Synpower vs Syntec

[Gilitar]

Ok Ok Ok... you guys insist that I use GC. My concerns are as follows.

1. I live in a hot climate.

2. VW fills their cars with 5w-40

3. Oil consumption. Will the lighter weight = consumption? This is a big deal to me.

4. Warranty requirements. I know it's certified, but VW specs a 5w-40 and says that you can use another weight that is appropriate for your climate if no 5w-40 is available. Could VW say that 0w-30 isn't an appropriate oil for my climate (Gulf Coast)? This is also a big deal to me.

Help me overcome these concerns and I will give it a go.

P.S. I wish ekpolk would quit buying up all the GC here on the coast. Sheesh give a fellow BITGOer a fighting chance.

[ November 03, 2005, 12:15 AM: Message edited by: Gilitar ]

 

[Alex P.]

Given the two options you laid down, I'd say pick up some 5w40 Syntec. I'm sure it has been said elsewhere, but here goes: If your airbags spontaneously deploy when you fire up your car in the wee hours of the morning, they would blame it on the oil you put in it.

 

[bighead]

Gilitar..

GC is a 30 weight, but it's a THICK 30 weight (practically a 40 weight). I'm not familiar enough with VW's and specs and what not, but I know GC is an excellent oil, and I'd use it over the other 2, providing my car spec'd a 40 wt

 

[mikemc]

Shell Rotella syn 5w40 is a great oil and as mdocod stated, all the big diesels this oil was designed for are turbocharged. If it meets the specs required by VW, it would be my first choice.

 

[Audi Junkie]

New Audi 1.8ts say they are factory-filled with 0w-30 (GC) in the manual. As long as wear numbers are low, and they are, how could you go wrong in high ambient temps?

 

[JAG]

Gilitar, those are good questions and ones I have wrestled with myself. I own a 03' 1.8T GTI. For first 50k miles or so, I used 5W-40 oils (many kinds). I'm now on my first Gold GC interval. Zero oil consumption with all oils tried (in 5000 miles).

It's a sticky legal issue and if you had an oil related problem and used GC, whether they honor your warranty probably really comes down to who the person(s) at both the dealer and VWOA are who are looking into your claim. I am confident enough to use GC (Gold) since it meets 502.00, 505.00, and 503.01 specs and ACEA A3, and is almost a 40 weight oil. This is quite the evidence to present to them that the oil cannot be the cause of sludge or any other engine problem. The fact that they say a 5W-30 viscosity can be used is also good in our favor because the 0 part of 0W-30 just means that it has better low temp properties than 5W-30 (and does not affect anything else). If you aren't comfortable with this issue, that's up to you. Due to the overall superiority of GC over both the other oils you listed, I am willing to use it and fight the fight with VWOA if it came down to it (and I'm 99.9% that won't happen anyway with GC). By superiority, I base that on entire performance: wear protection and resistance to sludge/varnish/deposits considered together. The 5W-40 Valvoline and Syntec 5W-40 have more volatile basestocks than GC that are more prone to leaving behind sludge/varnish/deposits, though they may posess similar wear protection...I know the former gives great wear numbers...not much data on the latter to determine that.

There are other 5W-40 oils to choose from that are superb if you choose against GC. Here's a thread that lists/discusses them: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1719541

 

[Gilitar]

Thanks Jag. That link answers everything I would want to know about VW oil. I'm going to do a little more research.

 

[Gilitar]

This from the MSDS for Synpower 5w-30. 64742-54-7 indicates a Group III basestock. However, this sheet dates back to 2002. I wonder if the sheet is just out of date.

2. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS

Ingredient(s) CAS Number % (by weight)
-------------------------------------------- ------------- -------------
PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON 64742-54-7 52.0- 62.0

 

[JAG]

quote:

---

I wonder if the sheet is just out of date.

---

Hopefully so and hopefully we both weren't lied to on the phone today! I believe what we heard...that would be a pretty blatant, bold lie to tell two different people.

 

[vad]

Synpower 5w-40 conforms to MB 229.3, VW 502.00, 505.00 and BMW LL-98 according to this 06-24-04 release.

 

[Gilitar]

I wonder why Mobil 1 T&SUV isn't VW 502 specd? Anybody think that VW would have a problem with me running it?

 

[Audi Junkie]

It has industrial specs. VW will not like it although most service reps know about Delvac-1.

 

[Gilitar]

I just contacted Valvoline and they claim that they use group IV base stocks in Synpower 5w-40. If this is in fact true I will definately be using it.

 

[JAG]

Awesome! Can you type word for word how they stated it or was it simply, "it uses Group IV basestocks"? I just want to make sure they aren't being sneaky with their answer. I have their MSDS for this oil and it doesn't indicate what basestocks it uses. I'm not doubting, just want a firm base to stand on when/if I tell others this news!

 

[Gilitar]

I actualy called 1-800-832-6825 and asked if their Synpower 5w-40 uses group III or IV base stocks. He then asked what type of car I had. I then answered VW gas requiring VW502. He then answered yes it will work for your vehicle. At this point I said my question is what basestocks. He then answered group IV. Someone else should call and ask to see if they answer the same.

 

[JAG]

Bingo! I just called and talked to a guy with a southern accent (did your guy have one too?), and he said all Valvoline Synpower versions use 100% Group IV basestocks. He even gave me NOACK volatilities:
5W-40: 11% (agrees with info I already had)
5W-30: 13% (figured why not ask for fun)
20W-50: 8% (figured why not ask for fun)

I'm taking this news as official and might even make a new thread to announce it because almost everyone thinks these oils are Group III.

This does not change what I said above about sludge/varnish resistance because that wasn't based on theory or assumptions; it's based on tests I've done. The explanation for this is that making a 5W-40 or 0W-40 oil often requires lower viscosity basestocks (in general are inherently less stable) than those in a 0W-30. It's the addition of viscosity index improvers (VII) that makes those 40 weights "thick" at operating temps. GC does not use any VII and is a thick 30 weight at operating temps simply due to the viscosity of its basestocks. Sorry for the long post and this is splitting hairs...Synpower 5W-40 IS a great oil.