Q. Can I use Pennzoil® products if I have a warranty on my vehicle?

A.PENNZOIL LUBRICANT AND FILTERS WILL NOT VOID ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER'S (OEM's) WARRANTIES

Many original equipment manufacturers (OEM's) are now marketing products under their own private labels and more are expected in the future. This may be misleading consumers into believing that the use of these products is required for warranty compliance, or that such use can extend the normal warranty. For example, there may be some automobile dealer service representatives that falsely claim that OEM branded products must be used during the warranty period. This is not true.

Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act and general principles of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, an equipment manufacturer may not make its warranty conditional on the use of any specific brand of product unless the manufacturer provides the item free of charge under the terms of the warranty. An equipment manufacturer can obtain a waiver to this requirement if it proves to the FTC that the equipment would function properly only if certain brands of products are used. The FTC must be satisfied that this is in the public interest, and this waiver must be published in the Federal Register. This is a "waiver" of the prohibitions on conditions of written warranty.

Should a customer be told that only a certain brand name product can be used to protect a warranty, the consumer should ask to have this statement put in writing or demand that the specific product be provided free of charge. Should these demands be rejected, then the customer should request that he or she be provided with a copy of the warrantor's approved FTC waiver. If no waiver is produced and the customer is charged for the product, this may be a violation of Federal law. The customer should also be aware that he or she may have additional legal rights under applicable state warranty law which may vary from state to state. The correct Pennzoil product to be used in place of an OEM product can usually be found simply by consulting the owner's manual of the equipment in question, or by consulting Pennzoil's application guidelines. Pennzoil products are designed and manufactured at high quality standards in order to meet or exceed the performance requirements of equipment manufacture. Through proper use and application, Pennzoil products will provide exemplary performance for the equipment in which they are used and will not compromise the equipment warranty. (Pennzoil Technical Information 604-A)

If you have additional questions, stop in and talk to Steve. We will gladly clarify any questions you may have.

Q. What is motor oil?

A. Motor oils are fluids that lubricate, cool, and clean the engine while also sealing the piston rings and cylinder wall from the combustion gases that tend to pass into the crankcase. The formulation of a motor oil includes petroleum or synthetic base oil stocks, which provide the primary lubrication, along with a combination of performance additives. The most favored base stocks are refined from "parafinic" crudes. They have relatively high VI (viscosity index) characteristics, meaning that they show less change to temperature compared to base stocks made from "napthenic" low VI crudes.

Performance additives have a wide variety of uses when added to base stocks. Some reduce wear, corrosion, or oxidation, while others have detergent characteristics that assist in cleaning engine parts. In addition, pour point depressants enhance the oil's ability to flow at lower temperatures, and viscosity modifiers will reduce the range of viscosity change with temperature. It takes a careful balance of additives to formulate a high quality motor oil.

Pennzoil's additive package is called Z-7. The additive package contains seven different components for the following: Anti wear agents, detergent dispersants, rust and corrosion inhibitors, foam inhibitors, friction modifiers, and viscosity modifiers.

Q. Why should I change my oil?

A. Motor oil should be changed frequently, with the recommended interval being three months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first. Even in the best oils, the additives are eventually consumed, contamination occurs, and the oil becomes too dirty to function effectively.

For example, burning 100 gallons of gasoline will produce the following:

• 90-120 gallons of water
• 3-10 gallons of unburned fuel
• 1/2 to 2 pounds of soot and carbon
• 1/4 to 1 pound of varnish
• 1 to 4 pounds of sulfuric and nitric acid

The only way to remove these contaminants is to change your oil and filter frequently. Oil filters are very good at removing abrasives such as dirt and metal from the oil, but these particles will eventually clog the filter. They also cannot filter out water, unburned fuel, acids, or contaminants, which can produce sludge, and corrosive wear in your engine.