So about that Penzoil…

[Shortcut]

Pretty sure it’s just an average… average annual mileage driven is 15,000 (slightly less) according to NHTSA. Six months is 7500 miles which happens to be what the standard change for synthetic is (although many say 10k is fine, 7500 is still the recommended average.)

still, for the first oil change, I’d still cut the in a third or less per some of my other posts…

If I am understanding you correctly, you plan to accelerate the first oil change ahead of recommended schedule? I recommend keeping the "break-in oil" installed during manufacture until the recommended change time to obtain maximum benefit of the break-in oil.

 

[Viking Jeeper]

Break in oil is a myth.

 

[hardhat]

One thing to keep in mind is that short trips of 10 miles or less do not give the engine enough time to warm up sufficiently to burn off the moisture that may have accumulated in the oil and the inside surfaces of the engine.

I concur. One cool thing is that we can see our oil temp on the offroad pages so we know when it exceeds the boiling point of water (which is somewhat less than 212F due to engine vacuum on crankcase).

As a sidenote....It is interesting how the coolant temp rises quicker than oil temp and I'm assuming the coolant is warming the oil since it is a coolant based oil cooler. Then when the oil gets hotter than the coolant, the cooler is cooling the oil down.

 

[Shortcut]

Break in oil is a myth.

How so?

 

[Viking Jeeper]

In modern mass production engines.

 

[hardhat]

Break in oil is a myth.

https://www.amsoil.com/p/break-in-oil-sae-30--brk/?code=BRKQT-EA

Not anymore.........

Just messing with you.....although I probably should not mess with a viking....they have horns .

From my research on the internet, the engines are filled with the recommended 0w-40 pennzoil. No break in additives. The only thing that might impact break - in would be the assembly lube used when putting engine together. I don't know.....I changed my engine oil early (1200 miles). I know it was unnecessary, but made me feel better. Wear is almost certainly higher in the first 1000 miles due to seating in of parts...... thus more crap in the oil...

 

[Marksman]

If I am understanding you correctly, you plan to accelerate the first oil change ahead of recommended schedule? I recommend keeping the "break-in oil" installed during manufacture until the recommended change time to obtain maximum benefit of the break-in oil.

How so?

The discussion on break-in oil may have been earlier on this thread, or perhaps on a different oil thread on this forum. My opinion (and I think the opinion of many) is that there are no specific additives placed into the standard Pennzoil ultra platinum that comes from the factory in the 392.

And as my 392 is not getting driven much right now (mostly due to the salty roads and the fact that I don’t want to promote unnecessary corrosion), my first oil change will likely come right around 1,000 miles with Pennzoil ultra platinum. That first oil change helps rid the engine of most of the microscopic (and sometimes clearly visible) metal shavings that are inevitable with any newly-produced engine.

I typically follow a similar procedure on all of my vehicles, including ATV’s, tractors, etc. It may not be totally necessary, but it sure can’t hurt anything (other than the wallet).

 

[Shortcut]

In modern mass production engines.

The engine oil initially installed at the "plant" is not the same oil that will be installed at the first oil change. Fully synthetic engine oil has too much lubricity to allow the rings "to wear down" the high spots left by machining on the cylinder walls or to allow the rings to seat into the pistons properly. So, manufacturers will use a different type of oil at the initial fill to help facilitate the "break-in of the engine". There are oils out there specifically engineered and advertised as "break-in oil" aimed at the high-performance engine building enthusiast/industry.

 

[Marksman]

The engine oil initially installed at the "plant" is not the same oil that will be installed at the first oil change. Fully synthetic engine oil has too much lubricity to allow the rings "to wear down" the high spots left by machining on the cylinder walls or to allow the rings to seat into the pistons properly. So, manufacturers will use a different type of oil at the initial fill to help facilitate the "break-in of the engine". There are oils out there specifically engineered and advertised as "break-in oil" aimed at the high-performance engine building enthusiast/industry.

You may be correct, as I was always taught to never run fully-synthetic oil in an engine until it had at least 10,000 miles on it so that the rings could seat properly.

However, for the last decade or so, I have repeatedly heard/read that this practice has mostly been phased out, especially with most modern high-performance engines coming from the factory with synthetic oil in the crankcase.

 

[byhumba]

Machining of engine parts is so precise nowadays, there is no need for break-in oils. On the same note, there is no need for an early oil change because of the same reason. I followed the six month oil interval when there were about 2,800 miles on the 392. The reason...it is what's recommended (6 months or 6,000 miles, whichever comes first).

 

[YukonCornelius]

If I am understanding you correctly, you plan to accelerate the first oil change ahead of recommended schedule?

Correct. If using break-in oil, 500 – 1000 miles, or 10-12 full heat cycles, where you allow the engine to reach full operating temperature and cool down completely between cycles.
You only use engine break-in oil only long enough to seat the engine. The abrasive wear caused by engine break-in can cause a snowball effect of excessive wear - metal on metal. So it’s important to change the oil as soon as proper break-in has occurred and dump all the metal particulates from new metal on metal friction damage.
If using a synthetic oil, maybe 1500 - 2000 miles, but the above still applies. The break in period is prolonged due to the higher lubrication and lower friction of synthetics.

 

[Keithbickford]

The parts department at my local Jeep dealer sells Pennzoil full synthetic 0w-40. Might as well stick to what the factory recommends.

Is it Utlra Platinum? This oil is different than the rest of their oils. It’s the only Pennzoil approved for the SRT 392 engine. But my dealer is clueless. “Do you use Ultra Platinum?” Yes, we only use synthetic. Huh? Is that what I asked?

 

[Keithbickford]

Good info. From reading this (and other) articles, it sounds like the U.S. and Euro. are almost identical formulations. As the name would imply, one is created for the European market.

Worse case scenario, if a guy couldn’t find any of the Ultra Platinum and had to do a full oil change with the Euro. version, your engine probably wouldn’t suffer significantly in any way.

No reason to preferentially choose the Euro. formulation of course, although ironically enough, the Euro. version of both the Pennzoil and Mobil-1 seem to be more readily available at big box and auto parts stores (lots of imports running around of course).

“Probably wouldn’t suffer significantly” is not confident inspiring. So many Jeeps failing due to oil issues. I suspect many are the result of wrong oil being used. My dealer told me, “whatever Mopar sends us.” So then I went to parts and asked, “do you use ultra platinum in the 392?” , and he said, “yes, we only use Pennzoil synthetic.” Is that what I asked?

 

[Bobo57]

Pennzoil Platinum vs Ultra Platinum: 10 Key Differences - MrOilGuy

Introducing the ultimate differences between Pennzoil Platinum and Ultra Platinum motor oil. Unveiling the differences that'll make your vehicle purr.

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