I agree. When my dad bought his 2003 Silverado 2500HD with the 8.1L gas V8, he was surprised he was burning 1 qt of Kendall GT-1 5W30/10W30 every 1K miles. I told him to switch to Amsoil due to the higher flash point[at the time, Kendall's was one of the lowest]. His oil consumption disappeared.
But now, I would recommend something like a Rotella T5 10W30 or T6 5W40[spends half of every year in Yuma, AZ], and he can save the $$ and get it at Autozone.
In other words, most of the competition has caught up to Amsoil, and Amsoil seems to be resting on their laurels.
Originally Posted By: GemStater
Originally Posted By: zpinch
Gemstarter, you can spin oil change numbers anyway you want, it doesn't matter. There are alot of unknowns which you are assuming here.
On the topic of oil specs that you posted in your previous post, you think oil performance can be determined by looking at a few specs that aren't even performance related: cold crank, TBN, NOACK, they are just numbers... sure Amsoil has excellent specs, but you don't see it in the point you are trying to get across.
One of the reasons I buy Amsoil is to support competition in the engine oil market, which is good! I happen to be very impressed with Amsoil performance in my car, and I see ZERO reason to switch to Mobil, Pennz, Castrol, etc... makes no sense for me. When people who use Mobil, for example, look towards Amsoil as an option they usually say, why bother? Not really much better, especially for the price. When I consider other oils for my bypass setup in my CRV, I think, no way, why bother? Lesser specs for lesser money, not designed for extreme drains which would likely not last as long in the bypass setup.
Amsoil makes excellent lubricants, for many applications, which many people use and are very happy with.
I agree, Amsoil does make excellent lubricants. Both my vehicles have Amsoil trans fluids, one of them has the EaA in the factory air box. Never said they make inferior products. However, IMO, when it comes to motor oil, they're operating under a dated philosophy of comparing themselves to how the competition used to be years, perhaps decades ago. Within the last few years, I've noticed the competition really move ahead with Group III Synthetics. Amsoil simply doesn't have the value-per-dollar they used to have. Time to get with the times and reevaluate the business model. It pains my to say it because I used to be a huge Amsoil fan, now I find myself mostly disappointed.
I agree that looking at oil specs on paper isn't the best indicator of real world performance. However, for years, I've noted used oil analysis where Pennzoil Platinum and Quaker State Ultimate Durability do well in the given mileage range I referenced above, 5,000-to-7,500 miles. Some even take the OCIs out to 10,000 miles and beyond. The point I was trying to make is if the specs on paper look good and UOA results are good, then one can conclude within reason, it's a good oil worth buying.
I found this interesting. On the Quaker State Ultimate Durability PDS, it says this: Wear Protection - No synthetic motor oil provides better wear protection based on (ASTM D6891) Sequence IV-A, wear test on 5w30 engine oil.
Many will likely equate this statement to marketing fluff. Really, all the blenders have their fair share of marketing fluff. However, it got me thinking a bit. Is it possible that once you reach a certain level of engine oil protection, you're not going to find any measurable improvement with any other product on the market? At that point, perhaps the only measurable change you'll experience is the affect on your wallet?
