euro castrols

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 6, 2005
Messages
3,312
Location
MD
i just picked up some gc all are M0507 so i guess its all gold. i do have a couple of questions about gc and bc. i think i saw some bottles of made in usa 0w30 is this the same oil as the german? i searched and i just want to get a final answer to what i think i read. the 5w40 bc that is made in belgium is a group III oil and is not on the same level as gc, right?
 
the ones that says made in the usa is not german castrol. this was pre GC. the last of the green GC date is 0501. so yeah its gold but as many has posted its just about as good as the green but not much data out there.


as far as bc dont have a clue.
 
Here is a comparison of the BC 5w-40, GC Green and GC gold VOAs listed in the VOA section.

Looks like the gold GC is more like BC in the additive package. All will have a HTHS of >3.5 due to the ACAE A3/B3 spec.

code:



BC GC GC

5w-40 Green Lot #M040976A Gold Lot #M050286A

Iron 4 5 3

Aluminum 2


Magnesium 1118 216 770

Calcium 1287 3683 1941

Phosphorus 939 1105 903

Zinc 1175 1197 1157

Sodium 13 2 14

Silicone 2 8 4



Vi 40c 81 68.6 72.9

Vi 100c 14.3 12.1 12.2

Vi Index 184 176 166

TAN 2.02

TBN 9.07 8.47 9.03


Note on the GC TBN Tests by Bruce381:
TBN D-664 OLD test used for both oils the results are lower than new test D-2896.

[ December 08, 2005, 06:38 PM: Message edited by: shanneba ]
 
thanks for the comments and the voa's. im a little new so they dont mean too much to me. i am about to try gc in my neon and see if the engine noise goes away as well as the comsumption, and i was also going to try a 0 or 5w40 oil as well to see what happens. i have been considering M1 T&SUV 5w40, M1 0w40, Syntec 5w40, rotella 5w40, pennzoil 5w40. my choice was originally M1 T&SUV but it seems walmarts are not stocking it like they used too. and i figure if castrol 5w40 is a group 3 i would go with the rotella because its a cheaper group 3. i would rather stick to a group 4 or 5 oil though. and M1 0w40 can be a little tricky to find.
 
Do we know for sure that Castrol 5w-40 aka BC is a group III like the US made castrol syntec or is it just an asumption?
 
thats what i was wondering, i have read it in a few places and wanted to see if it was true.
 
so the 5w40 is a hydro-cracked group 3, but the gc is an ester base
 
either way its good stuff
smile.gif
thanks for clearing that up
 
Here is what "G Peen Jr" wrote in another recent thread and although I can't vouch for its 100% correctness, some of the things said are fact and I have no reason to doubt the other things said. http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=013153;p=2#000028

"BC 5W-40 meets 502 00 approval with a unique formulation of group 3,4,5 oils and an additive package that is high in Mg - 1000 ppm. I believe this is the preferred oil for many Audi/VW engines with low-tension rings that can't scrap Mobil 1, GC, and other "real" synthetic oils off their cylinder walls. As the BC label says, "Offers full synthetic _performance_, engineered specifically to meet VW engine warranty requirements...unique and proprietary formula...reducing harmful deposit formation."

My take is that it's low level of calcium and high level of magnesium is very unusual. Maybe it's fine but I want to stay away from it just because it's so unusual. If it was so great, why isn't it used more often is my question.
 
quote:

"BC 5W-40 meets 502 00 approval with a unique formulation of group 3,4,5 oils and an additive package that is high in Mg - 1000 ppm. I believe this is the preferred oil for many Audi/VW engines with low-tension rings that can't scrap Mobil 1, GC, and other "real" synthetic oils off their cylinder walls. As the BC label says, "Offers full synthetic _performance_, engineered specifically to meet VW engine warranty requirements...unique and proprietary formula...reducing harmful deposit formation."

If the part about Audi/VW engines not being able to handle a true synthetic like GC is true, why is M1 0w-40 and GC both Audi/VW certified?
 
That comment is the one I don't put much faith in, but I think that only certain VW/Audi engines have the low-tension rings (some VR6's & 2.0 liter 4 cylinder's) so even if this comment is true, it doesn't apply to all of the engines. We'd probably be best off ignoring that comment altogether and just focus on the knowns: such as the strange additive package and why it is the way it is.
 
If the 5W40 is Magnetec then about 20% of its basestock is an Ester or to quote Castrol, their 'unique ester'.
So not a bad product if you need a 40wt oil and the price is right - i.e. you get it on sale.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top