GC or ASL for long OCI?

[Yuk]

My friend is really delinquent when it comes to oil changes. He often goes 7000 or more miles on dino oil. I convinced him last December to switch to synthetic, so he could have a measure of extra protection when he forgets to change the oil. He now wants to do extra long OCIs, in the range of once a year. I've explained to him that a UOA would be the best way to determine the proper OCI, but he's not interested. Which would be the better "once a year oil" for his 1998 Honda CRV , German Castrol or Amsoil 5w30 ASL? The engine burns/drips about a litre every 4000 miles, so it would require about 3-4 litres of top up oil over the course of a year.

 

[TooSlick]

The TBN of the Amsoil 5w-30 is about 12.4, vs perhaps 10.0 for the Castrol 0w-30. So, all things being equal, you can expect Amsoil to last longer in service. Tooslick www.lubedealer.com/Dixie_Synthetics

 

[pscholte]

I completely agree with TooSlick...now if or when SLX LongTec reaches our shores...we might have to go "head to head." (I may be in Germany in October...wonder how tough it would be to ship some LongTec back?) [ June 13, 2004, 11:34 AM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[Chris B.]

My friends are just like this and don't want to hear it about UOA's. I finally said screw them! Let him blow his engine if he forgets his oil change!

 

[cweed]

Pete, where did you hear that the SLX longtec is close to SLX GM in its composition?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Rumour has it that SLX LongTec is very close in composition to SLX GM, and if that's the case, you can expect the TBN to be around 10.3 vs. 11.5 for the original SLX Formula (per Castrol specs, not VOA). However, IMO, the starting point of a TBN does not mean much because as we know, in some oils the TBN drops faster than in others. Just look at the latest 3MP testing developments.

 

[Quattro Pete]

cweed, I know a guy who works for Castrol/BP in Poland (he gets me discounts on oil purchases, by the way ). He's the one that told me that; however, he works in marketing/sales, so he may not be the most reliable source of information. Moreover, I've actually seen the specs of SLX LongTec on Russian and on Swedish websites that were associated with Castrol, and they were exactly the same as for SLX GM. The suspicion here is, however, that they just copied and pasted the SLX GM specs, because Castrol never actually released the SLX LongTec specs. I guess some people were going by the same rumors that the two oils are very similar and just substituted the specs. Anyway, I consider it all rumors at this point. I wish Castrol would finally come out and officially announce the darn specs already. This oil has been out on the shelves for almost a year now. [ June 14, 2004, 03:40 AM: Message edited by: Quattro Pete ]

 

[quadrun1]

pscholte, I'm surprised! I agree with Quattro Pete, the starting TBN doesn't necessarily predict what the TBN will be after use. My vote goes to GC Yuk, if your friend is willing to spend the extra $$ for ASL, I think he'll be getting a better oil by spending that $$ on Delvac 1.

 

[Patman]

The lab that I use for my analysis results uses the lower method for TBN, and my VOA on GC showed 9.39. After 6200 miles of winter driving, my TBN ended up at 5.13 which I think is pretty good. On my very first run with GC, which was the end of last summer, in 3100 miles the TBN only dropped from 9.39 to 8.48. In my sister's Honda last summer, on a 6900 mile interval, the TBN of her GC was at 6.80. I was hoping to get a UOA on my father's 7500 mile run with GC that he just begun, in his 2004 Volvo XC70. It's his third run with GC. But the dealer messed up and put in cheap bulk oil, so he had them change it again with GC but there is obviously some cheap oil mixed in there so there is no point in me testing this batch of GC now since it's not 100% GC. I'm sure they did not change his oil filter a second time, so he must have at least 1L of crappy oil mixed in with the GC (factoring in a half liter of oil stuck in the filter and a half liter of oil stuck in the rest of the engine upon draining)

 

[2x]

Why go through whether this oil (GC) is from Germany or Slovakia, whether this oil is green or amber, whether this oil has this or that specs, whether this oil can be found with some wild goose chases, whether this oil is from this batch with lots of iron or that batch with little iron, whether this oil will be around in a year or two, whether this oil is in a red or yellow bottle etc. when you can get an oil (ASL) that has it's specs published outright on it's website with no guess work on what you're getting and shows UOAs as good? This GC fascination on this board with an oil that is as much a mystery today as it was when it was first discovered is remarkable considering many here swear by UOA's yet swear by an oil that is produced by a company that cannot acknowledge it's existance. Go with Amsoil is my opinion.

 

[Quattro Pete]

2x makes a good point. Being in Europe, SLX is easily available here and not going anywhwere anytime soon, even though Castrol changes the formulation once in a while. If I were in North America, I would not use it either. And as far as 7000 mile intervals, assuming this is not a turbocharged engine, even the readily available M1 will do.

 

[Patman]

I guess if I had to search high and low for this oil I'd feel that way too, but up here it's as easy as walking into any Walmart store, and the price is right too, at only $6.66 per liter (compared to $7.12 for M1 or $9.10 for Amsoil) Sure it bothers me that Castrol plays these shenanigans with us, but this oil has worked well for me, so as long as I keep an eye on my UOAs to make sure the formula doesn't change on me, then things will be fine. If this oil does disappear on me or gets formulated for the worse, then when my supply runs out I'll simply find something else to use. Sure I'll be disappointed, but there are a lot of extremely good oils out there so something else will fill the bill for me. It'll definitely cost me more $$$ though.

 

[haley10]

With 4 litres of top up oil, I don't know that TBN of any decent syn is going to be an issue. I don't like leaving a filter on for an entire year, myself. , but if you must.... With that much makeup, I'd be tempted to go for a good, cheap hydrocracked syn. Doesn't Petro Canada have this?

 

[Yuk]

2x made great points, but Patman's reply nailed it. We Canadian's really don't have any supply issues with GC. It seems to be everywhere, all the time and at a good price. My friend would be getting his GC from me and I bought it on sale for about $5.25 CDN. But..... I also have 12L of ASL that I bought for $5.00 CDN! The guy I bought it from was told by his Honda dealer they wouldn't install it because 5w30 would void his warranty! So, money and availability are not the issues here. I just want to tell him what the best option is for his overly ambitious application.

 

[Yuk]

Oops I goofed I have 12 quarts of ASL, not 12 litres.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by quadrun1: pscholte, I'm surprised!

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Q1, I am so ashamed!...can I still be the SLX-meister or have I shamed myself forever?

quote:

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Why go through whether this oil (GC) is from Germany or Slovakia, whether this oil is green or amber, whether this oil has this or that specs, whether this oil can be found with some wild goose chases, whether this oil is from this batch with lots of iron or that batch with little iron, whether this oil will be around in a year or two, whether this oil is in a red or yellow bottle etc. when you can get an oil (ASL) that has it's specs published outright on it's website with no guess work on what you're getting and shows UOAs as good? This GC fascination on this board with an oil that is as much a mystery today as it was when it was first discovered is remarkable considering many here swear by UOA's yet swear by an oil that is produced by a company that cannot acknowledge it's existance. Go with Amsoil is my opinion

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2x, There are many different personalities on this board (stating the obvious, I know). You happen to be one that can't fathom what all the "aufruhr" is about in relation to SLX. That's OK...but there are a lot of people like me who, whether they are fascinated by the exotic, the mysterious, the superb performers, by the way, or whether they are partial to Europe or Asia or lived there or whatever, they REALLY enjoy talking about SLX, or Motul or other oils from "over there." I, for one, think it is great...the fact that I own 154 quarts of SLX may have something to do with that. You get tired of hearing about SLX...I get tired of some of the threads we rehash over and over and over...but, hey, that's OK; we all have our interests...some of us like to stay strictly technical or serious in our posts, some like humor (seems like only a few, however); and some like to speculate about Germany or Slovakia or green or amber or can it really have a pour point below -70F or whatever. I think the latter keeps the board from becoming a Master's Program in Tribology (some might think that is what it should be). In my opinion it's all OK. Do what I do..avoid the threads that don't do anything for you and get involved in the ones that do. You must admit (do a search) SLX generates about as much interest as anything on this board. There must be a good reason for that. Is this a subliminal pitch for SLX is the greatest oil ever blended? NO! I think its great but I also stand behind those guys that like Amsoil or Schaeffer's or Mobil 1 or Redline, etc. I'll stick with the elixer of life, but I am not here to pitch my favorite oil (if you knew me as more than a user name on a board, you would know how often my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek), just to learn something and have a good time. Creative expression is not he enemy of technical knowledge. Really don't mean to be didactic, just trying to share how I feel about this. [ June 14, 2004, 10:30 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[Audi Junkie]

If you have a car whose specs is covered by GC, that would be my choice. What the heck do I know though? I've said it before, all I can really offer the board is personal experience and observational analysis. I don't do a lot of technical research, but research word-of-mouth, retail and application issues, etc. A post like this is bound to polarize members. A technical product backed by reputation and quality composition verses a dubious reputation, difficult-to-obtain mystery oil that is distinguished by esoterics like smell, colour and mind-bending bottle variations. I am still mostly impartial with brands, Mobil 1 SUV is the first oil I recommend, but I really like GC because nobody else has it. Am I insane? My Audi came filled with it from the factory... am I still insane? almost forgot, the original poster...see if your friend will do 2x a year changes, then he can just use a normal 30 weight Mobil 1. If he really wants to go a year, Mobil 1 SUV offers a great oil for the money, unless you can find GC at a good price. Sticking with 1 product is important to me, Mobil 1 offers this most easily. That is what I would tell your friend, pick one oil and stick with it. Mobil does not require the stocking-up in advance of GC nor the percieved hassle of ordering Amsoil. If he is not into oil changing, those 2 options sound unlikely anyway. The most likely one he will stick with is 30 weight Mobil 1, although SUV might be a better oil, esp for the long run. See? A technical analysis might not yield the best answer for the guy. The retail availability of Mobil 1 30 weight and the pattern of service he is likely to follow, results in a different, yet valid, answer than a rigid technical analysis of the oil specs. [ June 14, 2004, 11:20 PM: Message edited by: Audi Junkie ]

 

[2x]

So it's ok for you to share your feelings on my thoughts but I can't share mine? When did I state it was not ok to talk about GC? When did I state those who do should not? I did in NO way say anything disrespectful about those who do. I did state the truth. Everything I said about GC is true. And not including Canada, in N.A. for the most part it is hard to find. Don't put words into my posts on my behalf. I never said I was tired of reading anything. I said, if you botherer to read my post, that I could not understand all the fascination with an oil that is still in some ways a mystery. Avoid the threads with GC? Why? I just stated my reason for giving my opinion on ASL over GC. I never said I was tired of GC threads. Take your own advice and if you have a problem with my opinion skip over them as soon as you see who they are from. You want to disagree with me like some others before you in this very thread fine. Don't sit there however and say I said or felt things I did not.

 

[pscholte]

2x, I thought: (1) I understood what your first sentence was driving at and (2) that I was civil in responding. Turn about is fair play; please show me where I said you were not free to express your opinion. Based on my (apparently incorrect) interpretation of your first sentence I thought I was sparing you the grief of what appeared to annoy you, i.e. the endless debate about origin, iron content, color etc and an equally annoying fascination by some with SLX. I apologize for my misinterpretation...but please don't append wrong intent to my emails either. [ June 15, 2004, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: pscholte ]

 

[GSV]

the fact that I own 154 quarts of SLX may have something to do with that. Wow, I feel like such a slacker with only 26 quarts. GC/SLX is really easy to find in UT. So easy I'm letting AutoZone store it for me. If it goes away or Castrol changes the formula to some cheesy non A3 rated stuff I'll still sleep at night. It's only oil.