Misleading info from amsoil is lying in my book and actually worse, more like propaganda you get from your local news paper's or politician.
the weather is another beef I got, how about the postman putting trash in your mail box, or that robo calling from india, the list goes on and on.
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This is awesome
@webby. Yes, PAO is what Amsoil and other true synthetics use. (Or at least used previously... I can't speak for Amsoil anymore) Point is, what qualifies as a synthetic has been challenged legally, and now the requirements are much looser than before. A so-called "synthetic" no longer needs to be a PAO.
This is unfortunate in at least one respect. PAO's built a solid reputation for the synthetics industry.... and now anything that's "man-made" is technically a synthetic, but can also be pure crap.
The statement that Ultra Plat was a Group IV was an assumption on my part. Why would I make such an assumption? Strictly based on how it performed, i.e., given that it matched up so favorably with other Group IV's i've used. (I also like the gas base part... it does keep the engine cleaner) Others in BITOG have had similar positive experiences, and they run their vehicles and other equipment much harder than I do. Even when using more extended drain intervals (with Pennzoil) they would get their Blackstone reports back and commonly use the word "stout" when describing what they thought of the oil. So it had the smell of a PAO from the beginning, though I haven't read BITOG in a couple years now.... a guy can spend all day in there.
In the end, it means that a shootout between M1 and Ultra Plat might be a fair fight after all. They are both Group III (technically a weaker base than PAO) which means the oil will depend more heavily on its additive package.
BTW, even a PAO needs an additive package. You need detergents, extreme pressure agents, dispersants, etc. PAO is just a better base that will last longer and do a better job generally. (From what Amsoil says there are even different grades of PAO too) But the comments you quoted are absolutely correct....additives are where the action is.
The fact that Pennzoil doesn't promote extended oil changes should have been a clue it wasn't a PAO. But there's another issue we haven't discussed... the API approval sticker. Amsoil doesn't have one. Has anyone ever wondered why?
First of all, API charges a fee to use their approval sticker. So there's that. There are also API minimum requirements. As dealers we were always told that Amsoil far exceeded API requirements... which might be true. But the real issue was the extended oil changes that Amsoil was promoting. Those don't seem to follow the API rule book... which is another reason that Amsoil's new "OE" oil DID have an API sticker. It was a lesser oil but it had API's approval... probably because it went along with manufacturer's guidelines with respect to oil change intervals.
Thanks webby... as I said, nobody does it better!
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Peace!
from BITOG - penzoil rep - talking about pennzoil platinum with pureplus and ultra platinum with pureplus -
"As far as Base Oil Groups: the Group categories are not ratings, they are categories based on the API 1509 classification system. For example, Group I means conventional, solvent refined base oil (not considered synthetic); Group II means hydroprocessed/hydrocracked base oil (not considered synthetic); Group III means all hydroprocessing/hydrocracking + isomerization base oil (which is considered synthetic); Group III can also mean Gas to Liquids (GtL), which is what the Pennzoil Platinum motor oils with PurePlus Technology are made from (immensely simplified, GtL means: from Natural Gas/Methane to hydrocracker to base oil)(which is also considered synthetic); Group IV means Poly Alpha Olefin/PAO base oil (considered synthetic). Group V means everything else (like vegetable oil, PAG
The Pennzoil Platinum and Pennzoil Ultra Platinum motor oils with PurePlus Technology are both made using the Group III Gas to Liquids base oil, which is a truly synthesized from natural gas synthetic base oil. But please remember, todays PCMO engine oils contain somewhere between 18-23% additives so, you can have the greatest base oil, but if you couple it with a mediocre additive package, you will have a mediocre finished product! This is where our PurePlus name derives from: Gas to Liquids Pure base oil + the most advanced Plus additive package = the most advanced synthetic motor oil on the market today!"
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So both are labeled as group III. I don't know if you thought they were group IV?
Honda oil was no good.