Not to change the subject, but I had a machinist who was against using Castrol in "American" engines. He said it didn't provide sufficient lubrication and was designed more for hi revving foreign engines. I'd like to hear feedback on this subject, as I have little faith in this builder.

 

We've been using castrol in our 302 for years. We've put ~80k miles on it ourselves and haven't had any issues in that amount of time.

 

He didn't know what he was talking about.

 

I remember in the 70s and 80s, where Castrol's advertisements were aimed at high RPM'ed, Turbo, tight tolerences in 4 cylinder engines. Yet, I never heard where it was not suitable for a v-6 or v8, with it's correct viscosity / climate? Castrol always had correct, SAE / API ratings for the era? I have not used Castrol GTX in quite some time, however, I see nothing wrong with this oil. I am not an engine builder, either, but this is the first I've heard of this "issue" with Castrol GTX. Just my $.02

 

I never used castrol gtx. My dad swore by it the last fifteen years of his life. He switched to it after he had some Quakerstate gum up in a 79 probably due to his neglectful oilchange habits. In those fifteen years he never had an oil related problem and he used castrol in everything. I would say castrol must be pretty good dads oil change intervals were downright scary.

 

any modern oil SL or SM will meet the needs of all engines as long as the correct weight is used. Oils have come a long way in the last 3 years and the gum up issues most companies had in the 70's and 80's are long gone.

 

So you're saying that as long as you use a 5w20 oil where the manufacturer recommends 5w20, they're all be fine? IOW, it doesn't really matter as long as you use 5w20?

 

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YES, as long as the oil has the correct certification for the API "doughnut" symbol, and the starburst symbol, "For Gasoline Engines Only".
I prefer to use a brand name oil, but house brand oils usually are just fine as well, and offer excellent engine protection. NAPA Motor Oil, etc.

Semi-Synthetics and Full Synthetics are fine too. Yes, they cost more, but what is a synthetic oil protecting? The moving parts of your engine, which in a car right off the dealership showroom, or a trusted rusted, winter car, the engine is your most expensive piece of equipment. Treat it well!

Also, since dino oils are much more expensive per quart, as compared to oils 5-10 years ago, the difference in price between the two lubricants has narrowed, considerably.

 

Isn't that what all oils do?

 

At last, ford390gashog and Ed, you guys are absolutely right! I just shake my head when I read about all these snake oil concoctions and mixing of oils to get the correct blend and weight of oils that people use.

 

What he says is correct. Buying established name brand dino juice is a waste of money. Any house brand that meets the SL or SM spec is fine. Have been using Supertech for 10+ years on over 6 different new cars and all has been fine and shown normal wear. Humans are creatures of habit and most marketing is done to reflect what are parents bought and we grow up having a brand affinity to certain brands. Breaking that is hard to do for most people.

 

I gotta tell you, you guys have been a great help. I just bought an f-150 a couple months back and am looking to learn about cars so I can take care of it instead of bringing it to the shop. That being said, I have no clue about cars or anything. Before I joined this site, I thought oil was oil and didn't even know about viscosities or climates. This thread has been a huge help.
-Dan

 

Castrol is a s good as any on the market providing it is the oil speced for your application. The only problem I have with Castrol is that they don't make the oils distributed in the USA. They source it from others so there could be a problem. From batch to batch, you never know exactly what you are going to get. While they do test each batch, if the testing is not done at the beginning, middle, and end of the run, the oil can fall out of spec somewhere in between and fall back into spec before the run is over. Since they aren't doing the run, they have no assurances that the entire run is to spec. It can happen- ask Mobil. They got hammered for out of spec oil yet the sampling showed otherwise. There's more to oil than you want to know.