car oil vs bike oil ... is it different ?

car oil vs bike oil ... is it different ? i want to do an oil change soon but wanted to find out this question first ..... i cant seem to find a thread to this ?? can anybody help ? thanks:thumbup

Yes. They are different. Even tho a million people will say yes, and another million will say no.

this topic is the most controversial thing ever just use Amsoil and call it day

there are millions of oil threads all over. there were some actual scientific test to what additives MC oils had Vs car oils. some were very different but most of it average people couldnt tell u what it meant. i have run car oil (castrol 20w50 in my bikes for 20 years with no failures). as long as oil doesnt say energy conserving and i would run good name brand. some like one over others and everyone has different opinion on this. course if bike is under warranty.. run that brand.. why.. that way if something does go wrong... then they cant say it was wrong oil as problem. but thats up to you.

If I ran a non-motorcycle-specific oil, it would be an oil designed for diesel engines, as diesel-specific oil has many of the same additives that motorcycle oil has. In my opinion, you need these additives to protect your transmission. Some good choices in this category would be Shell Rotella, Mobil Delvac, etc. As stated above, make sure it's not the energy-conserving variety, as it has lots of molybdenum, which could cause clutch slippage.

wow ... so much to think about ...... keep em comming guys ...... oil change is tomorrow

i guess i will choose the Synthetic Rotella 5W40 . thanks everybody ......

i guess i will choose the Synthetic Rotella 5W40 . ...... thats what i have been using

ok lets think about this, lets see oil for car range from 0w all the way to 10w30, and if you running any that else higher that a 10w30 in a daily driver you have engine problems or you have a leak and you are trying to slow it down. oil made for cars today are made to hold heat , wear and tear of daily driving, not cruzing at 8-9k rpms car oil will break down after 1,000 miles! on avg. a car runs at around 3k rpms all day, and never over 7k . A bike on avg around 8k , over 13,000k somethings. now are you willing to take a chance on your babys motor all over a little 20 dollars diff? i know i will not!

ggggrrrrr ?????? you would think this would be an easy thing hahahah sooo many options and opinions ....... whats the average cost of synthetic bike oil ? and what weight synthetic bike oil should i use then if i dont do the 5w40 route ?

hhmmmm it seems in my area (north bay, ontario, canada)the only oil around is 20w50 synthetic for bikes ?????? now this is me searching online in area stores so in the morning ill go to the bike shop in town and see what they have .

I was using the castrol 5w-40 superbike oil and then decided it was to light for my bike and changed to the redline 10-40 synthetic.

rex4x4, you will never get everybody to agree. there will be points for both side. in the end you have to make the decision. all i say is that, car oil is for cars and bike oil is for bikes...02

rex4x4, you will never get everybody to agree. there will be points for both side. in the end you have to make the decision. all i say is that, car oil is for cars and bike oil is for bikes...02 Exactly. I use diesel engine oil in all three bikes, and I haven't had a problem yet. And I tend to keep bikes around, and they do get used.

again ... thanks to all .... i did my oil change today and damnnnnn she runs nice n smooth on the full synthetic .

I was using the castrol 5w-40 superbike oil and then decided it was to light for my bike and changed to the redline 10-40 synthetic. you do realize that the only viscosity you changed is the cold viscosity 5w-40 and 10w-40 will act exactly the same once warm

One of the main differences is that motorcycle oil is rated for a wet clutch when the car stuff isn't. I forget the rating I think it's SF or something like that off hand. It isn't worth screwing up a nice bike just to be a cheap ass and save some money on oil.

This is simple (from what I've read and experienced so far): -normally a clutch doesn't slip from oil (and additives), so if it's slipping then you have some (hidden) problems with it (my ZX-7R's clutch is slipped with elf 10W-60 'racing' motorcycle oil (10k and above on track), with thicker heavy duty: no slip = the clutch is used up a bit / or the spings softened a bit). Then you can go back to the 'good' oil or try renew/upgrade the clutch. -car oil's thinning from shear is not worse than motorcycle 'spec' oil's (you have to keep in mind the shearing and adjust oil change interval according to oil's weight and use e.g. a trackbike's recomm. interval is 1000 km/3 events)

And car vs. motorcycle oil: IF you use it AND causes slippage THEN (maybe) you should not use that brand/type. But it is a very bad generalisation to say that all car oils is bad, and all mc oil is go(o)d. (faith/belief based 'truth' vs. fact based)

Lots of good usefull opinions stated here. Oils have come a long way in the last 10 years, you really don't need the highly over priced Boutique oils, they are fast becoming extinct. Lots up people use Rotella 5-40 full syn with Superior results. I have used and mixed everything with Superior results and never a problem over the last several decades. Chances are your bike will out last you or you will crash and total it long before you wear it out.

car oil has many additive that basically make it slicker... in a car this is not a bad thing... infact its great... how ever... with a wet clutch system that uses the same oil as your engine it CAN be a very bad thing... I say 'can' because many many people have used car oils with no issues I nice cheap alternative to motorcycle oils is Rotella T 15-40 (white jug, $11 a gallon at walmart) or you can get the synthetic version of this oil (around $22 a gallon blue jug at walmart) Rotella oils do not have the additives that cause so much problems in wet clutch systems

(I have no cheap oil, this is 'feudal' europe or.. west balkan. The cheapest (noname) mineral oil is about $3.5 a liter/quart... But it's another story) I'm testing a car oil in the bike currently: M-1 ESP5W-30. So far no clutch slippage, more rev happy, maybe a bit rougher the gearbox, less heat up, somewhat cooler running in the same weather. The other thing is oil consumption: none with thicker oil will see at 4000 kms when I change it (unless it needs some refill). But yes, next time i give her heavy duty ?W-40 .

If anything's a true statement that cuts through the foot-thick BS, it's this: Chances are your bike will out last you or you will crash and total it long before you wear it out.

:lol I did an oil change over the weekend. 3 quarts of Mobil 1 synthetic and an oil filter $40. 70,000 miles of reliability --- expensive Peace of mind --- PRICELESS!!!