Castrol Syntec vs Edge??

[hattaresguy]

I can't be the only one confused by Castrol's new marketing. Today I was standing in AAP's picking up an oil change kit for my truck since they are having a good sale on Castrol with a K&N filter.

Anyway I have the gold bottle in one hand the the black in the other, both meet the same specs if you read the back, I couldn't really tell the difference.

Only difference I can see other than the bottle is the price. So I put the gold bottle back and got 5 quarts of the black.

What's Castrol doing? They need to try a bit harder to get my $3, maybe that's what the gold bottle is for?

 

[mongo161]

BP is confused by their own convoluted marketing strategy......

BP can't decided on which product is it's "Flagship" brand of synthetic oil....lol

They should stick to the basics....Castrol GTX Full Synthetic would be a good suggestion.

 

[chubbs1]

I find it quite disturbing that GTX conventional 5w30 has a lower pour point than the Syntec. What the heck? The Castrol Edge FST (Gold) has a bunch of spec's that just say "OK" What does OK mean, that the oil just barely meets spec?I don't get the whole Castrol thing and if I don't get my footballs, I will never buy anything from them again.

 

[45ACP]

I want to believe in Castrol and maybe use one of their GOLD bottle Edge products one day *the Syntec does well in some apps though some say its not a good oil, i think it could be depending on the car.. but they dont make it easy.

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I want to believe in Castrol and maybe use one of their GOLD bottle Edge products one day *the Syntec does well in some apps though some say its not a good oil, i think it could be depending on the car.. but they dont make it easy.


The old regular Syntec 5W20 lasted longer in my Ford 4.6L 3V than standard M1 5W20 so go figure. That was in the "Dont buy Castrol its not real Synthetic" days.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: Gene K
Originally Posted By: 45ACP
I want to believe in Castrol and maybe use one of their GOLD bottle Edge products one day *the Syntec does well in some apps though some say its not a good oil, i think it could be depending on the car.. but they dont make it easy.


The old regular Syntec 5W20 lasted longer in my Ford 4.6L 3V than standard M1 5W20 so go figure. That was in the "Dont buy Castrol its not real Synthetic" days.


Thats another reason i seriously consider Syntec when i buy a car. Perhaps GC will go in a car. And if a new gold-bottled Edge 0W-30 GC comes along as i cant see them making API SL Syntec forever, ill get that too.

Syntec 5W-40, 5W-50, 0W-30 grades are the ones i think of. Maybe even a 20-wt if i get the right car.

Its not "bad oil" its just been around awhile. I hope they keep the grades they have and perhaps update the API spec.

 

[Nick R]

I would probably use Edge if it was Dexos certified, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't yet. Again, could be wrong on that too.

 

[mongo161]

I picked up a load of Castrol Synthetic oils, in 1 Gallon Jugs, at Kmart on clearance..... along with Mobil 1 and Valvoline SynPower, PYB, VWB, QSGB, Castrol Tection, Castrol Diesel in Quarts, SL and Castrol GTX in Gallon Jugs. Quite a stash of Gallon Jugs and rebates for all but the Castrol Tection Gallons and Castrol GTX Diesel in quarts.

Castrol Syntec SM, 5w-30, 10w-30
Castrol Edge - Gold Jugs - SM, 5w-30, 10w-30
Castrol Edge with Syntec Technology SM and SN, 5w-30, 10w-30

I plan on mixing a 50/50 bled of the Castrol Syntec - Older Version, Synthetic Controversy with Castrol Tection, 15w-40, Diesel Dino next summer on some vehicles.

Some of this Castrol Syntec is in much older Jugs than the newer versions but it is SM, GF-4


BTW Chubbs....I'm also still waiting for my NFL footballs.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
I would probably use Edge if it was Dexos certified, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't yet. Again, could be wrong on that too.


According to the bottles both are, they also meet that GM spec that the ZR1 and Cadillac's use, forget what it is though.

 

[sopususer]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Originally Posted By: Nick R
I would probably use Edge if it was Dexos certified, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't yet. Again, could be wrong on that too.


According to the bottles both are, they also meet that GM spec that the ZR1 and Cadillac's use, forget what it is though.


Castrol claims to meet the dexos spec, but according to GM's dexos site they are NOT a licensed brand.

dexos licensed brands

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

I suspect Castrol meets the spec, but refuses to pay GM the licensing fee for their synthetics. I don't blame them. If GM gets away with getting licensing fees for the oil that is authorized in their cars to keep them under warranty, what's next, licensed gasoline? I mean, they are already scamming the suppliers with anti-freeze and transmission fluid licensing fees.

 

[Cooper]

Originally Posted By: ArrestMeRedZ
GM gets away with getting licensing fees for the oil that is authorized in their cars to keep them under warranty, what's next, licensed gasoline?


Yeah, it is called Top-Tier Gasoline and BP (Castrol) won't pay for that certification either. In the gasoline test post that I posted, BP was number two in detergency. So, I would not be too worried about it.

 

[Thorzdad]

I was at AAP yesterday. I noticed that ALL of the Castrol oils were now gold bottles with "EDGE featuring Syntec technology" labels. All, that is, except, the Syntec 5w40, which is the the only Castrol offering on AAP's shelves meeting VW 502/503. It's still the Syntec black bottle.

And that great Castrol oil-change special they're running, is really a rebate from Castrol (not the usual AAP in-store discount). I assume it would include the lone black bottle Syntec on the shelf, but the store sign only mentioned Edge oils.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Originally Posted By: Nick R
I would probably use Edge if it was Dexos certified, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't yet. Again, could be wrong on that too.


According to the bottles both are, they also meet that GM spec that the ZR1 and Cadillac's use, forget what it is though.


ASTM-4738?

Not sure why GM convoluted oil specs the say Castrol did their labeling. But i have figured it out:

Edge with SYNTEC in BLACK bottles = Syntec
Edge with TITANIUM in GOLD bottles = Edge.

Castrol seems to be emulating PU with the Edge grades.

However even the black bottle SYNTEC is now API SN and thats good enough for me......