Castrol Synthetic

[Dually]

I wrote castrol asking if their SynTec was true synthetic oil.Their reply was yes but with alot of tech answers.What are the opinions of the oil experts on this board about Castrol SynTec.Also is Valvoline a POA or PAO based true synthetic?In the future I will be using Mobil 1.Thanks Joe

 

[vad]

The infamous 0w-30 Castrol Syntec, aka GC (German Castrol) is a true synthetic. It's a PAO/Ester blend and known to be an outstanding oil, especially considering its price point (it's again on sale at $3.99)
GC is a unique breed, being imported from Germany and sold through the AutoZone chain exclusively.
5w-40 Syntec is not well known, used to be imported from Belgium (now made in US).
It differs from GC and not as highly regarded.
The rest of the Syntec line (5w-30, 10w-30 and so on) are made in the States being Group III oils.
There is nothing wrong with them but they are not considered to be a good value since those grades are priced exactly the same as excellent GC.
For more info check out the GC forum.

BTW I consider GC to be a better blend than Mobil 1.

 

[SSQ]

besides the GC, I think most of the SynTec and SynPower is group3. However, I personally consider the SynPower a very good oil, regardless of the price.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

Castrol is very capable of making extremly good oils. Read and understand the specs and get the spec that fits your needs.
An oft overlooked castrol oil is BMW high performance 5w30. IRegarless of the base oil if it is A3 or A5 rated it is better built than an A1 rated oil.

 

[JAG]

Latest news from people asking Castrol this question is that in a bunch of technical jargon, Castrol is saying Syntec is group 3. I don't think that applies to GC for more than one reason. Latest news from Valvoline is that their Synpower base stocks are PAO. Another member and I were both separately told this when we called their tech line a few weeks ago. It comes down to whether you believe what both company's tech people say. That's why I test oils myself because I want to know for sure how robust the oils are. I know from this that the 2 Valvoline Synpower oils I tested were just as tolerant of very high temps as Mobil 1 oils of similar viscosity and nobody questions their basestocks. I also know GC is very robust but haven't bothered with the regular Syntec oils.

 

[buster]

Definitely important to look at the whole package and not focus to much on one aspect like the baseoil. We see great reports with Group II+ and III basestocks. Just well made oils. However, I think Castrol's regular Syntec line (not GC) is over priced and the performance isn't that good for what you pay. Better choices out there. HAVOLINE clearly being one of them.

[ November 23, 2005, 05:18 PM: Message edited by: buster ]

 

[vad]

I'm sorry, it should read the famous 0w-30, not infamous. I'm a big fan of this oil.