Castrol 0W-40 European Synth Oil, made in Belgium

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GoHack

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I just noticed in an O'Riley Auto Parts store, a new Castrol 0W-40 European Synthetic Oil, which is made in Belgium. Anyone know if this is as good as the 0W-30 German Made Castrol?

Is it a "REAL" Synthetic oil, or just cracked mineral base?

I'd like to use it in my Fiat Abarth engine, if it is as good as the 0W-30.

I read somewhere that in Europe, any oil that says synthetic oil, has to be exactly that, synthetic, and not a cracked mineral base.
 
You're probably gonna be hard-pressed to figure out the formulation. The oil companies aren't too keen on releasing those.

In any case, it's being sold here, and probably isn't the same stuff you can buy in, say, Stuttgart. So, yeah, probably a GIII base with some amount of full-syn in there somewhere, just like almost every other mass-marketed "synthetic."

I'm sure it's still a good oil, and will serve your little Fiat well. Why not buy some and send it to the lab and have it analyzed for us? I for one would appreciate it.
 
Meeting the specifications is a much better indication of the lubricant quality than trying to guess exactly how much of each group is in the oil. It's probably grp 3 blended with 4 and 5 today make their total package like most of the good ones.
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack

I read somewhere that in Europe, any oil that says synthetic oil, has to be exactly that, synthetic, and not a cracked mineral base.


That somewhere is Germany only.
 
Originally Posted By: HyundaiGuy
If you want to veer from the dealer recommended PU 5W40 Euro (which meets Fiat/Chrysler spec) why not Mobil 1 0W40?


Mobil 1 is just another GRP 3, is it not? It is the recommended oil for Porsche's.

I do use 5W-20 Mobil 1 in my Jeep.

What is so irritating is, no matter what synthetic oil you buy, you really have no idea if it is really a true 100% synthetic oil, like a GRP 4 or 5.
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack
Originally Posted By: HyundaiGuy
If you want to veer from the dealer recommended PU 5W40 Euro (which meets Fiat/Chrysler spec) why not Mobil 1 0W40?


Mobil 1 is just another GRP 3, is it not? It is the recommended oil for Porsche's.

I do use 5W-20 Mobil 1 in my Jeep.

What is so irritating is, no matter what synthetic oil you buy, you really have no idea if it is really a true 100% synthetic oil, like a GRP 4 or 5.


Why do you care? Shop on the spec's the oil meets, not what you THINK might be in the bottle. Mobil uses a blend of base stocks including PAO, VISOM (their GIII+ product), POE, AN's....etc to meet various performance requirements. The percentages of those products shouldn't be the determining factor in whether you use it or not, rather whether it has been tested and meets the requirements for your application.
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack
What is so irritating is, no matter what synthetic oil you buy, you really have no idea if it is really a true 100% synthetic oil, like a GRP 4 or 5.

And why does it matter exactly?

Focus on the overall performance of the finished product and not on individual ingredients.
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack
What is so irritating is, no matter what synthetic oil you buy, you really have no idea if it is really a true 100% synthetic oil, like a GRP 4 or 5.



Group III is synthetic oil. I don't know why people struggle with this fact.

To answer your original question, the Castrol Edge 0w30 is also a plain-old group III. The old version ("GC") contained more group IV and V, but that has been off the market for a while now.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: GoHack
What is so irritating is, no matter what synthetic oil you buy, you really have no idea if it is really a true 100% synthetic oil, like a GRP 4 or 5.



Group III is synthetic oil. I don't know why people struggle with this fact.

To answer your original question, the Castrol Edge 0w30 is also a plain-old group III. The old version ("GC") contained more group IV and V, but that has been off the market for a while now.


Group 3 is just a cracked, or purified mineral base oil.

Doesn't it bother anyone, when you have two oils next to each other in the store, both Group 3, but one says synthetic while the other says regular, and of course, half the price or more, of the synthetic?

As for 0W-30 GC, I still see it available, and it still says made in Germany. I use to use it in my Mini Cooper S.
 
And so here we go again...

18.gif
 
GoHack, you've missed a lot in the last several years. I have bad news for you regarding the GC in your Mini, it's not "synthetic" per your definition. Group III and Group III+ are the base oils used in formulations like Castrol 0W-30, 0W-40, M1 0W-40, PU 5W-40, that all meet the most stringent oil specifications around like Porsche A40 and Mercedes 229.5. They outperform the old PAO formulations while being cost-competitive.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
And so here we go again...

18.gif



What can I say, I like to use the best.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: vinu_neuro
GoHack, you've missed a lot in the last several years. I have bad news for you regarding the GC in your Mini, it's not "synthetic" per your definition. Group III and Group III+ are the base oils used in formulations like Castrol 0W-30, 0W-40, M1 0W-40, PU 5W-40, that all meet the most stringent oil specifications around like Porsche A40 and Mercedes 229.5. They outperform the old PAO formulations while being cost-competitive.


I thought w/the GC, being manufactured in Germany, w/their laws, it has to be a true synthetic, like a Group 4 or better, in order to be sold as a full synthetic oil, while here in the US, where the laws aren't as stringent, they can pretty much call anything synthetic now-a-days.
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack

Group 3 is just a cracked, or purified mineral base oil.

Doesn't it bother anyone, when you have two oils next to each other in the store, both Group 3, but one says synthetic while the other says regular, and of course, half the price or more, of the synthetic?

As for 0W-30 GC, I still see it available, and it still says made in Germany. I use to use it in my Mini Cooper S.





I'm well aware of what hydrocracked means. I don't know why we have to keep arguing about this here. Group III IS synthetic. Go read up on Visom, GTL, XHVI, etc and tell me you still don't want to use a group III. You seriously need to read more on this before throwing out the "OMG GROUP III IS NOT SYNTHETIC" stuff.

And as Quattro Pete says, the "GC" formula you are remembering has not been sold for many years. They removed all the group IV and V content and it's now mostly group III, no different than the other stuff. In the US, group III-V is labeled as synthetic. The labeling in Europe has group III labeled as "synthetic technology"....how is that any less confusing that all these atrocities being committed in the US?
crazy.gif
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
And so here we go again...

18.gif



What can I say, I like to use the best.
wink.gif



What's your definition of "best?"
 
Originally Posted By: HyundaiGuy
While I wouldn't hesitate to use Mobil or Castrol OW40 in my Turbo (or your Abarth) I would recommend PU while under warranty.


PENNZOIL 5W-40 ULTRA EURO or 0W-40 ULTRA?

I haven't seen the Euro anyplace, except on Amazon.com.

.
 
Originally Posted By: GoHack
Originally Posted By: HyundaiGuy
While I wouldn't hesitate to use Mobil or Castrol OW40 in my Turbo (or your Abarth) I would recommend PU while under warranty.


PENNZOIL 5W-40 ULTRA EURO or 0W-40 ULTRA?

I haven't seen the Euro anyplace, except on Amazon.com.

.



The PU 0w40 is virtually impossible to find.

PU 5w40 can be had from Amazon with free shipping.
 
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