Castrol Start Up: Snake oil?

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What's the word on the Castrol Start Up?

I have a '00 Silverado 5.3 with only 19k miles. Its started every day, but usually only to back it up out of the back yard and put on the street during the day so the garaged car (daily driver) can back up and used.

427Z06 said the frequent cold start up will put more wear on the motor because its not driven much.

Will Castrol Start Up help out.

Is it snake oil?

How does the oil "cling" to the metal and provide lubrication at startup?

If the stuff works, why haven't everyone else offer it too?

Will M1 work better?

Is Castrol Start Up Dino, SynBlend, or GRP III Syn?

Thanks for your experiences/advice/opinions/comments.
 
I believe start up utilizes a content that is polar (esters probably, like in redline synthetic) that clings to the metal, and leaves a thin barrier of permanent lubrication.

Id bet that castrol startup has more ester content than M1. Just speculation though.

All I know is that in my chevy truck, startup is much less of a drag (no pun intended) than with other oils in the crankcase, even at very cold temperatures. I like it, and almost have 3000 miles, at which Ill send iut for a UOA.

JMH
 
Perhaps it's just a normal oil w/ a slightly better HTHS? Then, since higher HTHS oil leave a thicker film, they could advertise it the way they are. Just my guess that as far as oils go, it's nothing special at at. Just marketing.....

Dave
 
In my opinion Castrol Startup is snake oil. I tried it in my car that has a history of timing chain/valve rattle or rod knock at startup. The 10W40 Castrol startup was no better at reducing startup noise than 5W30 pcmo. Even tried it with 2 diffeent oil filters, Beck/arney and STP. Drained it after 740 miles due to startup noise. Kept the same STP oil filter and went with Valvoline Max Life 10W40. Much reduced startup noise.
 
This is just me but I really really wish what Castrol says is true. But how can we trust them after the group III fiasco. I was using Castrol Syntec 10w30 in my suzuki regiously until this year when i found out it was group III. Now I use Napa Synthetic which is cheaper, but still a group III. I would like to experiment with the Start Up but I will wait until a reliable oil company comes up with a formulation.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Camu Mahubah:
Jelly if Chevron produced a start up oil would you give that a shot in your bimmer?

Well, if I were wanting to try out a "Start-Up" type oil, I'd look at all the different options out there, compare specifications, and more importantly, do some searching and see what's worked for others. No blind brand loyalty here.

"Late in 1997, Castrol changed the formula of its Syntec "full synthetic motor oil", eliminating the polyalphaolefin (PAO) base stock (that's the "synthetic" part, which makes up about 70% by volume of what's in the bottle) and replacing it with a "hydroisomerized" petroleum base stock.

Mobil Oil Corporation, maker of Mobil 1, "Worlds Leading Synthetic Motor Oil," said no fair and took its complaint to the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. NAD often arbitrates between feuding advertisers on their conflicting claims.

The notion behind synthetic motor oils as we've known them is an elegant one. Instead of relying on the cocktail of hydrocarbons contained in crude oil, why not go into the laboratory and build the perfect base stock from scratch, molecule by molecule, and builds it till it gets 10-carbon molecules, then combines three of those to form PAO. The result is a fluid more stable than the usual base oils derived from crude. It keeps flowing at low temperatures. It's more resistant to boiling off, and more resistant to oxidation, which causes thickening with prolonged exposure to high temperatures.

Still, there's more than one road to the point B of improved stability. Petroleum refiners in recent years have learned how to break apart certain undesirable molecules - wax, for example, which causes thickening of oil at low temperatures- and transform them by chemical reaction into helpful molecules. These new hydroisomerized base oils, in the view of some industry participants provided properties similar to PAO's but only cost half as much," Lubricants World reported.

The argument before NAD tiptoed around the obvious- does the consumer get four bucks' worth of value from each quart of synthetic oil?- and plunged straight into deep semantics. Mobil's experts said "synthetic" traditionally meant big molecules built up from small ones. Castrol's side held out for a looser description, defining "synthetic" as "the product of an intended chemical reaction."

What do unbiased sources say? It turns out that the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) both have technical standards covering motor oils, and both of these organizations in the '90's backed away from their old definitions of "synthetic," leaving lots of room for new interpretations.

In the end, NAD decided that the evidence constitutes a reasonable basis for the claim that Castrol Syntec, as currently formulated, is a synthetic motor oil, said Lubricants World."
 
I have heard that Castol Start Up is the same as Castrol Magnetron sold in the UK for some time now. I believe if it was so great then everybody would know by now.

I am not blinded by brand loyalty as I think Castrol GTX 10w30 is a fine oil just not sure if I trust the Syntec blend, Syntec or Start Up. You follow me...?
 
quote:

Originally posted by Camu Mahubah:
Castrol Magnetron

Magnetron? What about Castrol Magnatec?
wink.gif


May I ask this...what is there not to trust? What could they be lying to you about?
 
Inmy neck of the woods they can not give it away. Every place that sells it keeps lowering the price. When it drops below $1 I am going to buy all I can. It has to be at least as good as any other din oil but worth the $2.08 they want for it now.
 
quote:

Originally posted by ALJAMES:
In my opinion Castrol Startup is snake oil. I tried it in my car that has a history of timing chain/valve rattle or rod knock at startup. The 10W40 Castrol startup was no better at reducing startup noise than 5W30 pcmo. Even tried it with 2 diffeent oil filters, Beck/arney and STP. Drained it after 740 miles due to startup noise. Kept the same STP oil filter and went with Valvoline Max Life 10W40. Much reduced startup noise.

Same experience here! Previously used Maxlife 10w40 (free oil) in a 91 Accord, Start-up noise were minimized (wentaway within about a minute).
Heard about Castrol Start Up and free after rebate promotion so I got 12qt. Put it in and I feel the motor is wanting to break. Noisy, really noisy (even after 20mi). Oil filters are all SuperTech!

Luckily, I still have about 20qt of Maxlife left and got a ton of GC and Exxon high mileage.

To me, Castro Start Up = Noise UP = SNAKE OIL!

BTW, I compared 10w40 to 10w40 so it is fair!
 
Startup is Castrol Magnatec here. Very heavily promoted. 5/10W30 and 10W40 in the U.S, 10W40 only here. Claims of 60% less wear. I'd like to see a VOA of it thats for sure.
 
"Castrol Start Up: Snake oil?"

YES!!! You noticed that too? There it is, buried in the MSDS for Castrol StartUp:

75% Lubricating oil, hydrotreated heavy paraffinic
14% Petroleum distillates, solvent-dewaxed heavy paraffinic
11% Emulsified light gopher snake oil
 
walmart is closing out on motorcraft. but they need to closeout $1 qt of this stuff. it never sells and collects dust!!
 
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