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Old Aug 13, 2005 | 07:55 AM
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Default German Castrol 0W-30

What is the difference between the North American Castrol 0W-30 and the German Castrol 0W-30? I have looked at about 10 Autozone stores around the Washington/Baltimore area and have only found 7 quarts of the German Castrol 0W-30 and a ton of the North American Castrol 0W-30. Is there really that much difference between the German Castrol and the North American Castrol?
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Old Aug 13, 2005 | 05:49 PM
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A ton of info here!

http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/...ubb=forum;f=51
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Old Aug 13, 2005 | 06:37 PM
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So even if it doesn't say "Made in Germany" on the back of the jug, as long as it reads M0501 or M0502 it is still German made Castrol?
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 05:48 AM
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The American made 0w30 Syntec is very old stuff, it's been out of production since 2002. It's not a true synthetic, and it's only 10.0 cst at 100c, so it's almost a 0w20. German made 0w30 Syntec is a true synthetic and is much thicker at operating temp, it's almost a 0w40. The US made 0w30 is to be avoided, it's definitely too weak for the LS1.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Patman
The American made 0w30 Syntec is very old stuff, it's been out of production since 2002. It's not a true synthetic, and it's only 10.0 cst at 100c, so it's almost a 0w20. German made 0w30 Syntec is a true synthetic and is much thicker at operating temp, it's almost a 0w40. The US made 0w30 is to be avoided, it's definitely too weak for the LS1.
So the MO5 made in germany is OK?

Bill
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 11:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Bill Bowling
So the MO5 made in germany is OK?

Bill

The newest version of the German made stuff is now a different formula, but it still passes the same specs as the previous version and is the same viscosity. I'd prefer to go for the green formula if you can still find it (M0501 or earlier) but at the same time, I would not fear the new gold version. It does not appear so far that it's a weaker formulation by any means, it's just got a higher level of magnesium and a lower level of calcium. (how that will affect wear I'm not totally sure but we'll find out soon)
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 02:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Patman
The American made 0w30 Syntec is very old stuff, it's been out of production since 2002. It's not a true synthetic, and it's only 10.0 cst at 100c, so it's almost a 0w20. German made 0w30 Syntec is a true synthetic and is much thicker at operating temp, it's almost a 0w40. The US made 0w30 is to be avoided, it's definitely too weak for the LS1.
Patman, I realize that we want to run the German Castrol but after reading the link that BudH provided on German Castrol it looks like that the new formula they dropped the wording on the back of the jug saying "Made in Germany". So am I wrong thinking that the new formula doesn't say Made in Germany on the back of the jug. I have been to over 10 different Autozone stores in the Washington/Baltimore area and I have only found 7 quarts that said Made in Germany on the back and they were M021XXXXXXXXX and M031XXXXXXXXX (Green in color). I have found a ton of what I think is the new formula M051XXXXXXXXXX and M052XXXXXXXX but it just doesn't say Made in Germany on the back.

Last edited by speedracer5532; Aug 14, 2005 at 05:12 PM.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 07:14 PM
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That is odd, I've yet to hear of any M05 or newer stuff which doesn't say made in Germany on it. That one has me stumped. I did not hear anything at all about production coming back to the US.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 07:35 PM
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I bought the Gold stuff for my wife's car recently at Autozone, and it still says made in Germany. Also M05.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 07:57 PM
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Ok, thanks. I will just keep looking and make sure it says Made in Germany on it. I do have German Castrol OW-30 in my car now and so far it hasn't used any oil. I was running Racing 21 Royal Purple and the engine was using about a quart every 2000 miles. I do only have about 600 miles with the German Castrol but so far it is right at the full mark.
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Old Aug 14, 2005 | 11:31 PM
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SAme here ... I was using another quality syn 0-30 and was consuming a quart every 2000 miles. With GC I'm at 1900 and down less than half a quart. BTW, if that M05 you found without the "made in Germany" says all that stuff on the label about meeting European specifications, Audi, BMW, VW, etc., it might be the real deal.
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Old Aug 15, 2005 | 12:30 AM
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Hi, could someone do me a favor and post a pic of the german Castol bottle or box (front, back, label/contents, etc)? I'm not sure if I'm looking in the right places, but then again it really just might be that this type of oil is not available in Hawaii
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Old Aug 15, 2005 | 10:16 AM
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Hey Speed
Do you hear me now? How about now? How about now
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Old Aug 15, 2005 | 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by YellowToy/A
Hey Speed
Do you hear me now? How about now? How about now
Hey Yellow, don't you have some work to be doing instead of giving me a hard time. HAHA.
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Old Aug 15, 2005 | 03:03 PM
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lol, you what would be fun, let's all run backwards and see if we can slow down the rotation of the earth.
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Old Aug 15, 2005 | 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by FenixSS
Hi, could someone do me a favor and post a pic of the german Castol bottle or box (front, back, label/contents, etc)? I'm not sure if I'm looking in the right places, but then again it really just might be that this type of oil is not available in Hawaii
Here are a couple pictures. Sorry they did not come out too good.

Bill
Attached Thumbnails German Castrol 0W-30-mvc-001s.jpg   German Castrol 0W-30-mvc-005s.jpg   German Castrol 0W-30-mvc-010s.jpg  
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Old Aug 15, 2005 | 03:20 PM
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Awesome!
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Old Aug 16, 2005 | 02:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Bill Bowling
Here are a couple pictures. Sorry they did not come out too good.

Bill

Thanks, yep definetly not avail in Hawaii Don't suppose any could help me out? I'll check with like Sam's Club or Costco, maybe they could have it courtesey shipped.
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Old Aug 16, 2005 | 01:11 PM
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Well at one time there were both german and non GC at my autozone...After cycling through a few production runs I guess, it's only the blend stuff now. Thanks for the helpful pics, that certainly clears things up and dispels several myths...the next turning point I'm going for will be changing to GC.

However, I hope the new stuff works well for the near future...I mean to say, I hope the reverse holds true for a while as I just put it in recently, I would hate to have to drain the block right away...nonetheless I'm overly concerned about the blend in my car right now. I don't have the GC anymore, and I took off the shelf stuff which was not the GC.
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Old Aug 16, 2005 | 02:02 PM
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all the M05 stuff i have found at the local autozones says made in germany and the audi/porsche stuff. regular castrol isn't supposed to be very good from what ive heard. M1 or Amsoil would be a better alternative
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