Castrol POWER1 Racing 4T or Valvoline SynPower 4T?

[volodymyr]

Hello everyone,

Season is starting soon so I am thinking about buying an engine oil. My bike is Honda CBR 600 F4i 2001. I've been using Castrol Power 1 Racing 4T 10W-40 for the last 3 years and so far so good.

I can see that I can also buy Valvoline SynPower 4T 10W-40 (made in Netherlands) which is slightly more expensive than Castrol (40 cents difference per liter).

Is it worth it? Specs are the following:

1. Castrol POWER 1 Racing 4T 10W-40

API SL
JASO MA2

2. Valvoline SynPower 4T 10W-40

API SG
JASO MA

P.S. Since my bike does not have a cat I would lean towards buying an oil with a lot of ZDDP, however I can't find any info on Power 1 Racing or Valvoline 4T.

P.S.2 No Shell Rotella T6 is sold in my country.

 

[krismoriah72]

You asked the same question a month ago and got 3 pages of answers then..

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3586189/Oil_for_Honda_CBR_600_F4i:_JAS

 

[volodymyr]

Yes, I agree that it is not nice to ask the same question or simular often. However the question you pointed in the link is about API and JASO certifications.

The question I post in this thread is about a choice between two specific oils ...

 

[CT8]

Sometimes I need to discuss something several times to make sure I get the most answers possible!

 

[tomcat27]

Personally I would stick with the Castrol. I will give two reasons and then duck - since I am sure that others will disagree:

My motorcycle mechanic friend (years of experience with modern race bikes and also vintage bikes) always recommends Castrol for bikes. I also feel that Castrol produces a better product (more additives) than Valvoline.

 

[Doog]

Flip a coin

 

[LoneRanger]

Motorex. The Oil of Switzerland.

 

[volodymyr]

tomcat27,

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
Personally I would stick with the Castrol.


Thanks for your feedback. In fact I find it quite interesting that people on this forum (mostly from USA) prefer Castrol (EU), Mobil, Pennzoil (bought by Shell, EU) and quite rarely - Valvoline ...

 

[volodymyr]

LoneRanger,

Originally Posted By: LoneRanger
Motorex. The Oil of Switzerland.


Motorex is interesting especially considering that I live in Switzerland. The problem is that:

- Here it is more expensive than Castrol, Motul, Mobile 1 and Valvoline

- I think (that) they are in niche segment and as such you can't easially find UOA's, etc

- I am not sure that the quality is better than the major brands

 

[DannyBoyG]

I have the Valvoline 4T 10w40 in my FZ6 right now and like it a lot. Haven't noticed any differences in shifting in 4k miles of riding. Would definitely use it again without hesitation, but also have no experience with the Castrol oil yet. Take that for what its worth.

 

[volodymyr]

Thanks guys for your suggestions. I decided to go with Castrol Power 1 Racing 4T 10W40.

 

[kmrcstintn]

I usually look for the sales of motorcycle oils at Autozone (reduces cost by $2/qt or liter) and would snag a good amount of Valvoline conventional & some Valvoline synthetic to make a synblend; I have used Castrol conventional a few times (bought on sale) but gravitate toward Valvoline...

might be a while before I hit Autozone since I have @ 10 quarts/liters of stuff that I got on closeout/clearance in different places...mostly Maxima (conventional 10w-40 ATV oil & synblend 10w-40 MC oil) with some Belray 10w-40 conventional and SuperTech 15w-40 hdeo; I throw everything into a 2 gallon oil container and make 'witch's brew'...basically I have enough for 2 oil changes per bike for this coming year;

 

[volodymyr]

kmrcstintn,

Thanks for your input. I was thinking of blending the oils as well, however I found a way to order from Germany Castrol Power 1 Racing 10W-40 at a decent price (9.20 CHF per liter or ~ 9.22 USD). This price is quite cheap considering what you will pay in a typical Swiss supermarket for an inferior version of Castrol Power 1 oil:

https://www.bauundhobby.ch/hobby-+-sport...802/P4151707/de (23.95 CHF for Castrol Power 1 10W-40, or ~ 24 USD per liter).

Now, my logic is the following: if I can buy this excellent oil for quite cheap price I can simply use it as it is without blending

 

[SuperSalad]

Originally Posted By: volodymyr
kmrcstintn,

Thanks for your input. I was thinking of blending the oils as well, however I found a way to order from Germany Castrol Power 1 Racing 10W-40 at a decent price (9.20 CHF per liter or ~ 9.22 USD). This price is quite cheap considering what you will pay in a typical Swiss supermarket for an inferior version of Castrol Power 1 oil:

https://www.bauundhobby.ch/hobby-+-sport...802/P4151707/de (23.95 CHF for Castrol Power 1 10W-40, or ~ 24 USD per liter).

Now, my logic is the following: if I can buy this excellent oil for quite cheap price I can simply use it as it is without blending

Blending oils is not advisable since they are each balanced in their own way and mixing them throws off that balance. I know you already decided to continue using the Castrol but I wanted to just point out that that is the right decision. The Valvoline has worse API and JASO performance and costs more. It will be better using the Castrol product.

 

[ledslinger]

I filled my 1982 V45 Sabre with Valvo 4T Synthetic and thought I needed to replace the clutch. It was so bad I likely got as much shifter dog wear in 100 miles as in the previous 5000 miles. The Valvo was basically an engine flush then it went in my mower.
I also wasn't impressed with the layer of foam after running through the fill level window. May not mean a thing, just never seen it before with this bike.

Replaced it with Castrol Actevo and the shifting is fantastic. I have several fills of full synthetic I could use, but I'll stick the Actevo since I know how good the shifting is. Never had even had to consider shift quality with oil selection in the life of this bike until I used the Valvo.

 

[Mackelroy]

Ive probably have over 20,000 miles with Power 1, used to be called superbike oil. Its a pao oil, and its pretty good. Standard castrol oils have a lot of wax in them. Valvoline is much cleaner in that regard , API rating means squat on mc oil other than how low zinc is in the newer api rating, both Valvoline oil meet jaso 2, even before the spec existed. But Valvoline atleast in my ktm 500 race motor , shifts as good or better as Amsoil.

certain bikes that don't have that slick of tranny might see a difference with a more waxy oil.

 

[ochog1]

Agree 100% Castrol and motorcycles have gone hand in hand for many years. Worked at a harley shop for almost 10 years and got to see first hand the inside of many engines and talk about the oil people used. You could tell by the carbon build up and wear on the cylinders if they were using [censored] oil or just not changing it on a regular basis.

 

[JeepWJ19]

If only the two I would choose the Castrol. I had that in my CBR 600 f4i until this morning when I changed it out.

Went to Rotella T 15w40. Bike seems just as smooth and doesn't care which of those two oils is in it. Thus my choice is the cheaper option (Rotella)