Should I try a newer oil? - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

bgd73 · 09-11-2009, 01:29 AM

Castrol EDGE?

I have an interesting history as mobil1 did not exist when my engine was made. Castrol plain and simple simply won.
Then it was castrol high mileage. As it turned out my engine did not need the modern equivelant of goop in a bottle, it does work if you have a seeping head.
I then tried syntec blend after many years of regular crap oil, and that was nice. I then went to mobil1 in its 22nd year and that took a few days of squeezing something watery gassy something, but very nice, my fuel went back to the high 40s. when the engine was put to trial from urethsne paint, flux core smoke, and the channels the engine sucks on from the unibody (strange but subaru true) the mobil1 simply let it burn.

The only problem left is..the engine loves 10w30, but the time it takes to get to WOT does not make 10w30 good. The boxer is a super lubed very very cold runner even with a racer ignition coil.That is where this next change in oil may come from.. does anyone use this castrol edge? It claims to have some thing called POA, a comlex chain that works wonders at low temps, and castrol claims it has 8 times the durability of mobil1. After the chemistry episode I went through, watching it burn, I still do not like mobil1. Should I try this claim? Assume extinct engine, all original, going on 23...

99LeCouch · 09-11-2009, 08:54 AM

You don't need any "fancy" oils. Even plain-Jane conventional oil will be fine. It's all SM-grade these days, which is light-years ahead of what your engine left the factory with 23 years ago.

The burning you noticed with Mobil 1 was likely the M1 de-sludging your engine a little bit. It has a tendency to do that the first use on old cars.

Castrol makes an decent oil, but they are the first to cheapen their products, then turn around to advertise how great their "invention" is. And Edge is over-priced compared to other common "synthetic" oils.

It's your money, do with it what you will.

RobertSmalls · 09-11-2009, 11:16 AM

The primary advantages I see to a synthetic are:

1. Lower cold viscosity for better FE, easier starting, better lubrication during warm-up. You can buy 0W30 instead of 5W30 or 10W30. Mix in some 0W40 if 0W30 is too thin.

2. Longer service interval. Saves time, offsets the higher price of the synthetic oil. Just don't run out between oil changes, as synthetic leaks and burns a little bit more readily.

Castrol Edge? Bah. I think they just needed a product priced higher than Castrol Syntec, to compete with Mobil1 Extended Performance.

bgd73 · 09-11-2009, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 99LeCouch

You don't need any "fancy" oils. Even plain-Jane conventional oil will be fine. It's all SM-grade these days, which is light-years ahead of what your engine left the factory with 23 years ago.

The burning you noticed with Mobil 1 was likely the M1 de-sludging your engine a little bit. It has a tendency to do that the first use on old cars.

Castrol makes an decent oil, but they are the first to cheapen their products, then turn around to advertise how great their "invention" is. And Edge is over-priced compared to other common "synthetic" oils.

It's your money, do with it what you will.

very realistic answer, I stayed with regular stuff a long time. Syntec did something amazing, and pondered going to what they may call the best. It is rather steep in cost, having a low consumption engine is a good idea to even think of it.
since synthetic, the pressure reliefs are rheostatical type fluid right by subaru manuals to function, the engine kicks open all of them in the cold, and stays at 65psi a long time...right by the book and more than a hint of very very lubed. My only problem left was this cold temp oil and waiting on a super lubed engine..staying cold longer...
I may try by the quart, as mixing and matching the castrols is another bonus to try thing out.

oil sincerely has to work miracles. I can't even remember how many times I have heard the undersides of a couple of thousand cars..and knew what oil they put in as a fresh change (that happens after that many hours and cars as a pitman). Its more than goo in a bottle folks...

99LeCouch · 09-11-2009, 10:58 PM

It's not Syntec, it's any modern synthetic oil that would have done the same thing. They have a lot of cleaning power since they're better-made than dino oils. Although modern dino is fantastic stuff too.

I'm convinced that oil is at the point where it's shades of excellence. There's truly no such thing as a poor-quality SM-spec oil these days. Even the cheap stuff will still go 5k miles, and the expensive stuff will go 10, 15, 25k without breaking down.

gone-ot · 09-12-2009, 06:23 PM

...in addition to the "life" of the oil itself, there's also the question of the "lives" of the various additives...when they're 'used up' that's when the oil is really no longer useful.

99LeCouch · 09-12-2009, 08:31 PM

Quite true. The lives of the additives determine the life of the oil.

some_other_dave · 09-14-2009, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 99LeCouch

...There's truly no such thing as a poor-quality SM-spec oil these days. ...

There is definitely argument about that. A lot of people are claiming that the low levels of ZDDP mandated by the SM spec are actually damaging flat-tappet solid-lifter engines. The ZDDP (a zinc compound) is a high-pressure ant-wear additive, and has been reduced in the interest of lower Zn emissions. There is evidence that at least some older engines are wiping cam lobes and/or lifter faces due in large part to the smaller amounts of ZDDP in their oil.

It does not seem to be an issue with most modern engines, happily.

...I have also heard that Royal Purple is a very expensive oil that isn't very good. One Honda guy referred to it as "Purple Sludge".

-soD

RobertSmalls · 09-14-2009, 08:25 PM

But these people are only saying that the older SL spec oil is better than SM for obsolete engines. Not that a bottles of Brand-X SM oil are better than a barrel of Brand-Y SM oil.

99LeCouch · 09-14-2009, 09:01 PM

Fortunately most engines these days aren't flat-tappet engines. The remaining flat-tappet engines are generally older, high-horsepower powerplants. So their owners aren't going to run any old oil in them, I hope.

My statement still stands true that from a certain point of view, there are no poor-quality SM-spec oils today. Yes, some will last a lot longer and are constructed much better, but it's in shades of quality ranging from adequate for 6000 miles to overkill for 20,000 miles between changes. For the average car owner who changes their oil every 5-6k, there's no difference which SM-spec oil they use. Their cars will rust out or be junked long before they have engine problems solely responsible from the oil.