General LSX Automobile Discussion - GERMAN Castrol VS. Penzoil Plat.

Hello everyone, im about to do an oil change on my 02 ws6 and am wanting to know which one is better for the price. Iv done countless research on oils for the ls1 and it seems that yal like these brands the best. Which oil will quiet the engine down most and will show the best in what the engine can do? Also I live in Texas so would 0w-30 5w-30 or 10w-30 work best for what I need for it? any suggestions will help me out. thanks

I have tried both Pennzoil Platinum and Royal Purple, I and I far prefer Pennzoil. So far it is the only oil I have tried that actually quiets my LS1 down. I run 5W-30 and it is a summer only car.

Forget Platinum, they have Ultra now. I had an oil test done with pennzoil ultra... let me find that thread...
http://ls1tech.com/forums/15987139-post15.html

Though now im using mobil 1... seems to all be the same...

To be honest OP as long as you regularly change your oil any type of synthetic will be just fine. I would stick with 10w-30 or 5w-30 its what GM reccomends. I have not personally ran Pennzoil platinum or Ultra. I have ran Mobil-1 and I got the classic sewing machine noise. I changed to Castrol Edge and the noise is still there but its much quieter.

Imma try the penz plat. See if anything is new. Also its cheaper then mobile 1 so that's always a plus

I run Pennzoil platinum.

Put in Quaker stake synthetic before winter storage and the piston slap was pretty noticeable till 2k miles on it.

Just changed it with my usual Pennzoil platinum, at a current 178 miles, it is much quieter.

I tried Castrol German but I didn't notice any difference so I just run Penz Plat and have had zero complaints.

Pennzoil Platinum here on all my cars, saw a Good write up/lab tests on a similar forum years ago.
udienow , nice addition, wonder how the Platinum ranks up to that?

I'm running Castrol Edge in both the Camaro and the Escalade and it quietened down the engine SUBSTANTIALLY. That was enough to sell me. I use Edge now in everything.

These threads again. Just put in some good brand oil and be done, and stick with it. I use Mobil 1

These threads again. Just put in some good brand oil and be done, and stick with it. I use Mobil 1

Yeah for real, it really doesn't matter.

He joined this year; Cut him some slack. At least it wasn't posted in GenIII Internal or External

After 214k miles I can honestly tell you that it just doesn't matter. Buy whatever's on sale and change it with relative regularity.

pennzoil is great oil. use pennzoil ultra if you want more cleaning ability

I used GC for years until it became clear that my valvetrain was noisier with it. I've been using TropArtic 5-30 fall through spring and then Rotella 10-30 for the blistering Kansas summers. Good quality oils at low prices that get the job done.

Synthetic is overrated and overpriced. It's all about changing it regularly. And if you abuse it, change the oil sooner. I've ran valvoline vr1 20w50 (stroker motor) conventional oil since owning the car. Oil is oil. Dirty oil is bad oil.

I usually run PP, but my last oil changed I picked up Quaker State full synthetic. It was a good price, just over 20 bucks for the 5 quart jug; PP was almost 26 bucks. That extra quart was stilll 6.50 though, for either oil.

Interestingly enough, I was comparing the PP to the QS before I decided to give the QS a try, and noticed on the back of the containers that they're actually mfg'd by the same company...the name of which I can't recall right now.

Pennzoil Platinum here on all my cars, saw a Good write up/lab tests on a similar forum years ago.
udienow , nice addition, wonder how the Platinum ranks up to that?

Ultra is supposed to be better than Platinum... at least thats what Pennzoil says. So... idk

I am in agreement with most people here though... as long as you change regularly it doesn't matter what you use really.

I know of a motor developer who ran some oil tests on an Australian 400 cu/in Pro Stock motor, Penzoil synthetic oil made 15HP more than any other oil including Royal Purple, LAT, Lucas and some other pretty exotic blends of racing oils. He had never been a Penzoil fan until this test (the oil was branded by Royal Dutch Shell but, is said to be Penzoil.)

I usually run PP, but my last oil changed I picked up Quaker State full synthetic. It was a good price, just over 20 bucks for the 5 quart jug; PP was almost 26 bucks. That extra quart was stilll 6.50 though, for either oil.

Interestingly enough, I was comparing the PP to the QS before I decided to give the QS a try, and noticed on the back of the containers that they're actually mfg'd by the same company...the name of which I can't recall right now.


Yea Shell Pennzoil and QuakerState are all owned by the same company. Slick50, and gum out are part of that corporation too. Crazy. Napa Oil is actually Valvoline oil. Funny how its all the same somehow.

As someone mentioned, use good quality oil but make sure you change it regularly. Running Walmart brand 10w-30 and changing it every 3k miles will be better than running Amsoil and changing it every 10k.

Speaking of Napa oil, I think they had their full synthetic 5w and 10w-30 listed on their website for $3.79 a quart. Might be worth a try!