Pennsoil ULTRA not available

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JXW

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Apr 11, 2010
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286
Location
Milford, MI (USA)
Was shopping for the 5w20 version, wasn't stocked at 2 separate Wal mart stores, Autozone etc.

I saw and purchased Platinum.

Is there a formulation change?
 
SOPUS just sucks at marketing it, it's out there if you don't mind searching for it. The average Joe can't distinguish the difference between Ultra and Platinum so they just choose what's cheaper (PP) and call it a day. It doesn't help that Ultra costs more money than Platinum and isn't marketed as an extended OCI oil like Mobil 1 EP so to most people, it's not worth the extra cost to run it. Mobil 1 has a good marketing layout that makes sense and is easy to reason with, that's why they are so much more successful selling synthetic oil. I prefer PP over M1 any day of the week, but SOPUS is really weak at getting their name out there and making people want to buy their stuff. Had I never found BITOG, I'd still be using M1 in everything religiously.

Amazon or Walmart website are your best bets. I just use Platinum, I figure it does just as good of a job for my kind of driving. I gave up on trying to hunt down Ultra, only ever found one place that carries it and that's over 100 miles away. Not driving that far to buy oil!
 
Ultra was sold locally for the last several years. It was my first choice, just can't see why it is not being stocked at all when it was widely available for a long period of time.
 
AND...The Pennsoil Quick Lube NEVER had Ultra, only Platinum.

Sons car blew a plug and the repair shop asked me if I wanted the oil changed, I asked for Ultra but settle for Platinum.
 
Agreed on Walmart and Amazon, you just have to check regularly. By the way it's spelled Pennzoil with a z.
 
When Walmart shows it on their site if I need more I buy it. Don't count on them sending you an email update telling you it's in stock, I haven't gotten one yet. I check the site, or look for threads here saying its in and buy it. I have an order of it coming tomorrow for an in store pick up. They had it listed in stock for only one or two days. I'd love to know why they run out of it so quickly.
 
I have it in the sump now, 5W20, I might push for 10K miles.

I will see how dark the oil is in the late Fall... If it is still honey colored I'll go for it, if it is very dark i'm dumping it.

Pennzoil Platinum is good enough, on sale all the time, and no Ultra regrets if you dump it early.
 
The first and last place I saw ultra was on this website. I've searched high and low as well to no avail. Even at the parts house I ask them about getting some in and they take me to pennzoil products in general.
 
I used PU in the 370z for 5 years with a 6mo OCI, then post SOPUS GTL its been gone from wally world. Amazon will put things on sale and I got a few cases of quarts for a fair price and started a stash, then a 5qt popped up.

If you have Prime its all to easy to just toss it in the cart
smile.gif


Wally will occasionally show the 5qt with ship to store, which is the most economical way to get it.

That being said, for most applications PP is perfectly good and what the Z car has in it right now until the next OC when I break into the stash
smile.gif


- b
 
Originally Posted By: jongies3
SOPUS just sucks at marketing it, it's out there if you don't mind searching for it. The average Joe can't distinguish the difference between Ultra and Platinum so they just choose what's cheaper (PP) and call it a day. It doesn't help that Ultra costs more money than Platinum and isn't marketed as an extended OCI oil like Mobil 1 EP so to most people, it's not worth the extra cost to run it. Mobil 1 has a good marketing layout that makes sense and is easy to reason with, that's why they are so much more successful selling synthetic oil. I prefer PP over M1 any day of the week, but SOPUS is really weak at getting their name out there and making people want to buy their stuff. Had I never found BITOG, I'd still be using M1 in everything religiously.

Amazon or Walmart website are your best bets. I just use Platinum, I figure it does just as good of a job for my kind of driving. I gave up on trying to hunt down Ultra, only ever found one place that carries it and that's over 100 miles away. Not driving that far to buy oil!



When I went down to Houston last year on the Pennzoil 'Experience' I got to chat with the gentleman from Walmart who handles the SOPUS account. I asked him why WM doesn't carry PU or even the 5w20 version of Pennzoil Gold Syn Blend and he told me it comes down to shelf space allowed by Walmart (not poor Pennzoil marketing).
He said that a slower seller like PU can be purchased online.
 
Pennsoil ULTRA will never be available.

Have you considered looking for Pennzoil ULTRA? That can be found.

Cheers.
 
Originally Posted By: stower17
Pennsoil ULTRA will never be available.

Have you considered looking for Pennzoil ULTRA? That can be found.

Cheers.


Good point, I deserved it.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
I asked him why WM doesn't carry PU or even the 5w20 version of Pennzoil Gold Syn Blend and he told me it comes down to shelf space allowed by Walmart (not poor Pennzoil marketing).
He said that a slower seller like PU can be purchased online.

In the end, though, that's a bit of a cop out. Yes, there is limited shelf space at Walmart, or anywhere else, for that matter, and slow sellers will not command shelf space. However, Castrol gold bottle and M1 EP seem to be able to command shelf space at Walmart, indicating they are selling sufficiently well.

Yet, it's the same retailer, so if Shell wants to know where the weak link is, they will unfortunately have to look in the mirror. Mobil and Castrol have been effectively able to differentiate M1 EP and gold bottle Edge from M1 and black bottle Edge (notably by OCI length), to the point that customers are willing to pay the extra for those two. If Shell cannot accomplish this, it's naive, at best, or disingenuous, at worst, to say that Walmart has limited shelf space and one should order online. When you sell two products in identical jug sizes with the exact same certifications listed on the bottle and the exact same OCI promoted, and you charge more for one than the other, you're going to have problems selling the more expensive one.

Clearly, having pistons incrementally cleaner has not been a successful marketing strategy for Ultra above Platinum.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: pbm
I asked him why WM doesn't carry PU or even the 5w20 version of Pennzoil Gold Syn Blend and he told me it comes down to shelf space allowed by Walmart (not poor Pennzoil marketing).
He said that a slower seller like PU can be purchased online.

In the end, though, that's a bit of a cop out. Yes, there is limited shelf space at Walmart, or anywhere else, for that matter, and slow sellers will not command shelf space. However, Castrol gold bottle and M1 EP seem to be able to command shelf space at Walmart, indicating they are selling sufficiently well.

Yet, it's the same retailer, so if Shell wants to know where the weak link is, they will unfortunately have to look in the mirror. Mobil and Castrol have been effectively able to differentiate M1 EP and gold bottle Edge from M1 and black bottle Edge (notably by OCI length), to the point that customers are willing to pay the extra for those two. If Shell cannot accomplish this, it's naive, at best, or disingenuous, at worst, to say that Walmart has limited shelf space and one should order online. When you sell two products in identical jug sizes with the exact same certifications listed on the bottle and the exact same OCI promoted, and you charge more for one than the other, you're going to have problems selling the more expensive one.

Clearly, having pistons incrementally cleaner has not been a successful marketing strategy for Ultra above Platinum.


I agree.
When I talked to the WM guy I was more interested in Pennzoil Gold Synblend 5w20 because it's at least 50% synthetic and should be good for the 7500 mile OCI that I would probably run in my Focus and Escape. He said that 5w30 was the better seller so it got the 'shelf space' but that could change in the future.
 
Of course, you and I both know that something like the Ultra is every bit as good as M1 EP or gold bottle Edge for extended drain purposes. I suspect that if Pennzoil marketed it as such, a lot of their difficulties would vanish. M1 EP always did reasonably well up here. Gold bottle was a complete failure for the longest time, until they put the mileage guarantee down. Before, it was just as hard to find as Ultra. Now, it's everywhere, and Wakefield Canada always marketed aggressively. It's just that no one wants to spend a few bucks more for a jug of oil that doesn't separate itself from its lower tiered lines with anything except bottle colour.

The same thing goes with Pennzoil's Euro offerings. Our Walmarts usually carry Castrol A3/B4 0w-40, A3/B4 5w-40, and A3/B4 0w-30. Wakefield can get three fairly interchangeable niche products on almost every Canadian Walmarts' shelves, yet Shell can't get even Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30 on a Walmart Canada or Canadian Tire shelf, let alone an offering to compete with Castrol and Mobil's A3/B4 alternatives, such as Ultra 5w-40 A3/B4?
 
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