Originally Posted By: FrankN4
Originally Posted By: Ponch
Anyone ever had any "bad" UOA's with pennzoil platinum? I haven't seen anything but good on this forum regarding this oil. If so, what oil did you have better results with?
You would have to qualify what YOU consider as a bad UOA. Having said that, sure, there have been bad UOA with PP, and Amsoil, and Mobil, and Valvoline, and Quaker State, and Havoline, and Red Line, and Castrol, and house brands, and Rotella, and Delo, and all the rest. If you were to spend hundreds of hours researching UOA's from BITOG, and other forums, get the assistance of engineering students and chemistry students to make it a project, you might learn that most all brands of oils have traits, trends, a given amount of predictability.
You might have determinations, considerations, expectations, and even demands of a lubricant. I, just as an example, look at the 100C cSt of a UOA before I look at anything else. That is extremely important to me. Some people praise a UOA as being great when it has sheared from 10.2 to 8.9, and that would be totally unacceptable to me. If this oil did this on a regular basis, if this was its trend, part of its traits, with many different engines, environments, driving habits, I would never consider that oil.
Some people look at the remaining detergent/dispersant level, that is important to them. For others it may be lead, copper, iron, or even part/parts of the add pack, but it must be looked at from different engines, conditions, environments, geographies, for it to have any real meaning.
You can take any of the big 5 oils, go to the UOA forums, and find ONE UOA that would make you swear you would never use that oil. You can also find ONE UOA that would make you swear you would never use anything but this oil.
That really means little. You have to look at every UOA on that oil from the beginning of API SM.
Dang, nice post.