I would caution everyone against the automatic assumption that because Oil A has a TBN of X (higher) that it will go a longer OCI than Oil B with a TBN of Y (lower). Take a look at the new 229.51 Euro Oils...they have a lower starting TBN but still go long oil change intervals. A long time ago one of our members--might have been Terry--advised that how slowly an oil's TBN decreases is important too, not just the starting number. So, you could have an oil with starting TBN of 8 that remains efficacious longer than one that starts at 10.
Would anyone consider...
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vad, vad, vad...
Mobil 1 has been field tested to 25k miles since it's inception. (check Mobil/AU).
From 0-10k miles, I doubt anyone would notice wear differences, even if their are small differences in ppm wear.
Even Amsoil's own testing shows Mobil 1 to be as good as Amsoil. I never seen Syntec at the top, do you? It's NOT a bad oil, just an overpriced one IMHO. Group III basestocks vary in quality a lot. Amsoil's XL line IMHO, are a better value then Syntec. I'd rather pay $3.and change for Amsoil XL over $4.99 Syntec.
The only Castrol oils I like are the 5w-20 and GC. The others are just "OK". For better value, Havoline, Motorcraft and Chevron are better choices. *This can change at any time due to constant formulation changes.
Mobil 1 didn't get to own 64% of the market just based marketing. It's a product that many mechanics and racers swear by.
....the Euro Castrol oils are a whole different animal. I'd be willing to bet they are as good or better then M1.
Mobil 1 has been field tested to 25k miles since it's inception. (check Mobil/AU).
From 0-10k miles, I doubt anyone would notice wear differences, even if their are small differences in ppm wear.
Even Amsoil's own testing shows Mobil 1 to be as good as Amsoil. I never seen Syntec at the top, do you? It's NOT a bad oil, just an overpriced one IMHO. Group III basestocks vary in quality a lot. Amsoil's XL line IMHO, are a better value then Syntec. I'd rather pay $3.and change for Amsoil XL over $4.99 Syntec.
The only Castrol oils I like are the 5w-20 and GC. The others are just "OK". For better value, Havoline, Motorcraft and Chevron are better choices. *This can change at any time due to constant formulation changes.
Mobil 1 didn't get to own 64% of the market just based marketing. It's a product that many mechanics and racers swear by.
....the Euro Castrol oils are a whole different animal. I'd be willing to bet they are as good or better then M1.
So, we agree that the other than GC Syntec's other visosities are good oil, but most her object to pricing regualr Syntec as if it were a synthetic like Mobil 1 or GC. If you were crossing the desert and stopped at a gas station and you were a quart, you might consider using regular Syntec, until you could get home and do an oil change?
Larry, yes. vad, I don't know what else to say other than you and I don't share the same position. Castrol Syntec is very comparable to regular M1 SM. The EP IMO, is a better oil and better value. Mechanics that specialize in performance really like Mobil 1. I know one in particular.
Whether you like it or not, Mobil is a major formulator in aviation, commercial and personal lubricants worldwide. They manufacture their own baseoils and additives, something Castrol does not. They formulate for the military and NASA. But I guess you know better right? LOL. Unreal.... Are their better oils? Of course. Amsoil's excellent XL line is much better than Syntec and is much cheaper to boot. The Amsoil S2k/3K are probably the two best long drain oils on the market.
Whether you like it or not, Mobil is a major formulator in aviation, commercial and personal lubricants worldwide. They manufacture their own baseoils and additives, something Castrol does not. They formulate for the military and NASA. But I guess you know better right? LOL. Unreal.... Are their better oils? Of course. Amsoil's excellent XL line is much better than Syntec and is much cheaper to boot. The Amsoil S2k/3K are probably the two best long drain oils on the market.
64% of the market?
Hmm, do you mean the "syntetic" share or of the overall motor oil market?
Mobil was early to the synthetic market and was able to establish big presence thanks to slick 25K change ads, huge presence and marketing deals at the racing circles plus its huge PAO basestock production capability.
As I understand Castrol was never big on the production side and was(still) bying a big chunk of the basestocks from other suppliers, including Mobil.
Of course, the industry experienced a huge consolidation wave during the past decade.
Yet the oil preferences are hard to change.
Many racers and mechanics swear by Mobil 1 thanks to many decades of slick marketing, promotion and advertising deals etc, etc.
BTW, which mechanics are you talking about???
The vast majority of them have very little knowledge and no incentive to learn anything about the motor oils beside the basic weight classification.
Very true!
Here is what bobistheoilguy himself had to say on this very topic:
"How high of a TBN is really necessary and how critical is the number?
This question comes up continually, and it deserves some clarification.
TBN is not a measure of an engine oil's performance, and an engine oil with a higher TBN number such as 13 or 14 is not necessarily better than an engine oil that has a tbn of 10.
There are two things that are more critical to know about TBN than its starting point: how it measured and the rate at which it depletes.
This is another case of requirements changing with the times, and the old tradition of a tbn level of greater than 10 for otr vehicles cannot be used as a rule of thumb anymore.
Engine designs have drastically changed over the years and fuel sulfur levels have dropped significantly during the last decade, so that even in off road application where fuel sulfur can be as high as 0.5%, the demand for a very high tbn rating cannot really be justified.
What is more important is how the engine oil's tbn will last and maintain it neutralizing ability over the entire oil drain interval."
Just my $0.02, but Amsoil is $6-$7 a quart unless you have a preferred customer agreement which is roughly $20 for a year. Then the oil is roughly $5 a quart. Then you are not really saving any money unless you purchase at lease enought oil for 3 OCI's. So, how is Amsoil cheaper than regularly priced Syntec at approx. $5 a quart?
I thought this is supposed to be about GC and other Euro oils, Not Mobil VS Castrol. Now my 2$. An oil being grp III does not make an oil evil. I am not convinced that regular mobil 1 does anything better than GC unless you own a vehicle for which GC is just too thick. Mobil 1 in general is a noisier oil, if anything on this forum is to be believed. Mobil 1 appears to have higher iron wear also. Some say they have lower wear with GTX than Mobil 1. Can you support your opinions with UOAs? I believe Mobil has recently thickened their 30 weights. Are there any UOAs with them yet?
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