June,

Thanks heaps for that info. At first, I assumed that you missed the word "Blend" on the bottle. But if I read your post right, Castrol prints the word "Full" synthetic on their product? Shame on them.

Mineral oil can be processed to be very clean indeed (usually not) But no matter how many times you process it , it will alway retain certain very undesirable characteristics.

Synthectics on the other hand, are designed in the lab from scratch, they don't even start with a mineral base product and only desirable characteristics are formulated into the design.

They may be 4 or 5 times the price, but are 10 times the oil as compared to minerals.

BTW, I use Mobil 1

 

Thanks junehhan for the info, its no wonder no one trusts no one anymore, it seems like everything is a lie and its OK for it to be so , makes me want to puke. These places pick your pockets with false advertising and its all OK with them as long as they make a buck. I support anyone who blows the whistle on liars and cheats.

 

Thanks junehhan for the info, its no wonder no one trusts no one anymore, it seems like everything is a lie and its OK for it to be so , makes me want to puke. These places pick your pockets with false advertising and its all OK with them as long as they make a buck. I support anyone who blows the whistle on liars and cheats.

 

I am using Castrol Syntec currently in all three of my vehicles and our 4 wheeler. But finding this out makes me so mad I am thinking of going out this weekend and changing to Mobile 1 and never buying a Castrol product again. Besides Walmart has it on sale for $13.96 for 5 quart jugs of 5w30 and 10w30. I expected to be getting FULL SYNTHETIC lubercant. This will definitely switch me over to Mobil 1 products.

------------------
RED-ONE
Red/Silver '97 F150 4x4 SC Lariat LB, 5.4L, Auto, 3.55 LS, Grey Leather Buckets, Tow Package, Everything Else, 10 disk CD changer, K&N air cleaner with housing modification, True Dual Exhaust out the back with chrome tips, 36" glasspacks, Nerf Bars, Extang soft top cover, color matched front Bug Deflecter, window drip guards, cranked torsion bars, custom spring pack for rear, Michelin LTX A/T LT265/75/16.
5700lbs of rolling blue oval fun.

 

That's good. Doesn't this **** you off? I know I used to use Catrol Syntec from 30,000 miles to 40,000 miles because Syntec looked better on paper than Mobil 1 did. But I noticed that my oil was getting blacker more quickly than my oil does with Mobil 1 so I switched back to Mobil 1 at 40,000. This further proves that Castrol Syntec wasn't a synthetic. I really hate it when a company thinks they can screw you and get away with it. Please spread the word to everyone you know. My friend used Castrol Syntec from his first oil change on his Toyota 4Runner and he was absolutely pissed when I showed him this article. Let's prove to these companies that they won't lie and screw us.

------------------
June H. Han
jhan@tauruscarclub.com
1997 Taurus w/Duratec 3.0
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
K&N Filter
Superchip

 

Thanks for the info junehhan...would you happen to have an internet address with this study (VW TDI website) to look at...any additional information?

This is the first time I have heard of this complaint about Syntec oil. It is certainly "different" than regular Castrol GTX oil..it does not even smell like a petroleum based oil.

I am interested in finding out more about the information in your earlier post...if it is proven that Syntec is NOT a Synthetic oil..then I will switch to Mobil 1.

No matter what though, it is still superior than regular Castrol GTX...and I still plan on changing the engine oil every 3,000 miles.

Thanks for the info....

---------------------------------------------
2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II

 

Hi Dustoff, give me a couple days and i'm pretty sure i'll be able to convince you that Castrol has screw all of us consumer's. I originally came across this information last month but after a chat with a Castrol rep who kept telling me that Syntec is a full synthetic when it's not, that pissed me off and now I am spreading the truth that companies cannot go around lying to people to make a quick buck. I need a couple days to contact some of the old people and figure out which web site had what. Castrol Syntec is better than Castrol GTX because it has several additives that GTX doesn't have, but Syntec is a hydrocracked oil. What's worse is the fact that Castrol charges you $4 a quart for oil that isn't synthetic.

------------------
June H. Han
jhan@tauruscarclub.com
1997 Taurus w/Duratec 3.0
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
K&N Filter
Superchip
17 in Team Loco 143 Rims

 

Hey guys, okay, I found these articles and did some cut and pasting to prove to you guys
that Castrol is not a synthetic. I got most of these from www.tdiclub.com if you want to
read for yourself.
I'd like to thank Randy Williams for all his help. Randy has been a big help in not only helping to expose this dirty secret from Castrol but at the Taurus Car Club, giving us advice on mod's and stuff.

A HUGE WARNING about the Castrol Syntech brand of oil!!!

It is not a true synthetic, but more a badly labelled 'hydro-cracked' oil that has a bituminous
(natural) oil base, and just enough additives to meet the governments description for a
'synthetic'.

Castrol, who got the formula from Shell, was recently taken to court for false advertising by
Mobil for this very thing. However, the court ruled in favor of Castrol in that they didn't falsely
lead the public, but this does not erase the facts brought out in the case that Castrol's oil is
'barely' a synthetic.


OKay Gentlemen,

Here is the exact (as much as I can make it) article from the Oct. 1999 Hart's Lubricants
World on the Mobil/Castrol Synthetic debate.

It looks like Castrol has pulled one over on all of us.... Please pardon the typos this is
going to be rough.

"Synthetic. The word has become almost a proscription in the industr, especially among
scientific and technical organizations, such as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
and the American Petroleum Institute (API).
Ask a marketer of motor oil products formulated with hydroprocessed mineral oils, and you
might get a definition that involves cost-efficiencies and consumer choices. Ask an
engineer involved in manufacturing polyalphaolefins (PAOs) or esters, and compositions
might be the determiing factor. Despite the intese debate over the origins of synthetics, an
absolute definition has remained inlimbo for many years, with much of the responsibility
placed on base oil manufacturers and lubricant marketers.
It was only recently, in a decision by the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council
of Better Business Bureaus, that the first basic action an ruling in the United States set a
strong precedence for a broader description in the marketing of synthetics. In this first
installment of a two-part story, Lubricants World takes a look at the NAD's ruling and
explores the revivied debate surrounding the defintino of "synthetic".

In a ruling released in April 1999, the NAD addressed complaints filed by Mobil Oil Corp.
regarding the truthfulness of Castrol North America Inc.'s claim that its Syntec Provides
"superior engine protection" to all other motor oils, both synthetic and conventional, and
that Syntec's esters provide "unique molecular bonding." Mobil charged that the
advertisements inaccurately represented that the current formulation of Syntec is synthetic.
The challenge was filed based on statements Castrol made in a series of television
commercials, Web site publications, package labels, and brochures.
The NAD divided its decision to address three issues raised in the complaint. Is the
reformulated Syntec synthetic motor oil? Has Castrol substantiated its superiority claims?
Has Syntec been degraded?

The NAD determined that the evidence presented by the advertiser constitiutes a
reasonable basis for the claim that Castrol Syntec, as currently formulated, is a synthetic
motor oil. NAD noted that Mobil markets hyudroisomerized basestocks as synthetic in
Europe and elsewhere. NAD noted that the actions taken by the SAE to delete any
referance to "synthetic" in its description of basestocks in section J354 and API's
consequent removal of any mention of "synthetic" in API 1509 were decisions by the
industry not to restrict use of the term "syntetic" to the definition now profferred by Mobil.
Further, the SAE Automotive Lubricants Reference Book, an extensivley peer-reviewed
publication, states base oils made through the processes used to create Shell's
hudroisomerized basestock, severe cracking, and reforming processes may be marketed
as "synthetic".
Despite its prior ruling, the NAD advised that Syntec could not advertise a superior
protection claim.
The NAD determined that though Mobil presented clear evindence that Castrol has made a
major change to Syntec's formulation, it was not sufficient to demonstrate that Syntec has
been "degraded".
In a statement to Lubricants World, Castrol's legal counsel said,"The NAD's decision was
clearly correct. In accepting Castol's position on the appropriate defintion of a synthetic
basestock and concluding that Castrol Syntec is a fully synthetic oil, the NAD accepted
the overwhelming evidence Castrol presented, which included th opinions of leading
scienteist.. and statements from Shell, Exxon, and other industry sources. The NAD also
relied on the SAE's rejection of a restrictive definition of the type advanced by Mobil. In fact,
although it had the right to do so, Mobil did not attempt to appeal the NAD's decision."
Mark Sztenderosicz,a senior research engineer from Chevron Products Co.'s Base Oil
Technology Team, stated his company agreed with the NAD's decision. "We feel strongly,"
he said, "that 'synthetic' is a fairly broad term and a number of basestocks besides PAOs
fit the description. To the extent that the NAD came to a similar conclusion and was
unwilling to limit 'synthetic' to a narrow definition, we agree. We further agree wiht what we
consider to be a commonsense interpretation that consumers perceive the word 'synthetic'
to mean something manmade, but not made necessarily from a particular compound or
component."
Mobil contended that Castrol misleads consumers that Syntec is a fully synthetic motor oil
despite the fact that Syntec is no longer synthetic. The challenger alleged that after years
of manufacturing Syntec with PAO, Castrol replaced PAO, which had constituted nearly
70% of the volume of the product, with hydroprocessed mineral oil in approximately
December 1997. As a result of an independent laboratory test conducted by Savant Inc.,
Mobil maintained that samples of Syntec purchased in June and December 1997 contained
93% and 80% PAO. Other samples of Syntec, one purchased in December 1997 and four
purchased in 1998, contained no PAO, and instead contained 100% mineral oil.
Furthermore, Mobil alleged that Castrol degraded Syntec by substituting hydroprocessed
mineral oil for PAO to the detriment of the consumer. Even though Syntec was able to
meet the minimum industry standards, Mobil contended that in no way does it prove the
current Syntec is as good as it was when it was made with PAO.
Castrol defended its claim that Castrol Syntec is synthetic based on the nature of the
basestocks used in the formulation (Shell's hydroisomerized basestocks). This is
substantiated by the opinions of chemistry experts; authorities from Shell and Exxon; the
SAE's Automotive Lubricants Reference Book; a paper by Dr. Martin Voltz, a Mobil
scientist; and an independant motor oil expert. Castrol also contends that its data show the
current formulation of Syntec provides more protection than the old formulation and is, in
fact superior to Mobil 1, Mobils synthetic oil.
In response Mobils contention that Castrol deceived its consumers by not informing them of
the change in the formulation, the advertiser submitted a stated by Richard Kabel, a motor
oil expert. Kabel asserted that motor oil manumfacturers, including Mobil, rebularly make
changes in their formulations without disclosing these changes to consumers. He stated
that the industry certification and licensing program is designed to provide motor oil
manufacturers with the flexibility to modify their formulations as long as the oil continues to
meet industry standards."

Sorry folks, this is too much all at once. I'll type more tomorrow. There's four more pages to
type.

Anybody think that pure mineral oil will do a good job protecting your engine at 200F or that
it will be friendly to your 'extremely warm' turbo bearings, even with 30 seconds of cool
down time??? I think not. I am not one for semantics and this is pure legalese to me. It is
mineral oil, and that is that.

Greetings,

While the hunt for the Oct. issue of Hart's Lubricants World continues in earnest, here is
what I got from an Amsoil Jobber that I know who is fortunate enough to have access to the
magazine.

"FYI, According to Mobil oil company, Castrol has been selling their full
synthetic Syntec for the last two years, with nothing in the bottle but
100% petroleum oil. Not a single ingredient that can be defined as
synthetic in any stretch of the imagination. This information just came out
in Hart's Lubricant World magazine. They, as well as, other oil companies,
are using what is called a hydrocracking process to further refine the
crude oil from the ground and calling it a synthetic because it comes close
to meeting some of the parameters that synthetic oil meets. I suggest you
get a copy of this article ASAP and show it to your garages and quick
lubes, especially the ones that handle Castrol products. This in my
opinion, is a simple bait and switch move by a large corporation. It is
also fraud in my opinion and I hope this really bites them in the behind.
I called my Castrol Xpress lube center and told him about what they have
been doing and got quite a response. The owner is pulling all his Syntec from
his stock and making Castrol take it back and also upped his Amsoil stock
levels. He along with his manager said they will never sell another quart
of a misrepresented Castrol product. This just is indicative of what
motivates most synthetic marketers to begin with. We as Amsoil dealers know
that people who use synthetics do so because of the perceived protection
they are getting and won't settle for a cheapened product. This has been
evidenced by the success of our series 2,000 line. Castrol has severely under estimated
why people use synthetics. This
could really be a God send for our market once this information gets out
to the general public. I will be giving a copy of this article to our local
paper and hopefully they will publish part of it. You all should look at sources in your local
area to get the message out. If you post anything on any chat rooms on the internet, be
careful to quote the article from Lubricants World and not your words..... "


Mickey, I'm getting the feeling from a lot of people now (most whom have at least seen the
article) that your previous explosive flame of Castrol 'Syn-Lie' was right on target..... This is
just foul.

Gentlemen,

The article posted above is all of a sudden very difficult to get a hold of. I am trying, but not
having much success. However I have heard from an Amsoil jobber following the case
closely that Chevrolet has just pulled the Castrol Syntec from the list of acceptable oils to
be used in the Corvette.


------------------
June H. Han
jhan@tauruscarclub.com
1997 Taurus w/Duratec 3.0
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
K&N Filter
Superchip
17 in Team Loco 143 Rims

 

I am thourly pissed also I sent castrol an email about how they are deceiving the public, I told them that I am switching my oil(amsoil) and will never recommend their product to anyone. I have also spread the word about this to 3 other messge boards.

here is amsoil's test of there synthetic
Four Ball Wear Test (ASTM D4172: 40 kgf, 150° C, 1800 rpm, 1 hr) Scar diameter, mm 0.39

mobil1 is 1.47 mm

 

junehhan,

Thanks for your reply..I will check out your link very soon and any additional info you post.

I was at Wal Mart this evening and noticed the huge price difference between Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic and Castrol Syntec. I went ahead and bought the 6 pack of MOBIL 1 and will be switching at the next oil change. The price is much better, Mobil 1 is a 'true' Synthetic without question, and many other F-150 owners on this board have been using it and recommend it.

Screw Castrol...I have been using their GTX oil for many years in my cars/recently in my F-150s..it is a very good oil...however...if they are going to mislead the public about their product..then they will lose my business for sure.

Thanks again for the info..I still want to find out all that I can about this...

--------------------------------------------
2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II

 

Hi Dustoff, in the weblink I posted earlier, goto the forum section and then goto the oil section. There is a fairly lengthy argument about this issue. This is not cool what Castrol has done to us.

------------------
June H. Han
jhan@tauruscarclub.com
1997 Taurus w/Duratec 3.0
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
K&N Filter
Superchip
17 in Team Loco 143 Rims

 

I'm not sure that I trust any of the big oil companies. That's why I am going to stick with Redline full synthetic oils - raced every weekend.

------------------
99 XLT 4X4 Reg Cab, Sport Package, 4.2 with 5 speed, 265/70/17 tires, 3.55 axle, 4 wheel discs and 4 wheel ABS, K&N air filter, a Dynamax Race Magnum muffler and a Kenwood CD stereo system.

 

Hi, Redline is a very good oil, however, redline isn't going to be a good oil if you live in cold area's since some of the racing oils on the market such as redline and royal purple do not flow as easily as mobil or any other decent synthetic oils. However, the benefit is superior protection once the engine is warm. In friction test according to a study I came across, the best oils in friction tests are

1. Synergyn
2. Royal Purple
3. Redline
4. Mobil 1
5. Torco

In this class, Mobil 1 flow much faster and easily on cold starts, but the top 3 oils are superior in protecting against friction especially if you drive extremely hard and abuse you car since those oils were designed as racing oils. Amsoil wasn't included in this test but Amsoil equals Mobil 1 in some area's, and surpasses mobil 1 in other area's but I can't comment on it since I don't know much about Amsoil. Now, since you state you race every weekend, then an oil like Redline or Synergyn would be much better for you since you race, but those oils probably wouldn't be very good if you got caught in a very cold area.

------------------
June H. Han
jhan@tauruscarclub.com
1997 Taurus w/Duratec 3.0
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
K&N Filter
Superchip
17 in Team Loco 143 Rims

 

Hi guys, I posted this message as a reply under synthetic oils, but will post it here since this is so wrong that it deserves a topic of it's own. Castrol synthetic is not a synthetic oil and this message below proves why it isn't and that Castrol has just been lying to us this whole time. It really pisses me off to know that a company could do this to us and get away with it. In fact, GM got so pissed they took the Castrol Syntec off of it's list for the Corvette C5 and will void anyone's warranty if they use Castrol Syntec in their C5, here's the post and let me know if you want even more information. Also, please spread this word as far as you can. We need to show Castrol that they can't screw us like this. They were charging $4 a quart for dino oil and fooled us into thinking it's a fully synthetic like Mobil 1 is.

"Certainly my good man!!!

In the October issue of Hart's Lubricants world, there is the first
part of a two
part story outlining a ruling made by a branch of the better business
bureau.

Mobil Oil Corp. took the maker of Castrol Syntec to task over the
formulation of this
product and the right to call it 'full synthetic'. Mobil maintains that
the defintion,
which the SAE and API have stayed away from completely, in both the
public eye and in
the oil industry is something that is generated from a specific series
of chemical
reactions where a smaller molecule is made into a bigger molecule. This
is industry
wide accepted to involved chemicals called PAO's and/or esters.

Castrol maintains that 'synthetic' is simply something that has
undergone human adjustment.


In December of 1997, tests being done to prove this, Castrol Syntec went
from 93-80% PAO's to
0% PAO's and 100% Mineral oil. This means that the Castrol in the bottle
is little more than
an extremely clean petroleum based oil that 'barely meets the SAE
specifications of being called
a synthetic'.

Some of the reasons we buy synthetic are: Higher resistance to heat
across the operating envelope,
better flow rates across the envelope, far superior resistance to
friction, superior adhearance
qualities (to parts), far superior longevity (depending on additive
package). This good mineral oil
has none of these features, and it will absolutely destroy turbo
bearings if treated like synthetic.

Essentially Castrol has been trying to lawyer their way into using a
sub-standard oil in a high-performance
area where it will do the public enumerable harm. It disgusts me to see
where this country is going...

I can fax you a copy of this item it you'd like, or you can track this
on a VW TDI website that I
have been posting this article to.

Is this enough information? Or do you need more??

BTW, I have almost worked out the 73mm MAF installation. Meaning that
the computer requires a couple of
days to fully adjust to the new airflow, and leak-proofing the system is
now imperative.

Of course, If you need the full intake assembly; I'd just go with the
installation that S&P/Protech Motorsports
has for the 2.5L Duratech Contour and you'll have everything in one
package.

Let me know if I can be of any more help.

Randy Williams



------------------
June H. Han
jhan@tauruscarclub.com
1997 Taurus w/Duratec 3.0
Borla Cat-Back Exhaust
K&N Filter
Superchip

 

Hello post readers, I just come back from Wal-Mart. I had to see it with my own eyes. Boxes and boxes of Castrol Syntec stocked on the shelf. Someone needs to imform Wal-Mart of this problem. The boxes clearly labled 100% synthetic. Junehhan could you please email Trek2300_91@yahoo.com the artcle in the October issue of Hart's Lubricants world?

------------------
TripleD (Longview,TX)
1998 F-150XLT 5.4L 4x2 Ext. Cab Flareside,A.R.E. Tonneau Lid, Black Clearcoat, 3.55LS,Chrome nerf bars,
K&N,Borla exhaust system,with 3.5 in. chrome tips

***MAXOIL***
Royal Purple Synthetic Lubricants...
"Performance Under Pressure"



[This message has been edited by TripleD (edited 11-12-1999).]