A civil discussion about Question No. 11

[deven]

Originally Posted By: Pennzoil Ultra Q&A
11. Are the base stocks group III, IV, or V?

Pennzoil Ultra™ is blended with Group III base stocks. These give superior solvency performance to Group IV base stocks, which we believe aids our aim to provide oil that delivers as close to “Factory Clean”. Rather than focus on any single component in the formulation, we focus on the end product.



What do people think of this specific answer? Are they insinuating that Group III basestocks generally mix better with any additive formulation and this combination protects engines the best as well as clean or just the clean part? Just curious what you BITOG'ers think of this answer and how you interpret it.

Thanks!

 

[c3po]

Originally Posted By: deven

What do people think of this specific answer?


I think Pennzoil knows what they are doing with this oil, I am having great results with PP and I have no doubt that PU is a winner.

They are using the base stocks that they think will make the best product.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: c3po
They are using the base stocks that they think will make the best product.

Agreed. For whatever reason, they thought group III base stocks were the best way to achieve their goals.

Keep in mind that there are many different group III base stocks, so they may be using a shiny new kind that is different from most (or all) other oils on the shelf.

 

[znode]

Originally Posted By: deven
What do people think of this specific answer? Are they insinuating that Group III basestocks generally mix better with any additive formulation and this combination protects engines the best as well as clean or just the clean part? Just curious what you BITOG'ers think of this answer and how you interpret it.


They're not "insinuating" anything. Just simple facts.

Solvency is needed for the oil to homogeneously carry additives well, and also to hold contaminants in suspension. Solvency-wise, esters > Group I > II > III > IV/PAO. This is because of the decreasing unrefined polar molecules and aromatics/polyaromatics that are a natural part of crude. But, the aromatics and naphthalenes that increase solvency also makes the base stock oxidize faster and less stable under shear/load.

So it's always been a battle between base stock physical stability/oxidation resistance, and solvency. 100% PAO might be more stable under temperature and shear, but it doesn't mean you have a superior oil, because you get screwed over in the selection of high-tech additives that may even make a group III perform better than a IV that can't have them.

There's nothing new in that statement there. Just the state of the industry for a long time.