german sytnec: im so confused!?!?

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oilcanboyd

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last week i went to my local autzone to check and see if they had any german castrol syntec. they did and 0w-30 was labeled in red and it said made in germany on the back. well today i go into the same autozone to buy the oil, but today there was only the 0w-30 labeled in yellow and it didnt say made in germany. so i went to another autozone only to find they stock the yellow label 0w-30 and they had only on red label 0w-30, but it did not say made in germany on it. so my journey continues to another autozone, where i find they stock only the red label 0w-30, but it does not say made in germany anywhere on the bottle. it only says made in the usa from domestic and imported components. so i bought 6 quarts hoping its the real deal. so which is the real german castrol syntec? how can i tell if the red label 0w-30 that i purchased is the real german syntec? thanks in advance.
banghead.gif
 
The real deal will say MADE IN GERMANY. The other formaulations are the real "syntec" i.e. low temp formulation group 3. Look carefully. I nearly got took in as well.
 
Yeah oilcan....I didn't know what the confusion was here too until I went into an Upstate NY Autozone only to discover that the new "Red Label" 0-30 Syntec bottles said "made in USA" as the older Yellow label version.

So unless it says "made in Germany" on the back, it ISN'T the SLX 0-30!
 
What timing!! I just got home from trekking to several auto parts stores looking for German Syntec. The local Autozone had the Made In USA ACEA A1 crap at $4.49. Nothing worth a darn at Advance Auto Parts or Walmart. Didn't make it to Pep Boys.

Guess I'll be hitting all the local Autozone's tomorrow if the weather's decent. I was hoping to get an oil change done before the weekend....

I too might have to do another M1 10W-30 change if I can't find the good Syntec.
 
i went to 7 autozones today within a 8 mile radius of my house and i only found one bottle. tomorrow ill be searching other autozones in the area.

[ May 22, 2003, 04:20 AM: Message edited by: oilcanboyd ]
 
Ive noticed that in a couple of Walmarts here in TO they have run out of the German stuff. At first they also had the US stuff but now they are sold out of that as well. No sign of German stuff replenishment though. I bet some folks thought they were getting the german 0w-30 when they picked up the us stuff.
Was this a marketing ploy to get the market started then do a switcharoo? Old habits?
 
Wait a sec here!! Read the back label and see if it says that the oil is approved for BMW Longlife Oil 01' and ACEA A3/B3 AND MB 229.3 If it does AND it says "made in america" as you said before then, its most likely the same oil, but Castrol may have just finally started shipping the oil to their bottling plants here in America.

So, I guess what im saying is, the "german made" red label 0w-30 is ACEA A3/B3 and BMW longlife '01 and MB 229.3 approved and is this newer "American MAde" red label 0w-30 also says on the bakc that it meets the same specs as above then, they are simply buying the oil from germany (or making it here using same chemical formulation) and bottling it here (probably due to tariffs on importing it here by bottle). Same oil, just bottled here now in america.

Ill check today my local autozone(s) as they should have gotten extra shipments by now of it in and if there is a switch then itll show up. I cant believe that it would be cost efficient for Castrol to import German made and blended oil and then after only a few months into it, switch formulas to a group III.

[ May 22, 2003, 11:17 AM: Message edited by: Chris Jefferson ]
 
Found it!!! After visiting 4 Autozone's I found one that had some SLX 0W-30. At $4.99/quart its the most expensive oil I've ever purchased. This stuff better be good!
 
We may still have to wait a few more months for this oil to be well stocked in the USA. 0w-30 is not a very popular viscosity in the US and also there is still probably a lot of the old Syntec 0w-30 group III out there. Here in Las Vegas all the 0w-30 Syntec and also Mobil 1 are covered in dust at all of the auto parts stores that I have seen them stocked however the 20w-50 Syntec that is not even sold in some other areas of the country seems to sell fairly well (it's not covered in dust).

A fool proof way to know if you got the good stuf is to look for A3/B3 on the back of the bottle. If it says this than you have the latest formulation of Syntec 0w-30. I am sure they would use the same formulation that they are using in Europe even if it is now produced in the US. I would think it would be nearly impossible to formulate a 0w-30 motor oil that is also rated ACEA A3/B3 without using a lot of group IV and V base oil.

Also use the search function and look for the pictures that were posted in this forum a while back. Look on the back of the bottle. The only thing that might be different now is that it may not say made in Germany.
 
Chris are you saying can somebody check if the red labelled "made in USA" is A3 because I did last week and it's A1. So as far as I can tell if it doesn't say "made in Germany" it's not A3.
 
From Castrol USA site

SAE 0W-30: is for winter conditions where low temperature pumpability is required. A unique, low-temperature formulation provides exceptional pumpability in cold weather and allows for unaided engine starts down to -40°F. Exceeds all car and light truck manufacturer's warranty requirements for the protection of gasoline, diesel and turbocharged engines where API SL, SJ, SH, CF or CD is recommended. Exceeds European ACEA A3:B3 and all requirements of ILSAC GF-3 for API Certified Gasoline Engine Oils and meets Energy Conserving Standards.

http://www.castrolusa.com/products/productpage1.asp?product_category=1&product_id=4#grades

[ May 22, 2003, 07:35 PM: Message edited by: tenderloin ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by tenderloin:
From Castrol USA site

SAE 0W-30: is for winter conditions where low temperature pumpability is required. A unique, low-temperature formulation provides exceptional pumpability in cold weather and allows for unaided engine starts down to -40°F. Exceeds all car and light truck manufacturer's warranty requirements for the protection of gasoline, diesel and turbocharged engines where API SL, SJ, SH, CF or CD is recommended. Exceeds European ACEA A3:B3 and all requirements of ILSAC GF-3 for API Certified Gasoline Engine Oils and meets Energy Conserving Standards.

http://www.castrolusa.com/products/productpage1.asp?product_category=1&product_id=4#grades
Click to expand...
You can't go by this. The German 0w30 is A3, but most definitely isn't GF-3 rated; the old yellow label 0w30 was.

[ May 22, 2003, 08:34 PM: Message edited by: G-Man II ]
 
It is confusing, but based upon the castrol site (as posted above), I think the german stuff is here to stay. Probably the attempts at a group III 0w-30 didnt work well. I have seen the following syntec 0w-30s:

-yellow label, std. syntec bottle

-red label, std syntec bottle (german stuff)

-I could swear I saw red label int he standard syntec bottle with made in USA components long ago

-red label, black bottle very similar to the gtx or syntec blend bottle, not the usual with hexagonal cap, with made in the USA components and a fancy new front label.

But as I said, hopefully the website reflects the true formulation thats here to stay. Otherwise try to get your hands on some SAAB 0w-30, I hear its really good stuff (probably european as well), and only ~$4/qt.

JMH
 
Found this in archives. Castrol HAS upgraded their site concerning BEW 0W-30 oil. Old specs posted below

SAE 0W-30: is for winter conditions where low temperature pumpability is required. A unique, low-temperature formulation provides exceptional pumpability in cold weather and allows for unaided engine starts down to -40°F. Exceeds all car and light truck manufacturer's warranty requirements for the protection of gasoline, diesel and turbocharged engines where API SJ, SH, CD or CF is recommended. Exceeds European ACEA: A1 and all requirements of ILSAC GF-2 for API Certified Gasoline Engine Oils and meets Energy Conserving Standards.

[ May 23, 2003, 01:38 AM: Message edited by: tenderloin ]
 
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