Valvoline vs Pennzoil?

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Hello,

I do not want to start any controversial arguments, or anything of that nature. I am new here, and just wanted to know peoples opinions between the two brands. I have been reading, that Valvoline has "weak additives," and Pennzoil has really good base oils. I started some other threads in regards to oils for my vehicles, but these are the two brands I have come down to, and have to do three different vehicles. I just want to know peoples thoughts on the companies above, and their products. I hope it can stay fair, and not go off on wild attacking of one another. Look forward to hearing peoples opinions, and thank you for reading!
 
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Use Amsoil, but have used Pennzoil products based on the great UOA's. Never been a Valvoline fan.
 
I have no problem with Pennzoil, nor any problem with Valvoline. It "seems" that PYB might have the better additive package, but it's easy to say "weak additive package" without having any more evidence than a cheap VOA. Considering that Valvoline (in the appropriate grades) passes SN and GF-5, there's no issue in using it whatsoever in appropriate vehicles.

Vote with your wallet, if you like. Pennzoil was cheapest here when I got the G and needed a stash for it. Had I bought it a few months earlier or a few months later, I would have had a stash of VWB instead.
 
first , not all additives show up in a UOA , second base oils matter , there are several UOAs for VWB which supposedly has a weak add pack but the wear numbers look nice and low.

Most of the base oils that Ashland uses are purchased from Shell anyways. I prefer Valvoline myself, especially their Maxlife series oil.

Having said that , seems that Pennzoil oils have a strong TBN meaning you can go longer on the oil. Whichever is on sale would work for ya.
 
SOPUS or Mobil products only for me in the US, Shell and Castrol for my car and bike in Europe.
Never used Valvoline engine oil and probably never will since they came out with Nextgen.

Maxlife is good tranny fluid though.
 
Originally Posted By: bourne
first , not all additives show up in a UOA , second base oils matter , there are several UOAs for VWB which supposedly has a weak add pack but the wear numbers look nice and low.

Most of the base oils that Ashland uses are purchased from Shell anyways. I prefer Valvoline myself, especially their Maxlife series oil.

Having said that , seems that Pennzoil oils have a strong TBN meaning you can go longer on the oil. Whichever is on sale would work for ya.


From Shell? Are you sure you didnt mean XOM.
 
I like Pennzoil myself. It seems to be "the oil" for my girlfriend's Honda with the 2.4 liter V-tech engine. Her engine runs quieter and smoother on Pennzoil than it has on other brands. I use Pennzoil conventional in the yellow bottle in my truck too, it does run very smoothly and is also quiet. Pennzoil has a lot of molybdenum content, which could be a reason why the engines are smoother and quieter.

I also like Quaker State which is pretty close to Pennzoil, both are Shell products but QS has less Moly and more Boron content. Boron is said to be very good for your engine seals. I have not run Valvoline in a very long time. Back when I did use Valvoline it was a pretty good oil but now I very much prefer Penzoil or Quaker State.
 
One thing I learned over the years being here is that there is a lot of hyperbole around certain oil brands. Anything Pennzoil just gets a free pass. Mention Castrol or Valvoline and the story changes dramatically.

In reality, if you have an application that requires regular API certified oil, with no other special requirements, you can choose your oil blindfolded. It will be just as good of a choice as picking the most recommended oil on this board. So I would pick what is cheaper.
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
Originally Posted By: bourne
first , not all additives show up in a UOA , second base oils matter , there are several UOAs for VWB which supposedly has a weak add pack but the wear numbers look nice and low.

Most of the base oils that Ashland uses are purchased from Shell anyways. I prefer Valvoline myself, especially their Maxlife series oil.

Having said that , seems that Pennzoil oils have a strong TBN meaning you can go longer on the oil. Whichever is on sale would work for ya.


From Shell? Are you sure you didnt mean XOM.


"some" does come from XOM, bulk however comes from Shell
 
I am a long time Valvoline guy. I have used everything though and it's hard to say I have a real preference. I do know SOPUS makes great oils and the key is they are usually on sale somewhere, so that is why I end up using Pennzoil or QS more than any other brand.

No need to make this decision scientific, use whatever gives you the best gut feeling.
 
I have run both Pennzoil Platinum and Valvoline SynPower in our VUE and had UOAs done. Check out the following link:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2463952

Platinum is on the right and was run for a bit over 6000 miles. SynPower is on the left and was run for a bit over 7500 miles. Both performed well.

TBN of the SynPower is pretty low, so I probably wouldn't run it more than 7500 miles in my vehicle given and the driving conditions it is exposed to. And many others have said that SynPower isn't a good choice for extended intervals.
 
To the OP: each brand has a variety of products, each with strengths and weaknesses. Claiming one brand is flat-out better than the other is borderline-trolling and baseless.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
One thing I learned over the years being here is that there is a lot of hyperbole around certain oil brands. Anything Pennzoil just gets a free pass. Mention Castrol or Valvoline and the story changes dramatically.

In reality, if you have an application that requires regular API certified oil, with no other special requirements, you can choose your oil blindfolded. It will be just as good of a choice as picking the most recommended oil on this board. So I would pick what is cheaper.


+1- Pennzoil seems to get all the love, like the last child born. In addition, I love the word Hyperbole, you hit the nail on the head. We have to get away from what additives show up to make a conclusion about if the oil is better. Valvoline has proprietary zinc that more than likely doesn't show up on oil analysis. We also have to consider the robustness of the base stocks,since this is 70% plus of what is in the oil, the most important ingredient.
 
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This should be a good poll because the contendors are both very popular.

In another recent "poll" Valvoline beat out Quaker State. This one should be WB vs YB since there was no reference to synthetic in the title.
 
How can we judge them when there both quality oil`s? It comes down to personal preference and thats about it.
 
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Originally Posted By: lexus114
How can we judge them when there both quality oil`s? It comes down to personal preference and thats about it.


I would say personal preference and price for dino offerings. Dino oil are just too similar to each other.

Synthetics on the other hand have a lot more differentiation, like extended OCI's, meeting more/less manufacturer specific specs, some are much lighter in the same API grade level and some are much heavier, and then you can toss different groups of oils in the mix. But even with synthetics, personal preference and price probably plays a big role.
 
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