Pennz Ultra and consumption

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In a previous thread (Never Change Oil?), I posted how my 2009 T&C used a quart of oil every 1k miles. Neither Pennz Platinum nor Mobil1 made a difference. I am 1400 miles into my current OCI using Pennz Ultra 10w/30(old formula). The sump is down about .75 quarts and holding steady. I had intended to do 10k to 15k mile OCI's since I would be adding a quart of fresh oil every 1k miles. I had resigned myself to accepting the consumption issue, but it would appear that Ultra may be reducing the consumption, although it is a little early to tell. I am guessing the low NOACK is a factor. The plan will be to stock up on old formula Ultra while it is still available. Ten or twelve jugs should get me through the serviceable life of this vehicle. I will push for 8k to 10k mile OCI's backed by a UOA.
 
It will be interesting to see if the decrease continues. Where are you finding the "old stuff" PU? The only place I've seen any is WalMart and here they are pricing the same or only $2 cheaper than the new formula. I would like to find it somewhere else...cheaper.
Also, the old PU they have is all date stamped 07/2013. Is that about the same as yours? On another thread this week, I read that Pennzoil actually started changing to the new formula last year before the label changes. Just wondering if this "old stuff" I'm seeing is really the prior formula.
 
Yes, I am unsure of that. It has the old label (the non GTL). If worse comes to worse, I will use the new GTL formulation and see if it has the same effects. But I am hopeful that I can stock up on what I believe is the old formula before it is no longer available. What does the date stamp look like and how do you decipher it?
 
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I read the same thing from a different member stating that PU slowed his consumption in his silverado...might be on to something.
 
I don't know if my IS250 was consuming oil previousely, but I do know that I filled it with PU 5w30 in November of 2013 and it measured right in between the full and add dots on the dip stick. 9k miles later this weekend I checked it and it's in exactly the same place with 0 makeup oil. 133k miles on the engine.
 
You're not going to lose a quart every 1K miles simply because of NOACK.

You probably are getting some ring pack cleaning from a different additive package. Time for a pint of Rislone, Marvel, CD2, Lubegard, AutoRX, or ...

And, IF you switched from a 5w to a 10w, you're benefiting from a more stable temp to viscosity curve.

Could try a couple quarts of euro or truck oil to see what happens. Castrol 0w30 or any 0w40 or any 5w40 added for a few quarts would be worth a test.
 
The Mobil1 I used was 5w/30. Make up oil was one bottle of Mobil 0w/40 and two bottles of Delo 15w/40. It did not some to stop the consumption.
 
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Originally Posted By: Greasymechtech
You're not going to lose a quart every 1K miles simply because of NOACK.


That has to be true. The Schaeffer 9003D 5w30 I use in my Silverado has a higher NOACK than Pennzoil Ultra or a few others, but that engine only uses about a 1/4 of a quart in roughly 7000 miles.
 
I had the same thing happen to my yukon. I was running valvoline synpower 5w30 and drank through a quart in 3k miles. After switching to old PU 10w30, I have not consumed a noticeable amount on the dipstick in around 7-8k over two OCI's.

I have two changes left of the PU and then going to start working through more of the stash. If the rings are cleaned up well after another 12k with PU, I'm hoping not to have a problem with the other oils in my stash. Tempted to run ecopower 5w30 or VML 5w30 on my next change to see if the PU cleaned it up enough to not consume other oils.
 
Originally Posted By: PReal
I had the same thing happen to my yukon. I was running valvoline synpower 5w30 and drank through a quart in 3k miles. After switching to old PU 10w30, I have not consumed a noticeable amount on the dipstick in around 7-8k over two OCI's.


I find that awful coincidental. Our Equinox (3400 V6) would eat through Valvoline at the same rate, but say Castrol, M1, or Rotella hardly a drop.
 
The Dodge/Chrysler vans are known for oil consumption. Some say that it was because the rings were installed upside down. I could buy that theory for one model year. Not for four or five model years. Not sure why they consume oil but they do. My 2005 used oil too, but it was slowed considerably with Pennz Platinum. The one UOA that I received from Blackstone suggested that the synthetic was less volatile and helped slow the consumption.
 
Last time I mentioned the ultra dropping my consumption some valvoline fan boys spread some hate. I still have a good deal of maxlife and ng maxlife in my stash. I'll have no problem using a valvoline product but may just stick to something in the maxlife formula.
 
Well, looks like I am getting about 1500 miles per quart of PU. Bought a case of Pennzoil conventional on sell where I work, 10W/30. It will be my go to oil.
 
Last top off was with PU 5w/30. It was the last of my Ultra stash. It has been 1800 miles since my last top off. I will top off with PYB 10w/30. I bought a case at 3.29 per quart. My next OCI, I may run just PYB. Also want to give Maxlife a try, and perhaps Rotella synthetic blend 10w/30. I was considering Pennzoil Synthetic Blend but it appears to only be available in 5w/30 at Wal-Mart and I want to stick with a 10w/30.
 
Originally Posted By: otis24
Bought a case of Pennzoil conventional on sell where I work, 10W/30.

This is a best thing you could do. Get rid of synthetic oil if it is not required by your manual. It would be interesting to take a look on your UOA to confirm my guess, but that's not that important.
I would strongle recommend to buy Liqui Moly Engine Flush (on Amazon or Napa) and add it into oil right before it be changed. Idle for 10 minutes and drain oil.
You need to clean piston rings, and this liquid helps a lot. Otherwise you'll need a new catalytic converte very soon.

P.S. It should help. Just beware of ANY synthetic oil and repeat Liqui Moly treatment 2-3 more times. I am not sure that Auto-RX works here. Probably you need to visit Saturn owners forums. They have big experience how to deal with piston rings.
 
I have a 2009 Nissan 370Z with about 44K miles on it that I purchased new. I started using Redline 05W-30 oil at the 5K mark and used it until the 35K mark. My consumption was about 1.25 quarts between changes which were every 5K miles. At the 35K mark I tried Penn. Ultra 05W-30 and my consumption dropped to about 1/3 of a quart with the same OCI. I am now about 4K into the second oil change with Ultra and have added just a few ounces. Either the engine started to settle down at the 35K mark and stop burning expensive synthetic oil, or it likes the Ultra better than the Redline for some reason. I did a Blackstone report with the Ultra and had a positive report so I bought a couple more cases of the old formula Ultra.
 
I've been using the old PU 5w-30 for 20,000 miles and I still use a quart per 3,000 miles.

Although I run high speeds / high RPM in a small motor, so maybe that has something to do with it...
 
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