Amsoil XL 5w-30 and Supertech Synthetic 5w-30

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Chuck1986

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My 2001 Eclipse GT with 60k miles has been seeing a steady diet of Supertech synthetic 5w30 the last 10,000 or so miles...I'm thinking about switching my oil over to Amsoil XL 5w30, as I'd feel more comfortable using this for 5k mile drain intervals - due to the higher TBN and cuz it is AMSOIL not 'Wal-Mart' oil
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Besides, with the preferred membersihp thing I can order 4 gallons for $68, not bad at all.

My question now is, is Amsoil's XL 5w30 a group III synthetic? Just wondering, as I don't want to be switching from one group to another due to seal compatibility concerns. Any tips/opinions on my proposed switch? Pablo?
 
I switched from Valvoline conventional 5w30 to Amsoil XL 5w30 XLF...with EAO filter...for the same reason you said...you wanna oil you can trust out to 5000...although this oil is good for 7500...If you buy the 4 gallons for $68 bucks that's $4.25 a quart...A good deal I do say!...Pablo told me I could run a Napa Gold (Wix) if I was only gonna go 5000...He agreed the EAO is a little expensive...but I bought it anyways and I like the EAO...startup is a lot less noisy than with el cheapo filter...I am at 3000 now and plan on going another 2000 miles before I change and do a UOA...so far so good!...
cheers.gif
 
You are making a good move switching to Amsoil.

How much was the preferred membership? Is it a one year membership? How many of those gallon jugs will you use in a year? The cost of that membership needs to be added in to the $4.25 per quart price.

I'm just curious as to what the bottom-line Amsoil cost is.
 
XL series are Group III fully certified API SM oils.

If your engine is relatively clean and you are going to do 5K intervals, nothing special needed.

PC membership is $10 for six months. $20 per year. Prices are 20-30% lower than published retail prices as a PC.
 
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XL series are Group III fully certified API SM oils.

If your engine is relatively clean and you are going to do 5K intervals, nothing special needed.

PC membership is $10 for six months. $20 per year. Prices are 20-30% lower than published retail prices as a PC.

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Any idea why Amsoil pays the paltry ~$1000/yr per product to independently validate that the XL oils indeed meet all the minimum requirements for API SM - and yet they don't pay the $1000 per oil for their other more expensive products to show they also meet all the minimum requirements for API SM?
 
Indeed possible, but why communicate the API SM credential to customers if that is the case?
 
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Quote:

XL series are Group III fully certified API SM oils.

If your engine is relatively clean and you are going to do 5K intervals, nothing special needed.

PC membership is $10 for six months. $20 per year. Prices are 20-30% lower than published retail prices as a PC.

Click to expand...


Any idea why Amsoil pays the paltry ~$1000/yr per product to independently validate that the XL oils indeed meet all the minimum requirements for API SM - and yet they don't pay the $1000 per oil for their other more expensive products to show they also meet all the minimum requirements for API SM?

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It's a bit more than $1000. The bottom line is Amsoil does not want their entire formulation controlled by API.

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Probably because their top of the line products have more ZDDP then is allowed under SM.

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Not true anymore.
 
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It's a bit more than $1000. The bottom line is Amsoil does not want their entire formulation controlled by API.

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According to the API, it is actually a rather paltry $1050 for API members and $1250 for non-members (plus a fraction of a cent per gallon in excess of a million gallons sold). Page 2, RH side, 3rd paragraph from the bottom:
http://www.api.org/certifications/engineoil/forms/upload/Instructions.pdf

Secondly, it's fine if a company doesn't want to formulate within the boundaries of a certain spec. My question is why lead people to believe that you meet minimum spec requirements if you know you don't meet it (even if on purpose)?
 
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Please tell me:
a) Where Amsoil claims all their oils are API certified.
b) What physical portion of the API specifications Amsoil doesn't meet.

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The spec "API SM" is clearly listed right on their data sheets and probably bottles as well (haven't checked). Now you are probably going down the road of word games: recommended vs certified. Why even reference a spec that you know you don't have validation for? We all know Joe Public will be searching for a particular spec on a bottle (or data sheet for us more detailed individuals) to match up with their owners manual. Listing a spec leads one to believe that it indeed meets the spec.

Now if it stated something to the effect that "not approved against API SM, GM4718M, ..., but we recommend you buy our oil anyways and we'll support you with our warranty", that would be different story - but this will never happen.

I have no idea why a product wouldn't meet all of the minimum requirements. It's not for a customer to prove. It only costs $1050 to gain instant, independent credibility. Why a sizable company would choose to save a measly $1050 that would significantly support their product is beyond me.

None-the-less, engines aren't blowing up, UOAs are looking good and people are happy. I was just curious to learn from a dealer. Thank you.
 
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Why even reference a spec that you know you don't have validation for?


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Because it classifies the oil to be used in particular circumstances. Redline also meets no specs, but it is recommended for applications that require SL, SM etc. In my mind this roughly translates to "automobiles with modern fuel and emissions systems".

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Why a sizable company would choose to save a measly $1050 that would significantly support their product is beyond me.


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The natural assumption is that if an oil fails to meet an API cert it would be somehow inferior, which is not the case for Amsoil or Redline
 
http://www.amsoil.com/dealer/askamsoil/api_licensing/api_licensing.aspx

Oilguy...are you 100% sure its a thousand bucks to get API certification?...Maybe so if an additive package has already been through the process...then an oil company can buy this pre-formulated pre-certified additive package...If a company such as Redline wants to license a formula that they came up with...then it gets expensive...
 
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http://www.amsoil.com/dealer/askamsoil/api_licensing/api_licensing.aspx

Oilguy...are you 100% sure its a thousand bucks to get API certification?...Maybe so if an additive package has already been through the process...then an oil company can buy this pre-formulated pre-certified additive package...If a company such as Redline wants to license a formula that they came up with...then it gets expensive...

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Exactly Camu. I didn't want to further elevate this, robbing a purely simple question thread, and bogging it down with yet another Amsoil API discussion. I'm pretty sure OilGuy as a "Lubrication Engineer" knows these things. I kept it simple by saying:

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It's a bit more than $1000. The bottom line is Amsoil does not want their entire formulation controlled by API.

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Which is the absolute distillation of your thoughtfully posted link.
 
It does cost money to develop and test and oil vs buying an add pack w/certs. If test money was already spent and testing performed to validate performance, why forego another $1000 - that's my simply question. If a spec is to be claimed (or recommended) without running the industry-standard tests, that's another issue altogether - I can see why there would not be data to show to gain approvals (and spend the extra $1000).

No need to develop any further. As I said before, engines aren't blowing up, UOAs are looking good, and people are happy. Let's enjoy a good day of college football.
 
But I do have to agree with OilGuy that it is difficult to understand why Amsoil does not go for API certification (and associated product performance validation, for some of us) when the cost is so minimal to do so... I think OilGuy is asking a valid question...
George Morrison, STLE CLS
 
George - the cost is not minimal when you go deeper, but it's not really the cost thing. It's a control thing. Amsoil wants to control their OWN formulations, plain and simple. It's just something Al has decided and I doubt it will change before he dies. Al and GM and Al and API are simply not buddies, and Al can be VERY stubborn. Amsoil has publicly stated their position.
 
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But I do have to agree with OilGuy that it is difficult to understand why Amsoil does not go for API certification (and associated product performance validation, for some of us) when the cost is so minimal to do so... I think OilGuy is asking a valid question...
George Morrison, STLE CLS

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Amsoil's bravado has been product quality and longer OCI length offerings. I would speculate that meeting everyones certification could result in a weaker Amsoil oil.

Remaining "strong/potent" is probably why they dismiss some of these certifications.
 
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