GC (aka German Castrol) - Good for Hondas?

[Jrfish007]

The simple answer is not really.

But as always, a little further discusion is needed. Some people have asked about this stuff and I really haven't gott into what it is and why it isn't that great in MOST Honda's, there was even a thread on it about amonth ago HERE.

Anyway, German Castrol (GC) is Castrol Syntec 0w30. It is distiguished with different markings and if in doubt you can look at the back and see if it reads Made in Germany. Note that some Castrol Syntec 0w30 is made in the US and this is not the same. All other Syntecs are not made in Germany and do not have the same properties. It comes in 2 flavors, Green or Gold. The green flavor is the older formulation from what I gather and I have never actually seen it in person. The gold, I have used this before, is what is currently aviable. And as I mentioned there is the standard US 0w30 that really isn't GC. Here are some photos of them

What makes it so different?
First of all is the base stocks are Class IV, which means it is a complete synthetic oil unlike the standard Syntech which a class III stock base, class 3 is considered "convential oil". It also has a different addative package.

The problem with GC:
GC was formulated for German cars, i.e. Benz and BMW mostly. These engines run some what large gaps in their eninges, precise but large when comapred to Japan cars, still smaller than most US cars. These larger gaps require an oil that is a little thicker, some people with M3's actually go even higher than 30 weight to reduce oil consumpution. As a result Germany decided they would make their own oil, hence GC. This oils is actually quite thick, very close to a 0w40 actually. This also give it tendency to "quite" the motor down, of course this is an objective thing.

Japan cars, specially Honda's, generally run tighter cleanrances and also have a tendency to be more "happy" at higher revs. For this type of situation a thinner oil, like Mobile 1 tends to be a better choice.

I'm not saying that GC is bad oil, but from what I have seen and read GC tends to work well for what it is made for, German cars. You can certianly use it in a Honda, it won't hurt anything, but most people report a slight loss of power at high end with GC in a Honda.

This oil may also be REALLY good for those select few with turbo's on their Honda's.... Just a thought.

In short if your car is speced at 5w20, probably not the best oil. WHat about the Si, it need 5w30? Probably not, because the Si revs pretty high and the thicker oil will not help to much, but that is just speculation.

Here is some more reading for those interested:

Some people with GC in their Honda/Acura, some like and some don't, all agree on the engine being less rev happy though

Or yout can go to Bobistheoilguy, they have an entire forum dedicated to this stuff....

[Tom1222]

Hmm, that Green stuff doesn't look all that healthy. Looks like they mixed Antifreeze with Motoroil. YUCK!! I wouldn't think a 0W30 would be thicker than a 5W30. Seems the 0W30 would flow a lot better and protect from cold starts and when it gets hot protect like a normal 30 weight oil. I actually will switch to Mobile One 0W40. It is especially designed for High Revving engines like ours. I don't think I will put that GC green stuff into my car

BTW, I am going to Germany next month for work and I will check out some of their oils. Over there OIL is damn expensive. One time the rental car I had (A Golf TDI) was a quart low and I just wanted to dump the cheapes oil I could find at a gas station in there but the attendent told me that the Turbo Diesel require a special Turbo Diesel Oil and it void the warranty if I didn't put the right type of oil in there. Okay, so he hands me this Liter of Oil for 28 Euros. I almost shit my pants. 28 Euros (36USD) for a lousy Liter of Oil...
GEEZ.... I went ahead and paid it since the Car Rental Company would pay me back anyway but overall that was totally crazy... The cheapest Oil I found was the ARAL brand and still cost about 12 Euros per Liter. Outrageous.

[Jrfish007]

Well, they don't amke the green stuff any more, so shouldn't have a problem with that, now it is all Gold.

At cold start up it flows like most other 0wXX's, but at operating temps it is thicker than most Xw30's, probably very close to your M1 0w40.

[cmanser]

How would the castrol work mixed say with 3 1/2 qts of M1 5W-20 and the 1 qt of Castrol 0W30. Gives you the thin weight of the M1 but the long life and addatives of the Castrol - best of both worlds??? or too Frankenstein???

Commnets?

[Tom1222]

Originally Posted by cmanser

How would the castrol work mixed say with 3 1/2 qts of M1 5W-20 and the 1 qt of Castrol 0W30. Gives you the think weight of the M1 but the long life and addatives of the Castrol - best of both worlds??? or too Frankenstein???

Commnets?

I would say stay away from the 5W20 all together. The Castrol 0W30 Germany made Syntec is one of the best overall oils you can get and put in your Si. I ran the Mobile one 5W30 prior to using the 0W30 syntec and the car ran a lot smoother with the Syntec than the Mobil One.
I am running it in my Audi TT and in my Mustang GT and both cars run excellent on this oil and the gas mileage has actually improved some.

Either way I would not recommend mixing oils and don't waste your money on additives like Slick 50 or Prolong or even Lucas crap.
All of todays oils have a specific additive package which you compromise if you add anything else into the mix.

[silverspoon1996]

Oil is Oil People.. the weight is all that matters. Hondas like ours like either 5w20 or 5w30... You either run a synthetic or a natural Blend. Oil Brands and grades differ by the additives they use. Racecars run different oils then normal street driven cars because race engines use different clearences after rebuilds. Plus they dont take the engines 3500 miles between oil changes.. they run the car hard as hell, and change the oil.. if theres metal in the oil.. they tear the engine down and correct the problem. Use the oil that your supposed to use according to the owners manual and your climate.

I choice to run synthetic cause I do drive my car harder then alot of normal people do, I match every gear downshifting, and usually shift right before I crack Vtec on the Hondata reflash (<4500-5000 rpm). I love the sound of my honda and dont care if other people cant stand the loud noise my car makes.

Bottem line is the best oil you can run in your car for the street is a reputible oil companies synthetic. (Mobil 1 5w20 or 5w30 for example).

And as far as GC... As long as it is the recommended grade oil... you can use it in your car. If someone in Germany owns a Civic, they cant run Castrol cause its not sold there.. they just run GC...