA in Bridgewater center Bozo...

[Honda_Dude]

Another vote for Shell Rotella 15W-40 ... around $11 a gallon at Wally World...use it in my Shadow as welll...great oil. Whatever oil you use be careful. Look at the API rating. If it says ENERGY CONSERVING on it, run away and dont look back.It will contain friction modifiers in it and WILL, or probably will, cause wet clutch trouble. Most of the ENERGY CONSERVING stuff is in the 10W-30 weights though, but look out for that. And yah like a few have said here, keep it full & fresh and you will be fine.

[oldskool83]

Only oil i never use again is castrol...ive used it in dif machines and the affect as been the same, too much gear box slipage around 1st to neutral to 2nd gear. wether is was dirt or street that oil is junk.

[Macs]

I am starting to sound like a broken record.

People love to buy oil from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki etc etc..... what they dont realize is Honda does not make oil, niether does Yamaha, hell neither does 90% of the companies. They are the exact same products that the big oil companies are selling just under a diffrent name. they buy the exact same product in bulk, change the name and resell it for a nice profit. What is bad about this ( not counting the price ) is every year the renegotiate there contracts and often switch suppliers. You might change your oil one time with a Lubrizol oil then the next time it may be a Exxon/mobil product. You never know what you are getting. The only thing that these companies keep consistent is that the oil meets there standards, which is usaully lower than the suppliers standards. I have been in the oil/ gas industry for quite sometime and have been part of these negotioations before. There is also another side to this. Most generic oil companies do the same thing. Like right now O'rielly's house oil is the exact same thing as Mobil 5000 just at 1/2 the cost.

[nd4speed]

I am starting to sound like a broken record.

People love to buy oil from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki etc etc..... what they dont realize is Honda does not make oil, niether does Yamaha, hell neither does 90% of the companies. They are the exact same products that the big oil companies are selling just under a diffrent name. they buy the exact same product in bulk, change the name and resell it for a nice profit. What is bad about this ( not counting the price ) is every year the renegotiate there contracts and often switch suppliers. You might change your oil one time with a Lubrizol oil then the next time it may be a Exxon/mobil product. You never know what you are getting. The only thing that these companies keep consistent is that the oil meets there standards, which is usaully lower than the suppliers standards. I have been in the oil/ gas industry for quite sometime and have been part of these negotioations before. There is also another side to this. Most generic oil companies do the same thing. Like right now O'rielly's house oil is the exact same thing as Mobil 5000 just at 1/2 the cost.

This makes perfect sense to me, I switched to Valvoline 10w40 SF SG rated motorcycle oil off O'Reily's shelf for $4 a quart. But at $11 a gallon might look at Walmart.

[big yeller]

i prefer the castrol that comes from the ground not the syn. oil. i been trying the castol 4t motorcycle oil and it seems pretty good. i was using pennzoil which i use in all my gas engines till i discovered it wasnt supposed to use entergy conserving according to my manual.

[200XMichigan]

Valvoline 4 stroke, atv oil... Its what I use. Why? Because its Valvoline, its not too spendy, and readily available...

Totally second the Valvoline, or Castroil motorcycle or ATV oil depending on what its going in. Best oil for the money. And I think the Valvoline motorcycle oil felt smoother in shifting than Amsoil. At almost 1/3 the cost.

Lately I have been running the oil they sell at the local hardware store, the guy does his research. ServicePro oil is made by Chevron, synthetic blend and $2.70 a quart. At that price I change the oil in my 200X all the time.

In a test Castroil GTX had more visosity left after 3,000 miles than many synthetics and more expensive oils. Due to federal regulations they can't make oil formulas too different. Zinc content,etc. So they will all perform well if you change it regularly. Yeah full synthetics have more viscosity after a lot of miles but at a normal service interval the conventional oil is just as good, if not better. I can change the oil 4 times as much on my 200X for the same price.

Carefully when running diesel oil (15-40 usually) some is not S (spark rated) most all is but some is not, Shell Rotella is S rated. The diesel rating is C and S is spark, they are both followed by a second letter which is the current standard. Sometimes the discount brands are actually better oil. I forget the second letter they changed a few years back on the S rated oil but the previos years had more zinc. So the discount oil was last years oil that had more zinc. It was a big deal for diesels because the newer oil had so little zinc, older diesels needed to run an oil additive.

Like dirtcrasher said its really just that it meets the specs and is changed often. Even though Honda says to buy their oil it says in my Nighthawk owner manual that expensive oil (like Honda's) is unneccessary, it just needs to be SF, SG rated.

[zppeacock]

Valvoline 4 stroke, atv oil... Its what I use. Why? Because its Valvoline, its not too spendy, and readily available...

This is true, but when I went to my dealer last I bought a gallon of the Honda Oil for like $4 a quart. The valvoline atv oil in my area is $5 a quart.

[scottp597]

+1 on Shell Rotella T. They have regular petroleum based oils from 10w-30 to 15w-40 which are great as well as a 5w-40 fully synthetic which I highly recommend.

I run the 10w-30 in my truck, the 5w-40 syn in my bike and nothing but Castor 927 premix in my 2 smoker ;-)

[The Goat]

run the rotella 15w40 in the quad, takes abuse well. If the clutch on that isn't slipping...no clutch is slipping. Seeing as how I've been using it to gather firewood for the last month or so. Towing wet logs out of the swamp with just a chain...still running strong.

Got a few cases of VR1 stashed away for everything else.

[Mondexbrute]

I use Maxima ATV Premium High Performance 10w 40

[MrGiggles]

Another vote on the Rotella. Never had any clutch problems. I also used the Valvoline ATV oil but I can get 3 quarts of that for more than a gallon of Rotella.

On the other hand, I have a question I want to ask. What do you guys think about Lucas Oil Stabilizer? I'd never use it because of the cost but I won a quart and am wondering if it's any good or just snake oil.

[big yeller]

i have never used a cj-4 class oil in a gasoline engine...yall aint had a problem with it.