Oil

[Koehler <koehlerb@domain.elided>]

In response to:

Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 22:33:56 EST
From: WAREJEFF@domain.elided
Subject: synthetic motor oil

i currently use castrol gtx 20-50 in my stag. i am considering the use
of
synthetic motor oil. here in the usa the commonly available synthetic
chioces
are: mobil 1 15-50, castrol syntec 5-50 and pennsoil 5-50. i'm not keen
on the
5-50 oils, so mobil 1 would be my first chioce. any thoughts on this?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a convoluted response to your input.  I used to believe all the
hype on Castrol (yes, I said Castrol) - I have had FOUR MAJOR engine
failures with valves seizing up in the valve guides running it:

72 Stag
79 Spitfire
83 Chev 350 V8
71 Ford 302 V8 in a boat

It has happened over a 10 year period, but Castrol is the ONLY common
denominator.

Anyone else ?

Best wishes,

Bruce Koehler
72 Stag

PS - I run Mobil 1 in my Camaro - 51K miles with no problems, however I
wouldn't expect problems yet.  Consumer Reports did a study which
basically said all the oils are the same (including synthetics).  If so,
why does GM REQUIRE synthetics in Corvette and V-8 Camaro?