Castrol Loses Appeal on Sludge Claims

[Wrecker]

Castrol Loses Appeal on Sludge Claims
By George Gill

BP Lubricants agreed to withdraw its challenged advertising for Castrol GTX motor oil after a National Advertising Review Board panel recommended it discontinue a variety of sludge protection superiority claims in all media.

BP America had appealed the findings last October of the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, which – following a challenge by Pennzoil-Quaker state of sludge protection claims in Castrol GTX advertising – had recommended BP America modify or discontinue the disputed advertising claims.

“We at Pennzoil are extremely pleased that the NARB not only upheld the original NAD decision that Castrol discontinue its ’57 percent better’ claim in television advertising, but also went further and determined that this superiority claim and the claim that Castrol GTX passed the ‘industry's toughest sludge standard’ should be discontinued in all media,” Luis Guimaraes, general manager for Shell Lubricants’ North America marketing, told Lube Report. “We trust that Castrol will act promptly in discontinuing the challenged advertising claims.”

http://www.imakenews.com/lng/e_article001471669.cfm?x=bfJvhdC,bcTct9Wq

 

[Unit453]

I always thought that Castrol was a decent product.

 

[JiFaire]

I thought it was a decent product too... just not 57% better than the others

 

[Wrecker]

I always thought that Castrol was a decent product.

Not to say it is not in fact a fine product in it's category, but their marketing has historically pushed the limits. They've won some and lost some in court.

 

[BIGR]

I have used Castrol for years in my 1987 S-10 and I use a Synthetic/Blend in my wifes car. So far so good, but it would appear any decent dino oil would work well in most gas engines. Regular oil changes would probably be the factor in longevity, but what do I know, I am no pro like Wrecker you other gurus. I have seen other oil companies claim that their oil fights sludge (maybe quaker state?) and wondered if they could back up their claims.

 

[Tom S.]

If you want a good read on oil, go here: http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html

While the cite may be motorcycle based, the information is on motor oil - not just for cycles.

 

[Clark20ry]

I have rebuilt motors that have Pennzoil run in them and have been able to make a second complete motor out of the sludge from it.... MY.02

Don't have a lot of experience with QS....

 

[GMCYA]

I have experience with QS, that is all my dad used to use. I bought my parents car to go back and forth to school, a 79 pontiac with a 301 in it. Warped the crank and pulled it apart myself. You can still see the stains under my parents car port on the concrete. It looked like an episode of dirty jobs. Got it back running and sold it to buy a 86 toyota P/U. Used castrol from day one and at 250K miles, I totaled the truck, so we pulled the motor and put it in a 87 4X4. I had to change the oil pan and when we pulled it apart it only had a light film on the inside. That motor must have over 400k on it now as I still see that truck now and then.
I am not sure if all of the older oils did that, and I am sure that most of the modern name brands are better, but after opening up that 301 mess and then seeing how clean that 22r was, I have never used anything else besides castrol until I switched to mobil 1 for my 01 z71 and now use delo in my dmax.
I just changed the oil, castrol 10-40, in my commuter car, kia, yesterday and it was still hard to see the oil on the stick it was so clear at 5k miles. It looked like I could have still used it in my lawnmower. I don't always believe the advertising hype but I have stuck with castrol based on my own experiences.

 

[turbovanman]

Most oils today are fairly close in levels, but that's not what the lawsuit was about, its about exaggerting. RP just got its pee pee slapped for doing the exact same thing, they bragged they reduced friction X amount and you gained X MPG, which turned out to be misleading. I have no problem with advertising, just don't lie to me.