Valvoline conventional and Castrol GTX add pack ?

[Mark72]

I was surfing the UOA/VOA sections looking at a few of the posts out there. Two in particular that I’ve always wanted to discuss are Castrol GTX and conventional Valvoline. They both use sodium which is evident. But I notice that Castrol seems to use a bit more calcium, and Valvoline is lower, below 2000.
Of these two oils, would Castrol GTX be the better choice if you were looking at add pack alone?
Also, neither of these use moly. From what I understand about how great an additive this is with lubrication and wear protection, is this the reason many of us prefer an oil that is loaded with this additive?

 

[chubbs1]

Moly is really not as "big" as it was thought to be in reducing wear. I think we went through a moly phase then on to a boron phase now it is turning into a titanium phase. There are too many factors related to engine wear. I would not go to extreme lengths to justify buying an oil solely on moly content. The base oils themselves are extremely important and what shape your cars engine is in also is a large factor. Good air and oil filtration helps too. So I guess what I am trying to say is go with the one you like the best, or go with the one on sale and call it a day.

 

[Mark72]

Thanks you chubbs1. I agree with you and already of your mindset for the most part accept that I pretty much stick with PYB. But I asked: Of these two oils, would Castrol GTX be the better choice if you were looking at add pack alone?

Also, The GTX seems to be a lot higher in calcium...of what significance is this or not? Not really sure what a lot or a little is, but Castrol is upward of 22xx, and Vavloline calcium is downward of around 16 or 17xx calcium.

 

[electrolover]

i will say this about gtx. in the one car i ran it in(sludged up nissan) i had results. the dipstick was always varnished over. after i filled with gtx the first time i checked the oil(while filling up) the varnish wiped off the stick. i had ran many oils including delo hdeo over the years and the varnish always stayed on the stick.

it has alot of cleaning ability.


as far as valvoline, the engines i know of with longterm use (one over 300k) were clean and ran great. but they were owned by mechanics and engine builders and well taken care of.

one thing i can say for sure having worked at an oilchange shop is cars that run either valvoline or gtx religiously, have cleaner used oil than the cars running bulk pennzoil. it may be they dont clean as well or the engines running them dont get as dirty.. i really dont know but i respect all three

 

[webfors]

Both excellent oils. Buy the one that's on sale. I have VWB, PYB, GTX, QSGB, PP, Mobil and Formula shell in my stash. I don't really have a favorite, but I use one brand per car and stick with it. I.E I use VWB in the corolla until I'm out, that's 8 more oil changes of VWB.

 

[Mark72]

Well, I prefer PYB... The only reason I brought this up was just my observation of these two oils having similar add packs.. But GTX with a bit more Calcium, and I believe Valvoline has more sodium... Just seemed to me in my own mind that people would prefer GTX with it's larger calcium #. But, who knows.

 

[Mark72]

?

 

[lexus114]

simply put, you cant go wrong with either of them mentioned here.