Oil Question

[97loudcut]

First off I don't want this to be a 7 page oil discussion I just have a question.

 

Well as some of you know I switched over to Royal Purple 5w30 full synthetic oil. I was very happy with the results.

 

Now Royal Purple is a bit pricey and I was talking to my Uncle who used to be a well repected mechanic around the Detroit area but now he is a analyzer at Nissan. So he told me he has seen the oil tests done and it has been proven to him that Castrol is the best motor oil.

 

So I am going to use some Castrol full synthetic oil on my next oil change (coming up soon) and I wanted to know if you guys think it would be better to stay with the 5w30 or switch to 0w30 and I am asking this because I have that piston slap/lifter tick that goes away soon as the car warms up.

 

So let me know

 

thanks in advance.

[PCGUY112887]

Seems like a thinner oil when cold would just make the piston slap sound worse?

 

Stick with 5w-30.

 

Edit - Wait as the number goes higher the thinner it is or the thicker? I forgot.

[ToroToro]

The higher the number, the thicker the oil. 10W30 might help the tick a little, but not a whole lot. I didn't notice any difference.

[97loudcut]

so maybe try some 10w30 oil?

[ToroToro]

Ya if you want. It wont make much a difference, if any though.

[SigEpCutlass]

I use Amsoil Series 2000 Synthetic 0W-30, and I still have that damn tick/slap sometimes. It happens very infrequently in the spring/fall, but is frequent in the Winter when it's below 40*F outside when I turn the car over.

 

I'd say go lower to 0W-30. If it's been noted that increasing to 10W-30 doesn't work, go lower. Also, I looked on Royal Purple's website, and if you're concerned about proper lubrication at all temperatures, I'd say switch to what I'm using. According to the data on this page, Amsoil Series 2000 0W-30 provides significantly better wear protection (.374 mm versus Royal Purple's 1.4 mm). See the graphic below for more (Royal Purple #'s pulled from their website b/c not compared in graphic).

 

 

I can't find any solid performance data on Castrol's website without having to have a userid & pw. Even if I get one, I'm not sure if it'll give me any good data anyway. If the Castrol being used is not a FULL SYNTHETIC like their top of the line SYNTEC, then don't use it. I can almost garuntee you that it would not provide as good of protection as either Amsoil, Royal Purple, or Mobil 1 full synthetics with a blend of dino/synthetic.

 

As far as I can tell, Amsoil Series 2000 0W-30 synthetic seems to have the best mix of performance, and protection for the price. It has worked great in my particular application, and in my parent's 3 cars (Subaru, VW, Ford). If you are going to switch I would switch to nothing but what I use. Otherwise, stay with Royal Purple.

 

I'll be interested if you can find good hard numbers that the Castrol protects better than Royal Purple or Amsoil. LMK if you find some data on that.

[97loudcut]

well this is why I was going to switch to Castrol

 

my Uncle witnessed the oil test where they put the oil in the vehicle run it..let it drain out and run it again with all the oil drained out. The Castrol engine lasted the longest on no oil and therefor they concluded that the castrol oil sticks much better then the rest.

 

This was before the royal purple days but for sure all the major oils were tested (penzoil, amsoil, mobil 1, vavoline, and quaker state)

 

I know he would not lie to me about that

 

any explanation?

[SigEpCutlass]

This was before the royal purple days but for sure all the major oils were tested (penzoil, amsoil, mobil 1, vavoline, and quaker state)

 

I know he would not lie to me about that

 

any explanation?

 

You already have your answer. You're relying on outdated formulations to determine what's best for your car, when there are new products and formulations on the market. I'm not trying to discredit your uncle, that's just IMHO.

[GnatGoSplat]

How old was that test?

For the past few years, Castrol Syntec hasn't even been a true synthetic oil. They switched from PAO (Group 4 synthetic) to hydroprocessed mineral oil (Group 3) sometime in 1998 I think.

 

[97loudcut]

so what oil and what weight am i best off with...

 

I would go with amsoil but no one around here sells it and i dont want to order it

 

what the next best?

[GnatGoSplat]

I would probably use Mobil-1 5W30, you can get it anywhere. That's what I used in the TGP.

 

[19Cutlass94]

Mobile 1 or Valvoline. You wont notice a difference between 5w-30 and 10w-30. The only place youll see a difference is when its very cold outside, 5w-30 will help the car start easier because its not a thicker oil. I think you would have to try a real heavy weight oil ( like a 15w-40 or somthing ) to solve your ticking problem. But it might not even do anything.

[pitzel]

Quite frankly, in these cars, unless you are changing at intervals greater than 20k miles, it really doesn't matter. The 3800 or 3.1/3100 engines are hardly high-performance engines, and sludging is virtually unheard of, unless coolant leaks develop. Even Wal-Mart's own house brand of 'synthetic' will do you perfectly fine if you are looking for the benefits of a syn oil.

 

Next time you're in Canada, an awesome deal, from an Esso/Imperial Oil distributor is Esso Extra XD-3 full synthetic 0W-30 motor oil. Costs around $4 Canadian per litre.

 

0W-30 is perfectly fine. If it existed at the time your car was built, it would be recommended for use in the owners manual. Its impossible to formulate a non-synthetic 0W-30, so of course, they will cost quite a bit more than off-the-shelf dino at the local discounter.

[SigEpCutlass]

so what oil and what weight am i best off with...

 

I would go with amsoil but no one around here sells it and i dont want to order it

 

what the next best?

 

Either stick with what you have, or switch to Mobil 1 Synthetic like Shawn suggested if you don't want to order from Amsoil's website. I still think that if you change to anything from Royal Purple, it should be Amsoil IMHO.