AMSOIL - Any experience?

Oil is oil or some brands are better?

I'm planning on running AMSOIL products as they come recommended by a few people I know. This is for a SVT Focus I'm fixing.

0w-30 synthetic, 75w-90 gear oil, Synthetic ATF for the power steering, and Absolute Efficiency oil filter

The filters are what I'm most interested in. They claim to use fully synthetic nanofiber which is free flowing and 98% efficient. What is odd is AMSOIL states that the filter is good for 25,000 miles but they recommend changing the filter with every oil change. Now unless their oil is good for 25,000 miles I don't see the point. Especially when their oil filters cost 18 dollars.

My budget route would be to go with Mobil1 when it goes on sale at Costco for 30 dollars for a case of 12, WIX filter, generic ATF for power steering and Redline for the gear oil.

skullsroad wrote: Oil is oil or some brands are better?

Yes.

I've been using Amsoil for several years and I think they are great products. Several of their oils are advertised to be good for up to 25,000 miles so it makes sense to change the filter with the oil. It works out pretty well money wise.

Just go with your budget route. Nothing wrong with M1 and you won't notice a lick of difference.

I have a friend who swears by it: he's used it since new on his P5 using their recommended intervals and with 131k miles, it's burning oil and has a slight knock at startup. He still thinks he got his money's worth out of the car, and plans on scrapping it/giving it away.

I don't know what to tell him.

Nathan

Amsoil is as much a cult as it is an oil. No opinion on the product itself, but the apostles can be a bit much to take.

Oil and oil filters are one of the car-related topics that are among the most amusing to discuss. There are lots of opinions and anecdotal evidence, there are wild accusations, and jumping to conclusions, there there are a few places where people have tried to do some quantitative analysis and research to gather facts.

I think talking about oil is the automotive equivalent of debating religion.

Been running Mobile one at 5-10k intervals on my Miata. just passed 170k, no issues.

As for the oil change, my dad just got a new car, and with that, he got an invite to a "seminar" about some additives- they tried to convince him that the 7.5k oil change was a conspiricy to wear out motors quicker, so you should stick with 3k. Needless to say, he's going to call the dealer back and give them a piece of his mind after talking to me.

(they also tried to sell some fuel additive (ethanol) by pointing out the smoke you get with gas on a hot plate vs. alcohol- and they didn't appreciate my dad's point that a hot plate isn't the same as the combustion....)

E-

njansenv wrote: using their recommended intervals and with 131k miles...

So he's changed his oil, like 3 times?

I'm sure it is good oil but the fact that they claim to have such unnatural change intervals makes me stay away.

Amsoil is real synthetic, Mobil 1 isn't.

0-30 will reduce wear upon start up. Been using it for years in a variety of vehicles.

3,000 miles is an unnatural change interval, 15k isn't.

I run AMSOIL racing oil in my 944 spec car. I have been doing it since 2003. I used to run their Series 2000 20w50 oil. Now it is Dominator 15w50 oil.

I have been very happy with it over the years. I buy it on line direct from AMSOIL. I hate the multi-level marketing approach, but I really like the oil. It hold better pressure hot and high RPM as compared to Mobil 1 in similar weights.

I don't run it in my street cars as it is too expensive for that.

I run AMSOIL 5 w 30 in the crankcase and RedLine in the dif in my track car (CRX) and in my "good" car (Integra).... I use OEM Honda filters, so far no problems YMMV...

I use Amsoil exclusively in both of my vehicle. The ZX2SR has 75K miles, has run numerous track days and auto cross plus ice racing. Change once a year,only about 9K miles. The Liberty was used mainly to tow the ZX2 to the events. I did a change of all fluids and noticed a slighty increase in mpg. Both engines are clean and don't burn any oil between changes. I use the manual transmission fluid instead of ATF in the 5spd

I've never owned a car long enough to see the real advantages of a particular type of oil. However, I have a friend who bought a 96 328i brand new and has run M1 15w-50 in it since that day. It's got a tick over 210k on it now and you can still see the factory honing in the cylinder walls.

ps, he had the head off it because the car went Forced Induction (better head gasket).. not because it needed it.

Amsoil in my Transmission, Transfer Case, and Rear Differential... no complaints, and cold weather shifting was noticabely better with amsoil products.

As usual, buy any of the high quality oils/filters, change regularly and you'll be just fine.

Personally, I'm a fan of Castrol GTX for regular stuff. And Redline for synthetic.

Waiting for the first oil change to come up on the Z so I can switch engine/trans/diff all over to redline synthetic.

I've been running the WalMart branded synthetic in the minivan. Still running band name (not Mobil 1 - it's no longer a true synthetic) oil in the WRX -curious - if the Walmart oil meets all the current standards for the engine (SM,SL etc) - is there anything wrong with the stuff? i know the additives vary between brands.

In reply to fifty:

It is my understanding that the Walmart stuff is Mobile 1 in a different bottle.

So if Mobil 1 is no longer a true synthetic, why am I paying full synthetic price ??

I have about 8 gallons of Redline 40wt racing oil, would it be ok to run in the Boxster I just bought ??

carguy123 wrote: 3,000 miles is an unnatural change interval, 15k isn't.

How can you say 15k isn't unnatural?! I've seen a BMW engine with under 100k miles with 15k mile interval changes...it wasn't pretty. Oil separation lines all clogged up and oil starvation in the head.

Maybe if you have a low mileage car and drive a lot of highway miles with very few short trips, ok I can MAYBE see 15k mile intervals...but I certainly wouldn't wait that long.

I need to see this "magical" Amsoil come out of a car at 15k miles. If it is as clean as Mobil 1 changed twice over that same interval I'll piss in my hat.

I'm having the oil changed (I know, I know...) on my 750 on Wednesday. I'll have a sample saved out so I can send it for oil analysis and post the results.

I use Mobil 1 on all my decent cars, I used to use Amsoil, found it to be more expensive, harder to get in time, but seems to do a great job.

My FIL has 220K on his 2000 Monte Carlo SS 3.8, at my recommendation he has only used Mobil 1 since new and the car still runs great without a single internal problem with the engine, and the oil looks almost new when it is swapped at 5K intervals. It show over 35mpg on the highway every time.

The decision is yours though

DILYSI Dave wrote: Amsoil is as much a cult as it is an oil. No opinion on the product itself, but the apostles can be a bit much to take.

+1. Al Qaeda is less fanatical than the Amsoil crowd.

I think I'll give em a try. I'm trying to put high quality parts on this car since it is the newest and nicest automobile I've ever owned.

I'm surprised no one touched on the astronomical cost of their filters (18 bucks a pop). This is actually an area where I think you get what you pay for. As much as it hurts to pay that much for an item that is so quickly thrown away, I may consider keeping it on the motor every 2 oil changes if their claim of nanofiltration is legit.

Here is another theory to throw in the mix. Changing manual transmission fluid every time you change your oil. The oil in an engine has a pump to help distribute it where it is needed. It is also cleaned in the process. The gear lube just sits there like a bath and gets kicked up by moving parts. Thoughts?

Will wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: Amsoil is as much a cult as it is an oil. No opinion on the product itself, but the apostles can be a bit much to take.

+1. Al Qaeda is less fanatical than the Amsoil crowd.

That deserves to go into the magazine.