Castrol 0W30 (Made in USA)--meets ACEA A3?

[newtoncd8]

I just got an email from Castrol regarding Made in Germany and Made in USA 0W30 formula's. The first part is the same as the others have posted, however I replied back and they in-turn replied right back. I asked why the Made in USA bottle doesn't have the ACEA A3 on the label; here is their reply:

"The North American Castrol SYNTEC SAE 0W-30 offers the same performance as the European Castrol SLX SAE 0W-30. Performance attributes are clearly demonstrated in the performance ratings and OEM approvals indicated for each of our individual product offerings.

The newest formula of 0W-30 meets the ACEA A3 specification, and should be indicated on the labelling.

Please verify the date of manufacture on the bottle. You can determine the date of manufacture by locating the fill code on the bottom of the back panel. It is composed of a series of letters and numbers, with the first five characters being the most important.

For example, if you have C9001...., the "C" would represent the plant location. The four digits '9001' represents the date of production. The number 9 represents the last digit of the year (1999) and the '001' represents the day of the year, based on 365 calendar days, on which it was produced (January 1)."

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by Curtis Newton:
I just got an email from Castrol regarding Made in Germany and Made in USA 0W30 formula's. The first part is the same as the others have posted, however I replied back and they in-turn replied right back. I asked why the Made in USA bottle doesn't have the ACEA A3 on the label; here is their reply:

"The North American Castrol SYNTEC SAE 0W-30 offers the same performance as the European Castrol SLX SAE 0W-30. Performance attributes are clearly demonstrated in the performance ratings and OEM approvals indicated for each of our individual product offerings.

The newest formula of 0W-30 meets the ACEA A3 specification, and should be indicated on the labelling.

Please verify the date of manufacture on the bottle. You can determine the date of manufacture by locating the fill code on the bottom of the back panel. It is composed of a series of letters and numbers, with the first five characters being the most important.

For example, if you have C9001...., the "C" would represent the plant location. The four digits '9001' represents the date of production. The number 9 represents the last digit of the year (1999) and the '001' represents the day of the year, based on 365 calendar days, on which it was produced (January 1)."

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Very interesting but confusing. The first part could indicate that the SLX formula is now being blended in the US, BUT, unless they are talking about the US bottled product only, by their description of the coding on the bottom, batch M0402 of the Made in Germany SLX would have been bottled on the 402d day of the year 2000...402d day? and the oil is reaching us already 4 years old?

 

[jaj]

I interpret this message to mean "the old Syntec 0w-30 product is an old formula and it doesn't meet A3, but the "new formula" meets A3 and is functionally the same as SLX." They went on to explain how to tell when a bottle was filled, so you can check!

This is a very clear and helpful reply from Castrol, which is not what we've come to expect - bravo! It actually says something concrete about how Syntec 0w-30 performs and how to get the product you want off the shelf.

The only thing they don't seem to have told you is "the date the new formula started going into Syntec bottles". What's the "best after" date?

Great post! Thanks!
JJ

 

[jaj]

pscholte

You're quick! I thought I'd be the first reply.

Anyway, you must have a bottle to look at, and I don't. Maybe for the German products they use metric dates

Cheers
JJ

 

[pscholte]

JJ,

I tried to figure it out using the European way of recording dates (e.g. Sep 1 2004 is 1 Sep 2004 or 01/09/04) and I still couldn't get it to make sense.

 

[Mamala Bay]

I had a friend that purchase some Castrol Syntec is purple bottle. Is that the new Castrol?

 

[jaj]

Pscholte

I was trying to be funny - as in "maybe they have 1000-day years". I know when Canada went metric, we had lots of fun making jokes about metric seconds and minutes! It was a great excuse when something was late - "Oh, that's because the schedule is on metric time!"

Meanwhile, back at the thread, I wonder where the GC Red Label is actually packaged - I'd assume that it's made in Germany, shipped in drums or bulk containers, and packaged in the USA. The European products don't come in black bottles, but the North American packaged products do, so I'd expect that they package the European-made product in North America, not in Europe. Shipping empty bottles to Europe wouldn't make much sense, nor would producing them in Europe just for one product line.

Why this digression? Well, the date codes are put on at the bottling plant, so the North American customer service people should be correct in their explanation, or so I'd think.

Anyway, the date code issue is interesting. I'll hit Walmart on Monday and compare 0w-30 with 5w-50 and see if the date codes make sense.

Cheers
JJ

 

[AtlasFBG2]

I just bought a bunch of GC today.Heres the two diferant codes.
M023386BTAG785 2345
M040236ATW24183461314

Now if Castrol started making this oil in the 90's they could use 0-9 for the year.However when 2000 came along they probuly added a extra number to tell the diferance between 90 and 00.So im thinking M02338 would be year 2002 and the 338th day.M04023 would mean year 2004 and the 23rd day.The stuff made in North America probuly hasnt been made since 99.Every bottle of yellow label Castrol ive seen has been really dusty.What do you guys think?
Send them a email back giving them the m code and see what their reply is.

[ August 29, 2004, 02:31 AM: Message edited by: AtlasFBG2 ]

 

[like a rock]

Why all the fuss? Gtx is doing a great job for me in the vehicle I have. There seems to be something a little special about this oil also.

It smells like All detergent

So who need SLX when you got GTX. Sorry guys just having some fun

 

[buster]

So are we now assuming the NA stuff is the same as the German?

I don't think it is. Castrol wants you to think that.

 

[Ray H]

Performance counts, not odor, color, or national origin. Time for VOAs on both types. Will send samples (with an eye towards selecting latest batch #s available at Autozone) in to Blackstone tomorrow.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ray H:
not odor, color, or national origin.

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Ray,

A guy from the land of enchantment should know that the esoteric things can sometimes make ALL the difference....I have to admit that in my case, even if it is THE VERY SAME FORMULATION, it just won't be the same without the elves of the Schwartzwald having had a hand in the process (even if the elves are guys named Johann and Kurt and the Schwarzwald is actually a blending plant on the outskirts of Leipzig!) Glad you are doing the VOAs. TNX for doing them.

 

[newtoncd8]

Regarding Buster's comment, I don't disagree. However, it is nice to know IF I am unable to find SLX (let's say Autozone no longer stocks the SLX), the North American (NA) formula does in fact meet the ACEA A3/VW502 spec.

Patman had indicated the NA 0W30 was no longer being made, but according to the correspondence I had with Castrol, they do plan on continuing to produce it.

Bravo to Ray for suggesting we need to do a VOA on the new NA 0W30 (if we can actually find the one Castrol is referencing in their email).

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Curtis Newton:

Patman had indicated the NA 0W30 was no longer being made, but according to the correspondence I had with Castrol, they do plan on continuing to produce it.

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If they are indeed producing it now, it's a fairly recent change, because for a while there they weren't making it.

I must admit this new turn of events has me worried about how the quality of this oil is going to be. I won't run it until I've seen a VOA on it to show me it's very similar to the current formulation from Germany. I've often pondered what oils I would run in my family's cars if it went away. I think I'd switch my wife's car to Syntec Blend 5w30, my dad's Volvo and mom's VW to Syntec 5w40 and my Corvette to either Amsoil 0w30 or Redline 5w30. This would be only after using up all of my current GC supply though, and of course I would try to stock up as much as I could as well.

 

[Audi Junkie]

My guess Castrol USA is working on a ...sit tight...
A3, VW 502, GF-4 and SM spec 0w-30. I specificly left VW 503.01 and MB 229.3 out. I would not be surprised if it met MB spec as the Belgian Syntec does, but VW 503.01 is obsure and all the VW/Audi 1.8t owners are desperately scrambling for VW 502 oil, not VW 503.01.

(for some reason)

 

[Palut]

Atlas, I think you hit the nail on the head!

 

[Ray H]

After considering my grandiose announcement with a hard-headed review of the expense involved, I must reluctantly renege. I figured I owe all of you an explanation at least. (I don't know what came over me - I don't even use synthetics!

)

 

[dagmando]

If it doesn't says A3 on the back then I will not be using it regardless of where it says it is made.

 

[TheFuror]

quote:

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Originally posted by dagmando:
If it doesn't says A3 on the back then I will not be using it regardless of where it says it is made.

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Why?

What is the difference between A1, A3 and A5?

Thanx

Bob W.

 

[newtoncd8]

ACEA SPECIFICATIONS FOR GASOLINE ENGINES:
A1: Low friction/low viscosity, fuel economy
A2: Standard performance level
A3: High performance &/or extended drain

Current Standards:
A1-98 Low viscosity/low friction meeting high performance extended drain I requirements & complying with 15% improvement in fuel efficiency.
A2-96/2 Suitable for most current petrol engines requiring typically specified viscosity ranges and where fuel efficiency is not specified.
A3-98 High performance and/or extended oil drain interval and where fuel efficiency is not specified.