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New Oil available for our cars

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Ed_K

Ed_K

Jedi Knight
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In the last month or so, I read that Castrol was going to produce a new oil that is specifically made for classic cars. I cannot remember where I read this so please forgive me if it was posted here. I didn't find any mention of it using the forum search.
... I saw a picture of it on the web so I stopped by wally world on my way home from work today to see if it was on the shelves yet.
Not only was some on the shelves, but there was only 5 quarts of it left. There was an empty spot on the top shelf where the extra unopened cases would go if there were any left !
This is Castrol syntec 20w-50 and there is a little window on the front of the container that says " for use in classic cars ".
The label said " contains additional levels of additives to prevent solid tappet wear " or something close to that. It also said " not for use in cars made after 1993 ". All I can say is
that I am now going to try synthetic oil for the very first time in any car that I have or had.
This is $ 5.97 per quart. The regular Castrol 20w-50 is $2.97 per quart so this stuff will cost exactly twice as much as dino oil. I spoke to a coworker who uses synthetic oil in everything he has and says that you should leave it in the car for at least 6,000 or you are wasting money as it is supposed to last longer than dino oil. If this is true then buying and using this new Castrol syntec is a no brainer, even for me. Is it reasonable to expect to go 6,000 miles between oil changes using this new syntec ? Has anyone used this new oil yet ?
Ed
 
I stopped by the local NAPA dealer today and asked it he could get this oil. He took my number and is checking. If he gets an affirmative I'll let the forum know that NAPA has access.
Charlie
 
I have no experience at all with synthetic oil. I don't want to wear out something in my engine by mistake. Is 6000 miles a reasonable interval before an oil change in our cars ? If not, what would you recommend using this synthetic oil ?
Thanks,
Ed
 
Oil gets contaminated, corrosion inhibitors get used up, etc. A good share of the contamination & acid formation happens during cold starts. A car that is started from cold a lot & makes short trips, will need the oil changed more frequently than it would with fewer starts & longer trips. 6,000 miles between changes could be reasonable for the long trips car, 3,000 might be better for the severe duty cold start, short trip engine.

How much is your engine worth to save $40 on longer oil change intervals. All a matter of what you are comfortable with. There are as many opinions as there are car owners.
D
 
Thanks Dave.

I am not " comfortable " at all with knowing what is reasonable with synthetic oil.
:confuse:

Ed
 
Smokey Yunick wrote a treatise for Circle Track magazine a few years ago about Synthetic oils. In it he states it is a far better lubrication for competition engines, AND street engines.

He said one of the best features for street engines is that it can go at least two oil change intervals before changing it. I respect Smokey's statements about mechanical things...


FWIW, HTH
 
I thought that adding ZDDPlus gave the newer oils the additives our older engines were accustomed to. Many claim that these additives are only required to break in a newer engine.

I do not know the answer, but one bottle per oil change gives me peace of mind.

https://www.zddplus.com/
 
Very interesting thread, Ed. I have been using Mobil One for many years in my daily drivers with no ill effects at all. On one occasion I had an issue with a Chevy engine that required a mechanic to "go in there". The engine had over 100K miles on it and had been on synthetic since the break-in period (there are many opinions on proper break-in time before going to synthetic in a new engine, but I use 15K for my cars). I asked the mechanic to check the bearings, etc. for wear while he was in there and he reported to me that the engine was "like new" inside. This was on a 79 Caprice wagon and I have been using synthetic ever since and am very happy with it - and I routinely keep my cars to around 200K before replacing.
Now, I tried synthetic with my 65 BJ8 a few years ago and noticed that my idling oil pressure was a bit lower after a half hour or so driving - to the low end of "OK".... This bothered me a bit so I thought about it a lot and during this time coincidentally a fella on the "Healey List" wrote a thread about Penrite oil for older classic cars and how these oils were formulated for the older engine designs. I decided to give Penrite classic oil a try and ordered some Penrite. I am happy to report that my oil pressure "issues" completely dissappeared and went back to excellent normal levels. I have been using Penrite since and am very happy with it, but I don't use the car all that much unfortunately, so I change the oil at much more frequent intervals than the routine 3K.
Regarding synthetic oil I have been following the following change procedure on my cars: I break in the engine with dino oil and then go to synthetic - I use Mobil 1 - then change the oil filter at about 3K, top up the oil level and then replace the oil and filter at 7500 miles, and so on. The reason I do this is to make sure the suspended particulate matter is being filtered out efficiently and the filter is not getting clogged with matter and the oil going through the bypass route (I use a high quality filter, too) - the synthetic oil does not develop the same acids, etc. and break down with heat that dino oil does so it is able to run longer oil change intervals, but it makes sense to me to change the filter more often.
 
Ed,
The local NAPA dealer called me back with this information. His Castro rep stated the new "Classic Car" 20w50 Syntec is the same as the current 20w50 Syntec. They (Castro) are repackaging it to reflect the ZDDP needed for older cars. As the old packaging is sold off, the new will replace it. NAPA will carry it.
Charlie
 
Hi Charlie,
This is getting interesting. The only reason that I am ready to try this new Castrol 20w-50 on my next oil change is all because of the " advertised and labeled on the container " ZDDP content. I was on the verge of buying a case of the ZDDP plus and then simply add some in with dino castrol 20w-50 during my next oil change, when I ran across the mention of this " new " synthetic Castrol 20w-50 " for classic cars " on the web. It is advertised and labeled with the ZDDP content which is NOT being labeled or advertised by any other automotive motor oil maker that I was able to find. So if the guy at the Napa store was correct saying " the oil always had ZDDP they are just changing the packaging " , that may help us classic car owners in the long run. When Castrol starts gaining more market share with this oil, the other companies will eventually notice and then also start labeling and then marketing one of their oils that already contains some ZDDP with the ZDDP content. Sooner or later, one of these companies will start to label one of their DINO OILS with the ZDDP content. Then we will be back to " normal " when we are purchasing a motor oil for our old cars. My advice to all of us is to buy Castrol syntec 20w-50 exclusively so we can help start the market forces to change the availability of ZDDP labeled motor oils for all of us . I thought that perhaps we as a group could not possibly make much of a market impact in purchasing one kind of oil, but then I remembered that there are many old cars out there besides our old LBCs and they were almost sold out of this oil at Walmart yesterday. They had plenty of other kinds of oils on the shelves.
I have been very slow to try synthetic motor oil because I am old fashioned, (" why fix it if it ain't broken "). But I think the time has come for me to try synthetic oil. I will be watching my oil pressure gage like a hawk until I get comfortable with this oil. .... Your opinion may vary .
:thumbsup: :cheers:

Ed
 
Some Mobil 1 oils like the 15W-50 weight have higher phosphorus levels similar to Castrol. The Mobil website has several questions and answers on older engines, phosphorus and compatibility of synthetic oils. I found the info very informative. I think I'm going to switch to synthetic now that I've rebuilt my engine.
 
I have driven BMW's for years and have always used Mobil 1. I have a big Healey and an MGA that both have rebuilt engines. I would like to use synthetic, but fear that the inherent oil leaking of these engines would cause a problem. Would like to hear from members who have, and have not, had issues with synthetic.

Ray
 
At Auto zone,today, they have an add for 5 qts high millage GTX including a Fram filter $15.99. Toss the filter and you are still ahead.
 
I had just read an article about ZDDP content in one of the trade publications, and it prompted me to look at the oil I was using. Not finding the ZDDP content value I was looking for, I contacted Castrol via a tech-help line.

This is their reply (confirming what others here have posted) followed by my inquiry.

Thank you for contacting Castrol North America,

The latest motor oil API SM/ILSAC GF-4 category calls for reduced Zinc and Phosphorus levels to allow extended catalyst life in current model vehicles. There appear to be field issues associated with the SM/GF-4 oil's level of anti-wear in the classic car engines or vintage care engines known as flat tappet cam engines. The current late model passenger car engines are not flat tappet cam engines and have no reported field issues related to the level of anti-wear chemistry in the SM/GF-4 oils.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Product Recommendations for Flat Tappet (Solid Lifter) Cam Engines:

Castrol Syntec 20W-50 (Recent reformulation identified by "Recommended for Classic Cars" text on back label) (min Zn = 0.12 = 1200 ppm)(full synthetic)</span>

Castrol Consumer Relations


From: randy@spcarsplus.com [mailto:randy__at__spcarsplus.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 2:49 PM
To: Castrol@Idea-Factor.com
Subject: CastrolUSA - Expert Advice Form Data

Subject: CastrolUSA - Expert Advice Form Data

Dear Online Customer Service,

DATE:
1/3/2009 2:48:35 PM

TITLE:
Mr.

FIRST NAME:
Randy

LAST NAME:
Forbes

EMAIL:
randy__at__spcarsplus.com

CATEGORY:
Gasoline Engine Oil

PHONE NUMBER:
(deleted)

ZIP CODE:
(deleted)

INQUIRY DETAILS:
Does Castrol 20w/50 GTX contain enough (.012% or 1200ppm) ZDDP for use in my older classic car/Austin-Healey 100/6? I have been using Castrol oil exclusively in all my cars since 1973, all my new(er) BMWs have Castrol oil specified (99 & 01 M Rdstrs and 08 535xi) and I'm very pleased about that! Thank you very much, Randy Forbes
 
I use castrol 20-50 in my BMW's as well,But I was warned that if you change from regular oil to synthetic oil,the seals in the motor could leak,that it is recommended to use partial{semi} synthetic first.This makes sense in that synthetic oil is supposed to penetrate better,if it can get by a previously sound seal,it must be giving better lubrication. So far I have no leaks ,bless those BMW engineers....For a Healey,it could be that NO seals will stay dry,since they are known to weep,but the superior lubrication is worth the expense.If you drive a Healey,you have a nice investment in it,is it worth a little extra $$ to keep it better? I personally don't go over 4000 miles between oil changes.Ever.
 
I put the fully synthetic 20-50 Classic Castrol in my BJ8 about 8 months ago and really like it. I drive my Healey about once a week, sometimes more and the oil pressure is much better. The car has not leaked any more than it did before the Castrol. It does mark it's spot with a few drops anywhere I park it and has since I have owned it. I bought a case of this oil when NAPA had it on sale and plan on using it at every oil change.
Charlie
 
I just checked my odometer and see that I have 6000 miles, ( probably 10 % higher than the actual miles ), on this 20w-50 Castrol syntec in the last 8 months. It has not leaked any more than dino oil used to leak in this amount of time. I have added 1/2 qt. or so total to keep it up to the full line during these 8 months.
I really like this oil because my oil pressure seems to be less likely to drop when the car is run hard in the hot weather. It never drops below 53 lbs. or so even when I drive the poo out of it on a hot day. When I pull the dipstick out and rub the oil between my fingers, it still feels very slick to the touch even after 6000 miles.
It is time for an oil and filter change and I plan on using this oil for as long as I am the " caretaker " of the Healey.
I should also mention that I have switched to 60w valvoline VR1 in the transmission and O/D for the same amount of miles. Ever since I did this, my overdrive has worked flawlessly ! Before using the 60w valvoline, the o/d would not engage on a hot day after a couple hours of driving.

Ed
 
Had my BN2 100-4 engine rebuilt several years past. Had a small oil leak between #2 and 3 head gasket before I sent it out. After rebuild I was told to use Mobile 1. Tried it and the leak reappeared. Some where I heard to start out with 30w and use sythentic after a couple of oil changes. Just purchased a 55 100-4 and found it leaked in the same place when cold but quickly went away. I know this is typical for this engine but I'm not sure I would try synthetic oils again.
 
Well my understanding of this problem is that the flat tappet engines are subject to cam, lifter and tappet failures after rebuild and during breakin. Engines that are well broken in do not exhibit the failures. Further, The stated zink content in the so called new oil is mot enough for me and I would add GM eoes or STP at each oil change if I weren't running Valvoline VR1.---Keoke
 
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