Red line Vs Amsoil cleaning power

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Triton_330
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Triton_330
Pennzoil is cheaper, and please tell me what you have against additives? Sure, DI-ester cleans well, but it costs alot.

Clevy and I have mentioned time and time again on the board (and in this thread) about the difficulty in getting Pennzoil Ultra and its high price in Canada, and I'm a pretty big SOPUS user. Heck, I do a pile of business with Shell Canada itself.

I can buy Amsoil off the shelf tomorrow at about 60% of the price of PU; that's not even from Pablo or as a preferred customer, that's retail. I can go to the speed shop tomorrow and buy Red Line for the same as PU. I can buy Motul for the same price as PU.

Do you have any idea what PU costs up here? I can think of only three places where it's available. It's at NAPA for $71 a jug. It can be found at some Shell gas stations for exorbitant prices. It can be found at SOPUS distributors that are allowed to sell Pennzoil-Quaker State products (at a likely much better price, but there are only one or two per province).

So, what should Mephy do? I'm asking all the PU proponents here. I see a few options. You pick one and suggest it to him. Should he:

1) Go to NAPA and pay $71 for a jug of Pennzoil Ultra?

2) Go to several Shell gas stations to find enough for an oil change and pay at least $15 a litre?

3) Go on a road trip throughout Ontario on a fools errand to find which SOPUS distributor has the rights to Pennzoil-Quaker State products?

4) Go on a different road trip down south with the hope of finding a U.S. Walmart that hasn't scrapped the product?

5) None of the above because they're all idiotic?


Try buying off Amazon. You can get 6 quarts of Pennzoil Synthetic for under 50 bucks, sometimes just 40.
Look:
PP 5w-20
PU 5w-20


You know that shipping oil across the border incurs an enormous fee right?

I had a bunch of m1 v-twin I got at a yard sale I wasn't using so I was going to give it away. Shipping was 70 bucks for 5 single quarts of oil.
So no matter what great deal you've found once the Canadian end of the shipping line gets their hands on it price gets stupid.
Unless you've got a distribution house in Canada

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Mephy
How do you insert a photo in the post ?

On the edit bar, there's a helper icon, fourth from the left, a little image icon. Give it a shot.

@Triton_330: Amazon would seem to be an idea, but there are caveats. The first is the shipping issue, as Clevy mentioned. I think Overkill has ordered PU through Amazon, and he gives me the impression it's not an experience he would care to repeat due to the cost.

Then, someone at Amazon is going to wake up. They'll realize they don't ship Mobil products or oil filters or car parts to Canada (warranty issues on both, they claim) but that they are shipping Pennzoil to Canada. They'll either open up the floodgates or they'll shut the Pennzoil shipments down.

Personally, I'm not going to be ordering oil online or by shipping anytime soon, with the only possible exception being something like Amsoil. In Amsoil's case, at least there's a good chance of the dealer understanding their product lineup. Additionally, the last thing I'm going to do is schedule my oil changes around the whims of border security people.

If Shell wants me to use Ultra bad enough, they'll find a way to supply it widely in this country and at a sensible price. I can get Delvac 1 ESP 5w-40, with a boatload of certifications, for around a third the price of PU. Formula Shell is under a quarter of the price of PU. Even Eneos is about half the price.

Shell Canada and SOPUS have some explaining to do. They buy the Pennzoil and Quaker State brand names for their unbeatable name recognition in North America, then they can't even get the stuff to the shelves when they create a new product. Good show!

 

[Triton_330]

Clevy - Hey man, I'm sorry for being naive... I did not think about the whole shipping across the border fee. Please understand I wasn't trying to pretend that I was something more than I am, or that I was being condescending, because I promise, I was not. I was just trying to help. On the other hand, though I am a newbie member, I do know quite a lot about oil, as I have been an avid gearhead since I was a kid, and have done extensive research on how oil is made, both for my own curiosity, and also for multiple research essays in school... Still though, that doesn't mean I want to pretend that I am some sort of expert, because I'm not; I just like to use the knowledge that I do have when I think I can help. I am always learning

... Also, FWIW, I always enjoy reading posts on BITOG, such as those from you! Thanks.

Garak - Despite what some may have said about their bad experiences from ordering online, (which don't get me wrong, I totally believe they may have had problems) I assure you that I have ordered oil from Amazon multiple times and have never had a problem. And, FWIW (not that it's completely relevant, but) of one of those times I ordered oil from Amazon, I got a great deal on 6 quarts of 5w-40 full synthetic European Formula for only 37 dollars with free shipping.

 

[Garak]

I wasn't criticizing how Amazon actually performs (at least down south) so much as the difficulty with getting stuff across the border. Amazon Canada doesn't do the oil thing, so shipping deals cannot be had by that method. So, it's order through Amazon proper, hope it's a product that they choose to export to Canada, and pray the shipping doesn't bite you hard.

I'd consider it as an option if I required an oil with such an obscure specification that Amazon was almost the only way to get it. However, considering that vanilla SN/GF-5 PU has plenty of competition out there available on dozens upon dozens of shelves in this city alone, there is no way I would be ordering PU online, unless there was a price incentive versus the current price disincentive. I should not have to bend over backwards to spend my money.

 

[Mephy]

Here is the photo.

This is what I see when I add the oil.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Triton_330
Clevy - Hey man, I'm sorry for being naive... I did not think about the whole shipping across the border fee. Please understand I wasn't trying to pretend that I was something more than I am, or that I was being condescending, because I promise, I was not. I was just trying to help. On the other hand, though I am a newbie member, I do know quite a lot about oil, as I have been an avid gearhead since I was a kid, and have done extensive research on how oil is made, both for my own curiosity, and also for multiple research essays in school... Still though, that doesn't mean I want to pretend that I am some sort of expert, because I'm not; I just like to use the knowledge that I do have when I think I can help. I am always learning

... Also, FWIW, I always enjoy reading posts on BITOG, such as those from you! Thanks.

Garak - Despite what some may have said about their bad experiences from ordering online, (which don't get me wrong, I totally believe they may have had problems) I assure you that I have ordered oil from Amazon multiple times and have never had a problem. And, FWIW (not that it's completely relevant, but) of one of those times I ordered oil from Amazon, I got a great deal on 6 quarts of 5w-40 full synthetic European Formula for only 37 dollars with free shipping.



No sweat. Glad to have another gearhead. This is a great site. Lots of good info mixed in with some absurd. Its easy to separate the 2 though.
I got lucky with ultra. I hit napa when they had 5L jugs for 28 bucks,3 days later I went back for more and saw the 72 dollar tag and considered myself lucky to have gotten the 14 I did get.
At the prices they're charging I'd spend my money on redline to be honest.

 

[gpshumway]

On the border crossing thing:

Where's Pennzoil Ultra made? If it's made in the USA or Canada, I believe NAFTA should save you from any customs/duty problems. Though petroleum products may have a special category. COO should be printed on the bottle.

Ten years ago when the loonie was low against the dollar I crossed the border with $4k of Paradigm (Canadian) speakers, once the border agents found "loudspeaker" in their magic book they sent us on our way with a friendly wave, no duty.

Apparently Minnesota counts as "psuedo Canada" for SOPUS products, Pennzoil Ultra is now Unicorn oil here too. Gone from Walmart, none at any of the consumer retail stores, even NAPA doesn't carry it around here.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: gpshumway
Where's Pennzoil Ultra made? If it's made in the USA or Canada, I believe NAFTA should save you from any customs/duty problems. Though petroleum products may have a special category. COO should be printed on the bottle.

Duty or GST shouldn't be much of an issue. Even if duty were levied, it would be small potatoes. It's the shipping that would be the hassle. If crossing the border for something else, that works, too.