There is a new oil poll out and the PP is leading the way last I saw as far as which oil people are using.
I don't know what good those polls are. People use what they use based on a lot of 'perception' which is typically driven by marketing and what they 'think' is a good value. I like Penzoil too, I'm sure it's a good oil, I don't doubt that. But the only way to tell which oil is truly superior is to perform repeatable tests under real-world conditions for all the popular oils out there and tear things down and inspect at the end ....which, when it comes to engines, I really haven't seen, and oil companies resist publishing. And what are "Real World" conditions? What's real world for me might be completely different for other guys who live in AZ, or guys who live in Alaska and make a 3-mile journey every day (never getting the engine up to temp). Most organizations aren't going to be able to perform such test, except maybe the govt or military. And even then, chemicals and processes change so what may have tested superior one year, might not necessarily come out on top the next, and mid-pack companies might surge to the top. But if there are some good, reliable test results papers, please post them for everyone's benefit.
Mobil1 and Shell consistently come out on top, but then you have guys that love the stuff in that green jug that their dad always used ...and the yellow jug guys. Then there's the Amsoil and specialty oil guys. Then you have the guys who's engine blew and they blame it on the oil and we have no idea what the factors were that lead to the blow. It could have been weak castings, maybe the owner overheated the engine (and didn't know it), maybe it was run low on oil, or their 17yr old high-school kid raced the he// out of it the weekend before against his buddies, or some new guy at th oil-change place put in something they shouldn't ..or sand got on the filter when they put the new one in. These guys who blame the oil REALLY don't come back and provide a detailed analysis. I highly doubt it's oil that leads to most of those failures.
I've used Citgo for probably 35 years and never had ANY engine-related issues and drove many up to or over 300k mi. I change my own oil every SINGLE time so I know there isn't any sand or crud that falls onto the new filter ...the plug isn't stripped, the filter is on tight and so on. But I bet there are a bunch of guys out there that would tell me how crappy Citgo is and give me a dozen reasons why Citgo sucks and a 'guy they know' used XYZ oil for 10 yrs and the first time they used Citgo the engine let go (forgetting to say it had 200k miles on it). I know guys who've used Walmart oil for years too and never had any problems. Again, I'm not against Penzoil, it probably is near the top. I suspect any of the name-brand oils are just fine. I'm using Citgo Full Synthetic in my truck.
Just sayin'
