German Castrol Update

userfriendly · Aug 26, 2003

RX Super is a price point consumer product like GTX.
BP can licence anyone to produce their lubricants.
Eastern European refineries are being up-graded at an alarming rate.
0W30 is a hard sell in Europe.
If Wal-Mart wants to buy 60,000 cases for twenty bucks a case why would they not sell it to them?

[ August 26, 2003, 09:44 PM: Message edited by: userfriendly ]

pscholte · Aug 26, 2003

I hope you guys understand you are not passing out an abundance of

warm fuzzies

here.

F1Crazy · Aug 26, 2003

pscholte,
IMO the need for A3 rated oil comes not from the dealers, they don't really care, these are privately owned businesses and they will use the cheapest stuff they can find and charge you a leg and then some if not told otherwise.

What we're slowly starting to see is the number of Euro car owners that want to maintain their cars themselves, especially after warranty period. They know they need to use synthetic oil so what they do? they go to a nearest Wal-Mart or AutoZone and look for oil and what do they see? they see European Formula Mobil1 and they think it's the only oil they should use. Ask anybody in Wal-Mart who's buying Mobil1 why do they use this viscosity and they will tell you because it's a Newer Vehicle Formula proudly showing you a label on a bottle. Marketing is a powerful tool and Castrol makes a big mistake by not advertising their 0W-30 as oil suited for European cars. Why? Because their marketing sucks and is full of s#!t!

userfriendly · Aug 26, 2003

Do you people really think that the world revolves around the North American market?

jsharp · Aug 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by cangreylegend:

Sometimes the truth be best kept under wraps. This works in business and especially politics.

That's not how it is here though. In this case the adage "once you start lying it's hard to stop" is more applicable...

jsharp · Aug 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by userfriendly:
Do you people really think that the world revolves around the North American market?

With very few exceptions, yes. California alone has the 5th largest economy in the world...

Doug Hillary · Aug 26, 2003

Hi,
the trouble with California is that it is broke!
I love LA and San Francisco too - but no point in not facing the facts!!!

Yes, there is a real world outside of the USA and Australia

It requires an open mind to view the complexities of a World Market Place for vehicles and oils! And other things too

Many vehicles made for and in Europe have NOT survived well in Australian conditions of use.

Many North American vehicles both cars and light & heavy trucks have had a very poor operational history here in OZ too. Ask Ford about their range imported here, including the Explorer ( I owned a 1999 one )

In my field of heavy trucks the most durable are those that were conceived and built here

cangreylegend · Aug 26, 2003

Hey maybe there is an oil nut in castrol playing with our minds! Remember the guy in X-Files?

pete643 · Aug 26, 2003

People have been posting that the Euro Syntec is imported because Castrol needs an A3 oil in the U.S. But, if you look at the grades on the website, 0w-30, 10w-40, 5w-50, 5w-40 and 20w-50 Syntec are all A3 oils.

Is Syntec really that bad? If it meets the A3 standard it should be pretty good oil, shouldn't it?

00 scrub · Aug 26, 2003

it did allow for scored rod bearings on a fellow members(not this site) toyota celica (5w-30). But I don't have enough knowledge of engines and oil to blame that problem on the oil.

G-MAN · Aug 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by pete643:
People have been posting that the Euro Syntec is imported because Castrol needs an A3 oil in the U.S. But, if you look at the grades on the website, 0w-30, 10w-40, 5w-50, 5w-40 and 20w-50 Syntec are all A3 oils.

It's not that they need an A3 oil in the US, it's that they need an A3 oil that actually meets the OEM specs for the major European auto manufacturers. The only two grades of Syntec that do are the two grades that are imported: the 0w30 from Germany, and the 5w40 from Belgium.

Castrol has done a good job of revamping their Syntec web site. This is the first time the 5w40 grade has appeared on the web site. And it's quite obvious that the 0w30 being described is the German stuff, even with the wording about GF-3. Note that it says "meets the engine protection requirements of GF-3," which is not the same thing as meeting ALL the requirements of GF-3 (most notably, the fuel economy requirements).

VeeDubb · Aug 27, 2003

Slightly off topic but I walked into my local Autozone a couple days ago and noticed that they are no longer stocking the German version anymore; instead, they had the yellow label N. American version. A couple of months ago, they had the German version. What's up with that? I'm afraid to switch to this oil because I'm afraid I won't be able to find it on a consistent basis. Anybody know if the German stuff is here to stay?

G-MAN · Aug 27, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Mystic:
If Castrol was really serious about mass marketing the German Castrol in the USA, it would be everywhere by now. You would find it in stores throughout the country.

I don't think that's the case at all. They never really "pushed" the old 0w30, and it was only available at selected stores in the US, and had a wider distribution in Canada. That's the case with the German 0w30, too. So it seems to me they haven't changed their marketing approach with the 0w30 at all; they've just changed sources.

sprintman · Aug 28, 2003

Doug you sure the obsolete SLX 0W30 is the "green German Castrol?". Castrol have heaps at their Sydney office, I might try it if its the German one..s

JoggingGuy · Aug 28, 2003

I was at Walmart here in Houston TX to get groceries and dropped by the oil section to see what they had after listening to you guys. Yeah, twist my arm

They had the North American Syntec in the new black and red bottle, but no german versions. The Equilon Havoline is finally getting used up and the ChevronTexaco version is taking it's place. They had a few old Chevron Supreme bottles, but they were SJ versions.

I haven't checked the local Autozone or Oreilly yet, but I'll take a peek when I go next week

joatmon · Aug 28, 2003

I've been to 4 AutoZones in the last 2 days looking for German Castrol. On the 0W30 shelf, some have it in front and some have it behind. So, it's a matter of how they stock the shelves. I would imagine that the AutoZone warehouse is the same. They probably still have some of each type. That's my hope. It seems like the "oil of the month" is changing. I want to "stock up" because it may not be available later, but if I do, maybe some new UOA will blow everyone away and then what do I do?

Hey, if this is my big concern at the moment, I've got it made!

[ August 28, 2003, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: joatmon ]

Mystic · Aug 28, 2003

If Castrol was really serious about mass marketing the German Castrol in the USA, it would be everywhere by now. You would find it in stores throughout the country. I don't know what kind of a game Castrol is trying to play. Maybe they are selling the German Castrol in the USA just to get rid of surplus stock. Maybe the German Castrol has been replaced overseas by a more advances Castrol product. Maybe they are test marketing the German Castrol in the USA. Who knows, and who cares?

I tried the German Castrol in my car and my car ran great. If the German Castrol was easily available I might well use the German Castrol all the time. But if you want to use the German Castrol in your car or truck, how do you know it will be available? Will Castrol sell this stuff until they run out of it? Will it always be so hard to find?

Schaeffer's Oil worked just as well in my car, and I know I can get it. For conventional motor oils, Chevron Supreme worked great, and I can get it right at the Checker Auto Parts Store. Mobil 1 is readily available at Wal-Mart.

Whatever Castrol is trying to do, it does not matter. Motor oils as good as the German Castrol are available, and we can forget about Castrol.

Patman · Aug 28, 2003

I still haven't gotten a response from Castrol Canada. They suck.

joatmon · Aug 28, 2003

Stopped by another AutoZone last night and 12 of the 13 bottles of 0W30 were German. Snagged the 12. Score for the week: 1) 4 German out of ~20 2) 6 German out of ~15 3) 1 German out of ~15, 4) 0 German out of ~ 30 5) 12 German out of 13.

Total 23 German out of ~93. That's .247, about what a Major League team averages.

quadrun1 · Aug 28, 2003

LOL, I was thinking along those lines, too--the way it's cheered on around here, you'd think German Castrol 0W-30 were some sort of favorite baseball team or something

German Castrol Update

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