amsoil display engine - hoax?

[KieferS]

you can run a motor w/o oil as long as it's not under any load.
assuming it's not a fresh built motor fresh off the factory..i'm sure they mean, it had oil, they drained it, and then let it idle for 200 hours..that sounds pretty possible to me

 

[DirtyApe]

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Maybe he drains and fills it each time. Maybe it says without an oil change.

I do want everyone to know this is NOT an Amsoil sponsored "test".

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I was wondering if it were something they were telling the dealers to use as an 'attention getter' ..

"200+ hours WITHOUT Oil!" Says it..

 

[dommiel74]

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Every year at the local state fair (DuQuoin Illinois, going on this week), there is an amsoil dealer there.. Same spot, selling his wares, chatting up passers-by.

Always has a bare engine sitting out there, sometimes running, sometimes not. Radiator, fan, etc. I don't know what size, but older car/light truck motor. He has had it there for at least the last 10 years I know of.

Noticed a sign on it yesterday: "Engine will be started at 6pm - this engine has now been run 200+ hours WITHOUT Oil".

C'mon.

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Reminds me of the slick 50 commercials.

 

[Steve S]

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An internal combution engine can't make one revolution without oil.

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Yes it can .

 

[XS650]

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It's birds like this guy with the motor at the fair that make it difficult for other Amsoil dealers to be taken seriously. Surely, other dealers have reported him to Amsoil if he does that every year.

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That's not the problem, The problem is Amsoil management letting balloon knots like that guy get away with his ---- year after year.

Good product, lots of good Amsoil reps here, flaky upper management.

 

[Steve S]

It is a stunt for those who don't know
Any oil will do that . 200 hours is pushing the truth.

 

[JohnBrowning]

Their was a snake oil salesman that would visit the local PX at Ft. Stewart in Georgia. He had a I6 I belive it was a slant six but my memory is not what it used to be. He sold an additive that I am now sure was some kind of chlorinated parrafin and waterless wash and wax stuff. He would routinely start the engine up and let it idle and at times he would spray it with a garden hose. Now this was back in 1991-1993. I saw him do it his demonstration mid month and end of month (pay days) like clock work. I used this additive in my 4 Runner and my Ford Tempo. All of my friends used it in their vechiles as well. Just about every gas station or garage was selling this stuff back then Petron Plus.

I am sure that Petron Plus and Amsoil both are not the reason for the engine's continued survival. I have often woundered if they were pouring babit bearing material in the mains.

 

[Master ACiD]

its dealers like this amsoil guy who make people think of amsoil in the same class as duralube, slick 50, prolong, zmax, etc.

this is also a very negative drawback of the amsoil matketing and sales scheme. dealers are free to pull whatever stunts they feel like. im supprised he didnt shovel coarse bits of gravel into the valve cover like i was on tv once.

amsoil may make some good oils, bad oils, i just dont know. but dealers like that really turn me off. obviously this guy is sucessfull if hes been doing it for years, but what kind of person buys into a gimmick like that? maybe they diserve to get ripped off.

 

[pcoxe]

One of my friends asked me to ride with him to check out a lifter noise in his Ford van. He said it tended to run hot at times too. After a few miles, sure enough, the lifters began clattering . . . and the oil pressure gauge read zero! I asked him if he had any oil in it and he assured me that there was. He had been driving it like this for months. After about 40 miles of driving we reached his destination and I pulled out he dipstick and, as expected, no oil showing! Fortunately he had a gallon jug of oil in the van so we poured it all in. It just barely reached the bottom of the dipstick! Restarted the engine and the lifter noise went away. I instructed him on how to read a dipstick, particularly the part about wiping it off first before taking a reading. He drove this vehicle for several more years before selling it to a contractor who I've been told is still driving it to jobsites. I imagine there was still a pint or so of oil in the engine that got picked up occasionally which kept the engine from destroying itself. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. This wasn't with any fancy synthetic oil either. It was using the cheapest oil available at the time.

 

[ARB1977]

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Quote:

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Every year at the local state fair (DuQuoin Illinois, going on this week), there is an amsoil dealer there.. Same spot, selling his wares, chatting up passers-by.

Always has a bare engine sitting out there, sometimes running, sometimes not. Radiator, fan, etc. I don't know what size, but older car/light truck motor. He has had it there for at least the last 10 years I know of.

Noticed a sign on it yesterday: "Engine will be started at 6pm - this engine has now been run 200+ hours WITHOUT Oil".

C'mon.

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Reminds me of the slick 50 commercials.

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Or even Duralube as seen of tv commercials.

 

[DirtyApe]

ok here is the pic. It's a 1960 Studebaker straight 6. He runs it about 2 hours at a time, sometimes up 6. Idle speed only. It was sure clicking, clattering and making all kinds of nasty noises of course. He drains the oil into a pan below and fires it up. Being a 1960 I'm quite sure the engine is QUITE loose and well I'm going to guess that helps this somewhat too.

Anyway I promised so here it is:

The engine and sign in question.

 

[DirtyApe]

 

[Shannow]

Guess that proves Amsoil is no better at lubricating than ...nothing.

j/k

Mobil did a big "no oil" test/advertisement down here to show how robust their add package was. Empty sump, then drive highway miles.

Doesn't prove squat about how the oil protects a normally driven car...don't see many side valve sixes in normal service either.

Pablo, thanks for pointing out the non-sanctioned bit.

 

[Pablo]

An old flathead. But part of it was answered, he fills it (probably overfills) and drains it each time. Yeah just a stunt and some oil left inside. I'll report him if you got a card, or name or dealer #.

 

[DirtyApe]

We're going back on Sunday for a demolition derby, I'll check to see if I can find any info for you.

 

[surfstar]

Weird way to sell a product -- your engine can run 200 hrs WITHOUT our oil...now buy some!

 

[DirtyApe]

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An old flathead. But part of it was answered, he fills it (probably overfills) and drains it each time. Yeah just a stunt and some oil left inside. I'll report him if you got a card, or name or dealer #.

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I have the info you were asking about and will send a PM with it.

On a side note, as we went by I posed the question "I understand what the point of the display is, I'd like to know honestly would Pennzoil platinum not do the same thing as what you have drained?" His answer: "this engine is too hard to replace to even try this with that oil"

 

[mazduh30]

Some people would think they wouldn't need to change or buy oil ever again....since they seen with their own eyes a engine running with no oil.

 

[Propflux01]

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What would have happened if I had some GIII oil in there? Who knows, but Amsoil did good for me.

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The same thing.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

Well, it is a salesman's way of getting folks attention.
If you don't get a chance to talk to someone, it is pretty hard to tell him/her about the products.

In the "good old days", when about .0002% of folks had ever heard of synthetics, lots of stuff went on. Heard of an AMSOIL dealer who would drive up, drain his oil into a pan, load the car up with folks and drive around town.
Did it prove a point? Guess some folks thought so.

When AMSOIL had dealer meetings, it wasn't unusual for them to have an old car. They'd fill it with AMSOIL, fast idle it for about 15 minutes, then drain the oil. Restart the engine and fast idle it. There was a big chart, and the dealer who came closest to when the engine would seize would get a prize. Remember one time they had to cut the radiator hoses in order to get it hot enough.

I had a dealer whose daughter drove dad's Peugeot for about 5 miles with no oil (and the red light showing). Dad finally got rid of the car last year, some 12 years later, because he couldn't maintain it any more (no parts).

And for all the screaming about reporting him to AMSOIL--
just what false claims does he make? He fills the engine with oil, coats everything, and drains the oil.

I've got friends that have signs on their trucks such as "This vehicle has gone over 250,ooo miles without an oil change! Ask me how!" Are they doing anything illegal, or making false claims? It does draw some questions, and attention.