Would You Use GC??

[Silber Igel]

I been using Syntec 0W-30 in our van and 5W-40 in the turbo Beetle for several years .. Great stuff!!!

A buddy just picked up a cherry...with the cream on top... '63 VW Bug. Its a 1200cc air cooled that calls for straight 30wt back when it was made.

Since it lives in Texas Hill Country and it rarely gets down to freezing (and not long at that)and the Texas summers are 100F, I'm thinking 5W-40...

Would you consider using 0W-30, 5W-30 or 5W-40 Syntecs in it? Or just go to straight 30W and call it a day? (If so, which brand?)

Suggestions, thoughts, opinions?

 

[double vanos]

Air cooled engines have a habit of really getting oil HOT! I would imagine that GC would be a fine oil for the VW as it is almost a 40wt oil when hot. Being a true PAO, it would resist high temp breakdown in between oil changes. Of course Castrol has their grp III synthetics down pretty pat and with 3k oil changes I feel pretty confident they would just fine also. I'll bet that VW engine would be in hog heaven with the GC!

 

[ccs v2.0]

Does he know the history on the car, rebuilt, type of oil used, etc.? Personally, I'd give a multi vis oil a try but it may result in some consumption. If so, I'd stick with the straight weight.

 

[Silber Igel]

Indeed, air cooled engines do run hotter... I was leaning toward recommending the 0W-30 since it's more like a 40W when hot. Since the VW has an oil cooler, it will probably run somewhere between 30 and 40 depending on the ambient and engine loading. A good compromise.

The car was bought in Germany and used there a few years. Shipped back to the US and driven awhile. The original owner's son took it out of many years of storage and sold it to my friend. The engine looks original...but one can only tell by checking the serial numbers. At worst, its a 1300cc in a 1200cc body. All the bits look correct except that the vacuum advance to the distributor is blocked off. I didn't see the 'tuna can' on the distributor so that may have been removed or the distributor replaced with a non-vacuum advance type. Still... its really 99% complete down to the 'twin .30 cal exhausts tips' It sounds great...typical air cooled boxer with that whistle when you rev it up.

 

[ccs v2.0]

Given the history, I'd run an A-Rx treatment at a minimum. I'd be concerned about rings sticking and integrity of the seals.

p.s. I too love the whistle sound of that exhaust.

 

[ScottB]

I'd never start using an oil that's so difficult to get.
I thought about trying it when I got my new Scion, but after visiting ~12 or so auto parts stores in SoCal, and not finding one single bottle, I said to *ell with that.
Do yourself a favor and get something that just about any store carries.

 

[Silber Igel]

Humm... GC hard to find?? Our very own Autozone here in teeny weeny Kerrville always has it on the self....

 

[Laminar Lou]

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Humm... GC hard to find?? Our very own Autozone here in teeny weeny Kerrville always has it on the self....

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In SoCal it's hard to find 5W20 Havoline let alone GC. I think the Auto parts stores cater to (how do I say this without sounding elitist?) a lower socioeconomic strata. Meaning that many people here don't work on their own cars and the only ones that do only do it because they have to. Therefore, good luck finding anything more than "whatever is cheapest". Also, it's harder to find the 5W20s I think because it is more of a "new" oil and not used in older cars as much.

I've never seen GC ever - and I look every time I go to a parts store.

 

[Silber Igel]

Lou,

I'd never have guessed. Seems like the Shakey State would have tanker loads of this stuff since folk are so car oriented..... I've learned something here!!

Happy Holiday!

 

[ScottB]

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Humm... GC hard to find?? Our very own Autozone here in teeny weeny Kerrville always has it on the self....

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Nope - never seen one lousy bottle.

 

[AndyH]

Scott: You mention looking in 12 or so auto parts stores for GC. In case you didn't realize, GC is only sold at AutoZone stores.

 

[tenderloin]

In Southern California only a few small Auto Zones with smsller oil racks don't carry GC. Everyother AZ does...and I have been in enough to know! LOL Now "Green" GC should be all scarfed up as many a BITOG member has hit the trail looking for it.

The newer GC appears also to be a top flight oil is on the shelf at AZ waiting for an educated buyer. It might have some dust on the bottle, but that is no reflection on the quality that lurks underneath the dust.

 

[ScottB]

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Scott: You mention looking in 12 or so auto parts stores for GC. In case you didn't realize, GC is only sold at AutoZone stores.

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Thanks! Of the 12 or so stores I was in, only maybe three of them were AZ stores.
For me, that's enough to not find it and deice that it's not worth the effort.

I don't want to search for every oil change, and I don't want to buy a stockpile of it either, so I'm sticking with M1.

 

[Roy Gutfinski]

I, for one, am puzzled that, given the number of fine European cars here in America, German Castrol is not sold more widely than in Autozone stores. Perhaps the reason is that most motorists are not "in" to the various characteristics of the better oils. My VW/Saab dealer uses exclusively Castrol Syntec 5W-40 which is rated for VW and other European cars. I asked the parts and service people about German Castrol and was basically told that it was fine for the VW and Saabs but not available in the U.S. Wrong but close to right as it is not so easy to fine.

 

[Steve S]

A hdeo straight 30 would be easy to get and work well. The Amsoil 30 wt hdeo is the choice for the air cooled engine though
( the 30 wt one that is now rated 10w/30 purchased from a site sponser is just a phone call away.)