76 Super motor oil

[ZiTS]

I need some help from all you experts out there in helping me determine how good this oil is:

http://www.76lubricants.com/NR/rdonlyres/3B9FF94B-CB18-4EC7-9B4B-4E492D74B5F9/0/76_Super_Syn_MO.pdf

The service provider for our fleet is using the ConocoPhillips Unocal 76 Super 5w-20 oil in our Crown Vic's, and I would like to know exactly how good this oil is. They told me that for normal service (citizen's), they use Castrol oil (didn't specify exactly which one). But because this is for a fleet application, he stated they use a "little less expensive" (read: inferior quality) motor oil.

I know that the new SM/GF-4 oil's are all going to be decent oils, but I would just like to see how the 76 5w-20 stacks up against the other major players out there.

Thanks all

 

[benjamming]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZiTS:
But because this is for a fleet application, he stated they use a "little less expensive" (read: inferior quality) motor oil.

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Just because it's less expensive does not mean it is inferior oil. Take Chevron Supreme vs. Castrol GTX as an example.

 

[ZiTS]

Blue99,
I'll see what I can do about getting some of the 76 5w-20 for a VOA. I am also curious to see how it stacks up. BTW, what do you mean by "L4.0" and "3.5" being different colors?

benjamming,
Understood price doesn't neccesarily relate to quality, and that is what I'm hoping to figure out with some help interpreting the PDS. It's just that the way he described the situation to me (Castrol vs. Unocal 76; less expensive due to fleet contracts; etc....) I would just feel better knowing that the Unocal 76 5w-20 isn't going to let us down. We've just recently signed on with this service group, so I'd rather catch an inferior product now before it is too late.

 

[MIAMI-DADE]

On your Crown Vicks you might to check the oil every so often as i sometimes have to add a quart between 1500 and 2k miles.

It's been doing that since new.If you go for 5k OCI i'm sure you will most likely have to add a quart.

My dad has a '05 Vick is doing the same thing.Mine is a '99 Marquis with 103k.Both cars are using 5w20semi/syn Motorcraft&sometimes Castrol.

 

[Ray H]

Color gradations in a finished motor oil are part & parcel of the blending process. Both Group II and Group III base oils are water-white clear after completing the trip through the hydro-cracker/hydroisomerization processing. (Think BIG pressure cooker with he11ish heat in the presence of high-pressure hydrogen and a catalyst to chemically "stir" the reactions along - wonderful things happen at the molecular level to even the lowest quality feedstocks in such an environment: isomerization - reforming disparate molecular structures to more desirable and stable lube configurations. Group III base stocks are basically the result of mo' heat, and mo' time in the presence of an upgraded catalyst in the "pressure cooker" than Group II for an even mo' better quality base oil.) So, with that out of the way, why a color difference? Once the base oil stocks are collected, they're tested to finalize the additive pack for that particular run. Most additive packages use a Group I carrier oil, and it's NOT water-white clear. Depending on that and the concentration of various chemical constituents in a given production run's additive package, there'll be slight color shifts once the finished oil is blended. No big deal - ConocoPhillips simply used different finished runs in obtaning the stats for their various "brands" for their product data sheets. Regardless, the oil in a given production run will meet or surpass API's and ILSAC's quality and performance standards - probably by a handy margin given ConocoPhillips' decision last year to upgrade their entire line of entry-level motor oils to Group III component "synthetic" blends. The differences presented in the various PDSs simply represent ConocoPhillips' tolerance standards that still fully meet the OEM requirements - and any one could at some point be representative of any of the ConocoPhillips brands.

[ June 30, 2005, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[ZiTS]

Wow!

Thanks for aaallll that, Ray!
So is L4.0 'better' than 3.5? And, from everything that I've heard in the past (along with stuff included in this thread) regarding ConocoPhillips excellent quality oils, is it possible the Unocal 76 is just as good, if not better than the Castrol GTX our service group uses in non-fleet applications? I guess that's what I would really like the help for in interpreting the PDS.

 

[Big Jim]

Castrol is riding on it's name. It isn't bad oil, but it isn't really any better either.

 

[Ken2]

Unocal is not related to 76...sold that branch of their company years ago to Tosco, then Tosco sold to ConocoPhillips.

ConocoPhillips may make a lower quality oil for bulk accounts than what we buy over the counter. ExxonMobil does...bulk Mobil Clean SM/GF-4 is not the quality of Mobil 5000 SM/GF-4 (or maybe just doesn't carry the 5000 mile warranty...who knows?).

The local county maintenance shop uses 10W-30 in all their Crown Vic sheriff's cruisers and reports fewer engine problems than other counties that use 5W-20.


Ken

 

[Ray H]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZiTS:
Wow!

Thanks for aaallll that, Ray!
So is L4.0 'better' than 3.5? And, from everything that I've heard in the past (along with stuff included in this thread) regarding ConocoPhillips excellent quality oils, is it possible the Unocal 76 is just as good, if not better than the Castrol GTX our service group uses in non-fleet applications? I guess that's what I would really like the help for in interpreting the PDS.

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Relax ZiTS, I don't believe the minor color difference from one batch to another is one more jot or tiddle we should be obsessing over. I believe ConocoPhillips was merely reporting one more physical parameter that may have been of passing interest to industry techno-types. As to the quality of ConocoPhillips' latest generation of motor oils, an initial UOA report of Kendall GT-1 Super Synthetic Blend 5W-30 showed it compared closely with another UOA of Motorcraft Premium Synthetic Blend 5W-20. Motorcraft oil in the U.S. is formulated, blended, and bottled by ConocoPhillips.

 

[Blue99]

Any and all of the Grp III/II synthetic blends, in the ConocoPhillips family of brands, will provide good performance, irrespective of the price.

The 76 5W-20 data sheet differs slightly with it's Trop Artic cousin, but if anything, looks more robust with the 236C/457F flash point.

Obviously, too, a slight difference in color is evident as the 76 is a L4.0 and Trop Artic is 3.5 per ASTM D1500.

It would be interesting to get a VOA of both the 76 & Trop Artic 5W-20's for a comparison.