Hey everyone,

Just a little background first. Had my G for 8 years now. I've been running Royal Purple 5w-30 for the past 140K miles or so. No problems. Probably would have run something else if i kept up on on the forums at that time. From days of searching and reading it seems that the German Castrol 0w-30 was the best oil to run for the G. I have a non-rev up 04 coupe and I can no longer get Royal Purple in my area any more. The GC is no longer available so I can't even try that one out. I've changed to Mobil 1 5w-30 and it seems ok, but I get some mechanical tapping at start-up for the inital 2 seconds or so, and some type of valve tapping rattling at 3-4K rpms when I'm accelerating. When I used Royal purple, I new this was a sign of low oil so I would just add more oil and the sound would go away. Anyway, had some routine maintenance done and mechanic said its always better to go with a thicker oil if possible. These mechanics have probably seen less that 3 Gs in their garage since its not common where I live overseas.

So, my G is an oil consuming G. Its been like that since I've owned it. I want to stay with something I can get local. Amsoil is out due to it having to be ordered. Royal Purple is out as well. After reading the "VQ Oil Analysis" thread on 350z, it seems as though the Royal Purple wasn't that bad after all, unless I misread something somewhere. From the results it seems as though the Castrol Syntec, Pennzoil Platinum, and Mobil 1 0w-40 are good choices. These are also oils that I can get locally. I'm sure everyone that was running the GC 5w-30 had to change to something different since its not available anymore. If Amsoil is not an option, would would be the next best synthetic oil to use? Thought maybe the 0w-40 (which is sold out currently) would be a good option since I have 156K miles on my G. What do you guys think....Castrol, Pennzoil, M1 0w-40, or something else?

Thanks.

 

German Castrol is a great oil for our cars. I have a ton of miles (192k) mostly running GC 0w-30.

I just bought some a month ago at Autozone (only major place that carries it).

 

Same here! Been using GC OW-30 since my buddy with a Z introduced it to me and never looked back.

 

Since GC is not available to you I would try the 0W-40 Mobil1.

 

Did you try popping into a few different Auto Zones in your area? I know my local Auto Zone still sells German Castrol, even though I don't ever buy it anymore. I have a stash of like 30 bottles of it on the shelf that I bought a few years ago and have been slowly working through... but I still always look to see if they stock it anytime I'm in the Zone.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I should add that I'm in the United Kingdom so there are no Autozones around. I'm trying to stick with something I can get locally for Americans. I don't want to buy oil on the British economy because last time I did that 1 quart cost me 20 pounds or close to $30. The area I'm located at we have american products that are imported from the states. That being said, the prices are pretty much the same stateside as well. Unfortunately, I'm limited to Mobil 1, Castrol, Pennzoi, Quaker State, and Valvoline. Sounds like 0w-40 is the best option unless someone has another opinion about the other brands. Just have wait till the 0w-40 comes back in though. There was a sale like 2 weeks ago on Mobil 1 and you could get a quart for $1.99. Some everything sold out super fast, and from what I was told, it sold out all over Europe at other American locations.

 

Isn't AMSOIL available in the UK? What's the difference if you need to order it, to me it's the best synthetic available anywhere. Maybe if you were using 5W/30 you wouldn't hear the clatter you described....
Gary

 

question for everyone who's using GC here.

I've been using it since I discovered it (long time ago). Always buying from Autozone, it does says Made in Germany on the back, but I never seen it Green. It was always Gold colored oil. Anyone ever bought Green colored?

Sorry for the OT question OP.

 

I've never seen the green kind myself. I've heard epic tales of it in folk-lore and some people believe the green German Castrol is the primordial dwarf of the Incredible Hulk. When our motors sleep at night, they have wet dreams about it and most medical professionals believe that it was the cure for Black Plague. Green German Castrol is actually not German... its lineage is traced back to a small village in Czechoslovakia where it flowed abundantly through the famed "Chartreuse River", but Adolf Hitler invaded the country, destroying the natural German Castrol Springs and extracting the remaining Green German Castrol from the river and sending it back to Germany. This is the real reason why the US entered WW2... Pearl Harbor was just a political front. The last few quarts of the Magical Elixir were bought in the late 90's for millions of dollars per parcel and used by Magic Johnson in blood transfusions to rid his body of HIV.

 

If my memory served me correctly I believe GC was originally green but later changed to gold. From what I have read there is little to no difference in the formula.

 

Hey @ Gary, yes you are right. I'm currently using Amsoil products in other areas of my engine as we speak. I can order from the US Amsoil website so that is not an issue. I definately would not order from Amsoil UK. Its at 13.5 to 14 british pounds per quart. Thats around $18-20 per quart US. Oil changes and oil consumption use would become extremely expensive. My issue is that I do use/burn oil, and its been doing it for over the last 100K miles. I'm using about a quart per 1000 miles driven. That being said, I'd have to really stock up on it so I don't ever run out if I went with Amsoil. This is the reason I mentioned the other brands. I can get those at normal US prices $6.50 to $8.50 per quart. I can just imagine getting low on Amsoil and having my shipment of oil stuck at customs or something like that. Then I'd be in a jam and have to get something off the shelf that is not Amsoil, hence the reason for leaning towards the other oils. I haven't ruled Amsoil out, but I know I'd have to keep plenty in stock just to make sure that situation never happens.

The "engine/valve tap" noise started after I added my plenum spacer, z-tube, and rev-up airbox. I got a tune shortly thereafter, and that helped a little, but not much. I've been running 5w-30 Royal Purple since I've owned the car. I started using Mobil 1 5w-30 around the time I got the intake upgrades. Anytime I had a slight hint of this sound I would have just added some Royal Purple and it was gone. So my thought was maybe to go with a more viscous oil like the Mobil 1 0w-40. From my research, it seems as though when a car gets older it would be normal to change the oil to a more viscous grade. Just something I read on BITOG. Going with the 0w would give it better lubrication on start-up so that might help with the tapping noise at start up. The 40 part would make it more viscous at operating temperature and this seems to be ideal for an older engine like mine with 156K miles. Also, from what I've read the German Castrol 0w-30 is a heavier/more viscous oil compared to other 30 weight oils. It's supposed to be closer to a 40weight. If this is correct then it seems the Mobil 1 0w-40 would be a logical choice for someone that wants similiar oil to the German Castrol 0w-30. All of these things together is making me lean towards the Mobil 1 oil. If anything I said is incorrect please feel free to correct or state an opinion about my comments. I may have misread or missed something in my reading.

@ Joker, yes this the reason for my post. Apparently Autozone still carries it, but I thought it was unavailabe, hence my original post. I just figured if those running GC could not get it anymore, what would the next option be?

 

fvcking knew it.

 

@ Gary, just wondering which Amsoil oil are you using. I know there is a thread on my350z called "VQ Oil Analysis" or something like that and only one of the Amsoil oils seemed to do the better than the others. Also, there is one called 5w-30 European Formula. Do you or anyone know about this particular oil? Just thought that since everyone likes the GC oil that this particular oil from Amsoil could be similiar since its held to the stricter European standards.

Another thing, when I changed my oil last time I did not have a filter so I had to go with a Fram "orange box" filter. Definately going to change that as soon as possible to the Amsoil EA filters that I have now. I'm at 4600 miles on M1 5w-30 and a Fram filter. Maybe the oil is breaking down and the filter isn't working so well. Maybe thats a reason for the tapping sound in upper RPMs. Hmm....

 

I've used GC myself with great results. On my old oil consuming motor, it consumed less for some odd reason with GC.

I saw sale for it a while back at my local Pep Boys and stocked up big time.

 

I remember seeing green GC. In fact check out post #8 back in 2008, I commented how it was green instead of golden brown.
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