Can someone explain to me all the hoopla around "German made" Castrol Syntec

Status
Not open for further replies.
Rick,

I guess this all has finally gotten to me so I made the post I repeat below in another thread on this forum. I REALLY don't believe the GC crowd has tried to foist off GC on any who were unwilling. We have been vocal, we have been frequent, but basically we have interacted among the fans, never (that I am aware of trying to trick or force people into accepting it). Please see the post excerpt from userfriendly and my response below:

quote:

Originally posted by pscholte:
Originally posted by userfriendly:
How about paying for performance and warranty certification instead? Everytime someone asks an engine oil question, everybody jumps onto the PAO/group III debate, which is getting older by the day.
You have seen through the anti-Castrol bias/fog and seen the issue for what it really is. Does the oil meet engine requirements and does it perform? If the UOAs from any particular oil are superior, it is worth what you paid for it NO MATTER what it is made out of. If they are not, it is not...assuming that UOAS tell us everything we need to know about how the oil is performing and that we all have Terry Dyson's ability to properly interpret results. In addition, how are some members of this board SO SURE what it costs Castrol to make SYNTEC. Do they have access to the firm's accounting figures that show total cost for Group III base oil procurement and for the additive packages they use and for blending methodology? Why does no one REALLY take Pennzoil or Valvoline or Chevron to task over what they charge for their "synthetics?" This is prejudice, pure and simple. It is also a classic case of how the internet can build and perpetuate hearsay. (Did Mobil only go after Castrol about the definition of synthetic...if so, why? Could it be Castrol was the only one they were worried about from a competition standpoint?)
 
quote:

Originally posted by Last_Z:
It does bug me a little though how some people are so fanatical and quickly lose track of why we are here. They get so caught up (ie; G-Man) with specific products that they end up trying to shove it down people's throat.

lol.gif
lol.gif
lol.gif
lol.gif
lol.gif
lol.gif
 
pscholte;

You are 100% correct and in writing such a post you prove some of my points. Let me repeat myself:

-I do not put down Castrol (especially GC) and people who use it. I do believe the price for their Group III might be unfair and the reason why everybody else charges the same for their Group III is because Castrol started it all. The people at Ams and Pennz are not dummies; if Castrol can get away with selling G III for full synthetic price, what makes anyone think they wouldn't too.

-It does seem that GC might be Ester, PAO or both as UOAs, pour point and shear stability are unlike Castrol's G III. I don't like the fact that people like G-Man come here and make it official that Castrol is indeed Ester base, all without any tests or papers to back up his big mouth.

-I also believe that if it is available and cost effective, everyone should try it. The more UOAs we have of it, the better.

-Since I am in the quest to find the best lubrication my vehicles can get, I went ahead and bought 6 quarts of GC. They had 12 qrts, so I just wiped out half of their stock. This should also prove (eventhough I don't have to) that I am openminded to new ideas. I wanted to try GC for a while now, but was waiting for more data to come in.
The number on the bottom of the bottle is M023386BTAG785 2114.
The bottles didn't have any dust on them, so they might be fairly new


G-MAN,

As for you Sir, this is all I have to say:

-Occupation: Self employed
-IQ: 175
-People skills: 0
-Opening you mouth and showing everyone how childish and inmatured you are: Priceless!


I really though I had asked you, in a NICE way by the way, for you not to reply to my posts anymore. I guess you forgot.
Yes this is a free country, but if you are going to answer with smart remarks evertime, the fighting will never stop....besides that, I will never be able to learn anything.


Moderators,
Check our past posts, G-Man's and mine....you will get a clear picture of who is being agressive here. Check his posts answering me and especially JB.
Rick
 
Z, if you find the topic of GC so offensive, why don't you just avoid the threads in which it is discussed?

And FTR, I've never claimed that GC has esters in it based on anything other than deductive reasoning.
 
I wonder if you even read my previous post? I just bought 6qrts of GC.....I don't hate anything or anybody, I do dislike however the way you answer to people sometimes.
That's all!
 
pscholte:

I think we all agree that it doesn't matter what an oil is made of if it has superior performance. I was under the impression, though, that a Group III oil would varnish much more than any PAO would, regardless of other performance numbers.

I suppose I'm wrong?
 
Come on everybody! Group hug. Maybe join hands and sing "kume by ya" (I have no idea if that is correctly spelled)

[ October 04, 2003, 09:51 PM: Message edited by: garyb80 ]
 
That's funny gary
grin.gif


pscholte,
Maybe my nose is messed up, but the GC doesn't smell like gummy bears to me.....it has a hint of "solvent" smell as well as differential lube, but I don't really pay too much attention to gummy bears. It does smell different than M1 though. I've been sniffing on this stuff for about an hour now....feeling light-headed
gr_eek2.gif

I did noticed it was green though.
Rick
 
quote:

Originally posted by BadBatsuMaru:
pscholte:

I think we all agree that it doesn't matter what an oil is made of if it has superior performance. I was under the impression, though, that a Group III oil would varnish much more than any PAO would, regardless of other performance numbers.

I suppose I'm wrong?


I can't tell you that you are wrong; however, I have never heard or seen anything that indicates that Gp IIIs have a varnishing problem. I don't see why an SL or SL/CF or ACEA A3 rated Gp III won't run as clean or cleaner than one of the new SL rated "clean engine formula" Gp II or Gp II+.

[ October 04, 2003, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by userfriendly:
Guys;
When you are smelling Gummi Bear's, who holds him down?


Not to worry userfriendly; when I am smelling the gummi bears I am still quite down to earth.
grin.gif
(I do occasionally have to wipe a drop of oil off the end of my nose.)
cheers.gif


[ October 04, 2003, 10:45 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by sbc350gearhead:
Don't feel bad. It doesn't smell like gummi bears to me either. In fact, to me, it smells like alcohol. Jim Beam actually.
grin.gif
cheers.gif


Exactly! I couldn't figure out what it was, but you are right...it does have an alcohol smell.

Anyway, I wonder if I should buy more of this stuff?
For you chemists out there, I would like to bring this oil up to a mid 40W....can this be accomplished with #132 and is it ok with the GC?

I do plan a run on straight GC just to see what it does.
Rick
 
Alex D,

Ich bin ueberzeugt, dass GC etwas anders ist, als das US-Syntec, nach langer BITOG-Forschung...

[Sprichst du wirklich deutsch, allerdings?-))oder was das electr. uebersetzung?]
 
quote:

Originally posted by Primus:
Given the bottle is not European type (silver-grey) and the oil itself is of German origin, this may give idea that Castrol packs it already in N.A.

I don't think there's ever been any question that this oil is bottled in the US. Castrol no doubt imports the SLX in drums and bottles it here in traditional North American Syntec bottles. I've never assumed that this stuff was produced and bottled in Germany and then imported.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Primus:
Given the bottle is not European type (silver-grey) and the oil itself is of German origin, this may give idea that Castrol packs it already in N.A. Moreover, since 2003 like other European manufacturers Burmah Oil labels their products with "Made in E.U." In 1995-1995 Formula SLX 0W-30 was esters based, now it's PAO (even Castrol people here do not insist on esters).
Very good stuff indeed, but probably sales never fully met Castrol expectations due to tough competition. Also sold under the brand of Veedol Syntron 0W-30 (www.veedol.de). I don't know what is the situation after the mergence with BP, but before this event Castrol Europe was pourchasing PAO from Mobil France, the biggest PAO manufacturer in Europe.


Primus,

As always, you are most straightforward and informative. Many thanks for the excellent information.
 
quote:

I do not understand why people are so determined to disprove or disregard the capability of this oil

Oh ...it just got too annoying to see so many posts mentioning it. One would think that it was the greatest invention since sliced bread. There's also the false assumption that all things Continental (and especially German) are superior to anything home grown ...(which could not be further from the truth).

Me? I don't know what to think about the stuff. But from an "observational" stance on it ..... One would think that this was Japan ...and GC was Godzilla
grin.gif


I'll wait and see how people do with it before I swap from my brand loyalties (Mobil - 1 & Delvac)
 
quote:

Originally posted by sbc350gearhead:
Don't feel bad. It doesn't smell like gummi bears to me either. In fact, to me, it smells like alcohol. Jim Beam actually.
grin.gif
cheers.gif


You guys aren't alone, I don't find it smells like gummibears either, but it definitely smells different than most oils.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Patman:

quote:

Originally posted by sbc350gearhead:
Don't feel bad. It doesn't smell like gummi bears to me either. In fact, to me, it smells like alcohol. Jim Beam actually.
grin.gif
cheers.gif


You guys aren't alone, I don't find it smells like gummibears either, but it definitely smells different than most oils.


I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that didn't smell this. As soon as I got home, I opened one up and took smell. I had a sweet ETOH (alcohol) smell to it, but no gummibears, heck, what do gummibears smell like anyway? Who cares, it doesn't smell like any oil I have ever smelled before.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top