Which is a better engine oil Castrol gtx or Shell formula [clean engine]. Both 5-30.
Castrol or Shell
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If you look at the difference in price. It almost seems GTX is a better oil since it is almost $1.00 more per quart compares to Shell Formula when they are not on sale. Generally speaking, if GTX oil is not any better than Shell, why would anyone pay a $1.00 more per quart for GTX.
Which is better? A product with more marketing or a product with little marketing? Does marketing and labeling and price point positioning make a better product?
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I suspect Castrol is a bit more of a premium formulation. Of course if your doing 3000 mi OCI the differnece is meaningless. If your doing 10,000 mi OCI in a 1.7L Honda Civic I would go with the Castrol.
I like shell better because it was .59 when I bought it
Triple_Se7en
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How long are your OCIs?
every 2000 miles or 3 months which ever comes first.
Go with Shell.
Marketing, advertising, capitalism. Price has nothing to do with quality.
The cheapest SM-rated oil you can find will be fine for such a short OCI. I vote for the Formula Shell.
Triple_Se7en
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I get noticeably less consumption from the Castrol. Given both grades are the same weights, the Shell appears thinner at drain time and becomes black faster during the interval - even though my engine is quite clean & darn-near all name-brand dinos keep my dipstick clearer longer.
If you are changing every 2,000 miles and $$$ is a concern = use the cheapest oil you can find. If you don't care about $$$ - I would recommend castrol - it is a great oil and I've had amazing UOAs with that in my engine (2.2L GM Ecotec).
Patman
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I was just checking out the UOA section and we've got very few GTX reports in there in the past few months. I wonder why this is? Up here in Canada, GTX takes up a lot of shelf space and seems to be a very popular oil, I would venture to say it's one of the most used dino oils up here actually. It's the "house brand" for Mr.Lube, which is Canada's largest fast lube place.
I'm now thinking of putting this oil in my wife's Honda next (I previously expressed interest in going to Pennzoil) I must admit one of the reasons is because Castrol offers their 5w20 and 5w30 in a 4.4L jug, while Pennzoil only offers the 5w30 in jugs up here, but in a bigger 4.73L (5qt) jug. My wife's Honda only needs 4.2L at the very most , so the extra oil in the Pennzoil jug would just go to waste. And since I want to go from 5w30 to 5w20 at some point, I like being able to continue getting it in jugs (Canadian Tire usually offers better deals on the jugs over the single bottles too).
I know it's not super critical to the performance of the oil, but I'm curious as to what the base oil makeup of GTX might be. Would it be group 2 or group 2+? (I believe Pennzoil is mostly if not all group 2+ isn't it?)
I'm now thinking of putting this oil in my wife's Honda next (I previously expressed interest in going to Pennzoil) I must admit one of the reasons is because Castrol offers their 5w20 and 5w30 in a 4.4L jug, while Pennzoil only offers the 5w30 in jugs up here, but in a bigger 4.73L (5qt) jug. My wife's Honda only needs 4.2L at the very most , so the extra oil in the Pennzoil jug would just go to waste. And since I want to go from 5w30 to 5w20 at some point, I like being able to continue getting it in jugs (Canadian Tire usually offers better deals on the jugs over the single bottles too).
I know it's not super critical to the performance of the oil, but I'm curious as to what the base oil makeup of GTX might be. Would it be group 2 or group 2+? (I believe Pennzoil is mostly if not all group 2+ isn't it?)
BTW Patman ..love your vette!
I bought a 91 vette a few months ago ( dang near showroom shap) ..I love it ..very fast
but last month i bought a 2002 Suzuki Bandit 1200..maaaaaan Talk about fast ..from point A to B were the vette hits 50 mph ..the bike hits 75 !
But I still love the looks my vette gets
I bought a 91 vette a few months ago ( dang near showroom shap) ..I love it ..very fast
but last month i bought a 2002 Suzuki Bandit 1200..maaaaaan Talk about fast ..from point A to B were the vette hits 50 mph ..the bike hits 75 !
But I still love the looks my vette gets
Patman
Staff member
Very nice! I love the 91s, they are very unique since it's the only year where they had the newer style (and better looking) front end and better rear but still with the L98 motor in it (which I think is an all around better motor for street driving over the LT1 since it makes so much bottom end torque!) What color is your 91?
My vette is Bright red..wanted that or black..trouble with thew ed ..90% of them have a red interior...yeck! ..But I found one with grey interior...much better
Patman
Staff member
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My vette is Bright red..wanted that or black..trouble with thew ed ..90% of them have a red interior...yeck! ..But I found one with grey interior...much better
I actually like the red interior, but only when it's new as I've seen some old Corvettes with faded red interiors that look pink!
Since no one else has advised, extend your drain to at least the manufacturers recommended interval. Most of us BITOG members are environmentally friendly and the 2,000 mile drain is a waste of our natural resources.
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