Dodge RamCharger Central banner

Castrol Syntec 20-50 for classic cars

17K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  Stokedpwrwagon 
#1 ·
Decided to give this oil a try. Amsoil became hard to find. It's advertised as a motor oil for older high performance engines with a added zinc package. My engine is a built 440, 11.2 to 1 Ross forged pistons, bored .60 over, ported heads, blah, blah, blah. In the summer I would run 20-50 Amsoil, then switch to 10-40 in the winter. This past summer I ran this 20-50 Syntec, through 2 oil changes. After the second oil change, I noticed a slight ticking sound. HHmm, maybe a header gasket, left front drivers side. It progressively got a little louder. This truck is my daily driver, so I know when my motor is happy or not. It started to run sluggish after a while then it became time to change the gasket. But a friend at work said NAPA now carries Amsoil, it was really hard to tell if it was a header leak or a noisy lifter, this motor has about 26000 miles on it. Changed the oil back to Amsoil. The ticking then gradually started to go away. After about 3 days no more ticking sound and she now runs like a raped ape like before. Don't know if it was coincidence or just crappy oil. I'll let you all figure this one out. Just thought I would pass this real life experience to you all on this product. Thank you for time! Later- Farmer John!!
 
#2 ·
well while I'm not a 'fan' of synthetics really, the only two I'd consider are Amsoil, and Mobil 1.  But my toys are also powered by non-roller engines, so I add in the zinc additive as well, regardless of if the company says it's in there or not.

I'm a huge Valvoline fan - I run nothing else for engine oil.  My diesels get premium blue (non-synthetic) and my RB's get standard 10-40.
 
#3 ·
I personally was a believer in the Castrol Syntec line of oils. I have stopped utilizing those products solely because of the fact that Castrol is a product of BP Oils (a company that I intend to never do business with again), so I am in the hunt for a new oil.  As of my last oil change -in my Grand Am daily driver- I used Pennzoil's synthetic, I personally am a fan of full synthetic oils, they seem to be a lot more refined and have a way of keeping problems at a minimum. I am waiting to pass any judgement on it until I go through at least 3000 miles with it in my motor, but so far it has given me no real complaints, or real reason to cheer.  I have never used Amsoil... Is there any particular reason WHY it is so great... if there is I'll give that a try next. Thanks.
 
#4 ·
I am too a a big fan of pensoil synthetic. Had nothing but good results with it. Cleans the engine well don't tick or knock and runs smooth. Recommend to anyone any day
 
#5 ·
I use Amsoil or Mobil 1 in everything.  I long ago learned to not use Penzoil.  My mother's Mustang had Penzoil turn to a gel-like consistency in a 100+ degree heat wave.  It would not flow through the engine, it was so thick, and it trashed the engine.  The oil was so thick in the pan, you could stand a screwdriver up in it.  The mechanic thought the oilpan was empty, because it wouldn't drain.  It took six months for Penzoil to pay the claim for the rebuild and machine work.  Penzoil can kiss my donkey. 

I had a similar experience with Fram oil filters, when one came apart internally, and the cardboard filter media ended up in my engine.  I will never purchase another Fram product.
 
#6 ·
I'm actually starting to lean towards Joe Gibbs Racing oils, specifically the HR (Hot Rot) series. The HR is designed for vehicles that sit for long periods at a time (like musclecars, and the military) and also has high zinc levels for flat tappet cams. My engine builder will use nothing else, however he also said the Mobil 1 is hard to beat in a diesel application, I think it was because of the detergent/cleaning nature of Mobil 1.

In my Cummins-powered machines, I use Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck oil, 5W40 - http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_Turbo_Diesel_Truck_5W-40.aspx

...along with a bottle of Lucas break-in oil - http://www.lucasoil.ca/

For my musclecars tho, I'm switching to the JG racing oils -

Dino version - http://www.joegibbsdriven.com/products/hotrod/hr2.html

Synthetic - http://www.joegibbsdriven.com/products/hotrod/hr4.html
 
#7 ·
I run Cam2 Racing Oil in my older vehicles (like my '74 Duster). Although Cam2 doesn't make a Non-synthetic  20w50 anymore. So apparently the stock pile of 20w50 dino blood that my dad has, is probably the last Cam2 20w50 (dino blood) in existence.

So when that runs out, we'll have to find something just as good to run in our engines.
 
#8 ·
I'm a HUGE fan of Mobil 1 full synthetic, I use it in everything I own in fact I have a 99 dodge neon thats at 225,000 miles and still starts, runs and drives great and I've only put/used Mobil 1 full synthetic in it and always will I see no reason why it won't hit 300,000 miles or more at this point.
I USED to be a fan of Castrol GTX BUT in 2007 I put it in a 2007 Yamaha ATV that was brand new and the thing was running like crap hard as heck to shift and difficult to start, so I drained the oil and switched it over to Mobil 1 full synthetic and after about 10mins the quad started, shifted and ran tons better in fact after about a 20min ride I thought I broke the shift lever with my foot and when I looked down it was fine the reason why is because it became that much easier to shift between the gears and from reverse to forward and back again no prob I didn't have to turn the quad off anymore to shift from forward and reverse or back again that's been enough for me that I'll never use Castrol again, same goes for penzoil or Quaker state, years ago when I used them they either burned or sludged up really bad.
Nowadays I've been using a turbo diesel oil in my gas engine truck because I believe they're the only oil that still has the additives in them like zinc, phophourous etc in them
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top