Question about Castrol vs ...

[coffee]

Hi All,

I have been searching the Pennzoil, Mobil and Castrol websites to see what specs the oils meet/exceed and noticed that Castrol is the only oil of the three that exceeds for the Corvette GM4718 standard. Is that for real/legit? I would have thought Penn/Mobil would have been ahead of Castrol on that spec but they just meet the requirements. Just wanted to get some input on Castrol versus the other two. Thanks.

 

[Johnny]

Don't believe everything you read on a website. All three of those oils exceed the GM 4718 spec. If Castrol says it and Pennzoil and Mobil don't, shame on Pennzoil and Mobil. They both exceed that spec.

 

[coffee]

Well, I presumed they would exceed the spec but I like when they state it like Castrol and not just list it as a "meets requirements". It gives the feeling that Casrol would be the superior oil choice.

 

[coffee]

Here it is from the Pennzoil website:

PENNZOIL PLATINUM FULL SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL exceeds:
• North American warranty requirements for U.S., European and Japanese cars and light trucks with gasoline and gasoline turbo-charged engines where API SM, SL, SJ or SH are specified
• North American warranty requirements for U.S., European and Japanese cars and light trucks with diesel engines where API CF oils are specified
• ILSAC GF-4, GF-3 and GF-2 Energy Conserving performance standards (5W-20, 5w30 & 10w30)
• Meets Chrysler MS 6395M & MS 6395L (5W-20, 5w30, 10w30)
• Meets Ford WSS-M2C153-H and WSS M2C930-A (5W-20) and WSS-M2C929-A (5w30)
• Meets GM 6094M for excellent low temperature pumpability (SAE 5w30 and SAE 10w30)
• Meets Corvette GM 4718M for high temperature protection (5w30 & 10w30)
• Meets GM 9986231 (5w30) and GM 9986202 (5W-20)
• Meets the European ACEA A1-02, A5-02 (5W-20*, 5w30, 10w30), B1-02 (Note *: Meets engine protection requirements only)

And here it is from the Mobil 1:

The Mobil 1® 5w30 grade delivers the viscosity recommended for most General Motors vehicles and many imports. Mobil 1 5w30 is the approved and the first choice of premium car manufacturers, including Corvette. Mobil 1 5w30 meets:

GM 6094M, GM 4718M (Corvette spec)
Ford WSS-M2C929-A
ACEA A1/B1
ILSAC GF-4 (API Certified - Starburst)

 

[Johnny]

Oh, I agree with you 100%. That's why I said shame on them.

 

[coffee]

Well, at least we know they are all great oils either way but I hope they correct their listings as it can effect a decision on a purchase and would definitely look better for them to "exceed".

 

[Merkava_4]

Which oil did you finally settle on for your Volvos?

 

[Patman]

Truth be told, Castrol Syntec is not even on GM's registered list for 4718M oils:

 

[johnbottilaw]

Quaker State is now on that list, don't know about Castrol, they claim to be.

 

[RacerE7773]

Hmmm, maybe I'll stay with regular Pennzoil instead of buying both it and Castrol 5w30.

 

[coffee]

That is interesting, Patman!

Merkava, I went with PP 5w30 for now after reading Dr. Haas's articles. I was also curious about the Castrol Syntec 5w30 and that is why I started this topic as it listed "exceeding requirements" for most specs where the other brands did not. After seeing the list Patman posted it makes me wonder even more.

 

[Patman]

I think that list is for oils which have been submitted to GM for testing and passed the test. So if an oil isn't on that list, it doesn't mean it won't pass that test, it probably means that they simply didn't want to spend the money to submit their oil for GM's testing. I'm sure those aren't the only oils out there which pass that test.

If it were me, I wouldn't want to risk running any other oil that wasn't on that list on a new Corvette, as I wouldn't want GM to have any ammunition in case of a warranty dispute.

 

[ssj4]

Patman, I believe I saw somewhere that you were no longer running GC in your vette. If not, what happened to change your mind?

 

[Patman]

Quote:

---

Patman, I believe I saw somewhere that you were no longer running GC in your vette. If not, what happened to change your mind?

---

I'm still running GC, but on the next oil change (in May) I will be switching to PP 5w30. I am just curious to try something new, and also to see if the thinner PP gives me any extra throttle response (PP is 10.3 cst at 100c, almost 2 points thinner than GC which is 12.2)

 

[ssj4]

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Patman, I believe I saw somewhere that you were no longer running GC in your vette. If not, what happened to change your mind?

---

I'm still running GC, but on the next oil change (in May) I will be switching to PP 5w30. I am just curious to try something new, and also to see if the thinner PP gives me any extra throttle response (PP is 10.3 cst at 100c, almost 2 points thinner than GC which is 12.2)

---

Whew! I just stocked up on a bunch of GC, got one oil change worth of Amsoil 5-30 left, then I was gonna put GC in my 06 C6, #@$%! it will be 3 years old by then, with a whopping 3500 miles a year

 

[Patman]

When the time comes for me to buy a C6 in a few years I will look for one driven by someone like you who only drives it 3500 miles a year, then I'll get it for half the price of a new one and drive it everyday and put 18k a year on it.