Amsoil, is it worth it

[Marlin]

I know there are several on here that swear by Amsoil products. I had the good fortune of meeting the South Carolina regional distribution manager today at Harbor Freight. He was asking me about the VX, turns out he used to sell Isuzus when he was younger, and we got to talking about trannys and whatnot. I saw the Amsoil rig in the lot, nice truck and trailer and I mentioned I would like to talk to that guy, he said "lucky you, thats me". I was thinking of switching all fluids in my VX to Amsoil, but for you amsoil users, do you do the once a year only change for engine oil?
As for you mobil one finatics, it got some of the lowest ratings for breakdown and scar testing. Just thought you should know, it is still good stuff, for there is much better out there...Let the flaming begin.

[vt_maverick]

Amsoil... Amway... Coincidence? I think not.

I prefer a product I can walk into a store and buy. Ordering online or through a "local distributor" working out of his house isn't confidence inspiring. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the products suck.

I've never used Amsoil fluids, but I did put one of their Ea high flow panel filters on my last car, and I couldn't tell any difference against the stock filter.

[rowhard]

As for you mobil one finatics, it got some of the lowest ratings for breakdown and scar testing. Just thought you should know, it is still good stuff, for there is much better out there...Let the flaming begin.

Maybe that is why Castrol Edge says it is 8 times better wear protection then Mobil 1 .

Have always Liked Castrol,.... reminds me of a funny, but true story I might tell sometime about two young airmen, a import, a German and Castrol oil when I was stationed a Cannon AFB N.M. in the early 70's

[VX KAT]

As for you mobil one finatics, it got some of the lowest ratings for breakdown and scar testing. Just thought you should know, it is still good stuff, for there is much better out there...Let the flaming begin.

Just curious, where'd you get the stats or info on the Mobil1? I'd like to read more about it.

[etlsport]

not sure what this means, but for what its worth..


i used castrol syntec for the first time this past oil change, ran it 4000 miles.. wasnt overly impressed, but when i switched back to mobil 1 this time, its only been 100 miles and the oil is already significantly darker than it normally is.. dunno what that means, but i may do a "quick change" if it continues to darken that fast again... my last oil change also used a K&N oil filter, back to mobil1 now

[Marlin]

I think mobil 1 is very Nikeish. Nike shoes are not all that great, but their name carries them on, like Bose, and other premium brands. You are paying some fee for that Mobil 1 sticker.

I got this from Amsoil:
NOACK volatility test (how much it burns off over time)

Amsoil:5.44%
Castrol GTX-6.77%
Quaker State-6.97%
Mobil 1-7.49%

In the wear scar test, mobil 1 was last as compared to the following in order from #1 to last
Amsoil
Pennzoil platinum
castrol syntec
motorcraft synthetic
quaker state sythetic
havoline
mobile one(over double the other brands)

Filter efficiency:
Amsoil-98.7%
Premium synthetic brands, Mobil 1-80.23%
Conventional-39.39%

And from the makers of Amsoil also comes NGK spark plugs, which we all know and love. They also do the arfilters for Injen intakes.

Tranny fluid test, leading synthetic brand(undisclosed name) lasted 450 hours until breakdown, Amsoil went to 900 hours and still no breakdown.

I would compare Amsoil to slick50. If you are okay with spending the money, go for it. I am definitely ok with it for once a year oil change, especially in my expedition.

[Jay Dunford]

I have always been in the camp of: rigidly keeping to an aggressive (usually follow the manuals heavy duty) maintanance schedule of fluid changes does more for longevity than the fluids themselves as long as you use a quality product. BUT with that being said, I use/have always used Royal Purple for all my fluids and have never had any issues. I tell myself that doing all the work in the garage rather than paying a shop helps to justify the synthetic difference in price and just gives me more confidence it was done right.

Going with a once-a-year oil change would have me worrying from the 4 to 12 month mark every year. Plus worrying what might start leaking after the new oil has cleaned off of all the seals and gaskets that accumulated over the past year.

[Triathlete]

Plus you have to look at the source of the data. I tend to trust data that a specific company puts out about its own product at face value. It is not hard to scew results in the favor of your product...I see it a lot in wind tunnel test for bicycle aero parts. I would check indipendent evaluations to see how they stack up.
I am not saying Amsoil is not a good product. From what I have read it ranks up there with all the other top lubes...Mobil1, Royal Purple...
A salesmans job is to sale his product...he's not going to tell you it sucks.

[WILLY]

I would never wait a year to replace fluid no matter how good the specs are of the lube,just cause the oil don't break down and turn black doesn't mean there isn't other deposits from carbon and engine particles like maybe metal shavings and such that should be removed and not left in there to cause engine damage,I dunno,I'm no expert but that's just my common sense talking lol.

[rowhard]

I dunno,I'm no expert but that's just my common sense talking lol.

I use the same common sense, hell, it's only money. Like the Fram guy said, (and I wouldn't use Fram on my lawn mower) You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.

And you ask why I don't use Fram? Buy a Fram oil filter and then any other quality filter and cut them open and see the difference.

[Marlin]

I would never wait a year to replace fluid no matter how good the specs are of the lube,just cause the oil don't break down and turn black doesn't mean there isn't other deposits from carbon and engine particles like maybe metal shavings and such that should be removed and not left in there to cause engine damage,I dunno,I'm no expert but that's just my common sense talking lol.

That is what I was thinking, but then I realized I work in a nuclear power plant, and we use top of the line materials for everything, and a lot of our fluid systems only get changed yearly. And we run the **** out of them. 100+ degree ambient temps,salt water, sand, you name it.

But as Billy said, a saleman's job is to sell. But Amsoil has been around for a long long time, if it was junk, it would go away. Sort of like Sham-wow, those things were being peddled when I was 6 years old, I remember. They work, they are still around today, but you don't need to spend 30 bucks on them. Same as Amway, they sell good products, but the pyramid concept gives them a bad name.

Hmmm, seems I have already made up my mind, but at 5K miles a year, who cares.......My VX is quickly becoming a trail rig, and my Expedition now has 18K miles, it is two years old and has driven cross country 3 times. That tells you how little I drive around.

[Gussie2000]

I think that all comes down to how much you trust the products out there.
Amsoil is ranked # 1 worldwide,it's use in many competitions across the US & overseas.

Now,if any of us don't feel comfortable having one oil change a year then amsoil isn't the right product althought the product is made to last 2 or 3 times the average product according to all those tests.

But we all forgot the burning issue our engines came with so if you go amsoil you may have to purchase extra couple of bottles or more depending on how much oil your rig is burning which increase the amount of $$$ you have to pay for the luxury of using amsoil & don't ended up mixing amsoil with any other product.

[Marlin]

But we all forgot the burning issue our engines came with so if you go amsoil you may have to purchase extra couple of bottles or more depending on how much oil your rig is burning which increase the amount of $$$ you have to pay for the luxury of using amsoil & don't ended up mixing amsoil with any other product.

That is true, i am fortunate that my VX does not have that problem...yet. I do have an option to have someone do an overhaul for free except materials. The guy who owned the trailer from Moab owes me money for the tires, but does not ahve the cash. He builds race cars, so is good with that stuff. Still thinkin about it, my VX does not need it, but still...............................

[Gussie2000]

That is true, i am fortunate that my VX does not have that problem...yet. I do have an option to have someone do an overhaul for free except materials. The guy who owned the trailer from Moab owes me money for the tires, but does not ahve the cash. He builds race cars, so is good with that stuff. Still thinkin about it, my VX does not need it, but still...............................

I'll definetly give it a try,i was a about to have amsoil at my last oil change,but the dealer never called my back about the full price,i called several times & never got a respond......yeah i give up

As well as you i drive 'bout 6/7K annually so amsoil is a option for me too.probably after having my horse valves readjusted next month i'll try amsoil

[don moore]

not sure what this means, but for what its worth..


i used castrol syntec for the first time this past oil change, ran it 4000 miles.. wasnt overly impressed, but when i switched back to mobil 1 this time, its only been 100 miles and the oil is already significantly darker than it normally is.. dunno what that means, but i may do a "quick change" if it continues to darken that fast again... my last oil change also used a K&N oil filter, back to mobil1 now

Now thats thinking with your dip stick JIMMY