Castrol SLX Professional 4718M

[Finklejag]

I think Castrol just makes one mistake after another in North America. They have way too many products for different applications. You have the regualr Syntec line, now you have the OE line. These meet GM and VW specs, and are only sold at the dealers for way too much money. Their Start-Up and new Edge line bombed.

They should just stick to this line up.

Castrol GTX
Castrol GTX High Mileage
Castrol Syntec Blend
Castol Syntec Edge

These four can cover all their applications.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: 21Rouge
The semantics are ridiculous i.e. one cannot "exceed" something unless at some point one "meets" it...as it moves beyond it!

To belabor the point "exceeds" implies better than "meets"!

And again it seems ridiculous that Castrol has the SLX which officially meets 4718 yet the same company advertises another very similar oil as exceeding the spec (but not officially

).



I called their 1800 # this morning with these concerns and the rep. requested that I send via email a picture of the "Canadian" bottle as shown above.

A few hours later I received this reply:

Thank you for your inquiry. We are currently further investigating your concerns and will respond to you as soon as possible.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: MGregoir
I should copy down the data, but they had the ILSAC GF-4 standards for deposit control, viscosity increase, etc. posted alongside those of the 4718 standard, and then showing the SLX exceeding it.


I bet this is what you saw: http://www.slx4718.com/EN_benefits.asp

 

[21Rouge]

First an email from Castrol a couple of days back (...we are investigating further..) and now a phone call today asking for more details of my inquiry.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Something is fishy here. Either that statement above is just bunk, or 4718M oil is just re-bottled Syntec, sold at a higher price.


Today I sent off a virgin sample of the higher priced Castrol SLX. Looking at the numbers we might be able to decide if it could be the cheaper Castrol offering.

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
It just says it 'exceeds' 4718M. Castrol hasn't actually had regular Syntec tested and certified to 4718M.

But it does beg the question, if regular Syntec DOES meet 4718M, WHY develop a different oil to meet it? Why not just have Syntec tested and certified to 4718M?


A reply from Castrol via email:

"..Oil performance standards such as 4718M generally include a number of tests such as engine, bench, chemical and physical. In many cases the performance of the oil in the tests may exceed one or more of the minimum performance requirements needed to pass the test.

In Canada, the Syntec product labels are the process of changing over so that the 4718M specification does not appear. We do thank you for bringing this to our attention....

 

[JAG]

How nice of Castrol to make their less expensive synthetic oils no longer state they meet 4718M so that people need to buy their more expensive oil that does meet it. Am I hearing this right?

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: JAG
How nice of Castrol to make their less expensive synthetic oils no longer state they meet 4718M so that people need to buy their more expensive oil that does meet it. Am I hearing this right?


Based only upon the email reply I read that Castrol Syntec met or exceeded *some* of the tests making up the 4718M classification but *not all* so in the end could not formally be designated as 4718M.

 

[21Rouge]

VOA now posted in the VOA forum (of course).

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: MGregoir
It says right on the bottle made for GM Canada, the only place to buy it is GM parts departments,


I have had a case of this since the summer (I had a VOA done this past summer as well). Anyways I was disposing of the box but thought I would snap a picture of the side giving the most information. Made in USA for GM Canada:

 

[addyguy]

I am 100% convinced this oil is just re-badged Castrol Edge 5W-30.

There are VOA's of both this oil, and Edge, in the VOA section. They are literally almost identical.

The gold on the label is the same gold that the Edge bottle is. Not that that means much, but who knows if it's a 'marker' to show what product line it's from? Remember, Syntec bottles are almost pure black.