Motor Oil Jun 2022 Test: Which Brand Wins?
In our Jun 2022 test 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.
Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“The Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is a very good oil and easily won this showdown with an average finish of first place.”
Best in 2 of 4 measurements, including Lubricity / wear scar size after heat exposure and Oil lab: total base number.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Evaporative loss (200g oil, 365F, 2 hrs)
- 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
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic
started at 429.83 g, ended at 423.33 g, a loss of 6.5 g
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
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
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend
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
Lubricity / wear scar size after heat exposure
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum7.1 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
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic7.34 mm
practically tied with the Platinum's 7.33 mm
- 3Pennzoil Platinum7.33 mm
practically tied with the full synthetic's 7.34 mm
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend7.57 mm
the largest (worst) wear scar of the four oils
Cold flow speed at minus 40F, new oil
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
first out of the gate and first to cross the finish line, described as unfazed by the extreme cold
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic
tied for second with the synthetic blend
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
a distant fourth place
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend
tied for second with the full synthetic
Cold flow speed at minus 40F, after heat exposure
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
first again, with a huge lead over the other three oils
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic
tied for second with the synthetic blend, crossing the finish line at nearly the same time
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
fourth place again, though catching up to the synthetic blend and full synthetic
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend
tied for second with the full synthetic, crossing the finish line at nearly the same time
Oil lab: detergent/dispersant additive total (ppm)
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum2,308 ppm
by far the most of the four oils
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic1,893 ppm
the most of the three non-Ultra oils
- 3Pennzoil Platinum1,278 ppm
the least of the four oils, which the narrator says surprised him
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend1,608 ppm
Oil lab: anti-wear additive total (ppm)
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
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
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic1,521 ppm
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
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)
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend1,393 ppm
Oil lab: total base number (TBN)
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum7.4
the best (highest) TBN of the four oils
- 2Pennzoil Full Synthetic6.62nd
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)
- 3Pennzoil Platinum5.2
the lowest (worst) TBN of the four oils
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blend5.8
All measurements (1 more)+
Fuel contamination test
- 1Pennzoil Ultra Platinum
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 Syntheticnot tested
- 3Pennzoil Platinumnot tested
- 4Pennzoil Synthetic Blendnot 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.”
