German Castrol Still Available - USA ?

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People used to rave about how good German Castrol 5W30 was - is it still available in the USA - or did Castrol stop shipping or change the formulation ?
I ask because while Castrol has USA fans of Magnatec or EDGE , spec for spec the oils that Castrol ships over to the USA are really nothing special (especially base oils , percentage of VII's contained a other specs. one might wish to compare against SOPUS , Valvoline or even against some M1 synthetic products ... I'll stop there and say if you are a fan of Castrol - then by all means continue using - but there is little doubt that German Castrol 5W30 was a different , better oil than what Castrol ships to the USA today .
 
German Castrol, so-called because it was PAO-based, was a full-SAPS A3/B4 0W-30, and it has long been discontinued throughout the world.

It has been replaced by a mid-SAPS C3 0W-30 in Germany and the EU, which is also PAO-based, so also "German," but that has never been available in the US.
 
Originally Posted by ChrisD46
People used to rave about how good German Castrol 5W30 was - is it still available in the USA - or did Castrol stop shipping or change the formulation ?

It was 0W-30. Production has shifted to Belgium in more recent years, and it's been reformulated a number of times. So no, the original green stuff is no longer.
 
I recall the German made 0w40 was discussed quite a while ago. Here is some Castrol 0w40 from Sept 2018 that was made In Germany. I did not see any 0w30 Castrol around here.



3A432E99-4211-48BF-B15B-E26D69324778.jpeg


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The country of origin does not matter. It wasn't called "German" because it was made in Germany. It was called German because it was PAO-based, therefore full synthetic -- vollsynthese -- in German sense.

There is a mid-SAPS Castrol 0W-30 C3 now, which is vollsynthese -- full synthetic in German sense. It is not available in the US.

[Linked Image from images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com]


The full-SAPS Castrol 0W-30 A3/B4 and full-SAPS Castrol 0W-40 A3/B4 are "teilsynthese" now, which means synthetic blend in German sense. This is because they contain both Group III and PAO; therefore, they are not full synthetic in German sense anymore.

[Linked Image from images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com]


In Germany such oils are also called "HC-synthese," which means there is Group III (HC for hydrocarbons) in them, therefore full synthetic in the American sense but not full synthetic in the German sense.

[Linked Image from images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com]
 
Originally Posted by incognito_2u
"Liked" Gokahn's reply.

+1

Just wish the pics were bigger.
Having a hard time reading the writings on the jugs from space.

Also, the "Made in Belgium" version of 0w30/0w40 (not sure which), is still available up here in Canada.
IIRC, it's one of the best oils offered by Castrol in North America.
 
Post of the day Gokhan. You won this daily pat-on-the-back a few time before too, in the past several months.
I'm trying to win it once in 16 years.....lol.
 
Originally Posted by Gokhan
The country of origin does not matter. It wasn't called "German" because it was made in Germany. It was called German because it was PAO-based, ...

Wrong. It had everything to do with country of origin.
The original "German" Castrol Syntec 0w-30 was made in Germany and imported to the US.
There were versions of the Castrol Syntec 0w-30 made in the US and Germany at the same time.
The one made in the US was not as good as the one made in Germany (German made was full PAO, US was not).
Original German had a green tint to it as well, but went to an amber color in later production.
 
Originally Posted by blupupher
Originally Posted by Gokhan
The country of origin does not matter. It wasn't called "German" because it was made in Germany. It was called German because it was PAO-based, ...
Wrong. It had everything to do with country of origin.
The original "German" Castrol Syntec 0w-30 was made in Germany and imported to the US.
There were versions of the Castrol Syntec 0w-30 made in the US and Germany at the same time.
The one made in the US was not as good as the one made in Germany (German made was full PAO, US was not).
Original German had a green tint to it as well, but went to an amber color in later production.

It does not matter. Do you think US, Germany, and Belgium are the only countries Castrol blends their oils in? Castrol has a blending facility virtually in every country. For example the new Castrol 0W-30 C3/dexos2 is blended in several countries but it's PAO-based regardless of the country of the origin.

As I explained Castrol 0W-30 A3/B4 has been reformulated throughout the world, regardless of the country of the origin, and it's no longer PAO-based. Perhaps the two simultaneously different versions you're talking about were at the time of the reformulation taking place.

Moreover, there are also the Castrol 0W-30 A5/B5 (made in USA) vs. Castrol 0W-30 A3/B4. Of course, these two are entirely different oils, the former being a lower-HTHS oil and not requiring a higher-quality base oil.

Does that mean that a given Castrol oil can't have different formulations depending on the country of the origin? Yes, it certainly can. However, you need to realize that the country of the origin ultimately has nothing to do with whether it's PAO-based or not. In Germany they blend and sell oils that are not PAO-based as wells as PAO-based oils. However, from what I've seen in MSDSs, the formulation tends not to vary with the country of the origin if at all. This is for obvious economic reasons because changing the formulation means retesting and recertifying the oil, which costs millions of dollars.
 
Yeah, I ordered some German 100% syntheic Vaico oil from ECS tuning at an excellent price through Amazon. They sent me HC instead and claimed ignorance when I complained. They paid for me to ship it back and got a negative review for their troubles. The picture and ad description were unquestionably for vollsynthese. Let the buyer beware. This bait and switch tactic has taken over at Amazon and Ebay even among reputable dealers.
 
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Originally Posted by Gokhan

It does not matter. Do you think US, Germany, and Belgium are the only countries Castrol blends their oils in? Castrol has a blending facility virtually in every country. For example the new Castrol 0W-30 C3/dexos2 is blended in several countries but it's PAO-based regardless of the country of the origin.

As I explained Castrol 0W-30 A3/B4 has been reformulated throughout the world, regardless of the country of the origin, and it's no longer PAO-based. Perhaps the two simultaneously different versions you're talking about were at the time of the reformulation taking place.

Moreover, there are also the Castrol 0W-30 A5/B5 (made in USA) vs. Castrol 0W-30 A3/B4. Of course, these two are entirely different oils, the former being a lower-HTHS oil and not requiring a higher-quality base oil.

Does that mean that a given Castrol oil can't have different formulations depending on the country of the origin? Yes, it certainly can. However, you need to realize that the country of the origin ultimately has nothing to do with whether it's PAO-based or not. In Germany they blend and sell oils that are not PAO-based as wells as PAO-based oils. However, from what I've seen in MSDSs, the formulation tends not to vary with the country of the origin if at all. This is for obvious economic reasons because changing the formulation means retesting and recertifying the oil, which costs millions of dollars.

Again, country of origin did matter, regardless of what you think.
I (and the OP) am talking about the "German Castrol" that is specifically being referred to in this forum for the ~2003-2006 time frame. It was was called German Castrol because it was MADE IN GERMANY.
It was Castrol Syntec 0w-30, was green, and was made in Germany, and was a specific oil formulation that was only made in Germany.
The Castrol Syntec 0w-30 made in the US at the same time carried the same spec's, but was not the same oil, and was not sought after.
I don't give a rats rear about any of the technical qualifiers of what you are referring to, that is not what is being referenced when talking about the specific green German Castrol from that time frame on this forum.

When talking about current oils, you are correct.
Country of origin now is not as big of a deal; but at that time for that specific oil, it was.

You were not around at that time, so understandable you don't know about it.
 
Actually the PAO-based German Castrol A3/B4 0W-30 and 0W-40 were available until a few years ago, perhaps as late as 2017 or 2018.

Full-SAPS A3/B4 oils are losing popularity, and the mid-SAPS Castrol C3/dexos2 0W-30 is PAO-based now as I mentioned earlier, but it's not available in the US. It says made in EU on the bottle, Italy being one of the actual blending locations.
 
It appears the synthetic oils that Castrol is now supplying the USA are a bit underwhelming - there is only so much you can do with additives if the Castrol base oils are lacking .
Originally Posted by Gokhan
Actually the PAO-based German Castrol A3/B4 0W-30 and 0W-40 were available until a few years ago, perhaps as late as 2017 or 2018.

Full-SAPS A3/B4 oils are losing popularity, and the mid-SAPS Castrol C3/dexos2 0W-30 is PAO-based now as I mentioned earlier, but it's not available in the US. It says made in EU on the bottle, Italy being one of the actual blending locations.
 
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