Pennzoil Platinum or Schaeffer's?

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If I had easy access to Schaeffer's I would use it all the time. They make an excellent product at a fair price and back it up with more published test data than any other motor oil I've seen. Pennzoil Platinum is the latest fad around here. The BITOG fad used to be German Castrol and before that it was Schaeffer's. Next year it will probably be something else.
 
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If I had easy access to Schaeffer's I would use it all the time. They make an excellent product at a fair price and back it up with more published test data than any other motor oil I've seen. Pennzoil Platinum is the latest fad around here. The BITOG fad used to be German Castrol and before that it was Schaeffer's. Next year it will probably be something else.




Refreshing to see someone point out the obvious. That this board is really trendy. "Fad" is a good way of putting it. What is your prediction on the next trend? MC, Amsoil 0w-20 perhaps?
 
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I got PP in there now and had MC in there before this current PP fill and I would say go with which one gives you what you desire the most for your car.

Wait. Let's back up and identify what your most foremost desires are in terms of attributes desired from motor oil. I would say the top 3 or 4 things most, not all, people look for from oil: (I am more of #s 1, 2, 3 so that is why I put the ranks but yours may differ)

1. First in importance - Performance- For my rev-centric engine, I look for slickness or just overall 'better performance'.

2 Second in importance- Fuel economy- Kind of goes hand in hand with being 'thinner'(#1) or 'slicker'(#1) or whatever you want to call it. Generally, the thinner the oil, the better FE.

3. Third in importance - Enhanced Low end tug or torque. Big time requirement if you do predominantly city driving where revs vary to absolute low to mid range and then up more and then right back down to low to mids predominantly.

4. Fourth in importance- Protection - for those who want that 300k mikes out of their engine and want the absolute "best possible' to every iota possible. I would kinda lump 'smoothness' in here since most synthetics that protect the absolute best also tend to be extremely smooth intrinsically. (I'm sure there are some exceptions out there but I haven't heard of an absolute abysmal synthetic)

I think PP favors #3 as well as #4 in that is better for city driving and in low gears/rpm where it's more robust and thicker 5w-20 helps. I also think since it has good UOAs, that #4 protection is inherently important to full synthetic PP users so many place themselves with that category in terms of importance and smoothness is something PP is extremely good at. (atleast mostly in the low-mid gears)

I would say that perhaps MC is better at Numbers 1 and 2 in terms of it's strength of revving and mileage. I have an idea that Schaeffers is more comparable to PP since it is a synthetic. I do not know Sch. strength and weaknesses in terms of its UOAs and general user-performance.

Between Schaeffers and PP, I would go with whichever does more of the above better.

Pure money. Questions, comments?



Total and complete waste of good bandwidth ^^^^
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Either oil is good. PP or Schaeffer's.
 
I learn something new all the time; I guess that’s a good thing since I’ve crested the 50Year mark. I used to think that the number one criterion of selecting motor oil was its ability to PROTECT the motor under all operating conditions! You know, from cold startup to the possibility of dealing with the loss of coolant and overheating. I also learned to select the lowest viscosity of oil that would deliver the PROTECTION required as that would also help to reduce fuel consumption. The third selection criterion was to find oil with an additive package that would allow for extended drain periods.

Based upon my archaic selection criteria for my 2004 Honda Accord 2.4L K24 motor I run Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20 with a Honda S2000 (Higher capacity well constructed) oil filter. Since 90% of my mileage is freeway driving, I have been going with 10,000 mile oil changes. Based upon all the information I have read hear over the past several years, I thought I was making the correct decisions! Now, over the last few months it seems that the world has passed me by. I’ve learned the following here from a younger generation:

Oil filters are a performance product! The selection of the correct oil filter will increase horsepower to a noticeable level!

Oil selection should be based upon how it “feels” in your fingers!

Oil is also a performance product!
Some oil will increase ONLY Horsepower!
Some oil will increase ONLY torque!

Oil is comparable to butter on a baked potato!

The correct selection of oil will eliminate gas-tank fuel-pump noise!

The correct selection of oil will make your automatic transmission shift smother!

If a car that is capable of running a middle 15 second ¼ mile ET at about 91Mph, a 1-5 peak RWHP or FWHP can be “felt” in the small of your back under full throttle acceleration!

Thanks to some of the younger generation that now post on this board, I have been exposed to a new world of oil and oil filter selection criteria! I may be an old dog, but I’m going to do my best to learn some of these new tricks!
 
The main thing about PP that is "trendy" to me is the price. If it were as high as most other synthetics, I'd be more open-minded.
 
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Pennzoil Platinum is the latest fad around here.



When you can get a high quality synthetic that is putting out some great UOA's, backed with positive remarks from Terry, for a $1 a quart...that is a trend worth following.

I, too, would give Schaeffer's more of a look if it was more available. I looked up my town on their dealer search and NO ONE carries their oil. And there are only 3 dealers in this town of nearly 2 million people.
 
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I, too, would give Schaeffer's more of a look if it was more available. I looked up my town on their dealer search and NO ONE carries their oil. And there are only 3 dealers in this town of nearly 2 million people.




Tempest, according to Schaeffer's site, there are six dealers in Vegas. I know that American Racing Supply sells at least some of Schaeffer's 7xx PCMOs, as I saw it on their shelves when I stopped in to buy some Schaeffer gear oil a month ago.

Regards,
 
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Tempest, according to Schaeffer's site, there are six dealers in Vegas. I know that American Racing Supply sells at least some of Schaeffer's 7xx PCMOs, as I saw it on their shelves when I stopped in to buy some Schaeffer gear oil a month ago.




Thanks for the info. I actually used a Henderson ZIP for a locator so it may have excluded some across town. The place you mentioned is one that I want to checkout but have not had a chance to get down there. The Shaeffer site did not list them as carrying motor oil, but good to know that they do. I really want to try some Neutra.
 
I've used them both and suggested this comparison a while ago. While I have no UOAs, I was very happy with both. Only two subjective observations: on the same vis, the PP appeared to reach pressure slightly quicker on the very coldest days, but the valvetrain seemed a little quieter on the Scheffers once up to temperature.

Both are great oils afaik. But the PP has to be BOGO to be value competitive with the Schaeffers.

Bottom line, Between these two, I'd buy the one that was cheaper/easier to purchase. It's a great dilemma, as there is no bad choice here.
 
As a side note, at the racetrack we run at, they are now selling Schaeffer's oil right at the track! There's a new supplier that is there this year, and he stocks Schaeffer's 20W50 for us.

Maybe I started a trend! When we first started racing there, nobody used it...The oil of choice was Valvoline. Once some racers started noticing that we were one of the few cars that never lost an engine all year (3 1/2 years to be exact...dropped a valve last week) they started asking questions like who builds our engines, what parts were in it, and what oil we were using. Nobody had really heard of Schaeffer's, but now quite a few are using it.

My enigne builder says since he switched fom Kendall to Schaeffer's, he's never wiped out a cam bearing on a SBC. When he runs restricted oil to the top end, he sometimes had a problem with various oils, Kendall included, but once switching to Schaeffers, he's never lost one.
 
Ok, now for a curve ball...

How does Havoline stack up to either one of these?

If I have to suggest a petroleum oil to someone, this is always what I recommend, based on both personal experience and the information I've gleaned here.
 
I've run both, I like both. I am currently running Schaeffer 7k in the Envoy. Pressure is a bit lower than both GC (expected) and M1 (not expected). I like the idea of the Penetro adds to the Schaeffer's for long term cleanliness. I bought from the main office in Saint Louis, personal service, nice folks. Schaeffer states that their oil will handle heat better (up to 250 degrees more) and actually references a 4.x increase in gas mileage. A 7000 mile change is recommended by them also. PP is cheaper, about 1.50 a quart less when BOGO. In my old Montana V6, the GM tick was nearly eliminated with PP, and the engine was silky smooth. PP does have availability on it's side. All empirical data, and opinion, I know. I think I'll stick with Schaeffer's based on customer service and reputation. The Neutra looks like it did what the engineer said it would, I have no reason to doubt that the Schaeffer 7k would be any different.
 
Beanoil,
I feel the same way about Schaeffers!
I just really need to start using up some of the cheap BITOG infection oil I have in the garage.
 
Schaeffer's is a very good product at a fair price. In some cases much cheaper Schaeffer's products have held up to extended drains better than Mobil 1. You simply get what you pay for. What more could you ask? How about a better distribution system!

As to the Pennzoil Platinum its a very good product that is sometimes available at an absurd price of $2 a Qt. At nearly $6 a Qt (for PP) I would rather have Havoline Synthetic for $3 Thanks.

In otherwords when PP loses its price advantage the Fad will be over. I would buy the much maligned Castrol Syntec 5W-30 at $2 a Qt!
 
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How does Havoline stack up to either one of these?






Just my opinion, but while Havoline is a great conventional oil, I don't put it in the same strata as these two. Not that Havoline doesn't deliver excellent UOAs and there is nary a bad word said about it. For most engines and at reasonable intervals, my guess is that Havoline is just as good. But in more extreme operating environments or at longer intervals, I'd rather have one of the other two in my crankcase.
 
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