Amsoil Confusion

[James_Lesiar]

Thinking about trying Amsoil on my SR400 and i have two choices, the 10W-40 Synthetic Motorcycle Oil MCF and the 10W-40 Synthetic Premium Protection Motor Oil AMO . now i would have gone with the MCF motorcycle branded oil but i had an quick look at the technical properties of both and found that AMO had better stats than MCF on top of this it even costs less. Some of the stats i have listed below, now i am no expert in oils if anything more of a beginner but this seem every strange that the motorcycle oil costs more,($11.05/Quart for MCF)($9.15/Quart for AMO) is this just marketing?
The AMO has higher VI as well as TBN, on the other hand the MCF has a lower pour point and higher Flash point not by much mind you. Unless there some thing else i have missed in my assumption i don't see why the MCF is almost $2/Quart more expensive
Well i guess it comes down to which one of these two is better for my SR i am leaning towards the AMO, what do you people think?

MCF
AMO


Viscosity Index (ASTM D-2270) 152
Viscosity Index (ASTM D-2270) 169
Pour Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-97) -46 (-51)
Pour Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-97) -44 (-47)
Flash Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-92) 234 (453)
Flash Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-92) 228 (442)
High Temperature/High Shear @ 150°C , 1.0 x 106 s-1 (ASTM D 4683), cP 4.52
High Temperature/High Shear @ 150°C and 1.0 X 106 s-1, cP (ASTM D 4683), cP 4.3
Four Ball Wear Test (ASTM D-4172 @ 40 kgf, 150°C, 1800 rpm, 1 hour), Scar in mm 0.40
Four Ball Wear Test (ASTM D 4172 @ 40 kgf, 150°C, 1800 rpm, 1 hour, Scar in mm 0.40
Noack Volatility, % weight loss (g/100g) (ASTM D-5800) 6.44
Noack Volatility, % weight loss (g/100g) (DIN 51581) 6.7
Total Base Number 11
Total Base Number 12.1

 

[Pablo]

First thing to answer you question, AMO would work. It probably would shear a bit faster than MCF. The VI is a bit higher for AMO because AMO uses VII's. The price of MCF is higher because it uses more esters and is reflected in the HTHS number.

The second thing is really the typically published specifications (from any oil company) give you a hint (at best) of how the oil is reall constructed (tidbits gleaned already being mentioned in my first para.) For example, not much in the below information gives you details about what base oil and what the total additive package is.

So it's not 100% marketing, the oils are different. MCF is a better oil for your application.

 

[James_Lesiar]

Thanks for the reply, may i ask how you got these facts from looking at the stats? eg. the use of more esters. how do they correspond?

 

[Pablo]

I just know there are more esters in MCF. You can't necessarily see that in those numbers, but it is somewhat reflected in the HTHS (a tad higher) and the volatility (a bit lower)...