I use Castrol GTX Synthetic? Any other opinions?

I buy the chevron oil from Costco... 10W30!! woohoo...
I also use 87 Octane from Arco and still no probs!
56K & Running strong.

You need to go Motul.

I use Castrol GTX Synthetic? Any other opinions?

Can o worms...but, I run amsoil 5w30.

After having some problems with Mobil1 5/30, I'm switching my STi to Amsoil 10/30. I was having a problem with oil consumption that the dealer wasn't really keen on helping with.

So, for the last 1000 miles I've been running 10/30 Valvoline dino oil, and am switching to Amsoil on Friday. The oil consumption has all but stopped with the Valvoline (presumably due to using a heavier weight) and the idle has smoothed out tremendously just in the last few hundred miles. Hopefully the Amsoil 10/30 will help even more.

Mobil 1 5w30.....not a drop consumed

I buy the chevron oil from Costco... 10W30!! woohoo...
I also use 87 Octane from Arco and still no probs!
56K & Running strong.
rofl lmfao, i hope your joking hahahaha but its so teh funnay

but seriously for turbo cars 10w-30 mobil 1 is teh bestast! use them on all 3 of our wrx and stis keeps the ring landings seals lubricated under high boost pressure

Mobil 1 5w30.....not a drop consumed

same here

But in about 2 months I got a long road trip, S. Texas to central CA through some pretty hot spots, so to help my engine out, I'm switching to the Motul 300 stuff. Pretty expensive, but I figure it'll be worth it for the trip.

Mobil1 5w30, no oil consumed, 13k on motor.

This probably should be in the Maintenance Forum. I'm going to post a question I'm wondering about anyway...

What about Royal Purple 10W40 or 10W30? Anybody using that or their Racing 41 oil? The Racing 41 oil is supposed to be good for at least 6000 miles with a change of the filter at 3K (though I would never run it that long). Here's their description:

Racing 41 is designed for marine, oval track and endurance car racing. Capable of withstanding long intervals of extreme heat, it works especially well with alcohol and methanol. It is extremely popular in sprint cars, late models and World of Outlaws racing. Viscosity of a 10W40 Oil.

Just curious if anybody is running or has run either...

Yep wrong forum. To specifically answer your question though (I'm feeling generous today):

The BEST oils on the planet are:

Mobil 1 Delvac
Lubrication Engineers 8530

Want to know why? Search on www.bobistheoilguy.com and find out for yourself.

Yep wrong forum. To specifically answer your question though (I'm feeling generous today):

The BEST oils on the planet are:

Mobil 1 Delvac
Lubrication Engineers 8530

Want to know why? Search on www.bobistheoilguy.com and find out for yourself.

Thanks for the info una. I'll check that site out. Still wondering if I can get a review from anybody using Royal Purple oils...

UNA....what about the Shell Helix? At $80 a quart it better be the best. 400 Enzos couldn't be wrong?

Price don't mean poop with oil, those two are still better. :)

The Mobil1 Delvac seems to have a fair number of fans as the "best commonly available and reasonably priced" synthetic.

Not much info on BITOG (or anywhere else on the web) about the Lubrication Engineers 8530. What makes you think it's something special?

I just switched to mobil 1 from regular stuff! No issues. 49K

rofl lmfao, i hope your joking hahahaha but its so teh funnay

but seriously for turbo cars 10w-30 mobil 1 is teh bestast! use them on all 3 of our wrx and stis keeps the ring landings seals lubricated under high boost pressure

Yeah, I was kidding about the gas... but I was being cheap on my first oil change. I only have 4600 miles on it so far.. not even close to 50K :-)

Only the best gas for my beast.

There is no such oil as Castrol GTX synthetic. ;) The best Castrol is German Castrol Syntec 0W30 found in the U.S. only at Autozone. It's has it's own forum at bobistheoilguy, posted above.

Also check that board for Royal Purple in the Used Oil Analysis forum. A WRX owner there uses it.

-Dennis

Not much info on BITOG (or anywhere else on the web) about the Lubrication Engineers 8530. What makes you think it's something special?

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=187689

This link is from "the Unabomber of the S2000 crowd" and is a (now) former tribologist. Lubrication Engineers oil is what every car manufacturer uses when they send their cars to the EPA to get MPG testing. I used to have the proof link on that statement, but lost it. Their oils are a blend of regular and synthetic oil with a ceramic additive. It's really good stuff with an insane TBN number when new. TBN is the indicator of your oil being "good". Most companies start out with a TBN of around 6-8. Lubrication Engineers oils start out with a TBN of like 14. :eek:

Interesting. Seems to me that the LE oils, like the Delvac, derive their praise from the additive package, rather than from the underlying oil. Basically, they take a very average base--not even a full synthetic in the case of LE--and pump it up with additives. That strategy should produce good protection for very long drain intervals under normal conditions. That makes sense, since both oils are primarily aimed at the diesel/industrial engine market.

But what happens when conditions aren't normal? Would either of these oils really be a good choice for a high performance engine pushed to it's limits? A guy pushing 450+HP might want to sacrifice long drain intervals for short term protection.

Is there really a "best" oil for every application? Probably not. Some guys drive their stock Subarus 20k+ miles a year. For those guys a high TBN and all sorts of low friction additives might be just the ticket for more economical running with adequate protection. For a committed track whore or highly tuned engine, however, the requirements might be different.

Your thought process is probably correct. I'm no tribologist, or whatever those oil dorks call themselves, but I'd agree that a racer wouldn't want or need additives. Oh well, I just use Mobil1 regular stuff because it's cheap and easy to get. :)

Racing 41 is designed for marine, oval track and endurance car racing. Capable of withstanding long intervals of extreme heat, it works especially well with alcohol and methanol. It is extremely popular in sprint cars, late models and World of Outlaws racing. Viscosity of a 10W40 Oil.

Just curious if anybody is running or has run either...

I'm running the 5w30 Royal Purple High Performance synthetic in my STi. I like the results so far. I feel confident that it has helped shave .05-.10 off of my e.t.

As far as running the Racing Oils from Royal Purple I'd feel leary doing that because they contain so much esther, which can cause sludging in day-to day traffic. Remember Racing Oil is designed for WOT operation and extreme temperature all the time.

My father runs Racing 21 in his race car, and we routinely service it. There is always lots of sludge in the pan, but the overall appearance of bearings ,cylinders wall,etc is incredible. Bearing life has gone up 10fold. I'd stick with their High Performance Street oils and you'll be happy, unless you're really running a track only vehilce with regular motor service.

they contain so much esther, which can cause sludging in day-to day trafficWhen you post something which contradicts common knowledge, you should include a reference.

^
Has had several UOA's performed on several vehicles driven in all types of conditions with oils that contain lots o' esters. :)

-Dennis

When you post something which contradicts common knowledge, you should include a reference.

I apologize for being unclear, but I was just stating what I have seen with high content Ester oil. Ester creates chlorine and acids which are harmful to metals over time and I would not want this is an engine that does not see the light of day internally for upward of 100K Miles. Whenever we service a racing engine having run either Torco MPZ or Royal Purple there is a high level of chlorine fumes present in the shop. These motors are completely serviced and washed from top to bottom before reassembly.


This quote is straight from Selexsorb, a company that manufacturers oil filtration for hydraulic applications such as found on injection molding machines, something I work with on daily basis at my job.

“Elevated acid levels of greater than .1mg KOH are considered to be excessive for phosphate ester fluid and can lead to short fluid life. AN is the most important parameter to use when evaluating the condition of phosphate ester oil. High AN drastically decreases the fluid resistivity value and this can contribute to wear. In addition, chlorine content in excess of 20ppm, caused by chlorinated solvents (i.e. silicone, fuel,etc), add to the problem. This produces harmful salts that can degrade the fluid and create deposits on metal surfaces. Selexsorb® GT is a patented filter media specifically designed to filter phosphate ester fluids. The disadvantage of Selexsorb® GT is that it cannot be used with old phosphate ester fluid. This causes a "jelling" resulting in clogged filters and the requirement to add new oil.”

Jelling referring to sludging, of course all oil will sludge over time, but I guess I should have been more specific. The elevated levels of Chlorine are my main concern with running pure racing oil on the street. Another disadvantage I see is the fact racing oils do not reach the temperature of regular oil thereby retaining more moisture and in conjunction with chlorine create a dangerous mix IMO.

Being new I tend to shy away from the purely technical and give opinion only, o.k. here’s a little of both.

And just to be clear I think the "High Performance" Royal Purple Oil is the cat's ass! :D

TestPilot, if your contentions are true, why would Royal Purple recommend people use their racing oils in highly modified street cars? It seems they would just direct people to their high performance oils for street cars and direct people with cars that are only for the track to their racing oils. Same money for their sales dept either way, right? They aren't in the business of pulling wool over their customer's eyes so they can sell some race oil to people with street cars even though the racing oil could harm the street car engines.

Quote from their FAQs...

Can I use racing oils in my street car?

Yes. Royal Purple's racing oils are formulated with detergents / dispersants necessary for daily use. The heavier grades (i.e. 21, 41 and 51) may be used in street driven applications. However, Royal Purple's racing oils do not conform to API and / or ILSAC licensing requirements and should not be used when vehicle warranty is an issue.

I was curious about the answer to this FAQ question, so I called their customer service. Spoke to a guy and told him year, make, model of my car and my modifcations (including methanol injection and a larger turbo) and also that I only track the car occasionally. He recommended Racing 41. So, I specifically asked - since this is a racing oil, won't it break down quicker and need more frequent oil changes if I use it in a regularly driven street car? His answer was that he would recommend using Racing 41 for 6000 mile intervals between changes and to change the filter every 3000 miles. So, oil experts, should I try the Racing 41 (though I would still stick to 3000 mile intervals between changes)?

If your contentions are true, why would Royal Purple recommend people use their racing oils in highly modified street cars?

I don't think they're trying to deceive you!

Again just stating my experience, we run VP C-25 and have found high levels of Chlorine fumes and slight sludge (which over time would create a lot). Our motor is also dry sumped, open up the tank and you'll smell it. Most racers will change their oil every race. I'm happy with the high performance RP. Since I'm happy with both types of Royal Purple in different applications, why would I want to put them down.

Try and report back!

Regarding the issues with your motor, do think the fuel getting into the oil could have something to do with it?

Otherwise, I'm not finding any confirmation of what you're saying. Doing a quick search, none of the ester based motor oils (RP, Motul, Redline, Neo) use a phosphate ester base stock. The only place I can find phosphate esters are in hydraulic fluid.

Regarding the issues with your motor, do think the fuel getting into the oil could have something to do with it?

Otherwise, I'm not finding any confirmation of what you're saying. Doing a quick search, none of the ester based motor oils (RP, Motul, Redline, Neo) use a phosphate ester base stock. The only place I can find phosphate esters are in hydraulic fluid.

Fuel, can definitley be an issue, but even stock engines will have fuel diluation into the oil. ;)

As far as our engine is concerned there's is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It even runs a vacuum pump to create better ring seal, eliminate oil contamination into the combustion chamber and free up H.P. lost to windage. It pulls about 20" of vacuum. It was specifically built to run on vacuum, before someone yells, bandaid.

I'm just stating what I have found/seen with Racing Oils in race motors.

Yes I stand corrected on the phosphate ester not being present in non-hydraulic oil.

The best Castrol is German Castrol Syntec 0W30 found in the U.S. only at Autozone. It's has it's own forum at bobistheoilguy, posted above.
+1 I've got GC in my STi's sump right now :D

I don't think they're trying to deceive you!

Again just stating my experience, we run VP C-25 and have found high levels of Chlorine fumes and slight sludge (which over time would create a lot). Our motor is also dry sumped, open up the tank and you'll smell it. Most racers will change their oil every race. I'm happy with the high performance RP. Since I'm happy with both types of Royal Purple in different applications, why would I want to put them down.

Try and report back!

I will try it out and let you know. Basically, I'm going to be judging on amount of oil burned. Right now I'm not burning much oil at all - maybe half a quart every 3000 miles. I think my mpg won't be a good comparo since my driving habits are very erratic. Should I do anything else to compare both?

use Redline oil! only if you want, but i suggest redline

3rd vote for German Castrol Synthetic 0w30.

Extremely good wear characteristics, does not thin out or have consumtion issues like Mobil1.

Winter: Castrol Synthetic 0w30.
Summer: Motul 300V 0w40
Gas: not under 98oct

I might be a newb but 0w 40, isn't that thinner than the 5w? Won't a thinner oil add to consumption?

No, the last number is the thickness at operating temp, both are 30. In addition, there is some variance between manufacturers within the range, and the Castrol is thicker at temp than the Mobil1, closer to 40 weight. Also, the 0 weight means that it will flow better in the cold, so it is better for your engine at startup in the winter. Lastly, UOA's have shown that the GC does not shear up nearly as much as the Mobil1 by the end of it's life (5k or so), so it is protecting better then too. :)