Castrol SLX Pro LL03 vs Pennzoil Ultra Euro L

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Hello, All! I'm a new BITOG member, but a longtime visitor. I bought a new VW Golf TDI and wanted to see how Pennzoil stacked up to the dealer-carried Castrol. These are both VW 504/507 spec oils. So... here are my Blackstone VOA reports. Please pick them apart, and let me know what you think.

*anything not listed was a "0" ppm


Pennzoil Ultra Euro L 5w-30

Boron: 70
Silicon: 3
Sodium: 1
Calcium: 1676
Magnesium: 8
Phosphorus: 634
Zinc: 723
SUS Viscosity @ 210F: 65.4
cSt Viscosity @ 100C: 11.71
Flashpoint:460F
TBN: 5.6


Castrol SLX Pro LL03 5w-30

Boron: 1
Silicon: 1
Sodium: 3
Calcium: 1700
Magnesium: 1
Phosphorus: 803
Zinc: 901
SUS Viscosity @ 210F: 64.7
cSt Viscosity @ 100C: 11.54
Flashpoint:430F
TBN: 5.4
 
First of all WELCOME!!!

Both of these oils look awfully similar! I would go for PU if I can purchase it easily at about same price range.

Also, PU (being a newer product aka as Helix out N.A) seems to be using next-generation base oils as opposed to Castrol at this moment in time!

I say its a TIE!
Thank you for sharing!
 
I can get 6qts of the PU via Amazon Prime for $56. I didn't think about the newer-gen base stocks. Good call. I've used SOPUS products for years, and based on these results, it looks like there is no need to change. Thanks for the warm welcome!
 
If you are looking for anti wear performance, the Castrol has more Zinc probably near the max figure. I don't regard either oil as a long life oil as they both seem a tad short on Calcium and Magnesium based detergents. Castrol Edge is a better long life oil.
 
I did a voa in 6-2011 on the VW 507 Castrol thru Polaris Labs. It is pretty much the same as your voa except the calcium is a little higher (2023), the zddp a little lower (765/844) and the TBN a little higher (6.8). I think either the Castrol or the PU would do just fine in your TDI.

FWIW, you might check out the TDI forum, and particularly this thread on TDI uoa's
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=154548. There are about 190 pages of uoa's, many on your version of the TDI.

There have also been many threads on best oci's. If you can believe what some of the euro owners say, the TDI in Europe has a factory recommended oci of 18k mi (30k klm) on the self same Castrol 507 oil (cries of apostasy) and many are running over 100k mi (not klm) and doing quite well. The Euro crowd thinks we are nuts with our 10k oci's.
 
Originally Posted By: m6pwr
I did a voa in 6-2011 on the VW 507 Castrol thru Polaris Labs. It is pretty much the same as your voa except the calcium is a little higher (2023), the zddp a little lower (765/844) and the TBN a little higher (6.8). I think either the Castrol or the PU would do just fine in your TDI.

FWIW, you might check out the TDI forum, and particularly this thread on TDI uoa's
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=154548. There are about 190 pages of uoa's, many on your version of the TDI.

There have also been many threads on best oci's. If you can believe what some of the euro owners say, the TDI in Europe has a factory recommended oci of 18k mi (30k klm) on the self same Castrol 507 oil (cries of apostasy) and many are running over 100k mi (not klm) and doing quite well. The Euro crowd thinks we are nuts with our 10k oci's.


The VW TDI oil analysis fans are worth watching if you have an older VW in particular because most are doing long OCI's (20K km plus), but they use top quality full synthetic oils, mostly 5/40 or 0/40's and real good OEM oil filters. The classic HDEO's are polular and although Amsoil has a few fans the majority use Castrol, Mobil, Shell or Liqui Moly products although they use quite a variety of different oil types. True to the great German specialist engineering traditions and their habit of reading the instructions from VW, very few are using oil additives.
I think some of the traditional high Zinc oils like Delvac or Rotella seem to produce slightly better results in Fe figures in particular. If you check their Fe numbers to compare with your own don't forget Fe is cumulative and it is the rate it accumulates that matters. So if Fritz has 50ppm in 20K km and you have 30ppm after 10K km, then his result is better in general wear rate terms. It does make a big difference how you drive a VW TDI, so the results do bounce around according to engine condition, useage and right boot size. The big right boot does get fully utilized in Germany, so those results are not as applicable.
 
The Castrol is made in Austria (at least that is what is on the label of my bottles) so it is a "real" synthetic, probably PAO and maybe ester.
 
Originally Posted By: Boomer
The Castrol is made in Austria (at least that is what is on the label of my bottles) so it is a "real" synthetic, probably PAO and maybe ester.


You need to check how it is labelled/marketed in Germany to know that. Just because it is made in Austria doesn't make it a PAO/Ester blend.
 
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