First impression of Pennzoil synthetic 5w20

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I've got about 300 miles on the Pennzoil syn 5w20 in my Chrysler. From a NVH standpoint, I'm not as impressed with this as I was the PureBase 5w20. I've got start up rattle from my main bearings with the syn 5w20. I didn't have any with the regular 5w20. Wonder if the 200+ ppm of moly vs the ~40 ppm has anything to do with that?

Overall, my engine just seemed to be smoother with the regular 5w20.
 
I find it interesting how we all find certain oils to "feel" and "sound" differently when they are all so similar. For instance, I tried D1 in my car and it was sluggish. Amsoil AFL feels like a 30wt. In your case G-Mann, it probably is the Moly. Most if not all RL users report a more quiet engine and I think it is the Moly. The truth comes out in the UOA though. I personally don't put much stock in "feel factor".
 
quote:

buster said:
The truth comes out in the UOA though. I personally don't put much stock in "feel factor".

I guess you've never owned an engine that made start-up or any unusual noise; it's not very pleasant.
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After hearing "rattle" at start-up I always think, "those bearings are taking a beating". Now to me, that means eventually the "pounding" could lead to bearing fatigue and failure.
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And I'm not sure how long it would take before "fatigue" showed up in a UOA.
 
I think I've discovered the culprit to my cold start bearing rattle, and it's not the oil. It's the oil filter. The anti-drainback valve appears to be malfunctioning. I checked my oil this morning and it was about 1 mm ABOVE the full mark on the dipstick. When I changed the oil I put in the same amount I always put in (5 qts), and with the oversize ST8A filter, the level is always about 1 mm below the full mark.

So, I'll be installing a new filter later this week and see if that doesn't cure the problem.
 
The Pennzoil 5w-20 "synthetic" is an oil I can easily pass up. It's worth maybe $3, at most, and priced $1.50 higher.

Mobil/Exxon's Superflow 5w-20 has all group III basestocks and is on sale at AutoZone this month for .99. That's a deal, and Mobil has the good graces not to call it "synthetic".
 
quote:

Originally posted by G-Man II:
I think I've discovered the culprit to my cold start bearing rattle, and it's not the oil. It's the oil filter. The anti-drainback valve appears to be malfunctioning. I checked my oil this morning and it was about 1 mm ABOVE the full mark on the dipstick. When I changed the oil I put in the same amount I always put in (5 qts), and with the oversize ST8A filter, the level is always about 1 mm below the full mark.

So, I'll be installing a new filter later this week and see if that doesn't cure the problem.


What filter will you be changing it over to?
 
quote:

Originally posted by Jay:
The Pennzoil 5w-20 "synthetic" is an oil I can easily pass up. It's worth maybe $3, at most, and priced $1.50 higher.

Mobil/Exxon's Superflow 5w-20 has all group III basestocks and is on sale at AutoZone this month for .99. That's a deal, and Mobil has the good graces not to call it "synthetic".


We have so little data on PZ, I'm not sure how we can conclude what it is worth?? I'm not sure how you arrived at that conclusion.

I don't think any oil can be 100% Group III. It just wouldn't be possible for stability of the additive package. Maybe it also has esters for 99 cents? Show us the data.
 
I may take a pickling for saying this, but personally I think "the feel" affect is more of a psycological thing than actual. I've run many different brands of both synthetic and dino oils in all of my vehicles and I've never heard or felt any differences in the sound or the feel of the engines, and I'm the type of person who is very in tune mechanically with my vehicles. Just my $.02.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Johnny:
Better do some checking with Exxon/Mobil tech center in Fairfax, VA. I believe their 5W20 is Group II base stock.

I called Mobil this morning and was told that their 5w-20 is group II, as you stated Johhny.
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The previous two times I called they said all group III. BITOG member, Gene K, was also told all group III.

Nevertheless, I stand by my original contention that Pennzoil's 5w-20 "synthetic" is very uncompetitively priced. If Pennzoil wants to price this group III oil right next door to M1 it should really be synthetic. Mobil's Drive Clean Plus is all group III (as I was told this morning) and sells for under $3. This is where Pennzoil's group III should be positioned if they want to sell it to me.
 
The "feel factor" is definately subjective. However I've noticed certain vehicles are more prone to it. My old diesel pickups, and Oldsmobile as well as my girlfriends Beetle and dad's Chevy all exhibit no difference in engine characteristics among the oils I have tried in them.

My F150 with its merely adequate 4.2L V6 reacts dramtically to different oil weights and brands. Vibrations, cold start knock, drivability changes, you name it. But I think thats because its to small of an engine for the truck its in.
 
quote:

So, I'll be installing a new filter later this week and see if that doesn't cure the problem

FWIW,
I have good luck with the Motorcraft FL1A on the 3.5L. I get start-up noise with Purolator and Napa nascar select(both w/Pennzoil 10w-30HM).
 
quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
What filter will you be changing it over to?

I think I'm going to go with the correct filter for my engine (ST16) rather than the oversize ST8A this time around.
 
The oil filter theory makes plenty of sense.

Anti-drain back valves are failure prone in some of the lower cost filters in my experience.

I'm not impressed with Champion Labs quality control and am not the big fan of their filters that so many others on this board seem to be.

Baldwin, Wix, Motorcraft, Purolator, Mann and Denso are all brands I've seen good consistent quality from and I choose one of those when my money is on the table.

John
 
I just started my 1st OCI of Pennzoil 5w-20 GRP III yesterday after an Auto RX treatment on my 2001 SCREW with 33,000 miles.

It doesn't sound any different than the 10w-30 Dino Pennzoil I just changed after my RX rinse phase.

Why is it everyone complains about Pennzoil's price for its GRP III, but are ok with Syntec's GRP III price? They are the same price at my store....

My only complaint is I cant see it on the dipstick yet because it is so clear looking.
 
Sounds like the filter was functioning ok. I guess an over-sized filter is not right for every application.
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quote:

Originally posted by haley10:
Sounds like the filter was functioning ok. I guess an over-sized filter is not right for every application.
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Actually, I think the anti-drainback valve was leaking sometimes, and sometimes not. After last night's shutdown, it just happened to hold and thus I had a perfectly normal (quiet) startup this morning.
 
I would like to see some more "real world" results on PZ synthetics. I know how the voa's look, but Syntec looks similarly weaker all the time, less zddp and moly.
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I think they may have better performance than the simple chemistry we see.

Thanks for checking out the PZ syn.
 
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