PUP's fall from grace over the last 10 years?

[Brian123]

No, I actually remember reading about that when I was a lurker!

Realize that the German Castrol 0W-30 was a BITOG Favorite for many members. The oil is not available anymore, it always stayed true.

Realize that PUP did not stay true, or we can say it changed.

 

[MParr]

The Wal-Mart near me used to have Pennzoil Euro L all the time and at a very good price. Once I warmed up more to the idea of using it more often, they stopped carrying it.
They do carry M1 ESP 0W-30 now. Let's see how long will that last.

You need to have a good volume to occupy the shelves no matter how good you are. Otherwise, they'll move you to their website.

Shelf space in my local Walmart is way down.

 

[cammyfive79]

Realize that the German Castrol 0W-30 was a BITOG Favorite for many members. The oil is not available anymore, it always stayed true.

Realize that PUP did not stay true, or we can say it changed

That was the original crux of my question - in what ways did PUP change that led to its loss of being on a pedestal here at BITOG?

Would it be fair to say that M1 ESP OW-30 is the spiritual successor to German Castrol OW-30?

 

[facility1]

Mobil 1 will save the day,,,,,,,, hmm, though Amsoil ss maybe a better bet. I use either Valvoline EP or Pennzoil ultra Platinum and change at 5k.

 

[Oey12]

I use Pennzoil in my 5.7 Tundra, does great. I tried a few different big brands but for whatever unscientific reason Pennzoil is noticeably more quite.

No reason to use anything else truthfully…

 

[ndarkside93]

That was the original crux of my question - in what ways did PUP change that led to its loss of being on a pedestal here at BITOG?

Would it be fair to say that M1 ESP OW-30 is the spiritual successor to German Castrol OW-30?

The TBN of the formula dropped, but it tends to retain TBN better than the original formula. But that drop was probably the biggest thing.

 

[ChrisD46]

From images I’ve seen - Pennzoil synthetic oils can leave a light yellow stain to engine internals while M1 oil in engines are observed to be just clean .

 

[OilUzer]

Shelf space in my local Walmart is way down.

Same here. some empty shelves. Not much even Supertech, Pennzoil or QS and limited number of Castrol. No M1 Euro but High mileage and ESP instead. maybe they are getting ready for the oil change season or a price hike.

 

[demarpaint]

I remember reading, on this forum in fact, around 2012 or so that PUP was the darling of reasonably priced (what was it back then? $25 or less at Walmart for a 5qt jug?) non-boutique oils. I used it religiously in my (first) TSX since it was so highly regarded here and on other car forums. After getting back into the BITOG life in the last year or so, I've read that PUP changed for the worse apparently or at least was no longer head and shoulders above its peers. Is this a case of PUP reformulating and lowering the bar or possibly the competition catching up and surpassing them? I know VRP is getting a lions share of the discussion and I use it myself in my personal car, but I'm curious what happened to PUP over the years.

That pretty much sums up what many believed occurred. When it first came out in the gray bottles, API SM I believe, it was considered great by several well respected members here. They reformulated it, many claimed it was not as good. That's when I dropped Pennzoil went back to XOM and remained there. Maybe when my stash runs out I'll try something different or maybe I'll leave well enough alone. Time will tell.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Same here. some empty shelves. Not much even Supertech, Pennzoil or QS and limited number of Castrol. No M1 Euro but High mileage and ESP instead. maybe they are getting ready for the oil change season or a price hike.

The thread here at BITOG on GF-7 Oils never mentions when the Kickoff will occur. Perhaps Walmart is clearing the way to rid the oil jug shelves of remaining GF-6As?...... I dunno.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Meh. I thought maybe you had a reason for saying it.

If we’re still talking about PUP here is a screen shot from an older advertising campaign. Maybe the perceptions of an oil are a result of the advertising department looking for another angle. This ad was a during the reign of GF5. If the advertising didn’t change, they would be out of a job, but it doesn’t mean the product is any less capable of cleaning pistons. Enjoy the old ad.

 

[Zee09]

All Pennzoil has to do is to increase availability and give regular rebates
through all stores and it would be the go to here.

 

[Snagglefoot]

From images I’ve seen - Pennzoil synthic oils can leave a light yellow stain to engine internals while M1 oil in engines are observed to be just clean .

You mean the protective sheen of goodness?

 

[Patman]

The thread here at BITOG on GF-7 Oils never mentions when the Kickoff will occur. Perhaps Walmart is clearing the way to rid the oil jug shelves of remaining GF-6As?...... I dunno.

GF-7s official rollout is March 31, however manufacturers have already been producing GF-7 oils for a few months now and putting them in their existing packaging.

@Foxtrot08 confirmed this a while ago

 

[Snagglefoot]

That was the original crux of my question - in what ways did PUP change that led to its loss of being on a pedestal here at BITOG?

Would it be fair to say that M1 ESP OW-30 is the spiritual successor to German Castrol OW-30?

You can still find find German Castrol 0W30 at Canadian Tire in Canada. Some have said old stock but I’ll photo and post it once in a while. Also Pennzoil has German made Euro LX 0W30 in stock at Canadian tire and some places in the USA. Canadian Tire is the largest retailer of motor oil in Canada with over 500 stores.

 

[Patman]

You can still find find German Castrol 0W30 at Canadian Tire in Canada. Some have said old stock but I’ll photo and post it once in a while. Also Pennzoil has German made Euro LX 0W30 in stock at Canadian tire and some places in the USA. Canadian Tire is the largest retailer of motor oil in Canada with over 500 stores.

Unless it’s the green version it’s not really the GC 0w30 that we adored. I doubt they would still have that version in stock, as it would be more than 15 years old at this point

 

[KCJeep]

From images I’ve seen - Pennzoil synthetic oils can leave a light yellow stain to engine internals while M1 oil in engines are observed to be just clean .

That’s the wax!

Seriously Castrol is kinda known for that save the 0w30/40 Euro but I have not heard it mentioned with Shell stuff. They all have lower tier oils but I can’t imagine PUP leaving varnish at reasonable OCI’s.

 

[bluesubie]

If the advertising didn’t change, they would be out of a job, but it doesn’t mean the product is any less capable of cleaning pistons.

View attachment 267998

Notice any difference in the words in bold vs the wording in the ad? This is probably what @kschachn is referring to.

 

[buster]

Pennzoil really didn't' start to take synthetics seriously until early 2000's when they introduced Pennzoil Platinum. The only synthetics on the shelf at that time that were really good was Mobil 1 or EDGE Euro. The other offerings from Valvoline/Pennzoil were very subpar at that time. As demand started to increase they slowly entered the market with PP and then PUP.

Former member Johnny used to work for Pennzoil.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Unless it’s the green version it’s not really the GC 0w30 that we adored. I doubt they would still have that version in stock, as it would be more than 15 years old at this point

Problem solved. Just in time for St. Paddy’s day.