Originally posted by RedRiverRam:
Dealer says the truck was delivered with Mopar 5w20 and he strongly urges I stay with that weight. Says if I want to use RP or Amsoil I can bring my own, they don't stock it. Good idea or is there anything wrong with staying withe the Mopar oil?
If your Ram has MDS then the dealer is correct that you want to stay with 5W20( or 0W20 in winter ). MDS operates using oil pressure so don't go thicker than a 20 weight.
Not sure what year your Ram is but I am assuming a new one here based on the free OC's and such. MOPAR oil is now provided by SOPUS( Shell & Pennzoil ). It used to be Mobil1 but is now SOPUS last I knew. The OE oil is a perfectly good oil if you wish to stay with conventional oil. The MOPAR filter is also a decent filter for up to 5-6K intervalls. You have 3 years of OC's free so use them if you wish.
If you only want the best for your truck, as most of us here do, than IMOA a synthetic oil is the way to go even if you have to pay for it. If you will only keep the truck for a few years and 50-75K use the free OC's. If you will keep it longer and/or wrack up the miles than a synthetic is the best option.
Again, I am assuming this is a new truck( 2011 or 2012 ). That means you have warranty issues to take into account so you really should use...
5W20
Meet/Exceed Chrysler oil spec MS6395
API Certified w/ Starburst( will have to be service level SN now )
Changed every 6 months or 8000 miles( whichever comes 1st )- MAX! You can do it sooner but not later even if your OLM has not tripped.
All of the above requirements are in your owner's manual under engine oil/maintenance.
So use the free OC's if you want to save some cash. You are fine doing so and your engine wiill do well on it. If you want to upgrade to a better product then Royal Purple and Amsoil are two good choices and both offer oils that are warranty accdeptable( as well as oils that are not so pick the right one ).
Royal Purple has a couple different oil lines but only one that meets your warranty requirements. Look for the High Performance Motor oil. They have a High Performance Street(HPS) oil as well but that is not the stuff. The oil you want will have the API Starburst on the front and only one line from RP has it. There is a lot of older API SL RP oil out there still as they just reformulated to API SN within the last year. Again, look for the API Starburst on the front of the bottle and then you have the right stuff.
Amsoil offers many different oil types but the 2 you should stick with, while under warranty, are the 5W20 XL and 5W20 OE lines. These two are their only oils that meet warranty requirements but both are very good oils. The XL would be the superior oil. OE is their entry level oil so tos peak or more of an answer to the cheaper name brand synthetics people buy in 5qt jugs at WalMart( not a slam about it just a description ).
If you are going to step up to a premium oil like RP or Amsoil I suggest using an RP oil filter or Amsoil oil filter with it. Might as well do it right.
FWIW I have run RP for decades in tons of vehicles including 2 HEMI Rams and it is great stuff. It is my personal choice. The new(er) RP filters are one of the best out there. I use them now as well.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your truck.