Anyone use Castrol Syntec Synth. Oil?
10-30-2005, 06:55 PM
#1
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Anyone use Castrol Syntec Synth. Oil?
Anyone have any experience with Castrol Syntec Synthetic Motor Oil? Right now it is significantly cheaper here in Orlando than Mobil 1 15w-50. Any comments are appreciated. Thank You!
Mike Rappa
87 Carrera Coupe
Mike Rappa
87 Carrera Coupe
10-30-2005, 10:32 PM
#3
RL Technical Advisor
Hi Mike:
Trying NOT to get into another oil debate, I'd kindly advise you to stick with Mobil 1.
Cheaper is NOT always better,........................
Trying NOT to get into another oil debate, I'd kindly advise you to stick with Mobil 1.
Cheaper is NOT always better,........................
10-31-2005, 02:27 PM
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It's the "Gold" standard. It's the only oil I'd run in any car that's going to be run hard, even if it's only now and again.
The money you spend now will save you later. If you need a analysis of your oil I recommend Blackstone Labs. They have a free test kit that gets mailed out to you, you mail it back in and the test cost $20 or so. Oil analysis can tell you a lot about what's going on in your engine.
The money you spend now will save you later. If you need a analysis of your oil I recommend Blackstone Labs. They have a free test kit that gets mailed out to you, you mail it back in and the test cost $20 or so. Oil analysis can tell you a lot about what's going on in your engine.
10-31-2005, 03:15 PM
#7
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Well, this isn't 911 boxer-engine related but...
I will never use Mobil 1 in another engine unless it's what I have sitting on the shelf (and I'm desperate). I keep it around for customers who specify it, but that's it.
I have had 2 engines now that ran M1, both have spun rod bearings at significantly lower than expected mileage (~72k & 104k). I have had absolutely no ill effects thus far with the engines I've run Castrol GTX or AMSOil in. I ran the Syntec (10W-40) last winter in the 911, then switched back to GTX 20W-50.
Granted, the other engines were Japanese-manufactured for 5W-30 use, and who knows, maybe that had something to do with the M1 failures (somehow I doubt this).
I agree with the philosophy of not cheaping out on oils, but I think if you dig around, you'll find I'm not the only dissatisfied M1 user out there.
I will never use Mobil 1 in another engine unless it's what I have sitting on the shelf (and I'm desperate). I keep it around for customers who specify it, but that's it.
I have had 2 engines now that ran M1, both have spun rod bearings at significantly lower than expected mileage (~72k & 104k). I have had absolutely no ill effects thus far with the engines I've run Castrol GTX or AMSOil in. I ran the Syntec (10W-40) last winter in the 911, then switched back to GTX 20W-50.
Granted, the other engines were Japanese-manufactured for 5W-30 use, and who knows, maybe that had something to do with the M1 failures (somehow I doubt this).
I agree with the philosophy of not cheaping out on oils, but I think if you dig around, you'll find I'm not the only dissatisfied M1 user out there.
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10-31-2005, 05:14 PM
#8
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Castrol vs Mobil 1 vs Kendall... Over 25 years (+ 8 more years working at other shops before I opened Red Line) I cared for thousands of Porsche's that covered millions of miles including autocross 911s, time trial 911s, SCCA, IMSA and PCA Club Race race cars, as well as commuter driven cars. I found that those cars that used Castrol products for an extended period developed extremely dirty internal engine components, but the engines that used Kendall or Mobil 1 did not. (My shop sold only Kendall GT-1 unless a specific request was made for an alternate oil, Mobil 1, Castrol, Valvoline, Quaker State, etc.). Dirt which results from internal combustion is either broken down and absorbed by the oil (you'll have to ask someone a lot smarter than me how that process works!), or the dirt is able to stick to stuff (the inside surfaces of the case, sides of connecting rods, inside pistons, etc.). I would guess that if you use Castrol (GTX, etc.), and change it every 1K miles, you will be better off than letting it go 5,000, or 7,500, miles. If you use Kendall or Mobil 1, 5,000 mile changes, from my experience, on regularly driven cars is of no concern. Unfortunately, regarding 911s, I can't comment on Syntec, it never made a splash in the SoCal Porsche world, that I was involved with, while I still had my shop. One thing that I can say, my '02 BMW 325 has been run on Castrol Syntec (under the BMW label) since new, and now has 65K miles on it. After 5K miles of daily use the oil is no darker than when I put it in; I shudder to think what that poor little motor looks like inside. In contrast, my Touareg runs on Mobil 1, and at 5K miles its oil is almost black, which, of course, means that the inside of the engine is clean. Lubricity? My shop never had a customer experience an engine bearing failure with any oil (unless the engine was run low enough to cause damage). Although 95%+ of my clients used Kendall, and were schooled regarding oil level/checking, we saw accelerated internal wear (ring lands, cam lobes, etc.) on non-Kendall motors. Very few of our customers had switched to Mobil 1 for their pre-90 cars, but many 964s that we serviced, which we had on a 7,500 mile oil service interval, used it, with no difficulty. At drain time the oil in those cars came out dirty, which I thought was a good thing, and I still do.
Pete
Pete
