Let's make a fair comparison, Pennzoil Platinum 0w-20 vs. Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20, is the 0w always better than 5w? I do not know. But judging from the appearance, there is nothing against 0w-20, but at least one thing that is against 5w-20. Any educated explanation will be helpful.
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Originally Posted by gpshumway
Outperform them at what? Cold cranking and cold pumpability? Of course they do, that's what having a lower 'W' number means. But for most users, being able to start the car at -35*C is not very important. There are many performance criteria which are much more important to most users in the lower 48. Saying that 0w oils will outperform their 5w and 10w counterparts is an oversimplification and could lead to sub-optimal oil selection in many cases. How about deposit formation? Shear stability? Temporary shear ratio? Volatility (NOACK)?
Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 of course uses better base stocks than Pennzoil Conventional 5w20, but it doesn't use better base stocks than Pennzoil Ultra 5w20. The Ultra 5w20 would be an excellent choice for a N/A 86 used in anger and the Ultra 10w30 (at least the old formula) should be a good starting point for a forced induction car. Both grades have boutique oil performance in the areas I mentioned above while costing half as much and being available at Walmart.
Another example: In the VW/Audi world Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5w30 causes fewer intake deposits and stands up to fuel dilution better in the direct-injection cars than M1 0w40. M1 ESP uses some of Mobil's best base stocks, search "mobil 1 new live" for a presentation indicating such and showing that the latest 0w40 formulation was developed from the ESP Formula.
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