10/40 amsoil in my 06 for 13K..
nay a problem to date
have a oil temp gauge highest ive seen is 60 deg F above ambient at 100 f

But higher octane gasoline is not better gasoline; it is harder to ignite, exactly what one wants to prevent preignition.

Better oils do exist and really do a better job over the long run.  Yes, the engine engineers know lubes.  That does not mean that what is published is the best lube for the job, and more likely means that it is the lowest acceptable lube for the job.  Would Suzuki prefer to sell their branded oil, their parts & dealership labor, or a new Suzuki motorcycle, or recommend an oil that will make their engine live for a very, very long time?

Not pertinent to small engines like motorcycle engines...It is clear that better quality oil and lab analysis of the oil to determine the maximum safe life of the oil saves money in oil, filters, labor costs, and engine wear, and sometimes a couple'a percentage points in fuel savings.  I've documented that in large engines.  Of course, the analysis cost is greater than the oil & filter for a small engine, so it doesn't pay, but the principles are the same.  I use a $5 synthetic blend oil in my car & truck engines with 10,000 mile oil & filter changes, and the engines are extremely clean with lab reports saying that the oil is good for even longer.  I count on the lab reports for the engines I've run including the 2700 hp generator engines with 600 gallon oil sumps and the 57,500 hp propulsion diesel engine with a 30 tons of oil in its sump.

"what would be the best oil in the summer heat...??"

The oil that's easy to find, doesn't break the bank, has no energy conserving label, that will be changed (along with filter) on a frequent basis, that doesn't start a heated oil war that gets hotter than our engines in the summer at a 5 minute stop light!
Seriously, there's a great deal of good info here. Make that great info here; but it's easier to talk relegion and politics than oil.

In this oh so polite oil discussion, has anyone mentioned the need for flat tappet and cam profile protection from the old style Zinc Phosphorus (ZDP or ZDDP) additive packages?

Our motors are of an old traditional design type and require special additives to prevent spauling or gauling of the cam tappet followers.  These are the older type additive packages that used to be found a decent concentrations in all motor oils from all vendors.  You didn't have to hunt for it because it was in all motor oils.

ZDDP (modern name for same stuff) keeps your cam chain from stretching/wearing out as fast and it keeps your valve clearance from wearing a bunch of slop by eating a concave portion into the tappet follower from gauling/spauling.   Both of these items are "bad things" in a Savage motor.   THERE IS NO modern replacement package for these ZDDP additives -- anything effective enough is "energy saving", wears the death star and will cause clutch slippage in your motor.

ZDDP was a very effective additive package that has been removed to a VERY large degree from all car oils because it has been found to harm the Type 2 catalytic converters found on modern cars.   That's a shame, because you do need it in your Savage's oil and it simply isn't there in car oils any more.  

BTW, they don't tell you it is missing as the oil they sell is poorer because of the missing package that they had to take out because of the cat converter issues.

Take joy in the fact that the ZDDP additive packages are still available in certain expensive motorcycle oils -- namely the Mobil 1 V-Twin Harley oil series and in the very highest level racing oils sold for enthusiast's hopped up car engines.  Unfortunately these oils cost $10 a quart and are not available everywhere by a long shot.

If you want ZDDP in good concentration levels in an oil that can be bought anywhere, buy the "intended for use in a diesel engine" Rotella T dino oil with the triple protection label as mentioned earlier by Charon.  This oil has been tested by Shell and passes all the JSO series tests for motorcycle wet clutch engines and it has a very strong following of motorcycle enthusiasts who keep an eye on it at BOBISTHEOILGUY with all those endless oil analysis, ect.

My personal favorite is the synthetic Shell Rotella T which keeps an odd rating of 5w40 because it doesn't get thick when it gets cold.  It also doesn't get thin when it gets hot and it can take elevated temperatures higher than a savage engine can achieve without breaking down to any noticeable degree.

Oil is a bit of personal preference thing, but when you tear your top end apart to replace a stretched out cam chain and you notice all the concave spaulling on your tappet followers -- then you will say to yourself ....

"Durn, after I spend the $160 for these here replacement parts maybe I'll give that Rotella diesel oil a try to see if I can avoid this nonsense next time."

lokjaw777 wrote on 05/16/09 at 03:41:50:


Aww, I wasn't tryin to bust yer chops  lokjaw777; I wuz tryin' to be funny. (Note to self, quit trying to be funny!)
I went with Oldfeller's advice and started using Rotella T dino 15w40 a few thousand miles back. I may even consider syn someday, but I still change my oil and filter every 1,000 miles; and that wouldn't stop with the syn, so I'll probably just stay with the dino and drink the price difference.

Thanks kwaknut & PTRider for the very accurate and informative posts on oil. The low number (10 in 10W40) doesnt mean much in motorcycle oils. It indicates how the oil flows at low temps. According to the 07 S40 owners manual 20W50 is good down to 14 degrees F. (That does not mean 14 degrees sitting in your yard or garage it means riding or starting the bike in this temp) If you live in Alaska and the temp gets lower than that but you dont start it until the temp goes above that it is not an issue. If you ride at under 14 degrees you have bigger kahunas than me and you may need to watch the lower number but most dont. And on the subject of buying oil from the dealership if you check the price you will most certainly find that you can find better oil cheaper. Contrary to popular beleif Diesel oils are not the only oils left with Zinc & phosphorous. All motorcycle oils that I know of have both and they are formulated for motorcycles not 18 Wheelers. Amsoil motorcycle oils have a GL1 gear lube rating which is important since our oil also lubricates the transmission gears. Yes I sell Amsoil and beleive it is the best. Check out this link and see what you think https://www.amsoil.com/products/streetbikes/WhitePaper.aspx  There are a lot of good Synthetic MC oils out there and I would recommend using a motorcycle oil if you dont use ours.  Gazoo www.lubedealer.com/1lube  

PTRider wrote on 04/28/09 at 10:02:04:

+1