Which Synthetic Motor Oil (playoff Bracket) Brand Wins?
This head-to-head test of 4 synthetic motor oil (playoff bracket) options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Penrite Vantage
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Lubricity/wear-scar test (~10 min run)
- 1Penrite Vantage
won its matchup against Motul; no scar-size or weight-loss numbers spoken, shown on screen only
- 2Motul 8100 Eco-Lite
lost its matchup against Penrite; no scar-size or weight-loss numbers spoken, shown on screen only
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
lost its matchup against Lucas; no scar-size or weight-loss numbers spoken, shown on screen only
- 4Lucas Synthetic 5W-30
won its matchup against Pennzoil; no scar-size or weight-loss numbers spoken, shown on screen only
Evaporative loss (200g oil, 375-400F for 2 hours)
- 1Penrite Vantage
final weight 421.3 g, loss of 1.74 g - the worst (highest) evaporative loss of all four oils in the video; starting weight not spoken, derivable as roughly 423.04 g from the stated loss
- 2Motul 8100 Eco-Lite
started at 431.53 g, ended at 430.73 g, a loss of 0.8 g - the best (lowest) evaporative loss of all four oils in the video
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
started at 416.87 g, ended at 415.65 g, a loss of 1.22 g
- 4Lucas Synthetic 5W-30
started at 407.1 g, ended at 405.53 g, a loss of 1.57 g
Cold oil flow (new and cooked oil, 24 hrs at 15F)
- 1Penrite Vantage
new Penrite finished first, essentially tied with cooked Penrite (described as ahead by 'about three molecules'), and beat new Motul by about 2 inches
- 2Motul 8100 Eco-Lite
new Motul finished third, about half an inch ahead of cooked Motul in last place; trailed new Penrite by about 2 inches
- 3Pennzoil Platinum
new Pennzoil finished first out of the gate, cooked Pennzoil close behind (less than 1 inch back), beating new Lucas by less than 3 inches
- 4Lucas Synthetic 5W-30
new Lucas trailed new Pennzoil by less than 3 inches; cooked Lucas's placement is not explicitly stated
How it was tested
- lubricity/wear-scar test (~10 minute run per oil on a lubricity tester, weight and wear-scar size measured before/after)
- evaporative loss / heat resistance test (200g of oil per container heated to 375-400F for 2 hours, weighed before/after, a Noack-volatility-test stand-in)
- cold oil flow drag-race test comparing new oil against oil already exposed to the heat test, after 24 hours in a freezer at 15F
Data notes and caveats
This is a double-header playoff episode with two separate, independent matchups rather than one four-way comparison, so a single top-level winner would misrepresent the video: Penrite beats Motul (wins lubricity and cold oil flow, 2 of 3 sub-tests), and Pennzoil beats Lucas (wins evaporative loss and cold oil flow, 2 of 3 sub-tests); Penrite and Pennzoil both advance to the next round of the channel's ongoing oil-series elimination bracket. The lubricity/wear-scar test results are qualitative only for all four oils (only 'X came out on top' statements, no scar-size or weight-loss numbers spoken); logged to data/onscreen-only.txt. Notably, the two matchup winners (Penrite, Pennzoil) each won by superior cold-oil-flow performance plus one other test, while losing (Penrite) or roughly matching (Pennzoil, marginal loss vs Lucas's higher evaporative loss) on evaporative-loss performance - so 'winning the matchup' in this series does not necessarily mean winning every individual property test.
