No Love for Castrol Syntec?

[Peter_Pan]

Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Now you guys got me wondering. I'm running Syntec 5W-20 right now, and going by the OLM (2008 Honda CR-V), the changes have been around 10,000 miles. Only thing I noticed with the Syntec is some clatter when cold; I don't think I was hearing it as much with the Syntec blend I had before. So price aside, is it just not that good?


All is fine. I suggest not to pay too much attention to all the "opinions" floating around here in general. You should take BITOG forums as they are, just forums. You hear a lot of good advice and a lot of personal "opinions" (mine included). Syntec is a fine oil, as the UOA have shown, and certainly better than any dino however, it's not as good as M1. Actually, in 5W-20 weight it's one of the highest viscosity oils around, far more viscous than PP for example. Your OLM is designed with dino in mind so using syntec in there you have a pretty good safety margin.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Now you guys got me wondering. I'm running Syntec 5W-20 right now, and going by the OLM (2008 Honda CR-V), the changes have been around 10,000 miles. Only thing I noticed with the Syntec is some clatter when cold; I don't think I was hearing it as much with the Syntec blend I had before. So price aside, is it just not that good?


CRV's all clatter like crazy when cold...but try a few OCI's of PP and I doubt you will go back to Syntec.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Now you guys got me wondering. I'm running Syntec 5W-20 right now, and going by the OLM (2008 Honda CR-V), the changes have been around 10,000 miles. Only thing I noticed with the Syntec is some clatter when cold; I don't think I was hearing it as much with the Syntec blend I had before. So price aside, is it just not that good?


Don't worry at all - Honda's are VERY easy on oil, and even syn-blends will go 10k comfortably in them. The Syntec 5W-20 will do just fine for that interval.

 

[Hounds]

I felt an obligation to join your website in order to speak up on behalf of Castrol lubricants. I've been using them (among other companies' products) for years -- decades, in fact -- going back to the days when Dan Gurney was campaigning in Formula One and I was a youngster trying to get through undergraduate school working as an auto mechanic in what was then called a "foreign car" garage. Since we are just meeting, you'll have to take my word for it that I've done [d**m] near everything you can legally do with an automobile, and most often, when I was depending on a motor oil to sustain an engine I'd built, I had Castrol in the sump. Lubrication science has moved on immensely since those days, of course. However, because so much of what I read here is based in large part on what I would call the School of "Let me tell you . . ." or "I've been there experiences . . . ," in my humble opinion, those who are absolutely positive that Castrol's products -- GTX, Syntec, and now, Edge -- are not as good as their personal favorite based on Walmart's price de jour or nanograms of Ca, P, or MoS2 reflected in someone else's oil analysis, are missing out on a good thing. I don't sell Castrol products, nor do I (now) own stock in the parent company. But I wouldn't hesitate to recommend both to a friend.

 

[SnakeOil]

The issue I have is I had a vehicle that I used Mobil 1 in since I bought it new. When I changed the timing belt at 60K I took the valve covers off and replaced the gaskets because I had a small oil leak on one side and everything was clean as could be. So the engine was doing well.

Because of a sale I got tons of Syntec for $3.33 a quart. I put Syntec 5w30 in and drained after 7,500 miles just like I did with the M1.

When I drained out M1 in the past it was a dark amber and was still transparent. The first and second Syntec runs I did had the oil coming out darker than Charlie Murphy's a**. In addition, it was loaded with air to the point that I would almost call it a light foam (I always drain oil hot).

The Hyundai 2.7L Delta V6 isn't exactly hard on oil. I drove the car exclusively on the highway, and the miles on each interval were racked up in only 3 months.

I used the leftover Syntec in my beaters after that. I'm hoping I just got a bad batch, but it happened on two intervals. This was about 6 years ago.

 

[Mark888]

Originally Posted By: Gurney
I don't sell Castrol products, nor do I (now) own stock in the parent company. But I wouldn't hesitate to recommend both to a friend.

I happen to own quite a lot of stock of BP, and I would only recommend the Edge line, and only if price was not a major concern to a person, and if the proper grade for them was 5W-30 or 10W-30 (the only grades of Edge now available in the US).

I recently got my BP proxy statement for the annual meeting, and unfortunately there was not an opportunity of voting on whether to fire the idiots who [censored] away tens of millions on the recent Edge advertising (a 30 second Super Bowl ad cost them $3 million alone), and then over-priced a 5-quart jug of the stuff at $5.50 more than Mobil Extended Performance (typical Walmart prices).

 

[Hounds]

Oh, you want to talk about the company's advertising campaigns? I agree; they are terrible, absolutely inane. Without exception, they reflect very poorly on the company, its products and most important, their potential customers, who are always protrayed as inept or (to be kind) simpletons.

 

[Hounds]

SnakeOil: You know, I'm sure, that Castrol is BMW's factory fill? And that they run the stuff for 15k miles in engines that are notorious for exceptionally high oil temperatures?

We could debate the merits (or demerits) of Syntec for days. (What else have we got to do, right?) And, if it helps move this discussion along, I will acknowledge I think there are better synthetics available. But, that said, I doubt that BMW would have stuck with Castrol all these years, or continued to prescribe the company's synthetic oil products for its engines -- and particularly their turbocharged engines -- if foaming, oxidation, sludge formation, shearing, etc., were cronic problems. More to the point, if Syntec truly were a deficient product we'd certainly know it by now.

 

[opposite_locker]

Syntec (most grades) is different than the 5w30 BMW synthetic, which is supposedly more comparable to GC (Syntec 0w30). Castrol has some great synthetic oils, but none have been marketed here other than the Syntec 0w30 and Edge.

I'm giving thought to trying some of their RS/TWS 10w60 in my BMW once it becomes force-fed.

 

[wannafbody]

Don't you guys think with your dipstick? ;-)

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: Gurney
SnakeOil: You know, I'm sure, that Castrol is BMW's factory fill? And that they run the stuff for 15k miles in engines that are notorious for exceptionally high oil temperatures?

We could debate the merits (or demerits) of Syntec for days. (What else have we got to do, right?) And, if it helps move this discussion along, I will acknowledge I think there are better synthetics available. But, that said, I doubt that BMW would have stuck with Castrol all these years, or continued to prescribe the company's synthetic oil products for its engines -- and particularly their turbocharged engines -- if foaming, oxidation, sludge formation, shearing, etc., were cronic problems. More to the point, if Syntec truly were a deficient product we'd certainly know it by now.


Castrol is big in Europe but there are so many other better choices out there IMO.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Now you guys got me wondering. I'm running Syntec 5W-20 right now, and going by the OLM (2008 Honda CR-V), the changes have been around 10,000 miles. Only thing I noticed with the Syntec is some clatter when cold; I don't think I was hearing it as much with the Syntec blend I had before. So price aside, is it just not that good?


Don't worry at all - Honda's are VERY easy on oil, and even syn-blends will go 10k comfortably in them. The Syntec 5W-20 will do just fine for that interval.


True...

 

[lexus114]

i`m begining to think that they are all good anymore.anyone know of any horrible uoa`s?? it might be easier to find the bad uoa`s,over all of this good oil out their.

 

[Jaymus]

I think all the oils do good in UOA's. But, you have to consider how everyone drives on here. Highway and city miles. No one ever mentions hot rodding. Me, I drive my 5.0 HARD. I haul wood, pull the occasional car, and go off road a lot (high RPMs).

That's when the different oils would show their strength, imo. Everyone just putts around and gets great wear numbers. Then they think their 8cst 5W-20 is just as good or better than a 30 weight. Try that with a ton of wood or mulch in the bed or a trailer with a couple of cows behind you. Or both.

This is where you will see the oils start to spread out from being similar.

And Castrol Syntec is a fine oil. All of Castrol's products come back with great UOA's. But hey, everyone likes to pussyfoot around, too.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Jaymus
I think all the oils do good in UOA's. But, you have to consider how everyone drives on here. Highway and city miles. No one ever mentions hot rodding. Me, I drive my 5.0 HARD. I haul wood, pull the occasional car, and go off road a lot (high RPMs).

That's when the different oils would show their strength, imo. Everyone just putts around and gets great wear numbers. Then they think their 8cst 5W-20 is just as good or better than a 30 weight. Try that with a ton of wood or mulch in the bed or a trailer with a couple of cows behind you. Or both.

This is where you will see the oils start to spread out from being similar.


well,i have to agree with you their.

 

[FrankN4]

Originally Posted By: Jaymus
I think all the oils do good in UOA's. But, you have to consider how everyone drives on here. Highway and city miles. No one ever mentions hot rodding. Me, I drive my 5.0 HARD. I haul wood, pull the occasional car, and go off road a lot (high RPMs).

That's when the different oils would show their strength, imo. Everyone just putts around and gets great wear numbers. Then they think their 8cst 5W-20 is just as good or better than a 30 weight. Try that with a ton of wood or mulch in the bed or a trailer with a couple of cows behind you. Or both.

This is where you will see the oils start to spread out from being similar.

And Castrol Syntec is a fine oil. All of Castrol's products come back with great UOA's. But hey, everyone likes to pussyfoot around, too.

 

[SnakeOil]

How is pussyfoot not censored? There are many other words that are pointlessly blocked that don't compare to it.

 

[FrankN4]

Originally Posted By: SnakeOil
How is pussyfoot not censored? There are many other words that are pointlessly blocked that don't compare to it.


American slang--Pussyfoot: to move slowly, quietly, unobtrusively, like a cat walking across a carpet. Drawing no attention to yourself.

 

[Mark888]

Originally Posted By: PT1
Castrol is big in Europe but there are so many other better choices out there IMO.

Castrol Syntec sold in Europe is not the same as Syntec sold in US (except for GC).

 

[Mark888]

Originally Posted By: Gurney
SnakeOil: You know, I'm sure, that Castrol is BMW's factory fill? And that they run the stuff for 15k miles in engines that are notorious for exceptionally high oil temperatures?

We could debate the merits (or demerits) of Syntec for days. (What else have we got to do, right?) And, if it helps move this discussion along, I will acknowledge I think there are better synthetics available. But, that said, I doubt that BMW would have stuck with Castrol all these years, or continued to prescribe the company's synthetic oil products for its engines -- and particularly their turbocharged engines -- if foaming, oxidation, sludge formation, shearing, etc., were cronic problems. More to the point, if Syntec truly were a deficient product we'd certainly know it by now.

As already noted by others, the oil used in BMW is not the same Syntec as sold in the US.