NYC32798

iTrader: (3)

I have been reading up on what type of oil to use in my Camaro and I stumbled upon that bob is the oil guy site. There is a new type of castrol synthetic out thats made in germany and is supposed to be nothing like the US syntec crap. It has gotten very good reviews and is supposed to be up there with amsoil, mobil 1, redline, etc. But it only comes in 0w-30 and you can only get it at autozone. Anyone heard about this stuff or use it in their max?

steven88

iTrader: (28)

Its not new...its been around for awhile now....since 2002 I believe...

from 2002 to early 2005, the german castrol was green in colour....after feb 2005, the formula was changed to gold....its still just as good as the green though...doesn't really matter...I stocked up on my stash of GREEN german castrol...its real good stuff

NYC32798

iTrader: (3)

Sorry I just found out about it a couple days ago. Is it as good as the amsoil and mobil 1? I read in the stickys that those are the top 2 oils for our cars.

steven88

iTrader: (28)

yeah its damn competitive compared to amsoil and mobil1....the best part about german castrol is when they hold the yearly sale in december....

the price goes down to like $3.99/qt...its nearly impossible to beat the price to performance ratio when it goes on sale....individual mobil1 quarts go for about $5.50 and amsoil is a tad more....

tests have been proven that this german castrol is up there with amsoil...but alot cheaper!

steven88

iTrader: (28)

btw, german castrol 0w-30 is a THICK 30wt oil....our vq's love heavy oils...and mobil1 is just too thin for our applications...it says its a 30wt...but tests have proven the mobil1 can sometimes be a THICK 20wt, THIN 30wt....

german castrol is real thick..coming in at a THICK 30, THIN 40wt....its also superior in the cold...with its 0wt characteristics

NYC32798

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the info. I'll give this stuff a try next oil change.

Bobo

I am also a member of BITOG and converted to synthetic oil in February.

I am running Esso XD3 Extra, 0w30, PAO full synthetic which is also gaining rave reviews on BITOG. It's is a heavier 30wt at operating temperature.

A lot of BITOGers are switching away from Mobil 1 to this oil. The downside is it is not sold in the US and is available only at Esso bulk plants in Canada.

It is a fraction of the cost of Mobil 1 and has shown to be superior based on VOAs and UOAs.

A guy who owns a taxi company in Canada ran it for 25,000 miles over the winter before last and his UOA showed he could have run it longer. The taxi was run in very cold temperatures over about 3 months and was scarcely turned off.

NYC32798

iTrader: (3)

Well unfortunately I don't think I would be able to get my hands on that stuff. Are there any UOA or VOA results with the GC in the max?

Torkaholic

I agree with this. I'm almost embarassed to admit it, but I've got a stash of over 100 quarts of green GC that I use in both my G35 and my wife's Sequoia. We've got extraordinarily good used oil analysis from both engines on this oil. The VQ series engines seem to have a taste for slightly thicker than mainstream oils (my VQ35 is spec for 5-30, 10-30 and 10-40, btw, are current Maxes the same?). I have also noticed a distinct subjective difference between the thinner 30s in my engine vs. GC which at just over 12 cSt when hot, is almost a 40 wt oil. I have not used the gold formula, but virtually everyone who has reported on it has been pleased with it too. I typically run it to 7500 miles (I'm still under wty, UOA clearly indicated this oil can go substantially longer if the owner wishes to). You can find my UOA in the BITOG UOA section (my screen name over there is ekpolk).

Also worth noting: The German-made stuff is a PAO-ester combination, unlike the rest of the Syntec line, most of which is Group-III stuff (if this is important to you).

GC = Good stuff.

Bobo

Any opinion, on the Esso Extra XD3, Torkaholic. Although I've only been running it for less than 1,000 miles, it seems like my VQ loves it.

Torkaholic

Of course, living where I do, I don't have access to any XD3 (I'm on the Gulf Coast), but virtually everyone on BITOG who has tried the stuff seems to like it. Objectively, I can't recall having seen a poor UOA with it either. I'd probably have tried it myself, but that would be a four-day round-trip shopping expedition. I'm definitely an oil fanatic, but that would be hard to justify, even for me. . . XD3, like GC, is a "thick" 30 and seems to hold vis without shearing back during the OCI. A prime candidate, it would seem, for use in the VQ. Please let us know how it holds up over your OCI. I predict you'll remain happy with it.

Virus

iTrader: (1)

All 3 of these oils are good. Amsoil and GC have better UOA's overall than M1, but honestly you aren't going to notice any difference.

CCS2k1Max

iTrader: (2)

I am down to just 8 qts. after changing the oil last Friday. I used to get chills thinking of running out of the green, but the more I read about gold, it's a no brainer.

Torkaholic

Yeah, gold should be fine. I still wish we had a precise read on its base formulation. That said, it could be made with maple syrup, but who can argue with the good UOA it seems to be generating.

I occasionally have chilling nightmares about running out of my green, but as you can see, it will be a while before I have to confront actual withdrawal symptoms. . .



By the way, those drip drops you can see on the garage floor are from the house's previous owner's Chevrolet . None of my cars would be allowed to do that!

Bobo

It may be, Torkaholic, that there is in fact another .orger who is as **** as me, lol!

SilverMax_04

Lets see. The name of the company that makes Mobil 1 is Exxon-Mobil. The name of the company that makes Esso products in Canada is -- you guessed it -- Exxon-Mobil. When they were two different companies, I could believe that there was a substantial difference in the two different named motor oils. Now, I know just enough to have some doubts that there is a substantial difference. But if the Esso product in Canada is cheaper than Mobil 1, I too would go for it.

crazy97

iTrader: (1)

Anyone notice any mileage gains with the GC?

Bobo

You are a prime example of a little knowledge being dangerous!

Get on BITOG and read about the Esso Extra XD3. A number of BITOGers are going out of their way to acquire the Esso product and are no longer using Mobil 1. Esso XD3 shows superior VOAs and UOAs to that of Mobil 1 which is a thinner oil at operating temperatures and is susceptible to shearing.

The name of the company that makes Esso products is Imperial Oil, which is partially owned by Exxon. Imperial Oil is a separate public company trading on The Toronto Stock Exchange.

CCS2k1Max

iTrader: (2)

Speaking of "new German Castrol", I was at my local AZ last month checking things out and lo and behold, some n00bs to GC are just opening bottles to see if they are green... The front GC bottle was open and the batch code wasn't even close, M0536xxx; December 05! When the time comes, I'm getting a case from the back.

Neither gains or losses. Odds are, it's all right foot dependent.

Torkaholic

Below are two links which should resolve the doubts regarding the distinct genetics of the Mobil-1 line and Esso XD3. Notice how Boron, Calcium, Phosphorous, and Zinc values are all different in these virgin oil analyses. Quite honestly, I don't know much about the XD3 product, but even if it is owned by the same folks who make M1, I don't see a why they'd necessarily kill it (or start filling the bottles with M1). There's already a plant somewhere that's tooled and calibrated to brew the stuff, and there are a lot of happy Canucks who are already choosing XD3 over M1 and the other products on the shelves. Why jeopardize a nice slice of the market? Anyway, here are the links to the VOAs (XD3 first, then M1/M1EP).

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/...;f=11;t=000338

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/...;f=11;t=000274

Bobo

XD3 is a heavy-duty oil for diesel applications, but it is also suitable for gasoline engines. However, it is not deemed to be an energy-conserving oil, although I have noticed no drop in fuel consumption, albeit I haven't put many miles on the OCI. I have noticed that the VQ comes to operating temperature faster with the 0w30 oil and my engine is silent.

SilverMax_04

I'm not certain why not being Canadian and not knowing about the details of Imperial Oil Company is dangerous -- but thanks for the info so that I can be "less dangerous." You learn something new every day that you keep your mind open to new ideas.

Esso used to be the name used by Exxon before they changed it so they could have a single name they could legally use in every state in the USA (previously they used the Humble Oil name outside of their SO area). They could only use the Esso name in certain east coast states because the name is associated with the old and dreaded "Standard Oil Company" of John D fame. There were other parts of the Supreme-Court-broken-up old Standard Oil that had much of the US covered with the legal use of the SO and Standard name: like Mobil (NY Standard), Chevron (Cal Standard), SOHIO (Standard of Ohio), Amoco (Standard of Indiana), and Standard of Kentucky. And for completeness, Esso was actually Standard Oil of NJ. Each of these "Standard Companies" was independent (at the time the Exxon name was picked) and had the legal use of the Standard (and SO) name in more than one state (except for SOHIO). All of that is pretty much gone now with all of the recent mergers in the oil business. Guess the Standard (or SO) name still has some market power in Canada for a partially owned Exxon company to still use it.

Bobo

Thanks for the history lesson.