jstand22

anyone here use Castrol Syntec? And do you like it, probably going to use 5w-50 for the winter.

Darwantae951

Never used sytec, but Castrol GTX is what my dad uses in his 911.

jstand22

Yeah I use Castrol GTX 20w-50 in the warm weather but I'm looking at the Syntec 5w-50 for the cold.

lilspeedemon

I have used it before. It went into an old Honda Civic that had over 215,000 miles. It worked, I only had the car for 2 or 3 oil changes so I can't say anything about longevity, but it seemed like it worked great.

smlporsche

My mechanic swears by it and says that it's better than Mobil1 (but so far I'm not buying it...)

Slayer952

My mechanic refuses to use anything but Mobil1 - if it's good enough for Porsche it's good enough for me

Yummybud924

lol I don't get how people say one oil is better than the other without knowing whats in it. how would your mechanic know if synthec is better than mobil or whatever.

I just use a good brand synthetic. Actually mobil one was the only synthetic I found in 15w50 so that's what I put in. before I was using 5w50 quaker synthetic. .

I think as long as you change your oil on a regular basis and use any good brand of oil it won't make any noticable difference in engine life etc.

if you have a high performance or turbo motor then you probably should use a good synthetic.

but does anyone seriously think one brand of oil will make your engine last significantly longer than anotehr oil?

krystar

mobil 1 used to be top dog. but about 2 years ago they downgraded from group 4 to group 3. it's still decent oil but it's not the best anymore

amsoil is top dog is my book now. but it's decently expensive.

CurtP

US spec Syntec isn't synthetic. It's hydrocracked conventional basestock. EU spec Syntec uses PAO basestock, but you may have difficulty getting it here in the States. You may be able to get it from a local BMW dealership.

Richgreenster

Go with 0-40w Mobil 1. It has .10 % by weight of ZDDP. Plus it has better lubercating properties than the oils of old.

Your motor needs atleast .01% of ZDDP

jstand22

Yeah most US "synthetic" oils have gone this way due to cheaper production costs....Mobil 1 is now made with the same hydrocracking process and is no longer 100% synthetic. It isn't made with PAO basestock anymore. Bringing it down to Group III, just like Syntec. As far as I know the only ones that use a PAO base are Amsoil, Redline, and maybe Royal Purple.

I'm not looking for a full synthetic....just looking to see if anyone has Syntec in their 944 and like it. Everyone here knows how 944s can be "finicky" in one way or another, so I'm just checking to see if anyone has had bad or good luck with Syntec. I know some people say oils are the same, but when I tried Valvoline VR1, my car ran awful...no lie. The lifters would not stop clicking, startup was rough, and the engine seemed to run hotter. Don't ask me why, but everything went away when I switched back to my usual GTX.

Yummybud924

when I switched from quaker state synthetict to mobil one my oil pressure went up a tiny bit.

About redline oil, that stuff is way too expensive. 12 bucks a litre around here..... that's about over70 dollars in oil..

the mobil 1 15w50 I use was like 7 bucks a litre which is reasonable.

alordofchaos

I ran Castrol syntech 5w50 for about half a year, didn't notice any problems or advantages. Back then, I was starting the engine up in the winter.

CurtP

I've heard that rumor too, but I'm not sure I'm buying it. If that is truly the case, then why is it so difficult to get M1 during the PAO shortage? What bothers me is they have so many different versions now, it's hard to keep track of what is what. Which one is the "good" one - M1, M1 Extended Performance, M1 Racing, M1 Turbo Diesel, M1 High Mileage or M1 Advanced Fuel Economy?

Then again, I don't (and won't) use M1 in my 951 until I get every last leak fixed. And even after that, there's a good chance I still won't. I'll probably go with something like Lubrication Engineers 8820 (0.12% elemental phosphorous; TBN of 10).

Potomac-Greg

Two points:

1. If you change oil regularly, you'll probably not live long enough to see which oil performs better or worse. And if you have an engine failure, you'll never really know if your oil was at fault versus something else.

2. You cannot judge a brand (Mobil 1) as a unit. There are SO MANY versions and formulae of Mobil 1 with varying qualities. It's too bad that they use the same brand to refer to such a range. It really has tarnished the brand as a whole. The 0W40 European Formula is as good as any oil on the market for modern engines. When Porsche or AMG says "We Use Mobil 1" this is what they mean.

FWIW, I use a synthetic (somehow hoping it prevents my #2 rod bearing from croaking) with a heavy enough lower weight to suit an older car (15W50). Mobil 1 has an extended service in that range.