Originally Posted By: Donald
I do not get the need for anything less than the signature series Amsoil.
Here's a perfect example: I just bought a new car. I need to use 0w20 in it for the factory-specified intervals to maintain warranty coverage. In fact, I am planning on changing the factory fill a little early, taking the second run out to 'severe schedule' mileage before switching to the regular maintenance interval.
Why would I buy AMSOIL Signature Series when I'm going to dump it in 4 - 5k miles? OE is attractively priced compared to most off-the-shelf synthetic oils at ~$6/quart. It's not crazy to step up to XL for ~$8/quart if running mildly extended drains. But I would have a difficult time spending $10.55/quart for SSO unless the price per kilomile comes out less and used oil analysis support its use.
And yes, I know nobody in their right mind pays full retail price for Amsoil - which makes OE & XL even better values.
I run very extended drains in my Golf, but it's taken a while to work up to them - including adding a bypass filter. It will be a long, long time before I get to that point with the 5 and if I wanted to run Amsoil, OE or XL are nice options. Especially because I do not shop at Great Wall of China Mart. I don't care that their oils are an everyday low price... you can frequently match or better their price by shopping oil/filter combo sales.