Castrol synthetic or Valvoline?

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Funny you bring that up. If you look online, there's a guy that does independent filter testing cutting them open. In every case, and every part number, Motorcraft filters have more media than any other filter. They are also all still made in USA.

gregsdart said:
After fifty years of trying to figure out what oil is best, I came up with what I think is a good choice. Look to who has the most to use by thier choice of oils. Ford Motors can't afford to put anything but a very good oil in thier trucks. Thier reputation is on the line, and Billions of $$ is at stake! Make mine. Motorcraft blend, in the right wieght for my bearing clearances.
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It is odd. But I go from 23 mpg to about 20 sometimes less depending. Almost like the oil has broken down to much and is causing to little resistance or more. Idk it's definitely odd. Running synthetic I should be able to go 5-6k before changing oil and filter. That's why I'm trying the extended stuff. Claims 15k protection. We will see. When I was using normal oil I'd hange it 3k and never noticed a change unless I went about 1-1.5 k over.
 
Another thing to cosider if you can get away with using a non flat tappet cammed motor ,ie roller cam equiped. If the oil meets the factory standards for Ford GM and Chrysler, good enough for me.
 
Phily said:
It is odd. But I go from 23 mpg to about 20 sometimes less depending. Almost like the oil has broken down to much and is causing to little resistance or more. Idk it's definitely odd. Running synthetic I should be able to go 5-6k before changing oil and filter. That's why I'm trying the extended stuff. Claims 15k protection. We will see. When I was using normal oil I'd hange it 3k and never noticed a change unless I went about 1-1.5 k over.
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Philly, maybe you know this already, but here goes. I would base my oil changes based on whether the motor is carbed ,throttle body , or port injected, plus the number of warm ups to some degree. I plan on looking up the factory recomended intervals for a carbed version, because that is what I plan to run. Because my project motor will see lots of cold starts ,short trips and is carb equiped, 2500 to 3000 mi will probably be it. My 2015 F150 goes 9,000 miles between changes on the other hand.
 
gregsdart said:
Another thing to cosider if you can get away with using a non flat tappet cammed motor ,ie roller cam equiped. If the oil meets the factory standards for Ford GM and Chrysler, good enough for me.
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Funny you mention this.

I just read an article, or maybe it was the Jesel web site I forget which. But they were recommending a high zinc oil even with roller lifters. The zinc does more than protect the cam.
 
I would run valvoline synpower over Castrol syntec and I would run 5w-30 over 10w-30 in a 360 magnum.
I'm running Mobil 1 0w-40 in my 360 Magnum, prior to running the 0w-40 I was running valvoline synpower 5w-30 and it was great oil, ran nice and smooth and quiet on the synpower.
And synpower puts out impressive uoa's.
Only reason I switched to 0w-40 is because I live in Montana where winter is the longest season of the year where it routinely gets well below zero for weeks at a time.
 
Phily said:
Almost like the oil has broken down to much and is causing to little resistance or more
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Sorry to say that, but that is utter BS. Oil doesn't have a lifespan or expiration date. Sure it slowly breaks down over time (mostly from heat) but not after just a few 1000 miles.
They have run tests with simple standard motor oils and let it in the engine for, say, 50000 miles. They just topped it off when required. After that they drained it (being pitch black then) and had it analyzed. It was still oil and was still doing its job, it had degraded but not that it would have hurt the engine. That was in the 1990's, and we have much better oil available today.
 
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stixx said:
Sorry to say that, but that is utter BS. Oil doesn't have a lifespan or expiration date. Sure it slowly breaks down over time (mostly from heat) but not after just a few 1000 miles.
They have run tests with simple standard motor oils and let it in the engine for, say, 50000 miles. They just topped it off when required. After that they drained it (being pitch black then) and had it analyzed. It was still oil and was still doing its job, it had degraded but not that it would have hurt the engine. That was in the 1990's, and we have much better oil available today.
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What happens is the additive package in the oil gets used up. Mineral oils do degrade with time, but a good synthetic base stock (not group III) won't ever wear out but the additive package is gone. Then you start having cam failures, ring seal issues and the like.
 
I know the thread is a couple weeks old, but I'll put in my .02. I've use Mobil 1 in my race car and street cars and have never had an oil related failure. My last two cars have used it from purchase to grave. My '01 Ranger had 273,000 miles on it before I totaled it. My current ride is a '10 Dodge Caliber and it's getting ready for the 130,000 mile oil change. The Ranger used 5W30 and the Caliber uses 5W20. The filters have all been Purolators. I've changed the oil every 5000 miles without fail. I'm looking at doing a stock style rebuild on a 360 with a mild roller cam. I'd have no issue with running a 5W30 synthetic (EFI engine). Just a note...VW is a big believer in Castrol Synthetic...from Germany. I've heard the same regarding Castrol in the US not being a true synthetic. I'd make my oil choice based on your cam (flat or roller). I've also heard a lot of good things about Brad Penn.
 
FWIW... I have been using Mobil 1 since it came out in the 70's. Raced on it a bunch (in rallying, where you are pounding on the engine 100 miles at a time) and found that the oil breakdown (oxidation) is far, far less than for the best brands of regular petroleum oils. The reduction in wear in some parts is phenomenal from my teardowns; cylinders and ring and bore wear down is reduced 80-90% in my checks, and bearing wear is waaaay down also. Wear on lifters and cam do not seem to be changed, and the incidence of cold start lifter rattle seems more with Mobil 1; this IMHO is probably due to the lower cold temp viscosity. Protection of the bearings after oil loss is crazy better versus standard petroleum oils; it has saved my engines a couple of times.

As far as the viscosity versus temp: Viscosity differences are checked at only 2 temps: 100C and 40C , so neither reflects the cold temp behavior well. True synthetics will maintain a lot lower viscosity at temps from 30F to -20 F or less. So if you run a heavier synthetic weight like 5W-40 and the temps get in the teens in AZ in winter, your oil will flow well at cold start-up. You can see the improvements in low temp viscosity reflected in a spec called "Pour Point"; true synthetics all run Pour Point temps 15-20 degrees F lower than their straight petroleum counterparts.

A lot of synthetics are blends as has been stated. I can't say much about them. BTW, Mobil 1 is actually petroleum oil that has been highly, highly refined. I understand that the objective in the refining process is to get the oil molecules down to a very specific range of sizes. Somehow, that gives the performance benefits.

Yes, I recall the issues reported with oil leakage in the early days of Mobil 1. It tended to occur in engines that had higher miles and worn seals. If you switched to it at say 5k-30k miles, there were no seal leak issues.

Check the zinc additive levels in the the synthetic weight that you select. The lighter weights tend to have lower zinc levels; I think this is more EPA mandated for these light weights, and is perhaps a downside to the lighter weights. My son is going to change to a 10W50 Mobil 1 or thereabouts to get the higher zinc numbers.
 
stixx said:
They have run tests with simple standard motor oils and let it in the engine for, say, 50000 miles. They just topped it off when required. After that they drained it (being pitch black then) and had it analyzed. It was still oil and was still doing its job, it had degraded but not that it would have hurt the engine.
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That reminds me of a story. I had a buddy in the Navy, Guidry, who had a '73 Pinto. I asked him one day what oil he used in it at oil changes, and he got a look on his face like he had been hit by lightning......"You mean you're supposed to change it?" he said with his Cajun accent.... I changed it for him then at there, with 30 k miles on it; it was like molasses. I would not like to have had that engine.....
 
I moved away from Castrol products in the early 1990's, as I found I wasn't getting the mileage I was expecting before my lifters started chattering.

Since I switched to Valvoline, I don't have that issue any more.

This suggested to me that the Castrol was breaking down sooner.

So far I've been very happy with Valvoline syn blend 5 or 10W 30, and I've also been pleased with Motorcraft syn blend in the same weight. Both are very competitively priced.
 
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