Do a search on 'Patman', this is old news. German oil is full synthetic, american is partial, IOW, a scam. Autozone, yes, the lone supplier I am aware of. HOWEVER, some stores handle it, some don't. For those that do, it is hit and miss. Those that do, are at the mercy of their supplier, sometimes they get some, sometimes they don't. I'm told they have little control over what quantity is shipped them.

 

How does Royal Purple stack up to Moble 1? I am currently useing Moble 1, but am thinking of switching to Royal Purple

 

So your saying that geramn castrol syntec is better then mobil1 synthetic??? Im all confused Other then opening a bottle and looking at teh color of the oil, how can i tell if its german or american? will it say made in germany????

 

I need an oil change too... How much more is the German motor oil?

 

I run mobil 1 0-40 in my car

 

ive noticed synthetics seem a little "thin" compared to dino oils, wouldnt a 0W40 be damn near like water?

 

i believe a 0w40 would seem thin when pouring in. i believe its supposed to be because when you pour the oil it is a 0 weight oil. once the temperature of the engine heats the oil, the oil increases in viscosity to a 40 weight. the 0 weight would be efficient at starting temperatures. from what i remember about a post i read a while back from the great patman, the 0w40 weight oil is a good choice for using mobil 1. he has however done some extensive tests on the german castrol syntec and (i believe) its to be a good oil. maybe better than mobile 1 (not trying to start a flaming thread). i believe he said the 5w30 is a better choice for the castrol (do a search). the reason for a higher viscosity in mobile 1 is because of its tendancy to be a thinner oil. the main reason i started this thread, however, was to simply find out if there was a significant differance between the german and american versions of castrol. i found the german castrol and it will be printed on the back label. but regardless of the choice of oils, i would definitely advise a decent name brand oil (mobile 1 and castrol for example) and make sure they are synthetic. the polymers in synthetic oils are much superior to that of the old dino oils. their tendancy to break down in higher temps and over time are a lot less and can cover a greater spread of viscosities.
disclaimer: i am not an oil expert! to verify any information that i have given you, do a search on old oil topics or do a search on synthetic oils online.
thanks guys.
dave

ps- did you know that the little W between 0"W"40 means the oil meets specifications for viscosity at 0 F and is therefore suitable for Winter use.

 

A freind of mine works at a BMW dealership, and they sell the german Castrol as well.

I use Amsoil myself. I became a dealer because it was so hard to find. If any of you are interested, I'll sell it to ya for a little over dealer cost. 5W-30 or 10W-30 for $4.60/qt. I use the 0W-30 that Patman has talked about. It will cost $6.50/qt. Im only marking it up $0.05 over dealer cost

Here's some interesting reading http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html