Carlube engine oil

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Jan 31, 2025
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Is this good quality? I'ts manufactuted in the UK but it's hard to find any reviews as opposed to mannol.
 
It has no api seal and no dexos license just claims api sn and dexos for their "tec 18 and tec 6" and only api sp for the "tec 15 and tec 4" but no api license either. It may possibly be ok but it being ok can't even be guaranteed. I don't think something made in the UK would be terrible but you never know. I assume this the lowest cost option available. How much more is the next option.
 
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Is this brand common where you are? Which side of the Atlantic are you on?
Is there contact info on the label?
Have you tried Googling the name?

With all the proven oils out there, odd ones don't seem to generate much excitement on this board....not surprising.

edit: Haven't looked at Mannol products other than their 3309 transmission fluid in 20l kegs. If I was in Europe and Mannol offered motor oils in the same package, I'd look into that.
 
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Is this good quality? I'ts manufactuted in the UK but it's hard to find any reviews as opposed to mannol.
Reviews are useless for the most part. When evaluating an unknown brand, go by the licenses, specifications and approvals the oil holds - or does not hold. Also make sure the oil actually has those approvals and so forth, not just vague and unsubstantiated recommendations.
 
Is this good quality? I'ts manufactuted in the UK but it's hard to find any reviews as opposed to mannol.
It’s a cheap oil sold by car parts retailers like EuroCarParts and others

Produced by Tetrosyl.

I would only use it as top up to get home if my oil light came on and that was the only thing I could buy.

There are far better oils out there and any saving is negligible
 
Is this brand common where you are? Which side of the Atlantic are you on?
Is there contact info on the label?
Have you tried Googling the name?

With all the proven oils out there, odd ones don't seem to generate much excitement on this board....not surprising.

edit: Haven't looked at Mannol products other than their 3309 transmission fluid in 20l kegs. If I was in Europe and Mannol offered motor oils in the same package, I'd look into that.
Im in the netherlands, the label says tetrostyl. The cheapest 0w20 I could find is mannol for 20 euros at 5 liter. Carlube is like 25 euro for 5 liter but its in 1 liter containers. So i dont know which brand makes more sense. The castrol is at least double or triple the price here


The
 
It has no api seal and no dexos license just claims api sn and dexos for their "tec 18 and tec 6" and only api sp for the "tec 15 and tec 4" but no api license either. It may possibly be ok but it being ok can't even be guaranteed. I don't think something made in the UK would be terrible but you never know. I assume this the lowest cost option available. How much more is the next option.
Could you take a look at eurol engine oil, this is actually manufactured in the netherlands.
 
Could you take a look at eurol engine oil, this is actually manufactured in the netherlands.
If this eurol oil is only a little more then it's worth getting. It has real approvals along with some recommendations for other applications.
 
If this eurol oil is only a little more then it's worth getting. It has real approvals along with some recommendations for other applications.
so by your logic mannol and carlube are in the same ballpark? Mannol is easier to get at lower prices so a no brainer?

To give you an idea of the prices here:

Mannol 0w16 and 0w20 5 liters are both like 21-22 euro

Eurol 0w16 and 0w20 5 liters are both like 45-50 euro

Castrol 0w16 and 0w20 5 liters are both like 50-55 euro
 
so by your logic mannol and carlube are in the same ballpark? Mannol is easier to get at lower prices so a no brainer?

To give you an idea of the prices here:

Mannol 0w16 and 0w20 5 liters are both like 21-22 euro

Eurol 0w16 and 0w20 5 liters are both like 45-50 euro

Castrol 0w16 and 0w20 5 liters are both like 50-55 euro
Car lube is an unproven brand as I've never heard of it but I've heard of mannol. Oils that have approvals are guaranteed good but without them they can claim meets or exceeds and it may not. Mannol gives you the cost savings from not paying out the cost to obtain the approvals but I fear they may be cheaping out too much because the price difference is too good to be true. Making an oil that really does meets or exceeds the approvals mannol claims they meet but without paying for the license to get the approval would result in an oil still costing more than it currently does. This topic on mannol has been discussed before. With something like eurol you're getting something that meets some strict quality levels like using eurol syntex xt 5w-30 which is approved for bmw ll-04 which it indeed is as it's listed in the bmw approval list. Some mannol oils do seem to have approvals but others don't and it's shady.


Seeing how you're listing 0w-16 and 0w-20 i'm guessing this is for something like a toyota or similar that doesn't really need any manufacturer approvals beyond API SN. So for what vehicle is this for, how many miles does it have, is it under warranty, and what are your intervals?
 
A small note:
Depending on your age, strength and availability of a helper, the 20l kegs can present problems.
Those first few litres can be "gluggy" (uncooperative).
A larger funnel to pour from the 20l into something more manageable can take up room etc.
And yes, what vehicle and engine?
 
Car lube is an unproven brand as I've never heard of it but I've heard of mannol. Oils that have approvals are guaranteed good but without them they can claim meets or exceeds and it may not. Mannol gives you the cost savings from not paying out the cost to obtain the approvals but I fear they may be cheaping out too much because the price difference is too good to be true. Making an oil that really does meets or exceeds the approvals mannol claims they meet but without paying for the license to get the approval would result in an oil still costing more than it currently does. This topic on mannol has been discussed before. With something like eurol you're getting something that meets some strict quality levels like using eurol syntex xt 5w-30 which is approved for bmw ll-04 which it indeed is as it's listed in the bmw approval list. Some mannol oils do seem to have approvals but others don't and it's shady.


Seeing how you're listing 0w-16 and 0w-20 i'm guessing this is for something like a toyota or similar that doesn't really need any manufacturer approvals beyond API SN. So for what vehicle is this for, how many miles does it have, is it under warranty, and what are your intervals?

thank you for your extensive response.

I am now using mannol 0w20 ultra legend in my lexus is300h. I keep the interval at 5000 miles/7500km.
Last summer I did a long trip to turkiye, from netherlands thats about 3000km to my destination, including the ride back to netherlands its about 7500-8000km. I refreshed the oil with mannol 0w20 + filter before the trip and when I came back did a oil change and the oil had a silvery glitter to it, I think the viscosity was just too light for having 4 people in the car on a long trip in which the engine gets a lot of strain. So for next summer trip I am sure to put castrol gtx 5w30 rn17 in it and of course when im back do an oil change to switch to 0w20 mannol.

My vehicle has almost 234k km. I might switch to a toyota chr 1.8 hybrid, as my mother gets less carsick when traveling in a heightened car.

The lexus I have right now has a 2.5 aspirated engine, I think when switching to a 1.8 on the chr would there be any difference in which oil I should prefer?
 
A small note:
Depending on your age, strength and availability of a helper, the 20l kegs can present problems.
Those first few litres can be "gluggy" (uncooperative).
A larger funnel to pour from the 20l into something more manageable can take up room etc.
And yes, what vehicle and engine?
yeah I see no point in buying kegs, the price per liter/gallon might slightly differ but its just too much of a hassle to deal with. The 1 liter bottles are best, but 5 liter also does the job.

lexus is300h, 2.5 hybrid.
 
thank you for your extensive response.

I am now using mannol 0w20 ultra legend in my lexus is300h. I keep the interval at 5000 miles/7500km.
Last summer I did a long trip to turkiye, from netherlands thats about 3000km to my destination, including the ride back to netherlands its about 7500-8000km. I refreshed the oil with mannol 0w20 + filter before the trip and when I came back did a oil change and the oil had a silvery glitter to it, I think the viscosity was just too light for having 4 people in the car on a long trip in which the engine gets a lot of strain. So for next summer trip I am sure to put castrol gtx 5w30 rn17 in it and of course when im back do an oil change to switch to 0w20 mannol.

My vehicle has almost 234k km. I might switch to a toyota chr 1.8 hybrid, as my mother gets less carsick when traveling in a heightened car.

The lexus I have right now has a 2.5 aspirated engine, I think when switching to a 1.8 on the chr would there be any difference in which oil I should prefer?
Toyota's that spec 0w-16 as the minimum can use 15w-40 as the max and Toyota engines that spec 0w-20 can use 20w-50 as the max.

If you're not doing extended intervals you could use a synthetic blend and be ok but the price difference is rarely large enough to make it worth while. I would only ever see myself using mannol, millers, this carlube stuff, or something similar if it is at least a 40 grade incase the oil is slightly underadditzed as thicker oil helps with wear but I still wouldn't buy it when there are better options for a bit more. If it's suddenly are producing silvery glitter it's likely because the oil is insufficiently blended which mannol is suspected of being. These engines should not produce silvery glitter even with thin oil. Highway driving should produce less wear than stop and go driving which is accelerating and stopping over and over. I fear that it may have already caused some damage so thicker oil is now more important to provide better separation. Although I don't have a toyota i have two vehicles that call for 20 grade but I use a 40 grade in them anyway and they have no issues either and are low mileage, both are modern engines with vvt and I have never had an issue. If you can find something like this in the Netherlands for a decent price with approvals not "recommendations" or "meets and/or exceeds" or "performance profile" I would buy it.

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-197007-valvoline-synpower-5w-40-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx
 
Toyota's that spec 0w-16 as the minimum can use 15w-40 as the max and Toyota engines that spec 0w-20 can use 20w-50 as the max.

If you're not doing extended intervals you could use a synthetic blend and be ok but the price difference is rarely large enough to make it worth while. I would only ever see myself using mannol, millers, this carlube stuff, or something similar if it is at least a 40 grade incase the oil is slightly underadditzed as thicker oil helps with wear but I still wouldn't buy it when there are better options for a bit more. If it's suddenly are producing silvery glitter it's likely because the oil is insufficiently blended which mannol is suspected of being. These engines should not produce silvery glitter even with thin oil. Highway driving should produce less wear than stop and go driving which is accelerating and stopping over and over. I fear that it may have already caused some damage so thicker oil is now more important to provide better separation. Although I don't have a toyota i have two vehicles that call for 20 grade but I use a 40 grade in them anyway and they have no issues either and are low mileage, both are modern engines with vvt and I have never had an issue. If you can find something like this in the Netherlands for a decent price with approvals not "recommendations" or "meets and/or exceeds" or "performance profile" I would buy it.

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-197007-valvoline-synpower-5w-40-fully-synthetic-engine-oil.aspx

Alright thanks,

do you also know what the difference is between a 5w30 and 5w40 oil, why isn't 5w30 obselete as 5w40 covers a wider range? I think im not gonna cheap out on the engine oil anymore i do have like 2 cans of 0w20 mannol left.

Wouild it hurt the engine if I go like 15k and 12 months before a refresh on a castrol 5w30?
 
Alright thanks,

do you also know what the difference is between a 5w30 and 5w40 oil, why isn't 5w30 obselete as 5w40 covers a wider range? I think im not gonna cheap out on the engine oil anymore i do have like 2 cans of 0w20 mannol left.

Wouild it hurt the engine if I go like 15k and 12 months before a refresh on a castrol 5w30?
As approvals get revised sometimes 5w-30's that used to meet the last revision now don't meet the current revision so that leaves out the 40 grades which are able to more easily meet the revised approvals without being more expensive or at least enough to where it no longer pencils out. This happened when bmw revised their approvals and some oils got dropped and only the thicker offerings were able to meet. And the opposite could happen where the revision could prefer more fuel economy while preserving wear protection due to stricter future fuel economy regulations which would also requires a better more expensive formulization to be blended. I don't think 5w-30 is obsolete but I'm in the US so I don't know how much changes aboard. As for the exact difference a 30 grade is minimum 9.2 kv100 and 2.9 hths. 40 grade is minimum 12.5 kv100 and 3.5 or 3.7 hths depending on the winter rating attached to it. But if an oil does not have an API seal or "donut" which is usually of the sketchy brand type then it's possible for it to not even meet this bare minimum criteria.

SAE-J300-Chart--PNG-_5h3psn0d.webp


How much in liters or quarts do you have of this mannol 0w-20. Are you suggesting you have enough mannol left to do 15k miles and 12 months which is 3 oil changes? if you have a lot i would look into blending it with something 60 grade to thicken it up. Lets say that mannol is 7 cst and a 50 grade is 17 cst that means the oil would be 12 cst kv100 and possibly 3.0-3.2 hths which is not thick enough in my opinion as that's thin 30 grade range but that would still be better than pure 20 grade mannol.

I don't think I'd bother with 5w-30 unless it has 3.5 hths minumum and euro approvals but i think this engine needs more than that now if it's producing some glitter. I use 15w-40 instead of regular 5w-30 in my old truck that I've had since new. Almost all 15w-40's are at least 4.0 hths with most being a bit more and after 341k miles or 550k kilometers it has never produced glitter and it still runs super smooth and very quiet and burns almost no oil. I don't really believe in thin oils unless they're of exceptional quality like ones with proper european approvals.

I would try to look for a 60 grade oil to mix it with and reduce intervals to only 3k miles instead. Cheap low quality oils don't deliver the same wear protection as a high quality high cost thin oils like castrol or mobil european 0w-20 which have OEM approvals for great wear protection and long drain intervals but a cheap way to get more wear protection is just to get something thicker even if the additives aren't better but that doesn't help intervals by any real amount. My new truck's engine calls for a dexos 1 gen 2 0w-20 but I'm using something thicker and with better additive blending being euro approved 0/5w-40 and I'm still under warranty since it has only 43k miles. I'm not going to wait until after the warranty to give my engine better protection like some on here do.
 
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