Amsoil winding down. What next?

[3 Mad Ponchos]

Hey all, Amsoil will be ending soon on the synthetic oil study because of the one-year anniversary rule. Looks like it will probably make the distance without a filter change -- good show. Still damned annoying about the viscosity problem though. But anyway. I have two possible considerations for the next phase, and you guys have contributed excellent feedback in the past, so I thought I would come to you for your thoughts. So what should happen next: 1) Carry on with the Red Line phase of the test as planned. 2) Take a 6-month hiatus, bring back Mobil 1 for a 5,000-mile run to get an idea for how much its performance was tainted by break-in issues. What say ye? Cheers, 3MP

 

[pscholte]

3MP, me lad, I'm athinking this would be a great time for the wearin' o' the Green!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

3MP, First off, thanks for putting forth the effort in both these tests. There's been a lot of good data collected for us to chew on! I vote to add option 3: German Castrol. It's UOAs are quite impressive. And with the Jimmy Buffett-like following around here, it would be great to see the data on an extended GC UOA.

 

[buster]

My vote would be, a 5,000 mile run with M1 just to see if the break-in was that much of a factor, then put in Redline. I think GC would beat all these oils in wear and viscosity.

 

[ekpolk]

If for no other reason than the degree to which GC/SLX has been talked about, I'd recommend trying it next. Performance numbers are worth so much more than words, even pscholte's fun-to-read words. I'm doing my part. I've already posted one 5,000 mile UOA from my last car on GC, my wife's Sequoia is about half way through its first fill of GC, and my G35 just got some too. UOAs coming in good time. The more data the better.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by ToyotaNSaturn: 3MP, with the Jimmy Buffett-like following around here, it would be great to see the data on an extended GC UOA.

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Please do not compare SLX to a cheeseburger in paradise! At it's worst it is a filet mignon in heaven!

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

quote:

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Originally posted by pscholte:

quote:

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Originally posted by ToyotaNSaturn: 3MP, with the Jimmy Buffett-like following around here, it would be great to see the data on an extended GC UOA.

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Please do not compare SLX to a cheeseburger in paradise! At it's worst it is a filet mignon in heaven!

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I was thinking more along the lines of "Fruitcakes", but I refuse to elaborate further. My vote is still for GC. [ October 29, 2004, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: ToyotaNSaturn ]

 

[Pablo]

Redline as planned. Then the green stuff.

 

[Bobert]

Another vote for the Green...Redline will never make it beyond 10k.

 

[jthorner]

I would also vote for Redline. GC's future is far too uncertain and the availability too spotty for it to be a serious contender as a general alternative to Mobil-1 or Amsoil. It is much more interesting to develop data on widely available alternatives than it is to test a marketing fluke, which is the only reasonable way to characterize GC. John

 

[coal68]

go with the mobile, Then switch to the redline.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Bryan, Thanks a lot for all your hard work and money put into these tests. My vote goes towards either Redline or GC next.

 

[Ugly3]

Take advantage of the one time opportunity to clear up the Mobil 1 "breakin" issues then go on to Red Line as initially planned.

 

[Patman]

As much as I would love to see how GC does in your LS1, since it's done well for me, I would prefer to see you carry on with Redline. I don't think you should take a 6 month hiatus though, as that would make the rest of the testing not as consistent. It's best to start the Redline testing at the same time of year as you began the previous two tests, just for consistency. Otherwise you can't really compare the wear numbers for the first portion of the test to the beginning of the previous tests.

 

[buster]

I change my mind too, lets see GC.

 

[Quattro Pete]

quote:

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Originally posted by 59 Vetteman: We haven't seen over 5K on this oil

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9.3K miles with GC That said, I still wouldn't mind seeing how it compares to M1 and Amsoil in Bryan's engine.

 

[Tones]

I am going to go in a different direction and vote for Royal Purple. I agree, most (incl. me) won't run Redline if for no other reason than price. GC we have some data on. Personally, I would like to see how Royal Purple compares to the big boys. If not RP, then I would choose GC over RL. Edit - I know this does not directly answer the question, but thought I would pipe in anyway.

 

[like a rock]

Forget the synthetics and go with a conventional mineral oil. Now that would be interesting. Pick a good SM oil like castrol gtx and see how far it could go in the old camaro. No it will not blow the engine up even though it is a welfare oil compared to the overpriced over talked about synthetics. Hey we could put some green food dye in it so it looks like it big brother slx.

 

[BeltwayBandit]

Delay the Redline for a year. Put in Mobil-1 for six months. If the Mobil-1 is still producing interesting results at that time you could extend for a total of 12 months. If the Mobil-1 is not interesting at that time (e.g. the data looks exactly like the first run of Mobil-1) then change to whatever seems like an interesting non-synth API SM oil in May and run it for six months. A few weeks ago, Mobil Drive Clean, created a lot of interest, but there might be another rising oil star by May. Then next fall you can start with Redline at a consistent seasonal change as the original Mobil-1 and Amsoil studies. While delaying the Redline test for a year, this approach will validate/disprove the assumption that your engine had high wear numbers from breaking in, and that Mobil-1 was as good as or better than Amsoil. Since this is a validation run, you might also modify your analysis schedule to only check every 2,000 miles instead of every 1,000. That might give you a little break from collecting all of those samples to make you more willing to do the Redline test next year. By next year it will probably be clearer what Castrol is doing with GC/SLX or its replacement, so it becomes a more viable test subject next year. Whatever you decide, I am sure it will make for interesting reading. The Mobil-1 and Amsoil runs have made for some interesting reading. Cheers.

 

[Bio-T]

Why not GC? Red Line is to expensive to use for the average person like myself that normally only sees 4K a year on our car. Also we have seen enough data on Red Line to note that only Terry can interpet their results accurately. I vote for GC, lets put this to the test. In fact I will donate the first Oil Analysis if you use GC. We haven't seen over 5K on this oil and no real historical data. Plus I don't know of anyone who has 150 bottles of Red Line in their shrine. But we have over 5 on this board that have that many and more of GC. Lets find out if the hoarding of GC is a brilliant move, or a so so item. [ October 30, 2004, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: 59 Vetteman ]