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RE: Castrol's recommendations for engine oil

To: "'Bob Haskell'" <rchaskell@earthlink.net>, "'healeylist'"
Subject: RE: Castrol's recommendations for engine oil
From: "Chris Masucci" <csooch1@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 21:31:22 -0500
Funny, #1 and #7 are oils rated for modern turbo Diesels, with narrow flat
tappet cams and extremely high pressures.  Both of those oils are rated for
a minimum 10K miles or 1 year change interval on a diesel.  The BMW rated
oil is good for 30K miles using Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, which until
recently, was only available in Europe.  The USA switched last fall.  I
suggested Mobil Delvac 1 (now called Turbo Diesel Truck), Rotella T blue
bottle, or other synthetic TDI rated oil 6 months ago.

Besides, you are all aware that the way that modern oils and their additives
are processed make the measurable quantity of any one additive largely
meaningless.  Two different oils, with the same baseline quantity of Zinc,
may react very differently in use.  Many react to heat and depend on what
chelator or ligand was used to process that additive.  Look it up.

In the interest of brevity, I will only include a link to a post by someone
that knows a lot more about oils than I do.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=1669806&postcount=93

I'll just stick with diesel rated synthetics, and change it once a year in
the Healey.

Cheers,
Chris
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-healeys@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-healeys@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Bob Haskell
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 8:13 PM
To: healeylist
Subject: Castrol's recommendations for engine oil

I sent an email into Castrol about our concerns with the new GF-4 oils 
(reduced levels of Zinc / ZDDP).  Here is the response:


Castrol is aware of articles in enthusiast magazines and web-sites, as well
as after-market parts manufacturer discussions concerning GF-4 engine oils
and cam-shaft durability issues in older performance vehicles. Some
consumers suspect the lower level of ZDDP in GF-4 oils may be causing these
failures.  Castrol is currently investigating this issue.

For those consumers that wish not to use a GF-4 oil in these vehicles,
Castrol does offer the following products that contain Zinc at a level that
is typical of the Zinc level found in oils (API SG) marketed during the
"muscle car" era of time:

The following Castrol products have Zinc levels that are typical of API SG
oil:

1. Castrol SYNTEC 5W-40
2. Castrol Grand Prix 4T 10W-40 (product has been replaced by Castrol
    Motorcycle 4T 10W-40)
3. Castrol Grand Prix 4T 20W-50 (product has been replaced by Castrol
    Motorcycle 4T 20W-50)
4. Castrol GO! ATV 10W-40
5. Castrol GO! ATV 20W-50
6. Castrol TWS Motorsport 10W-60 (full synthetic, available @ BMW
    dealerships)
7. BMW Long Life 5W-30 (full synthetic, available @ BMW dealerships)
8. Castrol GO! 10W-40 Motorcycle Oil
9. Castrol GO! 20W-50 Motorcycle Oil

We do recommend you use these oils in your classic cars, however we do not
recommend using automotive oils in your motorcycle.  Since these oils meet
all the specifications of classic cars they are completely safe to use in 
an automobile.

If installing a new performance cam in an older performance vehicle, it is
important to:
     * follow the installation recommendations provided by the cam
    manufacturer
     * use the recommended cam break-in lube
     * prime the engine oil circuits
     * use the recommended engine oil
     * confirm valve train geometries prior to starting the engine with the
    new cam

Castrol Consumer Relations


FWIW,

Bob




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