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1999 Corvette C5 Used Oil Analysis Comparison
German Castrol vs AMSOIL Series 2000
C66 Racing conducted a used oil analysis comparison of German Castrol 0w30
vs. AMSOIL Series
2000 Synthetic 0w30 from March to October 2005 in a 1999 Corvette C5 Fixed
Roof Coupe (FRC), the predecessor to the Corvette C5 Z06. Our
interpretation of the results is that both of these are excellent oils, and
the AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 0w30 is a viable option for those that
desire an American made alternative to German Castrol 0w30.
 C66
Racing has been racing a 2002 Corvette Z06 in the SCCA Touring One Class
since 2003. As such, we spend a lot of our free time on the various
Corvette Forums on the internet. After reading many of the oil related
threads on these forums, it rapidly became apparent that German Castrol 0w30
was a favored oil of the forum members. It is widely believed on the
oil related forums that the German Castrol 0w30 uses a higher quality
basestock than the Castrol Syntec made for the U.S. market, though Castrol
has neither confirmed nor denied this in response to forum member queries.
With the assistance of a volunteer from the Corvette Forum who had been a
long time user of German Castrol 0w30, we had four used oil samples sampled
and analyzed by
Blackstone Laboratories, one with German Castrol 0w30, followed by two
with AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 0w30, and finally another with German
Castrol 0w30. The car was a 1999 Corvette C5 FRC (shown above) with a 5.7L LS1 motor, modified with a Blackwing air
filter, an LS6 intake, and a Borla exhaust system. The car had 46,754
miles on it at the start of the test, which put it past the point where
motor break-in would skew the results. The owner had been running a
K&N HP 1007 oil filter, and to minimize the variables in this comparison,
the same type of oil filter was used for all four samples.
| Oil |
German Castrol
0w30 |
AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic
0w30 |
AMSOIL Series 2000 Syntethic
0w30 |
German Castrol
0w30 |
Universal Lab
Averages (LS1 motor family) |
| Miles on Oil |
5,069 |
3,513 |
3,281 |
3,126 |
(4,200 Average) |
| Miles on unit |
61,744 |
56,675 |
53,161 |
49,880 |
|
| Sample Date |
10/28/05 |
6/24/05 |
5/06/05 |
3/11/05 |
|
| |
ppm |
ppm |
ppm |
ppm |
ppm |
| Aluminum |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| Chromium |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Iron |
8 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
14 |
| Copper |
12 |
11 |
13 |
9 |
38 |
| Lead |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
7 |
| Tin |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
| Molybdenum |
2 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
54 |
| Nickel |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Manganese |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Silver |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Titanium |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Potassium |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Boron |
6 |
31 |
38 |
2 |
80 |
| Silicon |
12 |
10 |
10 |
4 |
9 |
| Sodium |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
| Calcium |
2863 |
2036 |
2410 |
2692 |
2274 |
| Magnesium |
214 |
721 |
795 |
121 |
367 |
| Phosphorus |
790 |
904 |
1012 |
721 |
749 |
| Zinc |
971 |
1073 |
1144 |
858 |
893 |
| Barium |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| TBN |
3.5 |
7.7 |
7.3 |
4.2 |
Min 1.0 |
| SUS Viscosity @ 210F |
66.7 |
62.4 |
64.5 |
65.2 |
Range ~56-68 |
| |
Actual Blackstone Report |
Actual Blackstone Report |
Actual Blackstone Report |
Actual Blackstone Report |
|
Our evaluation of the used oil
analysis reports:
- Though the AMSOIL Series 2000
TBN was notably higher than that of the German Castrol, both oils had active
additive left as evidenced by their
TBN, and
could be safely used for considerably longer than the typical 3,000
mile oil change intervals in use by most motorists.
- As evidenced by their SUS
viscosity at 210F, both oils remained in grade for 30 weight oils, contrary
to some statements we've read on the web indicating that a 0w30 will shear
low out of grade, and others claiming that AMSOIL has a tendency to thicken
out of grade, neither of which actually occurred in this test.
- As evidenced by the low ppm
values for the wear metals, primarily aluminum, iron, copper and lead, which
were all 25-50% of the lab's universal averages for this motor family -
both oils performed very well. No notable increase or decrease
occurred in the ppm values of the wear metals when switching from German
Castrol 0w30 to AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 0w30. Though a slight
increase in wear metals was noted on the final Castrol sample, this can
attributed to the slightly longer oil change interval used on this sample.
Thus, our conclusion is that
the AMSOIL is a viable option for those who prefer an American alternative
to the German Castrol.
Understanding the used oil analysis report
These two links to pages on
Blackstone Laboratories website provide background on the elements in the
used oil analysis report, as well as how to review and understand the
report:
Understanding the Elements
Understanding Your Gas/Diesel Engine Oil Report
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