Quaker State® SUPER BLEND: The intelligent oil™

[MolaKule]

What was the first Pennzoil synthetic? Was it "Pennzane"? I wonder exactly what "Pennzane" was?

It was Pennzoil's name for a group of Alkylated Cyclopentadienes, a Group V synthesized base oil, with properties similar to PAO.

 

[aquariuscsm]

It was Pennzoil's name for a group of Alkylated Cyclopentadienes, a Group V synthesized base oil, with properties similar to PAO.

It was probably a really good oil!!

 

[MolaKule]

My understanding is that it was an excellent base oil but very expensive to produce and was only used as a "co-base" oil at the time.

I have no idea if they still use it today with their GTL base oils.

 

[Scuder]

What was the first Pennzoil synthetic? Was it "Pennzane"? I wonder exactly what "Pennzane" was?

The first mass marketed synthetic from Pennzoil was Performax. Introduced around 1992 in 5W-50 only, soon included 5W-30 & 10W-30. Pennzoil was kind of forced into selling synthetic because Jiffy Lube lube contracts guaranteed competitive products. Even though at the time synthetics represented a miniscule portion of the market, Mobil1 was readily available. So Pennzoil had to come up with a synthetic, or face an insurrection of Jiffy Lube franchisees.

 

[Scuder]

I remember using these but I thought they were green, was the white just for HD?

I don't know. That was an internet picture. I heard the story about the scrap rate from the guy who ran a QS sales and distribution branch at the time. We later became co-workers, which is when he told me.

 

[Scuder]

My understanding is that it was an excellent base oil but very expensive to produce and was only used as a "co-base" oil at the time.

I have no idea if they still use it today with their GTL base oils.

That's correct. It was really an industrial product meant to be used in extreme temperatures, like outer space. I vaguely remember a promotional bit extolling its use on orbiting satellites. It was priced in the thousands of dollars per ounce. So, any used in motor oil was probably drops per tens of thousands of gallons. It's benefit in motor oil was for cheesy marketing only.

 

[aquariuscsm]

The first mass marketed synthetic from Pennzoil was Performax. Introduced around 1992 in 5W-50 only, soon included 5W-30 & 10W-30. Pennzoil was kind of forced into selling synthetic because Jiffy Lube lube contracts guaranteed competitive products. Even though at the time synthetics represented a miniscule portion of the market, Mobil1 was readily available. So Pennzoil had to come up with a synthetic, or face an insurrection of Jiffy Lube franchisees.

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Nice!!

 

[aquariuscsm]

The first mass marketed synthetic from Pennzoil was Performax. Introduced around 1992 in 5W-50 only, soon included 5W-30 & 10W-30. Pennzoil was kind of forced into selling synthetic because Jiffy Lube lube contracts guaranteed competitive products. Even though at the time synthetics represented a miniscule portion of the market, Mobil1 was readily available. So Pennzoil had to come up with a synthetic, or face an insurrection of Jiffy Lube franchisees.

View attachment 49021

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Wasn’t the original Castrol Syntec also only available in 5W50?

 

[nthach]

Wasn’t the original Castrol Syntec also only available in 5W50?

Yep, and oil change shops that poured Castrol were using it in everything when asked.