Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic : MGB & GT Forum : MG Experience Forums : The MG Experience

Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #1
DB Wood Daniel Wood Bend, OR, USA 1969 MG MGB GT "Clyde" 1970 MG MGB GT	Posted: March 29, 2012 05:37PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 3,325

I was in a local parts house the other day looking at oils and was pleased to see that the new Castrol Edge in 5-50 says right on the label, formulated for classic cars. On the back it says, increased levels of zinc for flat tappet cams. I love it. I am a fan of 5-40 and 5-50 wt synthetic oils because of their more or less constant viscosity, and so in about another month I'm due for a change and will be trying the Castrol.

Dan Wood
70BGT driver, OD, Pertronix, HS4's, Peco, .060 over, Elgin cam, Superlite wheels, poly bushings, panhard rod, rear tube shocks, 1" lowered front end, HD shock valves, etc, etc.
69BGT project (V-6?)
88 Saab SPG Turbo
86 Vanagon Westy (South African conversion engine 2.0 OHC 135HP)

Lucas= Loose
Unsoldered
Connections
And
Splices

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #2
ingoldsb Terry Ingoldsby Calgary, Alberta, Canada 1971 MG MGB	Posted: March 29, 2012 05:42PM Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 9,760

Is that different than Castrol Syntec 5w-50? Of maybe they just use a different name in the USA than Canada? When I researched it a few months ago it also showed higher ZDDP levels. I've been using if for some time quite happily.

Terry Ingoldsby
terry.ingoldsby@DCExperts.com

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #3
PaulM Paul McLaren Lower Mainland BC, Canada 1968 MG MGB 1969 MG MGC GT "Willow" 1970 MG MGB "Miss Lou" 1970 MG MGB "Dolly"	Posted: March 29, 2012 06:09PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 7,444

How much for a quart Dan? How much a litre..Terry?

Paul McLaren

1969 MGC GT
1970 MGB Roadster
1970 MGB Roadster

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2012 06:10PM by PaulM.

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #4
mgtacar Steve Kaufman Delta, BC, Canada 1961 MG MGA 1993 Mazda Miata	Posted: March 29, 2012 06:20PM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 543

Paul, it will be interesting to see if it's less than the Valvolinr VR1, 20w50 that I've been using.It is over $7.00/ liter

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #5
spikemichael Michael Caputo Athol, MA, USA 1973 MG MGB 1973 MG MGB "Freebie" 1976 MG MGB "B-4" 1979 MG MGB "MegaBeanie" 1989 Suzuki Intruder 800 → more	Posted: March 29, 2012 06:21PM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 6,779

how about Lucas oils?

Michael J. Caputo
'79 RBB and '73 CBB owner with extensive experience in 12v Audio System design and installation.
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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #6
PaulM Paul McLaren Lower Mainland BC, Canada 1968 MG MGB 1969 MG MGC GT "Willow" 1970 MG MGB "Miss Lou" 1970 MG MGB "Dolly"	Posted: March 29, 2012 07:03PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 7,444

In reply to # 2026051 by mgtacar Paul, it will be interesting to see if it's less than the Valvolinr VR1, 20w50 that I've been using.It is over $7.00/ liter

Steve...yes it will for sure.

At over 7 bucks a litre up here it's worth the drive across the line to buy it on sale especially when you have been in the US for 48hrs.

Paul McLaren

1969 MGC GT
1970 MGB Roadster
1970 MGB Roadster

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #7
mac townsend Fairfield, CA, USA	Posted: March 29, 2012 09:49PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 18,096

I think 5 wt is fine for late models cars but potentially deadly for our cars.

1973 Roadster. A nice 50-footer!
SUs, Datsun 5-speed
MGB Tips and Tricks: www.mgrescue.com

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #8
forestghost07 Marco Sinai Florida, USA 1972 MG MGB GT "Viajero" 1999 Chevrolet Blazer "Works For Gas"	Posted: March 29, 2012 09:56PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,238

Daniel and others - Here's my 1000 mile report on that oil ... my car started burning alot. sad smiley

I thought it would pee out everywhere but it didn't, just burned a qt every tankfull. Gave tremendously good pressure and apparently very good flow and easy cold starts, but I'm back to Valvoline 20 - 50 now and the burning's already lessened. Win some ...

PS: If you must have it, I found it cheapest at K Mart; $7.99

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2012 10:00PM by forestghost07.

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #9
Bankerdanny Daniel Palmer Chicagoland, USA 1972 MG MGB GT "Dudley" 1977 Honda MC Gold Wing	Posted: March 29, 2012 10:52PM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 1,055

I might consider something like that for the coldest winter months here in Chicago, but, I would be afraid that it would be a bit too thin during the warmer months.

Endeavor to Persevere

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #10
DB Wood Daniel Wood Bend, OR, USA 1969 MG MGB GT "Clyde" 1970 MG MGB GT	Posted: March 29, 2012 11:38PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 3,325

I don't understand why people think that because it has a 5 as the first number that its too thin or there might be a problem with it. The 5 is the same viscosity as a 5 when cold. The 50 is same as a 50wt when warm. The difference in these viscosities is minimal. I have a friend that runs a drag boat with a hot 460 Ford. He runs 5-40 synthetic because the engine never gets warm and he needs to have something that has a constant viscosity. One of the things that wears our engines out is the warm up mode. Too heavy an oil in the cold is BAD. 20-50 oil will NOT work well in my climate year round.
Terry lives in even more extreme conditions and the 5-50 is good for his climate year round. I can have frost in July or August here but my oil pressure remains constant because of the 5 number. I don't warm my car up, I just drive off. When I get out on the pavement in a quarter of a mile, the oil pressure is at 80psi and then settles out at 75 when fully warm. With 20-50 the oil pressure was less when cold, then it would max out before it was totally warmed up and then it would drop a little. I like seeing max oil pressure right away. That's what I am getting with 5-40 synthetic.
Years ago in Maine even when it was zero out, the MG would start but the oil pressure would stay around 45 until it warmed up. I was doing damage to the lower end and the cylinders. The oil was not lubricating. Oil has come a long way since then (1972) but cold climates need something other than 20-50 for a few months of the year if you drive year round.

Dan Wood
70BGT driver, OD, Pertronix, HS4's, Peco, .060 over, Elgin cam, Superlite wheels, poly bushings, panhard rod, rear tube shocks, 1" lowered front end, HD shock valves, etc, etc.
69BGT project (V-6?)
88 Saab SPG Turbo
86 Vanagon Westy (South African conversion engine 2.0 OHC 135HP)

Lucas= Loose
Unsoldered
Connections
And
Splices

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #11
the omega man phil wilkins staffordshire, United Kingdom 1973 MG MGB GT	Posted: March 29, 2012 11:43PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,697

I recently had to buy a litre of castrol edge 5-30 fully synthetic to top up my modern ford focus.the waitrose store charged the equivalent of $22.5 litre.most I have ever paid for oil in my whole life.

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #12
mac townsend Fairfield, CA, USA	Posted: March 29, 2012 11:56PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 18,096

It is your choice, of course.

I may think you are wrong, but it is your engine.

You won't get the film thickness nor durability you need with the relatively wide clearance engine in "old school" engines like the B. These ultra light weights came about as the mfgrs tried to find waysa to reduce parasitic as far as they could in order to squeak out another 0.1 mpg in the CAFE average, regardless of long term effects (long term they don't care about because the warranty's gone then, short term is warranty country and it won't make a lot of difference then given the changes made to the parts) and in the process materials and machining techniques and tolerances were changed.

When these engines, not just MGB but BMW and most all other similar era foreign engines, were produced 20W-50 at "normal ambient--not sub zero stuff--was what was specified almost uniformly. Not that 5W was available but 10W was and it was avoided...for, presumably, a good reason.

Now race-prepped engines these days seem to use thinner oils, but again the machining conditions are different. (though I think the 5W racing oils are not used much in old style engines, but in newer lumps like the Ford Duratechs and other new stuff )

Extreme conditions are irrelevant.

If you were in -40°F, 10W-30 is no good, I know. I burned up an engine in my TR4 using 10W-30 Esso oil one night at -30/40 in New York State. But that's not the issue.

Bend isn't -40 very often. Pretty soon Bend will be +110. And the oil will still be 5W when you fire up in the morning for awhile. You will see degraded oil pressure.

But, Dan, it's your engine. I wish you luck!

In reply to # 2026356 by DB Wood I don't understand why people think that because it has a 5 as the first number that its too thin or there might be a problem with it. The 5 is the same viscosity as a 5 when cold. The 50 is same as a 50wt when warm. The difference in these viscosities is minimal. I have a friend that runs a drag boat with a hot 460 Ford. He runs 5-40 synthetic because the engine never gets warm and he needs to have something that has a constant viscosity. One of the things that wears our engines out is the warm up mode. Too heavy an oil in the cold is BAD. 20-50 oil will NOT work well in my climate year round.
Terry lives in even more extreme conditions and the 5-50 is good for his climate year round. I can have frost in July or August here but my oil pressure remains constant because of the 5 number. I don't warm my car up, I just drive off. When I get out on the pavement in a quarter of a mile, the oil pressure is at 80psi and then settles out at 75 when fully warm. With 20-50 the oil pressure was less when cold, then it would max out before it was totally warmed up and then it would drop a little. I like seeing max oil pressure right away. That's what I am getting with 5-40 synthetic.
Years ago in Maine even when it was zero out, the MG would start but the oil pressure would stay around 45 until it warmed up. I was doing damage to the lower end and the cylinders. The oil was not lubricating. Oil has come a long way since then (1972) but cold climates need something other than 20-50 for a few months of the year if you drive year round.

1973 Roadster. A nice 50-footer!
SUs, Datsun 5-speed
MGB Tips and Tricks: www.mgrescue.com

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #13
DB Wood Daniel Wood Bend, OR, USA 1969 MG MGB GT "Clyde" 1970 MG MGB GT	Posted: March 30, 2012 12:35AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 3,325

Phil, that's outrageous! How can it vary that much in price. That's three times what I can buy it for. Maybe your store screwed up.

Dan Wood
70BGT driver, OD, Pertronix, HS4's, Peco, .060 over, Elgin cam, Superlite wheels, poly bushings, panhard rod, rear tube shocks, 1" lowered front end, HD shock valves, etc, etc.
69BGT project (V-6?)
88 Saab SPG Turbo
86 Vanagon Westy (South African conversion engine 2.0 OHC 135HP)

Lucas= Loose
Unsoldered
Connections
And
Splices

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #14
mac townsend Fairfield, CA, USA	Posted: March 30, 2012 12:40AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 18,096

he didn't go to Walmart where Mobil-1 is less than $25 for 5 quarts and BP's Castrol is only a little more than that IIRC.

1973 Roadster. A nice 50-footer!
SUs, Datsun 5-speed
MGB Tips and Tricks: www.mgrescue.com

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #15
ingoldsb Terry Ingoldsby Calgary, Alberta, Canada 1971 MG MGB	Posted: March 30, 2012 12:50AM Registered: 9 years ago Posts: 9,760

Quote: I don't understand why people think that because it has a 5 as the first number that its too thin or there might be a problem with it. The 5 is the same viscosity as a 5 when cold. The 50 is same as a 50wt when warm. The difference in these viscosities is minimal. I have a friend that runs a drag boat with a hot 460 Ford. He runs 5-40 synthetic because the engine never gets warm and he needs to have something that has a constant viscosity. One of the things that wears our engines out is the warm up mode. Too heavy an oil in the cold is BAD. 20-50 oil will NOT work well in my climate year round.

YES!!

Quote: You won't get the film thickness nor durability you need with the relatively wide clearance engine in "old school" engines like the B.

Several months ago I posted the bearing clearances for my 2011 Chevy Cruze and compared them to my 1971 MGB. The maximum clearance values were very comparable. And modern synthetic oils have stronger film strength than the dino oils of 1971 vintage. Note that Royal Purple states that you can safely move one full viscosity range thinner with their oil and still maintain equivalent protection.

http://www.lemd.com/motorsport/previous.cfm?id=21

Quote: When these engines, not just MGB but BMW and most all other similar era foreign engines, were produced 20W-50 at "normal ambient--not sub zero stuff--was what was specified almost uniformly. Not that 5W was available but 10W was and it was avoided...for, presumably, a good reason.

This is not true for the MGB. The factory manual for the MGB clearly recommends 5w-30 oil in cold temperatures, 10w-40 for moderate temperatures and 20w-50 for warm/hot climates. 20w-50 was NOT the all round recommended oil (except perhaps in areas like California).

The only reason why the factory didn't recommend 5w-50 in the 1960s/1970s was that such oils really didn't exist. Now that they do, they are ideal for our engines. They behave like low viscosity oils during cold startups but do not thin out as the temperature rises.

Quote: How much a litre..Terry?

I got the 4 litre jug at Canadian Tire - I don't remember the exact price but it was similar to any of the other synthetics.

Terry Ingoldsby
terry.ingoldsby@DCExperts.com

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #16
the omega man phil wilkins staffordshire, United Kingdom 1973 MG MGB GT	Posted: March 30, 2012 01:56AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 1,697

Sorry picture a bit blurred,but still the same price.works out about $107 per gallon.anyone seen it more expensive anywhere.

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #17
nlneilson Neil Neilson Mojave & Oxnard CA, USA 1962 Jaguar E-Type Convertible "Chevy SB" 1974 MG MGB "MG" 1979 Porsche 928 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 "Diesel Dually"	Posted: March 30, 2012 03:22AM Registered: 1 year ago Posts: 180

A graphite additive is another option with or without the synthetic oil.

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #18
NNN Norman Nalepa Florida, USA 1979 MG MGB "Chick Mobile"	Posted: March 30, 2012 09:11AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 1,338

Remember that when thesecar were built the tolerances were a lot looser. Using a light weight oil such as 2/50 is going to allow a lot of oil to sep past the rings. But thats just my input on the subject.

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #19
oily-hands Owen Frankland Stockton on Tees, Cleveland, United Kingdom 1937 MG TA "Numbum" 1971 MG MGB GT "The Bruise" 2002 MG ZR	Posted: March 30, 2012 10:53AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 5,180

From the MGB Drivers Handbook 1974

20/50 - 18F to over 100F (-10C to over 40C)
20/40 - 18F to over 100F (-10C to over 40C)
10/50 - -5F to over 100F (-20c to over 40C)
10/40 - -5F to over 100F (-20c to over 40C)
10/30 - -5F to 50F (-20c to 10C)
5/30 - -25F to 15F (-35C to -10c)
5/20 - -25F to 15F (-35C to -10c)

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Re: Castrol Edge 5-50 Synthetic #20
Scott P Scott Preston Houston, TX, USA 1970 MG MGB	Posted: March 30, 2012 10:57AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 108

Where do people get away with calling a 50 weight oil "thin"? Are they reading it wrong?

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