No Love for Castrol Syntec?

[tropic]

I'm wondering why there seem to be so few posts regarding plain jane Castrol Syntec. The used oil analysis section is bare. No one seems to have a strong opinion for or against, and that's kind of strange for BITOG. Is it a price to performance thing a la Fram's orange cans? The obnoxious Castrol advertisements? Does the product just plain suck if it isn't GC?

I've been looking for a 5w-20 to satisfy my warranty requirements and provide maybe a hair more protection to my valvetrain at the same time. Syntec's PDS says it's a pretty viscous 9.0 cSt @ 100°C, about as thick as Amsoil's XL. Cold start performance is probably nothing to write home about, but the higher rpm range in my Honda feels really nice after the oil's a little warm.

Does anyone think anything about this oil? Love it, hate it, whatever, I'd love to hear it.

 

[gfh77665]

In my humble opinion, Castrol is the culprit for much of the confusion/false claims made through the years regarding "real" synthetics. Search history, and you will see Castrol and their litagation was the root cause for "fake" synthetics. To this day I won't buy a drop.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: tropic
I've been looking for a 5w-20 to satisfy my warranty requirements and provide maybe a hair more protection to my valvetrain at the same time. Syntec's PDS says it's a pretty viscous 9.0 cSt @ 100°C, about as thick as Amsoil's XL. Cold start performance is probably nothing to write home about, but the higher rpm range in my Honda feels really nice after the oil's a little warm.

Does anyone think anything about this oil? Love it, hate it, whatever, I'd love to hear it.


I'm using Syntec 5w20 in my Chrysler now. Seems to be doing fine. Really improved my gas mileage over the Valvoline straight 20 I was using.

 

[ARB1977]

I loved using Syntec 10W30 in my 97 Honda Civic with a Fram X2 filter.

 

[FrankN4]

In the part of the country where I live, Syntec is very unpopular. If fact, Castrol is just unpopular. Even our Walmarts carry none or only a very limited Syntec and some GTX.

Castrol evidently has some very poor advertising folk. Some commercial they ran during the Superbowl game and some commercial called the dipstick commercial really hurt here locally. One of our 4 Walmarts isn't even going to reorder Castrol Syntec because its sales were already poor but nil since the Superbowl. The commercials have made Castrol a local laughing stock. I use Walmart as kind of a gauge as people who change their own oil mostly buy from Walmart.

I used Castrol conventional from 1968 to 1988. I used Castrol Syntec from about August of 1988 to about July of 1990. It seemed to shear very quickly and I only went 3000 OCI. You could actually tell the difference from fresh fill to about 2000 miles. I learned about Mobil 1 in about August of 1990 and have used it ever since.

There are some BITOG threads about Syntec not being a "clean" oil in that VOA showed various scattered PPM of various components. I don't know if they have cleaned up that problem or not.

There is talk on other forums that the 10W-40 Syntec has some of the quickly shearing problems. That doesn't help their reputation, along with very poor advertising, and they, locally, just aren't even in the game if Walmart can't sell their oils.

 

[3putter]

Nothing wrong with it. As with any SM / GF4 oil it does it's job. Just on the low end of the Full Synthetic scale. Does not meet GM4718m for example, so cannot use it in a Corvette or other high performance engine. Why pay the same price as M1 or PP for a Product that is not "top tier" ?

 

[Zaedock]

I've always liked Castrol products. I mostly use GTX due to price, but I do have Syntec Blend 10W40 that's going in my Jeep soon and I run Syntec 20W50 in my ATV. It works pis-sah. I usually shy away from synthetic oils all together simply because most of my vehicles don't need them and I'm a cheap guy. I do have Synpower in my F150 right now because it was $9/jug after rebate. I also recently stocked up on Quaker State Q Horsepower and Quaker State Torque Power. If Syntec was on "rollback" or clearance, more of it would be in my stash.

 

[Ben99GT]

A mediocre synthetic, not bad, but hardly a standout in any way. Absolutely no reason to choose it over PP or the new SynPower.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: 3putter
Nothing wrong with it. As with any SM / GF4 oil it does it's job. Just on the low end of the Full Synthetic scale. Does not meet GM4718m for example, so cannot use it in a Corvette or other high performance engine. Why pay the same price as M1 or PP for a Product that is not "top tier" ?


All that means is Castrol did not want to pony up the $$$ to be on GM's "approved" list of oils for the Vette, etc. It doesn't mean Syntec does not or could not meet the spec.

As someone in another thread pointed out, being on the GM4718M list means the oil meets the spec. Not being on the list only means the oil is not on the list.

 

[Steve S]

The cold startup ? we are talking 5w-20 splain cold startup protection. How cold does it get in New Mexico that would give any 5w-20 oil a problem .

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: Zaedock
It works pis-sah.


I had to look this one up.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
A mediocre synthetic, not bad, but hardly a standout in any way. Absolutely no reason to choose it over PP or the new SynPower.


+1

Edge is their best oil. Syntec has been a very overpriced oil over the years. Castrol spends more money on advertising than making a quality oil.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: tropic
I'm wondering why there seem to be so few posts regarding plain jane Castrol Syntec.


Because if you use it and go through the drive-thru at McDonalds you will get a giant shower of sludge and who wants that?

 

[mjoekingz28]

yeah, but the chick in the passenger seat is nice


Wait, does sex sale motor oil?

 

[glenncof]

Originally Posted By: FrankN4
I used Castrol conventional from 1968 to 1988. I used Castrol Syntec from about August of 1988 to about July of 1990. It seemed to shear very quickly and I only went 3000 OCI. You could actually tell the difference from fresh fill to about 2000 miles.


Like you FrankN4 I used probably a full pallet of GTX 20W50 in an air cooled engine with 12qt oil changes. The engine was more quiet after a 3000 mile oil change (yea I know...). With a capacity of almost 14 qt, the oil should last longer. If I changed it at 1K or 2 K no noticable difference. It's possible oil was being consumed and on 3K OCI I was not topping off.

Then I ran some synth's (SynPower, QS, PP) and there was no change even when extending to 6-7K miles, topping off of course.

BUT the real reason I don't use Syntec is PRICE.

 

[Max_Wander]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Originally Posted By: tropic
I'm wondering why there seem to be so few posts regarding plain jane Castrol Syntec.


Because if you use it and go through the drive-thru at McDonalds you will get a giant shower of sludge and who wants that?

haha
if you go through the drive-thru at McDonalds period, your toilet bowl will face a giant shower of 'sludge'

 

[sparkplug]

It's waayy too expensive for the performance IMO. I've spend the extra buck and get Mobil.

 

[genynnc]

The price is prohibitive.

 

[tropic]

I guess all your opinions add up to what I expected: an "also-ran" synthetic that costs too much. No one in my town seems to buy this stuff, either, but with the AZ Syntec + filter special I thought I'd give it a try. Honestly, my engine seems to like it well enough. It's the marketing that turns me off more than anything. If there's nothing to recommend it against PP and SynPower, I guess I'll grab one of those out of my stash for the next run.

Originally Posted By: Steve S
The cold startup ? we are talking 5w-20 splain cold startup protection. How cold does it get in New Mexico that would give any 5w-20 oil a problem .

Where I live it doesn't get much lower than -10°C, ever. But I still do a couple ski trips each winter to Wolf Creek, the A-Basin, etc., where it gets considerably colder. With other 5w-20 synthetics posting better pour points and 40° vis. in the 40's, Syntec looks to be behind the viscosity curve for cold starts.

 

[Mustang2008Z]

I wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth related to oil and oil changes. What a thrill....huh? A History of my Nissan P/U:

In August, 2000, I purchased a brand new Nissan Frontier P/U, with just 90 miles on it, and I traded in a 1991 worn out Ford F-150 P/U for it, the transmission of the F-150 "died" as soon as I parked it on the lot of the dealership (it was sold off as scrap by the dealer).

Well, I changed the oil, regularly, at the 3k/3 months intervals using Conventional oil, 5w30 Quaker State, Pennzoil, and 1x only Citgo Oil from the dealer that sold the truck to me, then back to Pennzoil, and finally, Conoco Oil from Jiffy Messy Lube, they lost my washers from my air filter housing, after I told everyone there not to touch my air filter housing. That was the last time I ever went to them. Then, in 2008, I went to a small independent mechanic shop very close to where I live, and I decided to try Castrol Synthetic Blend 5w30 with Purolator Oil Filter. Castrol was very dark after just 3k miles on the oci, and I changed it out around the 5k mark. OEM recommends 3,750 miles/3 months, I think regarding months, between oil changes. Truck has been out of warranty since August, 2003. Well, I changed to Mobil 1 Full Synthetic and Purolator Oil Filter, the oil, this time at 1k was as dark as the Castrol was at 3k. My vehicle has over 84k on it and is about to hit the 85k soon. In my humble opinion, the vehicle seems to run quieter with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic than with any other oil, and the mileage has improved from 22 mpg to 24.5 mpg in stop/go driving. It has even gotten to the 27.5 mpg mark a couple of times in stop/go driving and going 70-80 mph on the expressway. The only time it went down was when I went to the seacoast one weekend in February, 2009, and my mileage shrank to just 17 mpg. I wonder if it had anything to do with sea level and the Exxon Gasoline I used at the time. I, normally, go to Valero for gasoline, Exxon,Chevron or Texaco to fill up, it depends on which gasoline is the cheapest at the time. Valero has been the cheapest for the most part around here. In 2008 I drove my Mustang to the sea coast as well, and it too suffered in the miles per gallon area as well. Something at sea level and the gasoline mixture for sea level causes a loss in mpg, in my opinion.

So, I think that I will continue to use a Full Synthetic in the Nissan, probably Mobil 1 again, with the Purolator Pure One Filter.

By the way, my dipstick is as clean as the day I bought the truck new from the dealer.

Also, after reviewing the MSDS related to Castrol Syntec, I have a hard time putting that oil in my vehicle.