Pennzoil 5w20, 3050 miles, Chrysler 3.5 HO

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Here are the results of my "5w20 Experiment" using Pennzoil PureBase 5w20 in my 1999 Chrysler 300M. The engine is Chrysler's all aluminum 3.5 High Output V6, SOHC 24V. It is rated at 253 HP at 6500 RPM and spec'd by Chrysler to run 10w30 oil. The manual states that 5w30 is permitted at temps below zero only.

This oil was installed on February 19 and was drained on June 24. During February and early March the car saw several cold start mornings in the lower 20s and during the months of May and June routinely saw daytime temps in the mid to upper 90s. I made about half a dozen trips to Charlotte (150 miles round trip) on 90+ degree days at Interstate speeds of 70-75 mph.

This UOA speaks for itself. This oil gave a stellar performance in my engine. Wear metals across the board were down. TBN was still strong, and the only complaint I would have is the viscosity, which finished at ~7.25 cSt.

In comparing the 5w20 to the other oils I've tested, the most direct comparison to make would be to the Mobil 1 from last year. That oil was in the car for approximately the same time and mileage, and during the same time of the year. Look at the difference in the wear metals. (To be fair, however, the winter of 2003 was MUCH colder than this winter was. I saw several single digit starts and the car had more short run trips than this winter.)

Terry Dyson will be doing the full analysis for me, but here are the numbers:

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The numbers do look awesome, but with such thin viscosity and then even more thinning with use, I'd be more than spooked. It seems GC did a pretty good job, IF it was the early "iron dirty" batches. The M1 didn't do too shabby either. I would have stuck with GC.
Again, very good number but not worth the extra mental stress.
 
For me the wear metals, not the viscosity change, tell the story. The molybdenum in the Pennzy 5W-20 appears to have protected the sliding parts very nicely. Again 5W-20s suggest CAFE and excellent engine protection are not mutually exclusive. Since the 300C's Hemi is spec'd by DaimlerChrysler for 5W-20, it appears the company's engineers are satisfied, too. I took Patman to task early on when the 5W-20s were beginning to show sterling UOAs because he suggested, in cold climates at least, that use of 5W-20 oils in engines not spec'd for that grade might be advantageous. Looks like our intrepid moderator was right and I'll have to adjust my criticism.

[ June 30, 2004, 10:44 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
 
You are correct in that the analysis by Terry will be interesting.
My own opinion is that we on the board spend all day arguing about viscosity. If your wear metals are low, and insoluables are low, no fuel dilution, who really cares about the Vis number. Wear is the reason for doing an anlaysis along with potential problems. JMO (and I am not changing it)
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Wow, I am shocked by the massive reduction in iron wear. Copper is something which seems to usually be thought to be less of a pure wear issue.

I wonder what the story is.

Amazing!

John
 
quote:

Originally posted by Last_Z:
It seems GC did a pretty good job, IF it was the early "iron dirty" batches.

Thanks for reminding me. My VOA of the very oil that went into my crankcase showed 9ppm of iron, so that number needs to be "adjusted" to 7ppm for the GC. Even at that, the 5w20 Pennzoil beat it with 4ppm.
 
quote:

Originally posted by jthorner:
Wow, I am shocked by the massive reduction in iron wear.

I think it's an indication of better top end (camshaft and valvetrain) lubrication with the 5w20.
 
quote:

Originally posted by sbc350gearhead:
And a 20 weight kicks butt again!
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Yeah, but this time it kicked butt in an engine not spec'd for it, indeed not even spec'd for a 5w30.
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I say awesome report! I think I can say the moly did buy you some wear protection.

The oil did shear...and the ONLY reason I bring it up: 3K OCI. Not sure what the oil would look like at 5K.

All in all a GREAT low wear oil, with good flow. Thinage rocks!
 
quote:

Originally posted by Pablo:
The oil did shear...and the ONLY reason I bring it up: 3K OCI. Not sure what the oil would look like at 5K.

I'm just wondering if at 3000 miles it's sheared all it's going to and by 5000 will have thickened back up. (Sorta the way Mobil 1 0w40 behaves over extended drains.)
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I wish I'd done a VOA on this oil so we'd know exactly how much the vis did change.
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While the wear metals speak for themselves, the only thing that disappoints me a little is the TBN. What OCI does Chrysler recommend for this engine. I'm not sure I would push this oil past 4K. What were the TBN values for the other oils?
Why don't you try Mobil 1 0W20 next. That would be an interesting experiment to see if you could lengthen your drain interval a little while providing similar protection. Thanks for posting.
 
quote:

Originally posted by ryansride2017:
I'm not sure I would push this oil past 4K. What were the TBN values for the other oils?
Why don't you try Mobil 1 0W20 next.


The TBN for the GC after 5000 miles was 3.9. Under my driving conditions, I think this Pennzoil 5w20 could go 5000 miles before reaching a TBN of 1.0.

Pennzoil synthetic 5w20 is in there now. I may change it out at 3000 miles to have a direct comparison with the regular 5w20, or I may go ahead and run it 5000. A lot will depend on what Terry says in his analysis.
 
Guys,
I don't think you read between the lines when I spoke about the viscosity. With such a thin viscosity, the margin for error is reduced dramatically. A slight overheat and you could schorch bearings and cylinder walls. This Pennzoil 5W-20 has an additive package and may or may have not helped with the great numbers, but keep in mind that additives are NOT the primary line of defense.....viscosity is!
Honda and Ford recommend 20 weights regarless of temperature, so maybe they know something I don't. I wouldn't feel "warm & fuzzy" running 20W oil in the summer and in a vehicle which calls for 30W.
 
Last Z,

I have a diesel truck that calls for 15W40 oil and I am running a 5W30 oil in it year around pulling an average load of 8K. So back to your viscosity/additive theory, you may want to reassess it. JMO

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So what's the conclusion when we have a bunch of UOAs that show the opposite effect? I.e., when you increase the viscosity, the wear metals decrease. Hmmm...let's see...wasn't it the Patman that had just such an experience?
 
Hmmm, very interesting report. Kind of makes me wonder if mixing a 5W-20 with 10W-30 would yield good results for cars spec'd for 5W or 10W-30. It would seem like mixing a moly rich 20 weight with another weight dino could maybe give good results.

[ July 01, 2004, 01:57 AM: Message edited by: HondaRD ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by SSDude:
How many miles do you have on your car? I did not see if you stated the milage.

The mileage on the car is listed in the table under "mi/hr on unit." At this oil change it had 58,455 miles on it.
 
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