Does anyone have any ideas where I can get my hands on some Castrol RS 10w/60. Demon Tweeks sell it I know but by the time you've added postage on it'll cost a fortune from them I thought Halfords used to sell it but the couple of stores near me which I've been in don't seem to stock it anymore!

 

contact opie oils, although they will probably recommend silkolene as it's a better oil, but if you really want castrol then i'm sure they can supply it at a very good price

 

OK cheers Bud, I'll see what they have to say

 

You can mail order it from Castrol Classic Oils on 01954 231668.
Some people say that the Silkolene and Motul oils are better oils being proper fully synthetics but I'll let oilman comment on that.
Also my local BP garage is now selling Castrol Edge in 10w/60 specifically for BMW M-cars - I suspect you'll find this Edge oil in your local BP garage?

OILMAN - IS CASTROL EDGE 10W/60 JUST THE OLD CASTROL RS 10W/60 RE-BRANDED? OR A TOTALLY NEW OIL ( shouting as it is a long way to Cornwall .... )

 

Yes, it's the same oil.

Use a synthetic like Silkolene or Motul, it's a better oil for the same money. I have RS 10w-60 on the shelf if you insist.

Cheers
Simon

 

Ok, be honest here... its not the same oil!

take for example the 0w40s.....

Castrol RS has a API of sl/cf where as the new Edge sport evqilient is sm/cf

Castrol RS is a synthetic oil as well... I'm not saying its better, but you need to be careful with information!

Alex

 

It is a rebranding exercise to incorporate the new API SM spec.

In essence it's the same oil, why would Castrol waste millions creating a new oil? RS will be phased out eventually.

Cheers
Simon

 

becasue they are developing new oil all the time?


Mainly driven by Manufacturer demand... eg ll03, ll04, the vw one for diesels that I cant think of the numbers for!

incorporating the spec will mean changing the blend, which isnt that hard to do, but makes a new product, so why not sell it?

Alex

 

Alex,

The Edge is the Rebranded RS series, along with the old Castrol SLX 0w-30, also rebranded as edge, the new one is the Castrol SLX II which they have developed to meet all the latest manufacturer specs, mainly BMW and their particulate filters.

Also, RS 0w-40(edge) = PAO synthetic
RS 10w-60 (edge) = hydrocracked mineral.

Be careful with information.

 

hmmm

Castrol say this:

RS 10w60

http://129.35.64.91/bpglis/lubtds.ns...B?OpenDocument

rs 0w40

http://129.35.64.91/bpglis/lubtds.ns...1?OpenDocument


Unless the data sheets are wrong

 

I know I sell them, I've also had them tested chemically and RS 10w-60 was last May a hydrocracked oil, not a proper synthetic however, this is perfectly legal.

Quote:

Costs of synthetics vary considerably. The most expensive are the “Ester” types originally only used in jet engines. These cost 6 to 10 times more than high quality mineral oils.

The cheapest synthetics are not really synthetic at all, from a chemists point of view. These are in fact specially refined light viscosity mineral oils known as “hydrocracked”.

These have some advantages over equivalent mineral oils, particularly in lower viscosity motor oils such as 5w-30 or other oils with a low “W” rating such as 5w-50 etc and they cost about 1.5 times more than good quality mineral fractions.

We use several different grades of this base oil, where appropriate. This is the “synthetic” which is always used in cheap oils that are labelled “synthetic”. Yes it’s a cruel world, you get what you pay for!

Now, you may ask, why are these special mineral oils called “synthetic”?

Well, it was all sorted in a legal battle that took place in the USA about ten years ago. Sound reasons (including evidence from a Nobel Prize winning chemist) were disregarded and the final ruling was that certain mineral bases that had undergone extra chemical treatments could be called “synthetic”.

Needless to say, the marketing executives wet their knickers with pure delight! They realised that this meant, and still does, that the critical buzz-word “synthetic” could be printed on a can of cheap oil provided that the contents included a few percent of “hydrocracked” mineral oil, at a cost of quite literally a few pence.

So, the chemistry of “synthetics” is complex and so is the politics!

The economics are very simple. If you like the look of a smart well-marketed can with “synthetic” printed on it, fair enough, it will not cost you a lot; and now you know why this is the case. But, if you drive a high performance car, and you intend to keep it for several years, and maybe do the odd “track day”, then you need a genuine Ester/PAO (Poly Alpha Olefin) synthetic oil.

This oil costs more money to buy, because it costs us a lot of money to make, very simply, you always get what you pay for!

Unquote:

This was written by an eminent R&D Chemist from a major oil Company.

Cheers
Simon

 

thank you for satisfying my curiosity!

Alex