Brand of Motor Oil

My Ferrari dealership recently replaced my oil with Pennzoil Ultra Euro. They said they now use it in all models, new and old.

 

Shell owns Quaker State and Pennzoil. I would not be at all surprised if the various petroleum products are pretty much the same between the three brands.

 

Yep, Quaker State is just the US branded version of Shell oils now. So depending on which Quaker State was spec'ed, there is probably the same oil in a Shell or Pennzoil branded bottle.

Can you share what exact Quaker State oil is spec'ed in the manual? Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 Euro is currently what Ferrari recommends and most Ferrari dealers stock these days.

 

The dealer used Quaker State Q horsepower at my last oil change. Shell owns QS. I went to an independent recently who owns a CS and he uses Redline. So do I now.

 

I remember talking to the owner of a (non Ferrari) engine rebuilding company who had rebuilt many thousands of engines over the years. Although he had seen every type of oil related failure, he said he had NEVER seen engine damage which he could attribute to an oil BRAND.

I personally believe that if you use a fully synthetic oil of the proper weight made by a known manufacturer, and if you keep it at the proper level, and if you change the oil and filter regularly, then any oil related engine problems will be WAY WAY down on your list of things to worry about.

 

I've used Wal-Mart's "Super Tech" in-house brand of dino oil for my other cars, with good results.

Now I am thinking for trying their 5W-40 synthetic when it is time to change the oil in my Ferrari.

Anyone have any experience with this oil in their car?

 

I wouldn't use it in anything running high revs like a ferrari. Good film strength at high heat with a strong cam wear additive package for these engines is a tall order already. Red Line, Motul, Helix, Mobil 1 40w are all adequate but if anyone is really driving their car hard regularly then I highly recommend running either Red Line 50w or Mobil 1 15w/50 synthetic which recently had its additive package boosted so it's actually decent stuff again and it's just $25 for a 5 quart jug at wal mart. Oil in these engines takes an absolute beating, change it.....use something good.

Ferrari have never been big on testing oils like Mercedes and Porsche do, to a ridiculous amount. Both these companies have their own oil certification for oils that pass their torture tests, I recommend using something that has both their certifications for anything modern-ish.

 

Shell has been constantly changing the branding off all of their oils for some dumb reason. This makes it really hard to figure out whether something is really the same oil as it used to be the last time you bought a bottle of it. And they try to not let you know it could be the same as what is offered in another Shell brand bottle. I don't think they even offer the "Horsepower" brand of QS anymore. My guess is that at one time it was the same as Shell Helix 5w40.

 

Royal Dutch Shell has SOPUS (Shell Oil Products, U.S.) as its American subsidiary. Whereas Shell motor oil in Europe represents a premium brand, in the USA Shell is a "value" oil with Quaker State one step up and with Pennzoil at the top of the line. It was a dumb marketing move for SOPUS to associate QS with Ferrari instead of with Pennzoil, something they eventually fixed. Anyway, as of now the European Shell Helix is the same as Pennzoil Ultra, and Quaker State no longer has a Helix equivalent.

 

Read the labels . The better oils of any brands are the Euro versions which isn't usually sold at Walmart .

Euro versions have higher additives and will say approved for German car lines ie Benz Audi etc.

Mobil 0-40 is a euro blend.

 

I just searched for Penzoil Ultra Euro 5W40 (which is what is now recommended by Ferrari instead of the Shell Helix 5W40) and it looks like the best deal is on Amazon. I ordered using their "Subscribe & Save" option and paid $36.54 for 6 quarts with free shipping.

Amazon.com: Pennzoil 550022576-6PK Ultra 5W-40 European Full Synthetic Motor Oil - 1 Quart (Pack of 6): Automotive

Hope this helps other FChat members.

 

How about the Shell Rotella T6 synthetic? I think it's labeled as a 'Diesel' oil but it's a heavy duty 5W40 synthetic...