Motor Oil Wear Test Results – Caution, VERY long

[razor66]

Any thoughts on why there would be so much difference in the results from your testing between these two oils that look to be the same brand other than the viscosity weight rating?

1. 5W30 Pennzoil Ultra, API SM = 115,612 psi
I have not been able to find this oil with the latest API SN certification. The bottle says, “No leading synthetic oil provides better wear protection”. For once, a product’s hype turns out to be true.
zinc = 806 ppm
phos = 812 ppm
moly = 66 ppm

31. 5W20 Pennzoil Ultra, API SM = 86,034 psi
I have not been able to find this oil with the latest API SN certification.
zinc = TBD
phos = TBD
moly = TBD

Yeah, that was one of the surprises during the testing. Not all like brand oils fell into line like you might expect. But repeat testing at different times showed the same results over and over again. So, the numbers are what they are. Only the oil company in question or a very expensive forensic lab test could reveal for sure why they are different.

Though in some of my conversations with the Royal Purple Engineers, they told me that the technology is not in place to absolutely guarantee that oil from different batches will be "exactly" the same. And that normal lab tests may show differences even for oil that would otherwise seem like it should be identical.

Their statement really surprised me, because I thought in this modern 21st Century computer controlled age we live in, that everything "would be" identical. So, perhaps that may account for the differences. And that's all the more reason to do the kind of testing I did. That way you don't have to just "assume" that similar oils will have similar capabilities. I plan on testing the oil I use, maybe once a year to see if it is still similar to what it was before.

And speaking of repeat testing at different times showing the same results over and over again. I was so shocked that the winning 5W30 Pennzoil Ultra, API SM, could be so good, that I tested it probably twice as many times as I tested all the other oils. And every time it tested extremely well. It simply would NOT test bad. It really is good oil, and I will be putting it in my own 800 HP, 540ci BBC.

Yes, I was definitely surprised to see that much difference (~30,000 psi) with just such a small change in the viscosity between the two. I would also think that they would have tighter control from batch to batch, but perhaps not and that may be where the difference lies. Your spot testing should detect this if you start seeing significant changes in the results from the 5W30 you plan to use. I would of course like to have seen the results between these two weights of the same oil closer to one another as some may want or need to run a different weight oil in their engine and depending on this the Penzoil Ultra, API SM might very well not be the better choice. I look forward to seeing some more of your future testing results. Thanks for posting them.

[boxcartommie22]

sorry all, i think you all are wasting too much time on a bogus test!!,there are many like this that don't mean squat. i use red line and motul and consider them to be the very best thats out there and would never ever use anything by pennzoil!! if one does his /her maintainence on there vehicles then your vehicle will take care of you.

[PWMAX]

This should be a sticky.

[Kevin Johnson]

Was a new test ring used with each new flat test specimem ?

[Bob Hollinshead]

I think I see where Kevin is going with that question, BTTT

[Kevin Johnson]

If you do not change the ring then how do you exclude that additives from previous tests do not adhere to it ? That is a big issue, for one.

Second, it is well known that galling, for example, once started, is a continuing destructive process. It would not be a fair test to see if a given lubricant would prevent galling from beginning in the first place between two surfaces if a galling situation already existed on one of them. It is like using new tappets on an already damaged cam.

I do not know that this is the situation but it is an important experimental question.

[rally]

RAT 540 rebuttal, answer this important question, people in here have the right to know things if you havent tested them. If i cant gain any horsepower switching to the Ultra 5W-30 PENNZOIL i dont find it good enough to switch. I drag race, and looking for the best horsepower numbers an oil can put up against another oil. I understand that Pennzoil Ultra is good in that test, but is it for an engine driven on the street for months without an oil change. In drag racing form again its about horsepower and what oil will give me the best. Royal Purple from what i been told is the best in this class of oils.

[Warp Speed]

[540 RAT]

And speaking of repeat testing at different times showing the same results over and over again. I was so shocked that the winning 5W30 Pennzoil Ultra, API SM, could be so good, that I tested it probably twice as many times as I tested all the other oils. And every time it tested extremely well. It simply would NOT test bad. It really is good oil, and I will be putting it in my own 800 HP, 540ci BBC.

RAT540

Would not each type of oil have its own needed temperature and time to be exposed to the metal (ring in this case) to fully adhere its melecules to the surface and have maximum performance??

No, each oil adhered nicely to the ring and resembled an "O" ring wrapped around the test ring.

[540 RAT]

Was a new test ring used with each new flat test specimem ?

The test specimens are not flat, they are a small solid cylinder shape. And of course a new surface was provided for each test. As for the test "ring", its surface was reprepped with sand paper between each test, so that a fresh surface was used each time.

[540 RAT]

If you do not change the ring then how do you exclude that additives from previous tests do not adhere to it ? That is a big issue, for one.

Second, it is well known that galling, for example, once started, is a continuing destructive process. It would not be a fair test to see if a given lubricant would prevent galling from beginning in the first place between two surfaces if a galling situation already existed on one of them. It is like using new tappets on an already damaged cam.

I do not know that this is the situation but it is an important experimental question.

There was no galling present or carried over. The ring was reprepped each time with sand paper and inspected with a magnifying glass, all the way around, for anything that might not have been seen by the naked eye alone. In addition to that, the ring was cleaned thoroughly with brake cleaner after it was sanded.

[540 RAT]

sorry all, i think you all are wasting too much time on a bogus test!!,there are many like this that don't mean squat. i use red line and motul and consider them to be the very best thats out there and would never ever use anything by pennzoil!! if one does his /her maintainence on there vehicles then your vehicle will take care of you.

Please provide technical data to show us why you like the oils you like, and why you don't like the oils you don't like.

[540 RAT]

RAT 540 rebuttal, answer this important question, people in here have the right to know things if you havent tested them. If i cant gain any horsepower switching to the Ultra 5W-30 PENNZOIL i dont find it good enough to switch. I drag race, and looking for the best horsepower numbers an oil can put up against another oil. I understand that Pennzoil Ultra is good in that test, but is it for an engine driven on the street for months without an oil change. In drag racing form again its about horsepower and what oil will give me the best. Royal Purple from what i been told is the best in this class of oils.

Reread my write-up. I said that the testing compares "load carrying capacity/film strength", which indicates an oils ability to prevent wear. But the testing does NOT indicate anything about HP increases or decreases. Those two things will not always go hand in hand. I clearly stated that.

For max HP, the thinner viscosities of Royal Purple XPR (Extreme Performance Racing) oil, have shown time and time again that they make the most HP.

[rally]

RAT 540 your test looks great on street driven engines that will go without an oil change for at least 10.000 miles. Sure that Ultra is good, but i want extra horsepower anyway i can get it. Royal Purple racing oil fits my needs. If Pennzoil Ultra could compare in horsepower numbers or better its a no brainer, i buy that product. I see nothing out there that suggest that its a horsepower advantage to use it. Royal Purple is my choice on the strip.

[af2]

Kind of funny that I never looked as oil no more than being a crank saver? I guess I am missing something.