New Castrol Edge

[buster]

Quote:
Castrol's engine lubricant products have not always been good at minimising deposits


Most companies can make a good oil. They all have chemists with Phd's and work with the additive suppliers to formulate a product. The additive suppliers will often help them differentiate their products from others too.

Doug, I disagree. Syntec was awful at preventing deposits. Back in 2006, Mobil compared their oil vs Castrol Syntec in the TEOST deposit test. Syntec scored a 26.6 vs 5.2 for Mobil 1. Lower the better. Syntec also failed to meet Honda's turbo test.

U.S. Syntec has always been a very mediocre oil at best. BP's Castrol is known more for their marketing gimmicks than anything else.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1
I am afraid Doug Hillary is right, the majors are seeking to squash smaller competition. There maybe some specialty fields such as racing for example that some of the small players will have a presence but I really think there are tough times ahead for "small oil".


Certainly possible. The gap has closed because the market is demanding better oils and the majors are stepping up and delivering them.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
buster - I said this:
"Castrol's engine lubricant products have not always been good at minimising deposits ........."

This is well known - you disagree with that???

 

[buster]

Sorry Doug, I completely misread it.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
buster - Even in the 1950s Castrol had enormous product performance variability. XL & XXL were the GTX of the day and they were known varnish and sludge producers. Their Castrolite products however allowed varnish but were good with sludge control and wear protection. There were many better products around but as a cheapie, GTX now has a good performance record - so do a number of others. BP certainly purchased the name and initially "devalued" some excellent products

It was Castrol's lack of PCMO performance that led me down the HD path when working for Caltex-Chevron in the 1960s

IMHO I think the Edge (Professional) range is near the top of the tree for the type of product they are and their price!

 

[buster]

Thanks Doug.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Got a link to that test Buster?

 

[demarpaint]

I've also read many years ago that Castrol wasn't top of the pack for engine cleanliness, but we're talking about their newer products, Edge in particular for this discussion. I don't think it would be very hard for them to beef up the ability to clean an engine now. That seems to be the direction the competition has headed. Oil chemistry not rocket science so I don't think tweaking a formula is a big deal. I'm sure they also have the ability as other oil companies do to reverse engineer the competition's products and know exactly how every oil is made. JMO

BTW the report Audi posted is quite good!

 

[21Rouge]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I guess this is the new SN GF5 version,


I am sure this is the case and as we have seen with some other oil reformulations going to GF5 and the inherent thickening that goes along with it I would imagine the cold weather properties for the new EDGE have taken a hit.

[I don't think I can recall better cranking or pumping #s from a 5W30 oil than what one saw with the "old" EDGE]

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Got a link to that test Buster?


I don't unfortunately. Mobil was sharing this info with distributors at one time. Keep in mind this was around 2005-2006'ish.

 

[buster]

Quote:
Not all synthetic oils meet Acura’s HTO-06 standard.
In fact, using the wrong oil in a high-performance
turbocharged engine leads to accumulated deposits
in the engine, which reduces performance and
causes engine wear. In exhaustive testing conducted
by Acura engineers, Mobil 1 produced no critical
deposits on critical engine components such as
the seal ring, shaft, and the turbo walls.


http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Synthetics/Mobil_1_Proven_Superiority.aspx

I'm sure the major synthetics have now improved this part of their oil.

 

[Trav]

Doug i have used edge in Germany and have been impressed with their oils.I used RS 10w-60 for over a decade with no deposits whatsoever and still use Edge 10w-60.That being said i don't believe the stuff being sold in the U.S. is even related to their Euro products in any way except for the name and the color of the bottle.
JMHO

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: 21Rouge
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I guess this is the new SN GF5 version,


I am sure this is the case and as we have seen with some other oil reformulations going to GF5 and the inherent thickening that goes along with it I would imagine the cold weather properties for the new EDGE have taken a hit.

[I don't think I can recall better cranking or pumping #s from a 5W30 oil than what one saw with the "old" EDGE]


This is true, I haven't seen what the numbers look like for the other oils SN formulations, I'd like to see M1, Honda and Toyota's 0W20 oils in the SN formulation. The Edge 0W20 40C numbers took a major hit and have a few of us questioning them. I sent them an email, it should be interesting to see if they even respond. The truth is the 40C number is a transition number, and it is how well the oil protects when the engine is at operating temps that really matters. I have a feeling that Edge's base stock and add pack are greatly improved, and its the end that justifies the means. The few UOA's posted with the old formula Edge were quite good, only time will tell. JMO

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Quote:
* Power = strongest dispersants to remove power-robbing deposits

Nano particals.

 

[AZjeff]

FYI - At the local Wallyworld Syntec 5 qt black jug is $21, the Edge gold jug right beside it is $26.50.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: buster
Sorry Doug, I completely misread it.


And here I just thought you weren't letting Doug get away with putting it so nicely, LOL!!

 

[ChiTDI]

We may have new Elves !!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I've also read many years ago that Castrol wasn't top of the pack for engine cleanliness, but we're talking about their newer products, Edge in particular for this discussion. I don't think it would be very hard for them to beef up the ability to clean an engine now. That seems to be the direction the competition has headed. Oil chemistry not rocket science so I don't think tweaking a formula is a big deal. I'm sure they also have the ability as other oil companies do to reverse engineer the competition's products and know exactly how every oil is made. JMO

BTW the report Audi posted is quite good!


So, between what Doug, yourself and buster have posted.... How can one be certain that Castrol/BP are going to be consistent with the quality of their offerings if there has been such massive variability in their past?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Doug i have used edge in Germany and have been impressed with their oils.I used RS 10w-60 for over a decade with no deposits whatsoever and still use Edge 10w-60.That being said i don't believe the stuff being sold in the U.S. is even related to their Euro products in any way except for the name and the color of the bottle.
JMHO


Trav:

From Doug's post, I think he was talking about the 1950's and 1960's. When were you using it?

 

[demarpaint]

Good question, I don't have an answer, rather a question. Since this is in print form I don't want to come across as a wise arse, especially to a person like yourself who I consider a friend and someone who has been helpful to me!

Here goes: What happened to Mobil when Katrina crippled them? Many of the oil companies have skeletons in the closet. The only oil I've used from Castrol in the last 30+ years is Edge, and the reports here have been good. I've been very pleased, and have stated many times why. I'll continue to monitor and see, I have to believe the SN formulas are an improvement, and until someone runs a VOA on the new stuff, I'm thinking typo. Doug H BTW thinks Edge is a solid performer, and is in a way an insider. His opinion I respect, we've chatted about this in PM land, I think the product is solid.

Has anyone compared numbers from Mobil, Pennzoil, or Valvoline SM vs SN yet? I haven't.