Castrol 0w-30 vs. Amsoil 0w-30

[like a rock]

What is your thoughts on this battle. Could the castrol hold up as well if ran in the same motor same mix of temperatures very cold to very hot and with the same mix of city vs. highway driving. This is a broad question, but very interesting anyway. Put on the gloves and let's get it on.

 

[rugerman1]

Amsoil wins,Hands-Down!(IMHO)

Mark

 

[pscholte]

like a rock,

I am a fan of the new German Castrol 0W30; however, if I were to rank them based on protection AND longevity, I have to go with the Amsoil Series 2000 0W30. It's kind of funny, if you ask me which oils I am most interested in, you'll hear European Castrol, Motul, Shell Helix Ultra, etc, but if you ask me to recommend one to you for protection over long drain intervals, you'll get "Amsoil," but only 3 types: Series 2000 0W30 and 20W50 and Series 3000 5W30.

[ August 03, 2003, 08:30 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[like a rock]

pscholte- thanks for your unbiased feelings. And go air force.

 

[G-MAN]

I've not been all that impressed with the UOAs I've seen of the Amsoil 0w30. I honestly don't see how Amsoil can claim this is a 35,000 mile oil. At more reasonable OCIs (like 12,000 - 15,000 miles) this is merely an "okay" oil, IMO.

As for the German Syntec 0w30, the jury is still out. Nevertheless, at reasonable OCIs (once again 12,000 - 15,000 miles) my hunch is that this oil is going to prove to be a real winner. Time will tell.

 

[buster]

I agree with G-ManII.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by G-Man II:
As for the German Syntec 0w30, the jury is still out. Nevertheless, at reasonable OCIs (once again 12,000 - 15,000 miles) my hunch is that this oil is going to prove to be a real winner. Time will tell.

---

G-Man/Buster,

Given my European bias, I want you to be right, but I don't have the confidence you do. I predict it will be a 5-6K oil at best.

[ August 03, 2003, 10:28 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by pscholte:
Given my European bias, I want you to be right, but I don't have the confidence you do. I predict it will be a 4-6K oil at best.

---

Not a chance. This oil meets too many European OEM extended drain specs to give up the ghost at 6,000 miles.

 

[pscholte]

G-Man,

I revised my prediction apparently while you were responding but only upped my lower limit by 1K so I'm still below your threshold. I hope you are right because I have plenty of the stuff. I am being consistent however because I consider M1 0W40 a 5-6K oil (safely) too. I guess I still have a bit of the 3K/3months upbringing biasing my predictions but I would not feel confidant taking ANY synthetic beyond 7500. I have not seen any UOAs that I can recall that cause me to think differently.

 

[Gebo]

Well, how do you compare a Filet Mignon with a T-Bone?

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by pscholte:
I would not feel confidant taking ANY synthetic beyond 7500. I have not seen any UOAs that I can recall that cause me to think differently.

---

I think 3MP's Mobil 1 5w30 study shows how well this oil can hold up in an engine that consumes some oil. He's at 14,000+ miles now and we haven't seen any wear number spikes as of yet, though I think this oil is now at the end of its useful life. In an engine that would use NO oil over the course of 10,000 to 12,000 miles, I'd say that would be the practical limit on Mobil 1 5w30 under "normal" driving conditions. If it was all short trip driving (especially in cold weather), 7,500 would probably be it.

I'm confident the German Syntec can easily match these performance parameters as well.

 

[pscholte]

G-Man,

I went back and reviewed 3MP's test and while you can make a solid "technical" case for the oil not being in its death throes until the 14K point, if you notice, the wear metals per interval start doubling at about the 5-6K point from their earlier numbers. That is the point where I get uncomfortable and want to change the oil. Now I guess if most of the wear metals haven't hit triple digits you are still in good shape, but being in good shape and being comfortable for me are two different things.

PS like a rock...if German Castrol can put up similar numbers as M1 did in the 3MP test then I would endorse it coequally with the Amsoil.

[ August 03, 2003, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by pscholte:
I went back and reviewed 3MP's test and while you can make a solid "technical" case for the oil not being in its death throes until the 14K point, if you notice, the wear metals per interval start doubling at about the 5-6K point from their earlier numbers.

---

I don't see what you're talking about.

code:

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Miles 5000 6000

Copper 102 105

Lead 8 11

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If the wear metals were doubling, you'd see copper at 204 @ 6000 miles, not 105.

What I see throughout is remarkably even wear numbers, right up to 14,000 miles, if you divide them out to ppm/1000 miles. Remember, the wear metals at each sample are cumulative. Unless a large amount of makeup oil is added, the results for each subsequent UOA should show HIGHER wear metal readings than the ones before it. What you want to watch out for is an increase (or spike) in WEAR RATE. So far, we haven't seen that in this test.

 

[pscholte]

G-Man,

Emails!!!!

I thought I was being clear but I guess I wasn't...I meant at 5-6K the wear metal values doubled or more from where they started out (e.g AL goes from 3 to 5&6, CR goes from 1 to 2, Fe from 10 to 26, Cu from 58 to 105, Pb from 4 to 11). That's what I'm talking about. With AL and CR not a big deal but I don't like the effect on Fe, Cu and Pb. Maybe it is much ado about nothing...and I should retire to enjoy a midsummer nights dream!

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by pscholte:

Given my European bias, I want you to be right, but I don't have the confidence you do. I predict it will be a 5-6K oil at best.

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Based on the UOA I posted from my sister's car, I believe it'll easily go beyond 6k. At 5.5k the TBN was still 6.90, viscosity was virtually unchanged, and this was during it's first run, and that TBN is using the lower D4739 method too!