Castrol Syntec 5W-30

[lambrose]

This seems like a great oil to me. The oil is pretty thin for a 5W-30, which makes it a great compromise for those that think 5W-20 is too thin for their Ford. I saw a thread where someong showed a bunch of SYN oils side by side and the Castrol 5W-30 looked as good as the as any top oil to me.

As I read through this board I do not see much of anything about Castrol Syntec. I want to hear your opinions on this product. I get the feeling their is some animosity for Castrol on this site. Maybe it is just my misinterpretations.

Just looking for opinions and to possibly learn a thing or two. One thing is for sure, If it is not on a Walmart shelf I DO NOT WANT IT. lol.

 

[barlowc]

For $3 more for a 5-quart jug at WalMart, you might want to give Castrol Edge a try. My local WalMart sells Syntec for $23.50 and Edge for $26.50. I've been running Edge 5W-30 for 4,500 and my Nissan's 2.5l engine seems to like it. Then again, it seemed to like Valvoline SynPower too and my local WalMart is currently selling that for $20.50.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Try it if you wish, UOA ive seen dont show it to do anything spectacular v. similar dino oil and universal averages - but to some that is a good thing. Its not a true synthetic, so why pay a synthetic price for it? For a BP product EDGE 5w-30 would be my choice for someone how doesnt want to run a 5w-20 mineral oil if they are also looking also to extend their OCI.

 

[lambrose]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Try it if you wish, UOA ive seen dont show it to do anything spectacular v. similar dino oil and universal averages - but to some that is a good thing. Its not a true synthetic, so why pay a synthetic price for it? For a BP product EDGE 5w-30 would be my choice for someone how doesnt want to run a 5w-20 mineral oil if they are also looking also to extend their OCI.


What constitutes a "true" syn does not matter to me. Castrol Syntec, Edge, Pnnz Plat, Mobil 1, Valvoline Syn. are all grp III oils. To me the term "synthetic" has little to no definable meaning, other than to say it is a higher class oil product.

I did see Edge at WW and looked into it on this site. When looking through the data it appears to have by FAR the weakest additive package. Worse than even the top "conventional" oils. I am not sure if this Edge stuff is supposed to be a joke on the consumer or not.

The Syntec looks as good as PP at least on paper, so I was looking for some real world experiences with it.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

you wants da ULtraz! pennzoil ultra that is..

 

[lambrose]

Like I said before, I know that there are a lot of people bashing Castrol on the net, 90% of which have never used it. Same type of individual who know someone who saw a guy's engine sludge up with Pennzoil. I am trying to weed these responses out, but it is hard because people feel so strongly about their opinions. Also I do not care to start the rediculous and pointless " Grp III synthetic vs Grp IV / V synthetic" debate. It has been beat to death and has no relevance to anything.

 

[lambrose]

Originally Posted By: Hoosier_Daddy
you wants da ULtraz! pennzoil ultra that is..


I am excluding P Ultra ,Edge, and the High OCI Mobil products due to price. I just refuse to spend that much. I think they are a lot like Rx companies in that they are gouging us for the new products. There is not a statistically significant differenct between the PU and PP to justify the price difference IMHO.

I really took notice of the Syntec due to the thinner viscosity among all the 5W-30 oils and thought it to be a great compromise between 5W-20 and 5W-30 oils for my 2003 Ford Ranger 3.0l V6.

 

[aquariuscsm]

If you go by UOAs,PP and Synpower have the best reports.

 

[lambrose]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
If you go by UOAs,PP and Synpower have the best reports.


I can only find 2 Castrol Syntec 5W-30 UOAs on this site, so I'm not really sure how true that is. Both of those were the first run after bulk conventional oil.

 

[ryan2022]

I can almost guarantee that the majority of the bashing is because Castrol was the first to use group III basetsocks and still make full synthetic claims.

I dont want to get into a "what constitues a synthetic" debate, but its a great oil!

One thing I have seen in the past, it doesnt seem to have the long drain capabilities of Mobil 1 or even PP. I think you could run it longer than most dinos, but watch your OCI on it. I've seen some exceptions though!

Overall, great oil, just marketed by a bunch of maniacs!

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

i started synthetic with castrol syntec, now i'm using synpower based on its excellent UOA. Castrol syntec felt like cheapo conventional in my car. I gave synpower a try after seeing how closely matched it was in Amsoil's oil test. Will be using synpower for a long time!

Any chance Valvoline will make a long life synthetic oiL?

 

[Xman77]

Originally Posted By: lambrose
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
If you go by UOAs,PP and Synpower have the best reports.


I can only find 2 Castrol Syntec 5W-30 UOAs on this site, so I'm not really sure how true that is. Both of those were the first run after bulk conventional oil.


By the sounds of your research and counterpoints to everyone's opinions, you already have your mind made up.

 

[sicko]

Okay, this is just an analogy but I've often gotten the feeling from people that Castrol Syntec is like the Fram orange-can filter, nobody says its going to harm your engine, but for the same price many people feel there are better products available.

PP and Valvoline SynPower both cost slightly less and have consistently shown to offer great protection.

Syntec costs about the same as M1 (maybe just slightly less?), but M1 has its history and reputation of synthetic oils. Castrol doesn't have that yet.

If you're using Syntec and your vehicle likes it, then ignore what people say on here and keep running it, cause like I said nobody thinks it will harm your engine and in the end it's all about finding what works best for your application

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Originally Posted By: Xman77


By the sounds of your research and counterpoints to everyone's opinions, you already have your mind made up.


i agree.

 

[lambrose]

Originally Posted By: Xman77
Originally Posted By: lambrose
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
If you go by UOAs,PP and Synpower have the best reports.


I can only find 2 Castrol Syntec 5W-30 UOAs on this site, so I'm not really sure how true that is. Both of those were the first run after bulk conventional oil.


By the sounds of your research and counterpoints to everyone's opinions, you already have your mind made up.



Actually I have not made up my mind. I really wanted opinions of this oil, based on its own merits. Most of all I wanted to avoid the distracting "What is a real synthetic" argument, or even the hint that it might go there.

I just want to find out if there was some real world experiences with this product. Good or bad does not matter.

The brand I asked about is what I was researching. It is very hard to make a decision when someone replies "use XYZ" instead but does not explain their response, other than to say its better. Why and How is it better? I was kinda looking for:
1. MPG experiences
2. Engine smoothness and noise
3. Engine cleanliness
4. Overall satisfaction as a consumer of this product

Maybe I came at this the wrong way, but as an ISO 9001 auditor and statistical analyst, I know the only to evaluate data is to have good data to evaluate. So I tried to keep the topic very specific, meaning no comparisons to other products in the data which might lead to subjection.

 

[lambrose]

Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
i started synthetic with castrol syntec, now i'm using synpower based on its excellent UOA. Castrol syntec felt like cheapo conventional in my car. I gave synpower a try after seeing how closely matched it was in Amsoil's oil test. Will be using synpower for a long time!

Any chance Valvoline will make a long life synthetic oiL?


Exactly the kind of information I was asking for, Thanks.

 

[calvinnnnnnnnn]

Originally Posted By: lambrose
Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
i started synthetic with castrol syntec, now i'm using synpower based on its excellent UOA. Castrol syntec felt like cheapo conventional in my car. I gave synpower a try after seeing how closely matched it was in Amsoil's oil test. Will be using synpower for a long time!

Any chance Valvoline will make a long life synthetic oiL?


Exactly the kind of information I was asking for, Thanks.

Look at my previous made threads, i have a picture of my valve train after 20k use of synthetics.
1. MPG experience has been pretty much consistent with any synthetic i used. i saw the highest mpg with Synpower @ 40mpg
2. Smoothness-Synpower hands down, nothing i;ve used compared to it, not even amsoil
3. Cleanliness-based on how much detergent each has i guess. with 3k miles on the oil, the oil is still amber in color regardless of oil used
4. Synpower>amsoil>pp>syntec>mobil1 from my personal experience.

these observations were done on my 01 integra.

 

[fdcg27]

I've use Syntec in various weights in the past, including 5W-30, and it seemed fine, although I have no UOAs to back that up.
The premium Syntec, of course, is GC 0W-30, which has been in every car I currently have on the road, and has been very smooth and quiet in every application, with good cold weather starting, as well as fuel economy.
It is on the thick end of the 30W range, however.
I do have a sub-stash of about 18 qts of Syntec 5W-30.
It will get used in something, for sure, with no worries.
Nothing wrong with Castrol brand products, although there are usually better buys out there.

 

[Durango]

lambrose,

My brothers Cadillac CTS's dealership uses Castrol "Syntec" instead of the factory fill Mobil 1.

If you compare the back of the bottle the specs say it's GM rated and it's still a synthetic.

My 08' Impala SS has Mobil 1 inside cuz that dealership use that so perhaps brand doesn't matter.

Anyway I heard on this forum that Castrol "Syntec" is a quality synthetic oil.

Durango

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

the problem is there isn't really any objective data of the kind you want. one will say this "felt smoother" and another will say that one was "quieter" but those are meaningless statements. not many tear-downs to compare cleanliness and wear, mpgs fluctuate so much as to be nearly useless for comparison.