Why does everyone hate Pennzoil??

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I'm really getting tired of explaining to dim wits on other boards that Pennzoil is one of the best non synthetic oils available. Why is it that so many people hate Pennzoil and swear that it causes all kinds of problems? Is there a good reason?

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There may be some basis in fact, from pennzoil formulations 20+ years ago. I run into the same thing, and it is hard get someone to understand that the SE rated pennzoil that sludged their fathers 72 ford, isn't the same stuff that is on the shelves today.
 
I used to use Pennzoil (and sometimes Quaker State) all the time. This was a long time ago-maybe in the years when there may have been a problem with Pennzoil. I noticed that when I switched to other brands of motor oil that the interior of my engine looked cleaner.

I did come across a lot of distrust of Pennzoil like what you mentioned. I found such distrust at new car dealerships and elsewhere. When I owned a Toyota car I attended a maintenance seminar for new owners. The Toyota dealership was in the process of changing their recommendation from Pennzoil to Valvoline. I ran into similar distrust of Pennzoil at a Saturn dealership. A guy who raced cars on the Pike's Peak Hill Climb told me to avoid Pennzoil.

Maybe there was a problem with Pennzoil (and Quaker State?) in the past. I don't know. But based on the VOAs and UOAs posted here Pennzoil is one of the best motor oils available. We are lucky to have this site where we have a chance to get some real information on motor oils. Where else would we get such information?

I don't hate Pennzoil. I just want to use the best motor oil I can for the least price in my car. Right now when it comes to conventional motor oils I like the idea of Chevron. How come? Chevron looks good in VOAs and UOAs here and Chevron costs less then Pennzoil.

But we will always need a web site like this for real information. If Pennzoil really was bad in the past but is good now then that is an indication that any brand can go from bad to good (or vice versa). Five years from now we may have a completely different list of conventional motor oils that are rated the best. Five years from now everybody here may be saying what a great motor oil Valvoline is.
 
I've heard the same things about Penz. The problem is that the information that some people are spreading is 20 years old. Some people like my father are still getting used to catalytic converters and EGRs. Maybe Penz was a sludger back then, but what oil wasn't?

The facts are that Penz is putting up some great UOAs and is now a leader. And considering the amount of cars that go to J-Lube for service, I would say Penz is doing well to protect those cars. During my AutoRX rinse I used Penz 5w-30 and my truck never ran so smooth. I'm now a believer in it.
 
When you get a bad rap,it's hard to beat it.In 1989-1990 I worked at a jibby lude and we had peeps coming in since day 1 that used pezz and had changes every 3k.When they hit 15k or so,we could feel and see the sludge in the valve covers
 
jafo, I find your information very interesting. You KNOW that these customers were getting 3000 mile oil changes and yet sludge was forming in the engines.

I did notice when I switched from Pennzoil that the interior of my engine looked cleaner. So maybe there was a problem with Pennzoil in the past and maybe not so long ago in the past.

I experienced a very great amount of dislike for Pennzoil from numerous people, including people that I thought knew what they were talking about. A race car driver, people at new car dealerships, etc.

Today it certainly appears from VOAs and UOAs that Pennzoil is very good. But I tend to like Chevron. I have heard nothing but good stuff about Chevron and it is cheaper then Pennzoil.

The title of this post was a question as to why people hate Pennzoil. People certainly do not because Pennzoil is the number one brand in America. And I certainly do not hate Pennzoil. I just tend to like Chevron more.

Castrol is also highly regarded at this site. I know of a very, very good mechanic (a woman) who recommends Castrol to her customers. But somehow I just can't develop warm and fuzzy feelings for Castrol. The GC deal, Castrol claiming that its Syntec was synthetic and charging the same price as Mobil 1, etc., kind of disturb me. The Castrol Syntec Blend may be a better motor oil then the Castrol Syntec (American made).

I tend to just like Chevron better. Hard to beat the price. If Chevron is not available Halvoline is probably the same stuff. I do wish the Chevron 0W-30 was available here for the wintertime. I just like it.
 
Same thing here. My father always said that Penzoil and Quaker state tend to sludge up engines. I thought the same until I came here. Usually there is a little bit of truth in most legends and rumors. I think that is probably the case here.

-T
 
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