Originally Posted By: dooscoop32
Doesn't anyone like Castrol SynTec anymore?
I don't know about SynTec, we don't get that here (or not under that name), but when I spoke to a Castrol Tech over the phone, back in the days of plain speaking. He said to me that the Edge 0W-40 and 10W-60 were both Group 3 +4 synthetics, while the Edge 5W-30 was a pure Group 3. I asked him explicitly about Esters, and he said they were no longer used in the Castrol Edge oils. Again, times may change, we all know that.
So it's my understanding that
Edge = Group 3 + 4 or Group 3
Magnatec = Group 2 + 3 + 5 or Group 3 + 5
I don't think that many non-boutique oils use Group 5. Sure Redline do and Penrite do in their 10-Tenths oils, but these aren't as common in the market place as say Edge, M1 and PP/PU/Shell Helix (GTL). I'm not a M1 expert, and feel free to correct me, but I suspect it's a Group 3+4 product too, with Mobil Super Synthetic being Group 3 (again happy to be corrected).
I think most other Semi-Synthetics are Group 2 + 3.
That's why to me Magnatec is so interesting, it is a non-boutique product that contains Group 5, well it did that last time Castrol spoke clearly about such things.
Yes, you can buy Esters as third party additives for your oil, but I mostly don't like the idea of buying a well developed product with a balanced and researched add pack, and then changing it by adding a extra third party product. The assumption is that it will work better, but what if the oil additive pack conflicts with the third party product and the whole system performs worse ? That's why I prefer to trust Castrol to do a good job and give me a well finished and tested product.
Recall Magnatec use to be called Start-Up, from another thread
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2953733
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
~ 4-5 yrs ago, I bought some Castrol Start-Up(IIRC, it was SM/GF-4) on a clearance rack at Pep Boys and used it in my old Firebird. It did well with no startup noises(after the car sat for several months) and allowed the engine to run nice and smooth compared to some older oils that this engine has seen in the past 30 years.
Don't use it if you don't want, I don't care, I have no shares in Castrol. Lots of good oils out there. I have just finally realised that Magnatec a bit different and more interesting than I first gave it credit. Maybe I should have been using it more in my DD than Castrol Edge and therefore saved myself some money. I wasn't racing or going long OCI with the Edge, I was just wasting money. I learnt that from BITOG (thanks all !!), buying the "best" oil is great if you need it, but a waste of money if you don't. I think Edge was made for the heat of the race track, very cold winters or long OCI. But I think Magnatec was made for the cut and thrust of commuting and regular OCI in a regular climate. No problem, I was just wasting my beer money on too good a oil.
