Good info for sure, thanks.

Way back (early 80's or so) I was finding that engines on Pennzoil yellow seemed to always have a lot of gunk in them but the oil stayed clean convincing the owners it was good oil. I convinced a few to try Castrol and the oil got dirty really quickly "confirming" for them that pennzoil was better because it didn't get dirty. My take was that Pennz was leaving crap in the engine so I stayed away from it. I know the oil has totally changed but I'm still a bit leery based on this old stuff embedded in my brain. It took a bit to convince me to go to Pennz Platinum, but tests I saw published by Amsoil convinced me it was better than Mobil1 which I had been trusting and they're about the same price at Walmart. The Platinum beat most of the oils tested in most attributes and even beat the Amsoil in some areas. Amsoil is about 5x the cost and doesn't look to be 5x better so I just can't convince myself to empty my wallet for it.

Many people come to me for oil advise and are surprised when I tell them that if they change it regularly and keep it full damn near any oil will do, even the cheap walmart brand stuff, but for just a little more $ they can use something much better like the Pennz Plat.

From your section about Castrol Edge: This is an incredibly long-lasting oil that has been monitored my numerous users in extended...
You may want to change 'my' to by.

 

So... Uh... What kind of oil is good to use?

 

...the thread says it all...you read through some of it

 

Every car forum I'm on, has the question about which oil to use. It's always a loaded question, with many responders with their own opinions. Some of the people who ask the question don't know if their engine has rollers or flat tappets, so the the thread just goes on, and on and......
My Jeep has the Rotella stuff with T6, whatever that is !

 

I'm running t6 as well for a while now. Gonna be switching to Amsoil soon providing I can get my hands on it

 

Funny that you mention that. We had a 1976 Malibu that started having problems before it was even three years old. When my dad opened it up, it was caked full of deposits. He had been running Pennzoil because of all their marketing about long life and such. He pulled that engine, rebuilt it and never touched a can of Pennzoil again.

I was a kid, but I remember how horrible the inside of that motor looked. Even knowing how oils have changed, it would be difficult for me to get past that memory and put it in any of my vehicles even now.

 

That Pennzoil is long gone, but it was real. I could be wrong because it was before my time, and I haven't paid that particular piece of history a whole lot of mind, but I think it was something along the lines of Pennzoil being jacked full of crummy paraffins or some such thing that sludged-up engines. They were pushing a bad product, they knew it, they got call-out and suffered some consequences, yata-yata... the Pennzoil of today is a different company than then and PYB is a completely different product. I've seen the innards of engines run on modern PYB--stupendously clean.

 

The author of that blog sure doesn't go for concise does he?

 

You think that's bad, try getting on a chainsaw forum and asking about oil.

Be ready to duck!

 

My ZX2 had used mostly PYB as long as I'd had it. I ended up having to re-time the engine after pieces of a shredding serpentine belt caused the timing belt to slip. From what I'd heard/read from other people, I should have needed a hammer and chisel to get the valve cover off, but it was spotless inside. Still run either Pennzoil or Motorcraft in it.

 

Intellectually I know that. And yet it's still difficult to get the image of that crap-filled motor out of my head.

 

The simple answer is anything with a modern API classification in the recommended weight will be fine. I still find some SA rated oils here & there which would be very bad for a modern engine. SA was obsoleted in about 1930. You could get walmart brand for under $2/qt. all the way to $25+ stuff, most likely somewhere in between will be a good option for the average car guy. My current position is T6 or Pennzoil Platinum as being very good while economical. PP is about $25 for a 5 qt. jug at walmart. I will say that switching to PP accelerated my rear main seal leak from a spotter to a puddler. It may have happened with any synthetic, dunno. I've considered switching back to dino before replacing the seal just to see what happens.

I know of a few cars that live on walmart brand oil happily. It used to be made by Quaker State, not sure if it still is.

 

Walmart's SuperTech (or FIX IT or whatever brand they're using now) is actually different suppliers depending on the region! All the lab analyses I've seen of them are fairly decent, though.

Since writing this I've collected some second hand experiences about how Pennzoil used to sludge up, too. In addition they own JiffyLube. Things sure don't look good for them as a company or as a brand. But today's product is pretty good.

 

Pennzoil and Quaker State have been part of SOPUS since 1999.

 

The thing that bugs me about that article is that the guy sets up a straw man to argue against. I don't recall anyone saying that zinc content is the only factor or even the primary factor in how well an oil performs. I don't recall anyone saying that zinc has anything to do with lubrication properties. He wastes a lot of words railing against an argument nobody ever made.

What knowledgeable people have said is that flat tappet engines with aftermarket (not OEM) cams, rockers, springs and other valve train components need the extra zinc to protect the cam lobes from the added stress. And if you understand how zinc works in the engine to help harden wear surfaces, that makes sense. His research doesn't appear to contradict that.

The ZDDP additive craze bugs me a little because I don't think most people need it, and they're just killing their catalytic converters prematurely for no reason. But those of us running strokers with aggressive cams DO need it, and that guy doesn't seem to understand why.