Best Synthetic Oil (and why)

[chopped&bobbed77burb]

I have for the past 20 years have used amsoil in all my motorcycles and car's/trucks that have had new/rebuilt motors ONLY after first breaking in with a cheap (valvoline) oil for the first 3000 miles . I also only use hasting , wix or K&N oil filters . I personally know of 2 old big truck mechanics that swear buy Amsoil and I was in the Army with these guy's (63w) . I have a 89 toyota mr2 that has 209,000 and it uses NO oil or smokes and is as strong as it was the day it was new . I dropped the oil pan on it at 160,000 to inspect the bottom end . it was so clean inside and you could still see the cross hatches on the bores . I had all new factory toyota main and rod bearing that I was going to install in the bottom end and I sent them back to toyota cause I didn't need them . my stock main & rod bearings had hardly any wear . I change my filter every 3500 and change the oil and filter at 7000 . My 84 1 ton crew cab has a new .30 454 and with the amsoil it's oil temp is much lower . My burb has the rebuilt 350 out of my old van that had about 78,000 on it . before I installed that 350 motor , I removed the oil pan to check the bottom end and it was so clean my neighbor thought the motor was new . we pulled a main cap , No wear . same with a rod bearing . I installed a new rear main seal and all gaskets and the burb has been going strong with that motor and I'm hard on it . I also use a filter mag on all my oil filters . I use the black lable 10/40 high performance . Just for fun , take 2 old table spoons and fit them in your vise and fill 1 spoon with amsoil and another with your brand of oil . then take a small propane torch & heat the spoon's for 15 seconds each . they will flame up so blow out the flame . let them cool . now inspect the sppon's . I did this with Castrol gtx and amsoil and the amsoil took longer to flame up and the spoon did not discolor from heat . the castrol spoon discolored AND the oil gelled and was like clumpy , wtf?? This probly doesn't mean much but it was a neat experiment . I have had issues with gearboxes that had some miles on them not liking full synth gear oil as it's TOO slick . The gears don't mesh well . I think if I had to use a conventional oil it would be Kendal . Stay away from ANY oil or additive that has a PTF modifier or perifin (wax) . I could name them but I don't want some law suit on me . What happen's when you heat wax up ?? it ball's up and block's off you sump screen and oil passages . My amsoil guy say's I can run my oil 15,000 and I should run 5w/30w in my 454 . I will stay with my 10/40 & 7000 change . I might as well piss in my motor than use 5w . sure if they want to give me a new motor . Good thread

 

[4by4bygod]

If the amsoil is so good at wear reduction and heat absorption , why bother changing the filter at a shorter interval than the oil itself? Why not change 'em both at 7,000 miles? the wear particles are too small to be trapped by the filter anyway, so you're really just wasting money on filters.

Also, why not run the 5w30? get yourself some fuel mileage in the process. is the motor worn to the point that the oil pressure will be too low to run something that thin?

you're already spending top buck for an oil, why not take full advantage of what it can supposedly do?


With the Quantum Blue oil, we go 10k between oil and filter changes. I run the 5w30 in my K5, and my dad runs the same weight in his C5 and flogs the crap out of it. the 5w30 hasn't sheared out of grade ever.

Tom

 

[Diesel Dan]

If the amsoil is so good at wear reduction and heat absorption , why bother changing the filter at a shorter interval than the oil itself? Why not change 'em both at 7,000 miles?

There was a guy on the TDR that had over 200K on ONE amsoil oil change. He was running a dual bypass filter system. At 12K he would change the primary and at 24K change them both and sample the oil. Had to change it due to fuel or antifreeze contamination.

Royal purple in our '99 S-blazer, has 103K switched over @75K, no consumption issues.
Mobil1 in my '98 Boneville, 113K. Just switched over with RP and 1K later had to drain again due to lifter clatter from loosening up some crud in the lifters, this I pretty much anticitpated.

 

[rjfguitar]

If the amsoil is so good at wear reduction and heat absorption , why bother changing the filter at a shorter interval than the oil itself? Why not change 'em both at 7,000 miles?

You don't neccessarely have to change the filter between drain intervals with Amsoil. Their EAO filters are GUARANTEED for 25K.

 

[rjfguitar]

All the oils listed are better than almost anything left on the market, but Amsoil is IMHO the best.

Amsoil is the cleanest oil out there. Amsoil ran their 15W-40 in a Mack class 8 truck engine for 425,000 with no oil changes. They pulled the engine apart at 425K and found it to be spotless. Many Amsoil customers have reported exceptional cleanleness after pulling an engine for inspection. I am suprised at how long the Amsoil 15W-40 HD diesel oil stays amber colored in my Ram Cummins, over twice as long as Petroleum oil would.

I know personally how well their 2 stroke oil works. You guys think sludge and what not is bad, try owning a 2 stroke sled motor with power valves. THe power valves require routine cleaning but out of all the high performance 2 stroke oils out there, Amsoil proves to leave the least carbon on power valves.

Redline is a great oil, but Amsoil has more variety for different applications and costs slightly less. With Amsoil a person can pretty much trim down to changing oil annually in most cases because they have filters that can go the distance the oil can.

If anyone is interested in Amsoil feel free to give me a call at 209-495-1212 or PM me. I am an authorized Amsoil dealer.

 

[aj johnson]

All the oils listed are better than almost anything left on the market, but Amsoil is IMHO the best.

Amsoil is the cleanest oil out there. Amsoil ran their 15W-40 in a Mack class 8 truck engine for 425,000 with no oil changes. They pulled the engine apart at 425K and found it to be spotless. Many Amsoil customers have reported exceptional cleanleness after pulling an engine for inspection. I am suprised at how long the Amsoil 15W-40 HD diesel oil stays amber colored in my Ram Cummins, over twice as long as Petroleum oil would.

I know personally how well their 2 stroke oil works. You guys think sludge and what not is bad, try owning a 2 stroke sled motor with power valves. THe power valves require routine cleaning but out of all the high performance 2 stroke oils out there, Amsoil proves to leave the least carbon on power valves.

Redline is a great oil, but Amsoil has more variety for different applications and costs slightly less. With Amsoil a person can pretty much trim down to changing oil annually in most cases because they have filters that can go the distance the oil can.

If anyone is interested in Amsoil feel free to give me a call at 209-495-1212 or PM me. I am an authorized Amsoil dealer.

me too! you posted first, so its allll yours! I'm under Mark Schell in Idaho...

 

[Roz]

AMSOIL
i have seen motors tore apart on other stable diets and wasnt impressed.
im Very hard on motors, mine is still kicking and strong
the oil filters are by far the best, will never poop out on ya or colapse
life- supposed to be good for over 25,000mi with filter change (im up to 5,000 now and its gold-prolly will change it in another 5,000-we'll see how it checks out)
i get mine rrrrreallllllyyyy cheap (free) so i can test it out. the other person that is field testing it out, i know, is doing it on a fleet of motorcycles, and they are impressed so far.
i really did start getting better gas milage after i did the whole lube swap(tranny,xfer case,motor, axles, going to repack my bearings next), and it does run better.
thier PI cleaner is truly an effective fuel cleaner. works awsome
the octane booster is good

btw almost new motor, new tranny, fresh rebuild 205, old axles


im sold


ps btw i get awsome deal on amsoil so if anyone down here is interested i can hook ya up

 

[beastofablaze]

MOBIL 1.... after 200,000 miles on mobil 1 test motors showed little to no signs of wear.

 

[Robert D]

My '88 944S had Mobil1 in it since new. At 218k miles the motor still passed leakdown and compression tests within spec.

A friend who has been driving 18-wheelers for years swears by Swepco oil (uses it in his rig and his Porsche racecar). Unfortunately, it is somewhat tougher to find than Mobil1.

 

[76zimmer]

My '88 944S had Mobil1 in it since new. At 218k miles the motor still passed leakdown and compression tests within spec.

Died @ 218K, what happened?

 

[Robert D]

I ran it into a curb at the bottom of a hill (fell asleep during finals week last summer). The motor was fine, but the suspension and frame were shot. The engine went to a guy in Dallas for use in his 944S. The body is being parted away by him as well.

I guess my sig should read "Destroyed at 218k" haha.

 

[mr.smartass]

so where can i find some of this magical amsoil??? i live in south mississippi and have never heard of it... who carries this ****?? I have no brand loyalty so i'm willing to give it a shot.

 

[rjfguitar]

so where can i find some of this magical amsoil??? i live in south mississippi and have never heard of it... who carries this ****?? I have no brand loyalty so i'm willing to give it a shot.

I'm an Amsoil dealer, let me know if you need something.

 

[10pax]

Addittives???

I have heard a lot about different oils and thier benifits and disadvantages. I am just about convinced with the Amsoil. I just did the 500m oilchange in my 77. The oil was pretty clean considering it was breakin oil but I don't know what kind of oil the previous owner used. Not important at this point I guess. I have always been told by many people to use the cheap stuff for breakin so the crank, cam, and other stuff could adjust themselves to each other. Now that the rebuild has 500 miles on it, I used the Quakerstate 10w40 in it. I don't plan to stay with that though because I want max life out of my motor. I like changing my oil every 2k. Sounds a little anal but I don't like taking chances. Engines aint cheap for a poor boy like me. I been waiting a long time for a motor like this and aint tearin it up.
What about those addittives they sell at autozone and other places? They say they stick better. Not to steal a thread and sorry if I am (just tell me to start another and pipe down). This thread seems to be close, though.

James

 

[rjfguitar]

I like changing my oil every 2k.

You are waisting money changing oil at 2K. Even the cheapest Coastal or Walmart special oils last at least 3K in a fairly normal application.

I bet that gets expensive changing it that often. One thing is, every time you change your oil you are somewhat subjecting the engine to contaminants. The filter can be hard to reach on some trucks, especially with full length headers and it's easy to bump something and shake a little dirt or dust into the filter as you are getting it on. How about pulling the oil cap on and off, pouring oil in.... all times when it's easy for dust and other contaminants to get in along with the new oil and filter.

Thats one thing I like about synthetic oil, it allows me to triple my oil service intervals and cuts down opening up the sealed engine to a third compared to conventional oil at traditional service intervals.

Simply put, the oil's not worn out at 2K, and a decent oil really isn't shot at twice that mileage. Then there's Amsoil SAE synthetic oils, forget 3K and change it once a year or 25K.

 

[ProJunkRacing]

you can really get that much out of amsoil?

 

[roadnotca]

Reaching back aways, there was an article in the June (I think) HOT ROD regarding the changes in formulation all the producers have to make to reduce pollution from very high mileage engines. Bottom line is the additives that protect flat tappet cams and followers, are being substituted. "Older engines should be fine." I'm trying Rotella-T. I did get a boost in power/higher compression.
Tom weighed-in on that thread too. Thats where I read about Quatum Blue, just haven't gotten around to trying it.

 

[90v1500]

I've been running mobile 1 in all my vehicles and never a problem... I think Amsoil is great stuff too but like been said before wally world is cheaper and easier to get to. One of my cars has 210k on it and doesn't smoke so I'll stick with Mobil 1 for now...

 

[CDA 455]

When I raced, that's all the Grand Touring Sports teams, as well as sportbike racers, would use and swear by.
When you got an engine redlining at 7600 RPM's for half an hour syn. racing oil is the only way to go. I still use it.

 

[CDA 455]

I always see tons of debate on these oil posts, but not any hard proof, or real world examples. I personally don't have a clue what is best to run. I'm getting 350 to drop into my burb this weekend, and I thought about switching to synthetic. Would that have any negative detriments, other than to my wallet? I may just stick with natural, because its cheap.

Just remember, you can never change your oil TOO MANY TIMES!! With my wifes' car I use walmart brand cheapie oil . It meets Govt minimum lube-quality requirements, and I change it more often and still save money .