Local store has Pennzoil on sale for 89c after rebate and Quake State for 79c after rebate. Searched the archive and seems to imply that they are very similar. But are they close enough and not worth spending the extra 10c?
Opinion?
Is Pennzoil worth 10 cents more than Quaker State?
- Thread starter HolesInTheHead
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I always pay the extra $.10 for Pennzoil.
Pennzoil seems to be a highy recommended dino motor oil on this site along with Havoline/Chevron Supreme and Castrol. Reality is though if you dump it a 3k intervals unless you drive in severe conditions it probably is indifferent between the oils.
They are both owned by the same company but Johnny (who works for them) said that Pennzoil is a Group II+ oil while Quaker State is "only" a Group II. Their base stocks come from different refineries.
--- Bror Jace
Frankly, I doubt it. I think Quaker State has some past baggage to deal with, but I doubt the oil they are selling now would produce the alleged problems in the past. See http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002452#000011.
I think currently Shell is taking advantage of people like me that like to pick a product and stick with it and have been using Pennzoil for a long time. I also think it is partly the old GM trick of Chevy, BOP, and Cadilac. Another side of that is, Pennzoil is the most expensive of all the common dinos now, so it must be the best, right? No?
There is another thread here recently agonizing about what to use if you have to add oil on the road, and can't find your regular brand. That just shouldn't ever happen if you are using Pennzoil.
One thing picking a product and sticking with it does is reduce the factors when you are trying sort out the cause of a problem. The last time I let price come between me and Pennzoil, I ended up with a sludge problem. Was that because of excessive drain intervals, bad engine design, or the Quaker State I was using? Is the current QS better than the SG they were selling then?
I am changing 11 quarts of oil 4 times a year, that is a $4.40 difference with seldom adding any. When I run out of the 2 cases of Pennzoil I picked up at Pep Boys', I know I will be able to find more Pennzoil even if the price curls my teeth. Since I started using Pennzoil, they have gone from SE through SL, soon SM, and 2 changes of ownership. I would hope part of the premium I have paid at least buys me a new oil compatible with what came out of the last yellow bottle or can. How far can I trust somebody that sells yellow Frams? How can the top dino put their name on the bottom filter?
quote:You don't know what you are talking about. This is absolutely FALSE. Johnny, who works for Pennzoil and posts here has clearly stated that Penn and QS are two different oils. They are not even blended at the same plants, and the base oils are different and from different sources.
Originally posted by SpitIX: Pennzoil and Quaker State oils in the same viscosities are identical. That is, the refinery packages the same oil in two different colored bottles.
Here is Johnny describing the differences between Pennzoil, Quaker State, and Shell basestocks.
According to him, Pennzoil is group II+, Shell is group II, and Quaker State is "mainly group II but some group I."
He works for Shell. I'm inclined to take him at his word, absent some strong evidence that he's incorrect.
Hmmmm, this is a pretty weighty matter! Ten cents, times five or six quarts, so let's say that equals $0.60. Divided by 3k miles = $.0002/mile, or twenty cents per thousand miles.
Gonna have to give this one careful consideration! Or dig in the couch for that lost change.
I would pick pennzoil now, but in the future they will most likley be the same (ie chevron/havoline). Remember Shell or any oil company is about making money. I would guess with SM/GF coming up they are not going to develop 4 different oils (shell,quaker state, pens, wolfs head). What ever it costs to create a oil, and multiply that by 4, shareholders no like! I don't work for shell and any oil company, but I would imagine they (shell, pens, Quaker) ATLEAST will begin to share more, and in the end be very close to each other. Quaker and pens on the high end, shell and wolfs head on the low end.
The problem with Quaker State is that we never seem to see any VOAs or UOAs with it. I remember a guy doing a UOA on Quaker State Blend, and I think somebody here had a VOA or UOA done on Quaker State synthetic. Other then that, it seems like most people at this web site avoid Quaker State. Is it really that bad?
Pennzoil, Quaker State, and Shell oils are now made by the same corporation. Could there really be such a difference between Pennzoil (considered one of the best) and Quaker State?
In Johnny's post that I linked earlier, he suggests that the reason Quaker State still has some group I in it is more contractual than anything else. Apparently, Quaker State had negotiated a long-term supply deal with Mobil (for group I basestock, I guess?) that doesn't expire until '05 or '06. Quaker State has been purchased twice since then (by Pennzoil in '98 and then by Shell in '02), but that contract still must be honored.
Not having any real expertise, I'd tend to agree with csp203 that the coming new standards would seem to be a motivation stop developing multiple products. But who knows - maybe there's a horrific quagmire of contractual obligations to one party or another that make consolidation a much more difficult thing that it would appear to the layman.
quote:Ain't gonna happen. Shell didn't just buy the Pennzoil name, they bought an oil comapny. All ChevronTexaco got from Equilon when they acquired Havoline was a name. As long as Shell continues to operate Pennzoil as a separate oil company, you can bet that Pennzoil oil will be something different from QS and Shell oils.
Originally posted by csp203: I would pick pennzoil now, but in the future they will most likley be the same (ie chevron/havoline). Remember Shell or any oil company is about making money. I would guess with SM/GF coming up they are not going to develop 4 different oils (shell,quaker state, pens, wolfs head). What ever it costs to create a oil, and multiply that by 4, shareholders no like! I don't work for shell and any oil company, but I would imagine they (shell, pens, Quaker) ATLEAST will begin to share more, and in the end be very close to each other. Quaker and pens on the high end, shell and wolfs head on the low end.
quote:
Originally posted by TooManyWheels: Hmmmm, this is a pretty weighty matter! Ten cents, times five or six quarts, so let's say that equals $0.60. Divided by 3k miles = $.0002/mile, or twenty cents per thousand miles. Gonna have to give this one careful consideration! Or dig in the couch for that lost change.
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Thanks brad_d, there are lots of claims and false rumors about companies putting the same exact product in different bottles, etc ...
I remember what Johnny said months ago but didn't have the links handy. We know he works for them and has no real incentive to lie about the differences between his company's products.
Pretty funny, TooManyWheels. A little perspective never hurts. ![[Wink]](images/icons/wink.gif)
--- Bror Jace
--- Bror Jace"You don't know what you are talking about. This is absolutely FALSE.
Johnny, who works for Pennzoil and posts here has clearly stated that Penn and QS are two different oils. They are not even blended at the same plants, and the base oils are different and from different sources."
Don't hold back, just tell us how you really feel.
Seems I struck a nerve.
Anyway, I called the Pennzoil customer service number a couple of months ago and asked the rep who answered the phone if there was any difference in the two oils (5w-30)and the immediate answer was that they were identical except for the packaging. So there. You can call yourself and check if you want. The number is on the Pennzoil.com site.
Thanks.
Ya all need to chill out here folks. We're talking about different sources of information concerning a dollar quart of motor oil here.
And also, I get to have my inputs and opinions too, just like everybody else. You can like that or not, but that's the way it is.
Thanks.
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