Topic: What kind of synthetic oil?

[airbalancer]

At Wally Mart
Tech 2000  4.4 l for $21.00, their own brand, Made by Quake State, I believe
Vavoline 5l for $28.00
Moblie 1 4.4l for $35
CTC brand  4.4 l is $27.00

I will need 7l of oil.
I can get OEM  5 oil filter for $40

The wife drives the car , location is a small town so no stop and go traffic
Which oil would you use?

[AVToller]

Personally, IF I were going to use synthetic under those circumstances, I wouldn't worry about a couple of dollar's difference in price. I would go with Mobil 1 simply because it has a good, known track record, but I'm open to being convinced that another is better. Actually, that is the route I intend to take with the Yaris when I get it, but I'll be doing mostly short drives. 

Thanks for the question - I'll follow it closely. 

[articsteve]

I can get OEM  5 oil filter for $40

?

What viscosity are you thinking about?  I would check out the Esso X oil discussed here a few weeks ago.  Sorry no link.  You buy it from Esso bulk dealers only by the case I would assume.  Price was around 4 bucks a litre.  Who knows now.

[tpl]

Is this for the BMW AirB?  The 7 litres is the clue.  The e46 engines all specify synthetic do they not and  specifically  a 5w-30 with BMWs own preferred and Castrol 2nd.

Mobil 1 or German Castrol 0w-30 synth would be my choices.

[airbalancer]

Sorry, yes oil is  for the BMW 323CIC
http://www.pythonparts.ca/shop though E46toronto.ca will sell 5 oil filters for $40 , dealer will charge $15
The dealer cost for an oil change is $87
I believe BMW oil is Castrol
Does anyone who makes CTC oil?

[smainville]

I think I read here that Shell makes the CTC Syn, but not sure.

[tpl]

I currently have pennzoil synth 5w30 in my 330 as that is what Autotrend put in it.... I am sure it will last 8000km until I get it changed again

[84im]

I truely believe (sort of...see last sentence)  that for an average engine it doesn't matter what brand of oil you put in it, and it doesn't really matter if it's dino or synthetic.  Consumers Report tested different brands of oil (both dino and synthetic) on a fleet of New York taxi cabs, and found out that it didn't really matter what oil you used.  What was important was frequent oil changes.  They tore down the engines that had used dino oil and synthetic oil (after 100,000 miles) and couldn't find any difference in wear.  Having said that, I run synthetic in my Monster Miata and my 2000 Ford Ranger.    I also go 8,000 kms between oil changes.

[articsteve]

I believe BMW oil is Castrol
Does anyone who makes CTC oil?

Which Castrol; Euro or USA?

CTC is Shell Canada.

[AVToller]

Consumers Report tested different brands of oil (both dino and synthetic) on a fleet of New York taxi cabs, and found out that it didn't really matter what oil you used.  What was important was frequent oil changes.  They tore down the engines that had used dino oil and synthetic oil (after 100,000 miles) and couldn't find any difference in wear. 

Unfortunately, that old test is totally irrelevant to most real-life consumer use. If you are running an engine virtually 24 hours a day, you get tremendous lubrication. I'm at the other extreme of usage - the vast majority of trips are under 8 km, and there are MANY cold starts. I need an oil that will provide maximal protection as soon as possible to avoid the most damaging wear episodes. The taxi test had almost none of them. Cold would not be a factor in the taxi case, but might be extremely relevant for use in Calgary. Etc.

[johngenx]

I agree.  That test is only valid if you NEVER cold start or short trip your car.  For those of us that live where it gets cold, synthetic oil can make sense.  Geez, that's about 95% of Canada!  The reason I run Mobil 1 is that it's got a good rep, is widely available (unlike Amsoil) and that I want the cold start protection of synthetic oil.

Look at it this way...

I change the oil every 7500kms on the Mercedes using Mobil 1.  I pay about $70 for the 8L required and $13 for an OE filter.  I do the labour myself.  It costs me $83 to do an oil/filter change, or $0.011 per kilometer.  1.1 cents per km.  Or, I can change dino oil every 5000kms.  A good brand of oil runs about $2.75 per litre.  $25 for the oil and $13 for the filter is $38.  That's less, allrighty.  But, it's still $0.0076, or 0.76 cents per km.  Not much of a savings on a per km basis.  Compared to gasoline, insurance, depreciatation and other expenses, my "luxury" of running synthetic oil and a high quality OE filter (I could buy a POS Fram for half) is one CHEAP luxury.

[AVToller]

You might even get some of the difference back in improved gas mileage. I kept a spreadsheet on the Golf, and noticed about 1.5-2% increase in mileage after switching to synthetic. 

[No H2O]

I believe BMW oil is Castrol

Don't know if it is, but BMW's synthetic oil isn't always a synthetic.

One of the guys in the lab here at work owns a 330 Ci and runs Mobil 1. The BMW "synthetic" oil we tested wasn't even a synthetic...could have been a short term packaging problem.

I've used Mobil 1 5W-30 all year in my CR-V since the first inspection. Zero wear/signs of scuffing, etc on my cam lobes at 87,000 kms.

[ktm525]

Living in Canada you ar fortunate to have Esso XD-3 oils available to you. Both the 0w-30 and 0W-40 are very good full synthetics at a very good price (around $4/L) almost half the price of the eq. Mobil 1.

Caveats: XD-3 does not have an API rating I think and it is available only at Esso bulk depots.

I buy both my Mobil1  0W-40 and XD-3 by the case from the depot. Great prices.

[articsteve]

I believe BMW oil is Castrol

Don't know if it is, but BMW's synthetic oil isn't always a synthetic.

One of the guys in the lab here at work owns a 330 Ci and runs Mobil 1. The BMW "synthetic" oil we tested wasn't even a synthetic...could have been a short term packaging problem.

I've used Mobil 1 5W-30 all year in my CR-V since the first inspection. Zero wear/signs of scuffing, etc on my cam lobes at 87,000 kms.

Castrol "synthetic" sold in North America is derived from dino oil.  Boycott all Castrol products because others see their success (profit) in this outrageous scam and will copy.

[21Rouge]

I buy both my Mobil1  0W-40 and XD-3 by the case from the depot. Great prices.

Is the full range of M1 products available at the depot?

How much?

I was in Sam's Club last week and a case (6 one litre bottles) of M1 5W-30 was priced just under $36.

[articsteve]

That's a great price because Crappy ran out of Mobil 15W50 and I bought it at Wal mart for just under 8 bucks a single bottle. 

[ktm525]

I buy both my Mobil1  0W-40 and XD-3 by the case from the depot. Great prices.

Is the full range of M1 products available at the depot?

How much?

I was in Sam's Club last week and a case (6 one litre bottles) of M1 5W-30 was priced just under $36.

To my knowledge the whole Mobil line is available at the Bulk Fuel Depots. In fact I was hard pressed to find Mobil1 0W-40 at any retailer in Calgary and the depot was my only option. I think the 5W-30 was around $6 and the 0w-40 around $7.


The XD-3 oils 0W-30 and 0W-40 are incredible for $4/L.

[berliner]

The Porsche user manual suggests using Mobil 1.

[Scaerio]

I used to get Mobil 1 oil changes for the Volvo at Wal-Mart here in Ottawa - nearly 6 litres of 5W 30 plus filter plus the labour cost about $55.00.

First oil change for the Aerio is coming up soon...  It's had a few trips to Montreal that put a quick 1500km on the odo...