FAQ - GC ( German Castrol )

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thanks... does anyone know what spec/grade the 2003 330xi calls for ? and at what intervals for normal city driving (60city/40hwy)?
 
Originally Posted By: Hessam
thanks... does anyone know what spec/grade the 2003 330xi calls for ? and at what intervals for normal city driving (60city/40hwy)?


Just an oil meeting LL-01. This is met by a number of oils, the most popular being GC and M1 0w40.

The car should have an oil life monitor.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
The car should have an oil life monitor.

Yup, although if it's anything like mine, it's somewhat optimistic. I'd probably not keep the oil past 10K miles with majority of driving being city. Alas, a UOA could help verify that...
 
Originally Posted By: OldBaldy
Originally Posted By: zmelli
German Castrol Price thru the roof? I walked into my local AutoZone and noticed GC was priced at $8.19 per quart! Wow I hope they put it on sale soon.


It's even more expensive at my local Autozone. Just as well my local Audi dealers continue to sell the VW spec Castrol oils at about $2/quart LESS than the Autozone price! I paid $6.50/quart last Saturday, for the same oil. It;s always cheaper at the dealers here....


You have to wait till they have a sale on it...Right now they have 5.28 L jug(or 5 individual bottles) and bosch filter for 32.99...That's about 6.25/qt even if you chuck the filter.
 
Originally Posted By: Hessam
thanks... does anyone know what spec/grade the 2003 330xi calls for ? and at what intervals for normal city driving (60city/40hwy)?



RTFM of course!
wink.gif


But in the alternative, google brings you this:
http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/content/owner/syntheticengineoils.aspx
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Sentra doesn't need high HT/HS oil. All you'll be doing is robbing the thing of fuel economy and gaining nothing in return, IMO.


Where did the idea that GC has a high HT/HS? According to the Castrol website, it is only 2.9

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_internet/castrol/castrol_usa/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/p,q/Edge_BLACK_PDS_Sept_2011.pdf
 
My experience with Castrol 0w30.

I live in Italy and i just bought Castrol 0w30 in an Ebay store from Germany. So i think that this is the German Castrol here listed.
I refeer to this:
http://castroledge.de/motorenole/longlife-2-0w-30
This is the only Castrol 0w30 without C3 spec, and is selled only in Germany. In Itay I able to find only 0w30 with C3 spec.

I put in my engine 600 km ago.
Previous oil: Mobil 1 0w40.
Car and engine: Honda Civic FK3, I-Ctdi engine (diesel).

Incredibly the engine run quieter and smoother. Fuel consumption remain the same.
I'm curious to observe the behavior of oil in the coming summer months, very hot in southern Italy.
 
Originally Posted By: f355spider
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Sentra doesn't need high HT/HS oil. All you'll be doing is robbing the thing of fuel economy and gaining nothing in return, IMO.


Where did the idea that GC has a high HT/HS? According to the Castrol website, it is only 2.9

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp_internet/castrol/castrol_usa/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/p,q/Edge_BLACK_PDS_Sept_2011.pdf

All ACEA A3 oils have HTHS that is no less than 3.5.
 
Originally Posted By: f355spider
Originally Posted By: Hessam
thanks... does anyone know what spec/grade the 2003 330xi calls for ? and at what intervals for normal city driving (60city/40hwy)?



RTFM of course!
wink.gif


But in the alternative, google brings you this:
http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/content/owner/syntheticengineoils.aspx



RTFM? not heard of that one before..thanks for the page btw, I just ran across that the other day. too bad 2 of those oils are not really readily available.
By the way that page also says to only use SM rated oil, so wouldn't rule out GC which is SL rated?

here's the exact quote from BMW site:
"Use only oils with an API rating of SM or higher."
 
Originally Posted By: Hessam
By the way that page also says to only use SM rated oil, so wouldn't rule out GC which is SL rated?

here's the exact quote from BMW site:
"Use only oils with an API rating of SM or higher."


That's odd. Does it also list ACEA specifications? I thought BMW had done away with API ratings by the time SM came around. So, it's okay to use SL GC on a newer BMW that calls for the BMW specifications, but not an older BMW that calls for API SM? How very strange.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Hessam
By the way that page also says to only use SM rated oil, so wouldn't rule out GC which is SL rated?

here's the exact quote from BMW site:
"Use only oils with an API rating of SM or higher."


That's odd. Does it also list ACEA specifications? I thought BMW had done away with API ratings by the time SM came around. So, it's okay to use SL GC on a newer BMW that calls for the BMW specifications, but not an older BMW that calls for API SM? How very strange.

Yeah, all sorts of mistakes on that BMW page, unfortunately. For example, the Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30 that they're recommending does not carry an LL-01 spec. It's the Synpower HST 5w-40 that does, but good luck finding it in a container smaller than a 55-gallon drum.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Yeah, all sorts of mistakes on that BMW page, unfortunately. For example, the Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30 that they're recommending does not carry an LL-01 spec. It's the Synpower HST 5w-40 that does, but good luck finding it in a container smaller than a 55-gallon drum.


From Ashland's spec sheet, 5-w30/40HST is no longer LL-01 approved. Only 5W-30 MST seems to be on this list. But like you said, good luck finding it. Surprisingly Castrol Edge SPT 5W-40 is now on the list of BMW LL-01 oils. However, I'm not sure it's a better oil than GC.
 
Originally Posted By: TJPark01
It's the same link you provided. Look at page 2 there is an asterisk over the
Synpower HST 5W-40*/5W-30*
* Denotes formal OEM approval

Right, so that means it's officially approved for this spec. But you said that it's not. I'm confused.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: TJPark01
It's the same link you provided. Look at page 2 there is an asterisk over the
Synpower HST 5W-40*/5W-30*
* Denotes formal OEM approval

Right, so that means it's officially approved for this spec. But you said that it's not. I'm confused.

D'oh, Sorry guy I was reading it as "former" OEM approval, my mistake. Does that mean MST 5w-30 is informally approved?
But like you said, all of this is kind of a mute point cause like Bigfoot, I've heard about these but never seen one in real life.
 
Originally Posted By: TJPark01
Does that mean MST 5w-30 is informally approved?

Good question. I don't know what they mean by that.
smile.gif


Quote:

But like you said, all of this is kind of a mute point cause like Bigfoot, I've heard about these but never seen one in real life.

Yeah. A few months back I posed this question to Valvoline/Ashland tech support:

Quote:
Does Valvoline offer a retail product (in quart or gallon bottles) that meets BMW LL-01 spec?


Their response:
Quote:
At this time we currently do not offer a quart or gallon sized product. Only the 55 gallon drums of the SynPower HST.
 
They should sell it @ Costco, next to the 5 gallon drum of mayonnaise. I still don't see an oil that, all things considered is worth using that's better than GC.
 
Originally Posted By: TJPark01
I still don't see an oil that, all things considered is worth using that's better than GC.

What about M1 0w-40?
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: TJPark01
I still don't see an oil that, all things considered is worth using that's better than GC.

What about M1 0w-40?

That would be the other choice. Either is fine but I prefer GC, but it's based on personal preference not science.
 
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