Redline to GC switch

[ccdhowell]

I've been lurking on the GC board for a while, have been envious of the good UOAs, but as a Redline user have been reluctant to switch. Yesterday I decided to put to rest my Redline emotions and I read from the very first post about GC, lot an easy task to be sure, about 5 hours worth of reading. In the end, I am convinced and went today and scored 13 quarts of M04 (green) and 12 quarts of M05 (gold). Don't know why I bought so much, maybe its because I have a recent UOA from Redline that is just junk and I've wanted a new oil, and maybe its the paranoia I read so much of yesterday about supply concerns. Anyway, it seems like ya'll may be on to something here and with what RL is doing to my engine, 4.0L Land Rover V8, I might was well hop on the bandwagon. I couldn't be left out of the "trick" PAO scence; I'm all in now. Now for the opinion question: RL has been in my engine for 16,000 miles with three changes. I plan to run another 4,000 before I change. Is there any reason why the Elves should want me to perform a cleaning cycle before the engine receives the green batch? I know the RL is a clean oil, but the wear numbers aren't what I would like, its an unusual formulation on RL you know. It's strange, last night, I think the elves were whispering in my ear, "Use the oil, use the oil, use the oil..." all night long.

 

[glxpassat]

Welcome to the family! I don't think there's any need to do a cleaning cycle. But if RL is not working well, you may not want to wait. I believe RL is good stuff but is not intended for long OCI's.

 

[pscholte]

I think you have made a wise move. If your engine has had synthetic for most or all of its life, and given that RL is an ester oil (high cleaning proficiency), I don't think a cleaning cycle is necessary. In fact, I think the mingling of the two formulas during the initial OCI (given the RL residue which will remain after you drain the oil) will be a positive thing. Having said that I don't recommend mixing the two "in quantity" after that transition change.

 

[ccdhowell]

Thanks guys, pscholte, your reputation preceeds you and I was hoping to hear from you on this. Further info to evaluate: I bought the Rover at 59,000 miles and immediately switched to RL. Ran the oil for 10,000 miles with a filter change at 5,000 and again at 8,000. I did a UOA on the second batch of RL at 5000 and it was just terrible. Responce from the board was that it is still cleaning the sludge from the previous, unknown oil. With three changes of RL and the then 20,000 miles, should that do for a cleaning and will the GC be fine? I already know most of the answer is in the UOAs and will perform one every 4-5000 to be sure everything is AOK. I wasn't interested at all in GC untill Patman posted the UOA from his vette. I considered this oil to be on the light side for my all aluminum V8. But Patman's numbers encouraged me to give it a try. I suppose I will hit all the remaining AZs in town to try to stockpile as much of the green as I can. Seems the concensice is that the lower Mg in the green is better. If my Rover doesn't like it, then I'll put it in my wife's Jeep 4.7L V8. That engine seems to be easy on oil. According to UOAs, it even likes the Redline.

 

[pscholte]

I think you are well-positioned for what you want to do. The three OCIs with Redline should have put you in good shape to begin with GC...I do believe you will need a couple of OCIs with GC before everything will stabilize. I will be surprised if your Rover V-8 doesn't do well on GC, but, of course, the proof will be in the UOAs not in what I predict.

 

[ccdhowell]

Thanks pscholte, you're the best.

 

[ARB1977]

I might get on the GC band wagon here sometime this year. One more change with amsoil series 3K and the deciding starts.

 

[vad]

quote:

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I bought the Rover at 59,000 miles and immediately switched to RL. Ran the oil for 10,000 miles with a filter change at 5,000 and again at 8,000. I did a UOA on the second batch of RL at 5000 and it was just terrible. Responce from the board was that it is still cleaning the sludge from the previous, unknown oil.

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I would agree with that response. Your engine in fact could be very dirty and it would take RedLine a long time to clean it up. I would suggest to try AutoRX first. And then switch to GC. In my engine I've run RedLine from 10K up to the 65K mark. It's kept it squeaky clean. My UOA looked just terrific. Still I just made a switch to GC since RedLine is an overkill in the non-turbo, street driven vehicle.

 

[ccdhowell]

Thanks Vad, I'm afraid this engine was very dirty. On the first oil change I did, I ran the 5-minute flush product from Gunk. I ran it again on the third oil change. The RL would become very black in a hurry, now on its third change cycle, with 1000+ miles, it is just now becoming slightly darker. Perhaps the engine is getting cleaner, not clean, just cleaner. The GC should clean pretty well with its ester content too, no doubt. The only reference to the engine's previous oil was a Quaker State sticker from Iffy Lube inside the door sill. 10W40 was written on it with a pen and mileage that exceeded beyond when I bought it. It is a Land Rover Certified used vehicle and I know my LR dealer puts Mobil One, no idea what weight though. Anyway, I'm a'switchin to GC and I'm a'gonna be happy to finally get this engine clean and generating good UOAs. PS found 16 quarts of M02 and M03 at an AZ in the "bad" part of town today. Guess I'll use this first cause it's the oldest. Thanks.

 

[pscholte]

Alright lads, raise your pints and offer a salute to the Elvish Rover!!! Then we'll give a cheer for old Mister Havershank, the Pub owner, and its Bangers and Mash and Bubble and Squeak for everyone!!!! Slow your smackers down lads, this is FILLING stuff!

 

[ccdhowell]

Here, Here

 

[Achilles]

i think Castrol have you (GC Members)people on a Magic show.. You worship the product like sheep... No wonder Castrol is one of the biggest if not the biggest oil company in the world, who publishes the biggest profits, all because of you GC members.. I salute you members, if everyone was like you, this world would be boring... No offense members, Happy Driving

 

[simple_gifts]

It is clear by his post that RL did the heavy lifting...

 

[Bowser]

quote:

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No wonder Castrol is one of the biggest if not the biggest oil company in the world, who publishes the biggest profits, all because of you GC members..

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If you don't consider the nationalized Saudi Arabian Oil Co., China National Petroleum, or Petroleos Mexicanos as major oil companies, Exxon Mobil (Mobil 1) is the largest publiclly traded oil company with largest profits. BP-(British Pretroleum) parent company of Castrol Oil could be a distant Third in ranking, behind Royal Dutch/Shell Oil. Bowser

 

[buster]

In some engines and conditions, I think RL is a better oil. In others, GC is a better choice.

 

[simple_gifts]

True buster, but in too many cases poor RL performance is attributed to the oil, not the condition of the engine.

 

[ccdhowell]

True simple_gifts, RL is a superior oil, but I have to order it and that gets old. The GC is mined right from the shelves of my local AZ at $5.19 per quart plus 8.875% tax compared to $7.99 for the RL in 5W40 plus shipping. I've just decided to no longer hassle with the ordering process. I would not hesitate to use RL again at some point in the future.