An oil observation , Super Tec vs Pennzoil

[nbpt100]

I was just at Wal-Mart and notice their house brand Super Tech full syn oil is around the same price as the Pennzoil full synthetic. It seemed that forever the Super Tech was always priced a few dollars or more less than other full Synthetic brands. The Quaker state Full Synthetic was less money today than ST.

I know people here have said the qualiaty of the Super tech is good. It has always been the less costly option at WalMart. So why is there now more price inflation on the Super Tec? Did something recently change in how they make it or they now have higher input costs than Pennzoil or Quaker State? Or is it just price guaging. IDK. Maybe someone here does.

 

[TiGeo]

I was just at Wal-Mart and notice their house brand Super Tech full syn oil is around the same price as the Pennzoil full synthetic. It seemed that forever the Super Tech was always priced a few dollars or more less than other full Synthetic brands. The Quaker state Full Synthetic was less money today than ST.

I know people here have said the qualiaty of the Super tech is good. It has always been the less costly option at WalMart. So why is there now more price inflation on the Super Tec? Did something recently change in how they make it or they now have higher input costs than Pennzoil or Quaker State? Or is it just price guaging. IDK. Maybe someone here does.

Raising prices during an inflationary time is the norm. ST 10K syn here is $21 vs. the ~$16 it used to be so $5/25% higher than a few years ago. It's basically the same price as Quaker State now. Penzoil should be in the mid-to-upper 20s now right? This is all for a 5qt jub BTW.

 

[CharBaby]

I know what you mean and it’s been discussed in the past. Why would anyone buy ST over Pennz…right?
I am curious if WM was losing money on the major brands due to its own house brand(SuperTech), being as good of an oil as it is and selling it so cheap in the past. I remember when WM ST SYN WAS $15/5qt jug. A great everyday price.

 

[demarpaint]

IMO it's OK, nothing great, nothing bad. I pay up and use Mobil 1 EP in three vehicle fleet. I do use Super Tech 30 grade non-detergent oil for my power washer pump, and their Type-F ATF for my 88 E-150 power steering pump. No problems to report.

 

[wpod]

I am sure the companies realized what morons the consumers are.

 

[blufeb95]

Supertech is superior to Pennzoil Full Syn, as Pennzoil Full Syn carries no approvals except API/ILSAC and Chrysler and Ford's specs which are just essentially a rebrand of ILSAC, while Supertech holds the more stringent GM Dexos1Gen3 approval.

 

[MParr]

I pointed this out on a thread. I opted for Quaker State 5W40 Euro.

 

[leadcounsel]

There are a plethora of economic studies that show people (who are largely ignorant) associate quality on price points. There will be a lot of uniformed people who will lazily assume X oil is bad because of low price, but it magically is better because it's priced higher later. This applies across all manner of products from appliances to computers to foods, etc. Higher price = better product for almost all consumers in blind and double blind studies, and in just every day experiences. If Walmart spent a little and made a fancy label like Castrol, with splashing oil and pistons in motion, they could probably charge even more! Or buzz words like "3x cleaning power" or "triple action" or "intelligent molecules" they could charge more! Heck let's invent some! "Fluid lubrication!"

 

[Malo83]

Intelligent molecules.

 

[Puckrobber]

In my area, Quaker State has been the cheapest 5 QT jugs available for a while. $19-$21 a jug for a quality oil isn't a bad deal right now, especially if you just need a basic oil change for your car until oil prices come back down.

 

[ChrisD46]

In the case of lower priced oils - it may be possible they barely meet D1 / Gen 3 specs while supplies such as M1 , Pennzoil , Valvoline , etc. surpass the D1 / Gen 3 requirements by a wider margin (probably more case by case) .

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

In the case of lower priced oils - it may be possible they barely meet D1 / Gen 3 specs while supplies such as M1 , Pennzoil , Valvoline , etc. surpass the D1 / Gen 3 requirements by a wider margin (probably more case by case) .

That very well could be. But since none of my vehicles require D1/Gen 3 I'll take the oil that is $10 a Jug cheaper. My guess is it won't make a difference of 5K miles difference in engine life. My new Mazda I'll be driving it until my end days unless it gets totaled!

 

[kballowe]

What about that oil in a box ?

 

[StumblingElk]

PP and ST have been right around the same price as each other in my area for quite a while. I always wondered why penzoil was selling it so inexpensively.

 

[3800Series]

Just the reality of things at the moment, I know slightly unrelated but probably the same reason why Walmart's Great Value breakfast sandwiches now cost $2 more for a pack of 8 than Jimmy Deans 8 pack.

I also know prices vary based on location as well, generally the longer a product has to travel to the store the more it will cost in the long run. I was up in North Dakota for a few years, a 24 pack of Coke Cola was $5.50 than, a 24 pack of anything Pepsi owned was $11.50. Turned out Coke Cola had a place making it relatively close, where as Pepsi had to ship theirs much further, which resulted in the price difference.

 

[Brice]

The price of supertech/costco/amazon basics oil all went up after Warren got bought out by an investment group. Investors want to see a return on their dollar so they jacked the price up.

 

[BAJA_05]

Walmart prices across the board with everything have seem to gone up the last 2 years with this crazy inflation. Not isolated to just there motor oil. Walmart is the only grocery store in my little town. Next closest grocery store is a good 20 minute drive in any direction.

 

[CharBaby]

I am sure the companies realized what morons the consumers are.

Well, I’m glad that the companies said that and you didn’t.

 

[PimTac]

What about that oil in a box ?

Which one?

 

[Chris142]

IMO it's OK, nothing great, nothing bad. I pay up and use Mobil 1 EP in three vehicle fleet. I do use Super Tech 30 grade non-detergent oil for my power washer pump, and their Type-F ATF for my 88 E-150 power steering pump. No problems to report.

When ford switched to Dexron In transmissions in 1977 they must have had a boatload of type F left over. Every ford got Type F in the power steering up into the early 2000's.