Amsoil 0w-20

[buster]

Does anyone think Amsoil will bring out a better, group IV 0w/5w-20 at some point? I am aware of the current 5w-20, which doesn't look to bad, but I'm thinking of using this in my wife's focus. Right now I have 5w-30 Amsoil in her car. If this is the trend, my guess is they will in a matter of time.

 

[mdv]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
Does anyone think Amsoil will bring out a better, group IV 0w/5w-20 at some point? I am aware of the current 5w-20, which doesn't look to bad, but I'm thinking of using this in my wife's focus. Right now I have 5w-30 Amsoil in her car. If this is the trend, my guess is they will in a matter of time.

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I think it will be a long time before they develop a group iv 5W-20. I would think the biggest challenge would be justifying drain intervals with a 20 wt. oil and still offer it at a reasonable cost.

 

[buster]

Good point. I'm sure Amsoil and Lubrizol are hard at work on this one bc 20wt.s are the future.

 

[LubeRube]

You're too late. Their first 5w-20 was a Group IV pao. They changed the formula to a Group III last summer in order to lower costs, get SL certification and sell more to quick change places. I tried the old formula and was generally pleased with it. Great gas mileage. Haven't tried the new stuff. Instead will try the M1 0W-20 coming out in March.

 

[Patman]

What about Royal Purple 5w20? I'd run this stuff if I had a new car that required 5w20.

 

[TooSlick]

Buster,

Amsoil recommends their 0w-30 synthetic for these 0w-20 and 5w-20 applications and I'd agree with that, since it "brackets" the recommendations. As a number of folks have mentioned, the main reason for going to 5w-20 from 5w-30 is to save about 0.5% in corporate fuel efficiency. This also has the effect of reducing exhaust emissions by many tons per year, and Ford uses that in their "Green" advertising - you may have seen some of these ads.

If you wanted to use a Mobil 1 product in your Focus, I'd recommend their 5w-30 over their upcoming 0w-20 or 0w-30. I haven't been that impressed with the M1, 0w-30 ...their 5w-30 and 10w-30 seem to hold up much better ....

I do think you'll see Amsoil come out with a 0w-20 when there is enough market demand. I am currently running their 5w-20 in my '95 Tacoma pickup and it's doing fine. I have about 5000 miles on this batch and have burned no oil - I picked up about 0.5 mpg over their 5w-30 syn. I plan on doing an oil analysis when I get to 7500 miles ....TBN on the 5w-20 is about 10.0, which is decent.

Oil analysis of either Amsoil or Mobil 1 will show they are working perfectly and there will be no warranty issues with either one ....

TooSlick

 

[Spector]

quote:

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Originally posted by TooSlick:
Buster,
I am currently running their 5w-20 in my '95 Tacoma pickup and it's doing fine. I have about 5000 miles on this batch and have burned no oil - I picked up about 0.5 mpg over their 5w-30 syn. I plan on doing an oil analysis when I get to 7500 miles ....TBN on the 5w-20 is about 10.0, which is decent.TooSlick

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I am certain that you know this XL series is intended for a max. of 7500 miles. Other issue is how quickly this TBN of 10 will drop at around 7500 miles.

 

[buster]

Thanks for the responses. As stated above, it is a supply and demand issue. I was told by Amsoil that right now 5w-20's are a small segment of the market but they will be and always are monitoring the market for changes. They also stated that the auto makers (Honda/Ford) etc. all have ties with certain big oil companies who make these viscosities. It also is an incentive for Ford/Honda so they can use these weights to lure in business for people who "go by the book" and only will use a 20wt. oil.
Slick, being Mobil 1's 5w-30 is closer to a 20wt. then AMsoil's, do you think this would be a better choice? If I would only save a fraction of a percent in gas mileage, I'll stick with the later.

[ January 23, 2003, 06:30 PM: Message edited by: buster ]

 

[TooSlick]

Spector,

When Amsoil develops a new formulation, it is normally field tested to drain intervals that are 50% beyond what they are going to recommend. The XL-7500 stuff was fleet tested out to 12,000 miles in a number of passenger cars. This was done in a test conducted with a University in Minnesota - I remember seeing some of the oil analysis data from these tests. As a "control", they also ran a number of cars with petroleum lubes and 3000 mile change intervals and tested that oil as well ....

The drain interval for the XL-7500 Series oils is 7500 miles/6 months, even for "severe service" conditions ....I'd honestly be surprised if I have any problems with the 5w-20 after 7500 miles.

Ted