2022 test4 productsEngine Oil & Fluids
Which Motor Oil Brand Wins?
We compared 4 motor oil options head to head. Pennzoil Ultra Platinum came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Evaporative loss (200g oil, 365F, 2 hrs) | Lubricity / wear scar size after heat exposure | Cold flow speed at minus 40F, new oil | Cold flow speed at minus 40F, after heat exposure | Oil lab: detergent/dispersant additive total (ppm) | Oil lab: anti-wear additive total (ppm) | Oil lab: total base number (TBN) | Fuel contamination test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum | started at 411 g, ended at 406 g, a loss of 5 g, the best (lowest) evaporative loss of the four oils, about 33.5 percent less than the synthetic blend | 7.1 mm, the smallest wear scar of the four oils, described as the best wear resistance in the lineup; in a direct comparison against just the synthetic blend it measured a 7 percent smaller wear scar | first out of the gate and first to cross the finish line, described as unfazed by the extreme cold | first again, with a huge lead over the other three oils | 2,308 ppm, by far the most of the four oils | transcript is garbled here: '...synthetic blend 1,393 ppm, full synthetic 1,521 ppm, once again Platinum has the least amount in the lineup at the most in the lineup at 1,605.' This contradictory sentence cannot be reliably parsed; it is unclear whether 1,605 ppm belongs to Platinum or to Ultra Platinum, kept verbatim rather than guessed | 7.4, the best (highest) TBN of the four oils | the only oil subjected to this test; contaminated with what the transcript states as 5 percent gasoline (the video description states 10 percent gasoline, a conflict between transcript and description that is flagged rather than resolved in either direction) and re-run on the lubricity tester; produced a 7.7 mm wear scar, the worst (most damage) of any sample in the video, worse even than the clean synthetic blend's 7.57 mm result |
| 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic$20 for 5 qt, just $3 more than the regular Pennzoil (Synthetic Blend) | started at 429.83 g, ended at 423.33 g, a loss of 6.5 g | 7.34 mm, practically tied with the Platinum's 7.33 mm | tied for second with the synthetic blend | tied for second with the synthetic blend, crossing the finish line at nearly the same time | 1,893 ppm, the most of the three non-Ultra oils | 1,521 ppm | 6.6, second best of the four oils (referred to in the transcript at this point simply as 'Pennzoil Synthetic', resolved to Full Synthetic since the Synthetic Blend and Platinum values are separately listed in the same sentence) | not tested |
| 3Pennzoil Platinum$24, $4 more than the full synthetic | started at 404.79 g, ended at 399.51 g, a loss of 5.28 g, second best of the four oils, only narrowly behind the Ultra Platinum's 5 g | 7.33 mm, practically tied with the full synthetic's 7.34 mm | a distant fourth place | fourth place again, though catching up to the synthetic blend and full synthetic | 1,278 ppm, the least of the four oils, which the narrator says surprised him | described only as 'the least amount in the lineup' in a garbled transcript sentence that does not give a clean, unambiguous numeric value for this oil (see the Ultra Platinum entry for the full quote) | 5.2, the lowest (worst) TBN of the four oils | not tested |
| 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend$17 for 5 qt, the least expensive of the four oils tested | started at 394.61 g, ended at 387.09 g, a loss of 7.52 g, the worst (highest) evaporative loss of the four oils | 7.57 mm, the largest (worst) wear scar of the four oils | tied for second with the full synthetic | tied for second with the full synthetic, crossing the finish line at nearly the same time | 1,608 ppm | 1,393 ppm | 5.8 | not tested |
How it was tested
- cold oil flow race at minus 40F, new (unheated) oil
- Noack-style volatility/evaporative loss test: 200g of oil heated to about 365F for 2 hours, weighed before and after
- lubricity / film strength test on heat-exposed oil, comparing wear scar size on test pins under a microscope
- cold oil flow race at minus 40F, repeated using the same oil after the heat exposure test
- independent oil lab analysis: detergent/dispersant additive package, anti-wear additive package, viscosity, and total base number (TBN)
- fuel contamination test on the best-performing oil (Ultra Platinum), contaminated with gasoline and re-run on the lubricity tester
- antifreeze contamination demonstration (qualitative only, no specific brand or numeric result given)
“The Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is a very good oil and easily won this showdown with an average finish of first place.”