AirJordan613

That's probably a good thing because of all the detergents. They're doing their job

JKlad

Yeah, I noticed that too. When I change out the cheap dino the dealer slops in after 3K miles it is never that dirty and looks like it could easily go another 3K miles. However the full synthetic (Castrol Edge 5W30) I replace it with blackens up quite quickly, confirming that the detergents in the synthetic are doing their job and cleaning the dirt and deposits the cheap dino is allowing to build up.

warpipe

With the amsoil i only need to change it once a year, or 15.000 miles. it workes out more economical in the long run.

StuFarmer

No argument that Mobil 1 isn't an excellent Motor Oil & it's available everywhere at a reasonable price (Walmart). But....if you have access to Amsoil on a regular basis then it's my opinion you are purchasing a superior Product. There SeverGear Diff oil cannot be beat when it comes to protection. It's on paper, from hundreds of test & compairisons. I know I've run it in my Trucks and RV's for years with minimal heat measured by a hand held Electronic Temp Probe. They also have some excellent Oil & Air Filters. If you can, compaire them yourself, it's very easy to see the difference in an Amsoil Product when compaired to another Brand of your choice.

AeroRepair

I did a lot of reading on the subject and it is a huge one. It looks like it's up in the air as to whichever you prefer. I will post my findings;
Amsoil is top line oil, but found that the oil seems to have a lot of additives which helps it "outperform" other oils, these additives do work but disqualifies it from most automotive lubricant tests. Amsoil also will outlast most others, but the oil wears down and the viscosity changes from 10w-30 to a mid 10w-50 in 13500 miles. As to wear particles ( worn metals) it can't be beat. I also found they add seal swelling additives.

Mobile 1 is also a top of the line oil. It does qualify for all automotive tests. The metal particulate in burn samples are higher, but these tests were on a new vehicle, so are inconclusive. The oil lasted for 12000 miles.

So with all this research I found that it's what you want from your oil. I do know I would not drive 7000 miles without changing my oil (any oil). It all gets dirty at the same rate, and accumulates acids.

That's my take on what I've read. Please feel free to correct me or add to my knowledge.

Good read on the matter:
http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html

Cheers

AeroRepair

Perhaps you are right. Availability would lead you to think that the products are superior to others. I had a friend drive to Alaska and broke down ,from head failure, the mechanic said if he wasn't using Amsoil he would have broke down along time ago. This was a Ford authorized mechanic.

tjt94

I am thinking you have a typo because 10W-50, if it existed, has more viscosity than 10W-30.

My father was a machinist and swore that multi-weight oils were all garbage. We only ran straight-weight oils in all of our vehicles and machinery. I know we never had an engine failure due to lubrication issues. I have run multi-weight oils in all of my vehicles and have never had an engine failure despite running many of them to 250,000 miles before selling them. All of these engines continued to run for a long time after the sale. It has been my experience that I keep an eye on the level, run a good quality oil that meets the specifications of the vehicle, and maintain a reasonable change interval. Only until recently have I used synthetic products.

Deviations

Royal Purple - It looks cool when I pour it in!

Seriously though - it's a high Moly oil which I personally prefer.

Jiblet

The main benefits of synthetic are lower cold-start viscosity, and that the formulation allows for a higher percentage of detergents and anti-ox, anti-wear additives.

To achieve multi-weight formulas, conventional oils must add viscosity improvers to the add packs. That leaves less room for other ingredients. When the VIs wear out it is a somewhat sudden change.

Cold-starts are when most wear occurs (cold here can mean room temp, even higher... not just winter cold). That is the main benefit to any user's engine. And the reason I only use synthetic.

You can also "abuse" synthetic longer. e.g., extended drain intervals. But even if you change at 5000 miles or less, the low cold-start viscosity and the better add packs are very much worth the (minor) extra cost.

Any, repeat ANY, top name brand synthetic oil is a great product. Pick a brand you are comfortable with and stick with it. Change it on a reasonable basis (like following the Oil change indicator and your calendar, not just going by mileage- which is a BAD idea). You won't go wrong.

Biscuit

That's the word according to Amsoil, but riddle me this: How much does an oil have to meet or exceed API specs to satisfy your engine's lubrication, sealing and cooling needs, huh? Amsoil's marketing hype is just that - marketing hype. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with Amsoil products, but their testing is misleading and one-sided at best, and their pyramid marketing (they call it multilevel marketing to skirt the law) is el toro poo-poo.