Confused between PP & PUP

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 8, 2015
Messages
186
Location
East Coast
Pennzoil Platinum & Pennzoil Ultra Platinum.....it's my understanding the only difference between these 2 lines is the extra detergents in PUP for better cleaning & longer OCI's. Looking at Pennzoils website, the PP has better looking numbers than PUP, especially NOACK values. The VI of the PUP is slightly higher than its counterparts in PP which indicates to me more additives like VI improvers. I guess what I'm getting at is that I don't see the almost $2qt difference in price between the PUP & PP lines. If anything I'd be more inclined to go with PP vs PUP going off of Pennzoils specs on its website.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pennzoil Spec sheets are not the greatest IMO. In VOA's PUP shows more calcium and also contains Boron.

Is it worth the extra cost? That is anyone's guess.

Be careful not to get hung up on certain values such as NOACK, VI etc. It is about the entire package as a whole.

Some excellent performing oils have high NOACKs and mediocre VI's. Motorcraft syn-blend comes to mind.
 
Originally Posted By: Fasttimez
Pennzoil Platinum & Pennzoil Ultra Platinum.....it's my understanding the only difference between these 2 lines is the extra detergents in PUP for better cleaning & longer OCI's.

If you look at the specs that matter, you will see that the two products are interchangeable, with one being more expensive and harder to find. SOPUS has decided not to appropriately differentiate them by OCI, for instance.

You don't see the $2 difference between the lines? That's because it's not there from a product placement perspective. Unfortunately, checkmarks and stars and oil drops on a chart aren't quantifiable oil metrics, so Shell needs to go back to the drawing board with respect to their marketing of this stuff.
 
I've always wanted to try Ultra, but the closer I've ever gotten to buying Pennzoil products, Platinum just seems to be a much better deal.

I'm not sure why I've only ever used Mobil 1 and Castrol. Pennzoil is definitely on my radar.
 
The marketing certainly is poor. PP is a premium GTL oil that keeps your engine clean. PUP is a premium GTL oil that keeps your engine even cleaner than just simply clean. I was surprised they didn't drop Ultra when they changed the look a couple years ago.
 
Yeah the non differentiation between PP and PUP is really not helpful. Marketing 101 of what not to do
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Torrid
I've always wanted to try Ultra, but the closer I've ever gotten to buying Pennzoil products, Platinum just seems to be a much better deal.

I'm not sure why I've only ever used Mobil 1 and Castrol. Pennzoil is definitely on my radar.


Yeah I've always wanted to try it as well, good luck finding it though. At least in 5qt 5w-30 jugs.
 
Last edited:
Main difference between PPPP and PUPPP (Platinum and Ultra Platinum with PurePlus) seems to be that Ultra Platinum formulation is made of a thinner GTL blend versus the thicker GTL blend of Platinum. As a result, Platinum has a lower (better) NOACK than Ultra Platinum. Another result is that Ultra Platinum has more VIIs than Platinum.

Therefore, Platinum seems to be a higher quality oil than Ultra Platinum. Platinum will offer a thicker oil film and higher oil-film strength (because of a more robust base oil), and ironically a cleaner engine (because of less VIIs and thicker base oil) than Ultra Platinum.

So, Pennzoil "Ultra Platinum" is nothing but a marketing gimmick in US. Pennzoil Platinum is a higher-quality oil than Ultra Platinum. Ultra Platinum may offer a slightly higher fuel economy because it will shear more and run thinner than Platinum due to its higher VII concentration.
 
Perhaps it's as simple as

PP = Mobil 1, Castrol Edge
PPU = Mobil 1 EP, Castrol Edge EP


Right now you can get a PP 5qt jug for $21.39 if you do he Amazon subscribe and save on 5W20, 5W30, and 10W30.
 
Originally Posted By: Gokhan
So, Pennzoil "Ultra Platinum" is nothing but a marketing gimmick in US.

And a poor marketing gimmick at that. Even if the datasheet values were unequivocally "better" for Ultra, that's not how you sell oil to the general public. It might work on us, but not for anyone else.

If PYB is good for 3750 miles in my G37, and Pennzoil Gold is good for 3750 miles in my G37, and PP is also good for 3750 miles, and PU is good for 3750 miles, why should I choose the expensive options? Mobil and Castrol will give me increasingly lengthier mileage guarantees as I spend more money on their products. Even RP gives a mileage warranty.

Shell has never adequately explained how, over an OEM OCI, a $74 jug of PU will outperform a $15 jug of Formula Shell in a vanilla SN/GF-5 application. Cleaning a higher percentage of sludge on the first oil change isn't relevant if there's no sludge there in the first place.
 
That's part of the reason why I'm running Pennzoil Gold Synthetic blend.. $18 for 5 qt container is good deal. I will say that the Ultra Platinum did not drop in performance until closing in on 4,000 miles. Which is quite impressive. Castrol w titanium gold bottle did the same thing. To me there is a performance difference because the gold blend starts to lose performance a bit after 2k miles. But I am so happy with the performance of the Synthetic blend that I am happy to run that for now. And from time to time.
 
No absolutely not
smile.gif

Castrol w titanium gold bottle is better than Pennzoil Gold Synthetic blend. Hands down. Has is Pennzoil Ultra. But the gold Synthetic blend is pretty doggone good stuff for $4.47 a qt or $18 for a five qt container.
 
Originally Posted By: donnyj08

Be careful not to get hung up on certain values such as NOACK, VI etc. It is about the entire package as a whole.


True. But also keep in mind why a low Noack is important, and what it signifies in terms of base stock quality, the foundation upon which all other things are built.

And then realize that PP and PUP aren't the Holy Grail, but PU sure was!
 
Last edited:
I'm looking at using PP in my F150 Ecoboost, is there any reason I couldn't run the 10w30 vs the spec'd 5w30 ? Thickness wise there's not much difference between them, but with the 10w30 you get a low NOACK of 4.7 vs 10.1 for 5w30. Both have a pour point of -48. The 10w30 seems like it would be an overall more stable oil. Winters here rarely see temps below 20F, it may dip into the teens on occasion. I'm thinking the PP 10w30 would be an all around great oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Leonardo629
Perhaps it's as simple as

PP = Mobil 1, Castrol Edge
PPU = Mobil 1 EP, Castrol Edge EP


Right now you can get a PP 5qt jug for $21.39 if you do he Amazon subscribe and save on 5W20, 5W30, and 10W30.

Mobil 1 EP has more PAO in comparison to Mobil 1. Pennzoil Ultra Platinum seems to be entirely GTL like the Pennzoil Platinum but if someone knows that it has PAO, let me know.

Other than, both the Platinum and Ultra Platinum are ACEA A5/B5; so, they are both meant for extended drains. I still think that the main difference between them is a thinner GTL blend and more VIIs in the Ultra.
 
The PUP obviously cleans better (as ASTM tests prove) than PP, so NOACK doesn't tell the whole story of the oil. Pennzoil must have some pretty stable VII's & additives that don't burn off leaving deposits or they would have shown up in ASTM deposit tests correct ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top