Is Amsoil really the best motor oil?

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Is Amsoil really the best motor oil available for most cars and trucks? Recently people have been posting the results of various tests that have been done. Of course, much of this testing was done by Amsoil and you can expect that they will put their motor oils in the best possible light that they can. And I personally don't agree with some of the testing such as the four-ball testing. I don't think you can really compare motor oils with that sort of test. But unless the Amsoil people are flat out not telling the truth the Amsoil DOES look good in all kinds of different testing.

In comparison, even Mobil 1 seems to look poor in some of the testing. But some motor oils, such as Redline and Royal Purple, never seem to be tested by Amsoil as far as I have been able to determine. Perhaps these motor oils would perform as well or better than the Amsoil.

Of course, you have to take advertising with a grain of salt. But you have to give Amsoil credit for naming names and publishing actual test results that compare brands of motor oil. How many other people do this sort of stuff? And when you names names you better be correct because Amsoil could be sued by another company if they flat out lied in their advertising.

If we can assume that much of the testing is totally correct then Amsoil would have to be one of the top motor oils-period. Maybe THE top motor oil.
 
What I am thinking about doing is getting some Amsoil oil that will work in my lawnmower and my weed trimmer and seeing how these small engines perform with Amsoil oil in them. If I notice a lot of improvement then I think I will give Amsoil a try in my car. Probably the 0W-30 or the 5W-30 in the car. Not a very expensive experiment-the Amsoil is not that expensive.

I have used Amsoil in the past but it was the XL7500 which I think is actually a Group III.

I would also like to try the Amsoil fuel system cleaner.
 
Personally, I think m1, redline, and amsoil are all great oils. While redline is more high end racing crowd, either m1 or amsoil are best suited for daily drivers. Imo, go with m1 if you cant get amsoil locally.
 
I've never used Amsoil, and I have no idea if it's great or not, but their marketing scheme is a real turn-off to me. I dislike Amsoil because when one does a motor oil related internet search, hundreds of Amsoil dealer sites pop up. Very annoying. Again, I have nothing against the oil itself, I simply hate the marketing. Much like many of us dislike group 3 Castrol simply because its advertised as full synthetic.
 
quote:

some motor oils, such as Redline and Royal Purple, never seem to be tested by Amsoil as far as I have been able to determine

Amsoil is only going to publish results which:

A) Appear to be favorable to them

and

B) Make Amsoil appear to be a much larger company.

They accomplish B) by comparing themselves to Mobil, Pennzoil and other nearly household names.

I have no idea if Amsoil internally tests against other small company oils like Redline, Royal Purple or Schaeffer's, but if they do we on the outside will *never* hear about it ....

John
 
I still use Amsoil 100:1 2 stroke oil in my Lawnboys and other yard equipment and it works real well. Used to use it in the cars but couldn't justify the expense because in order to retain Chrysler's 7/70 warranty they specifically state not to do extended drains. I got a new Lawnboy in 1999 and have used Amsoil 100:1 in it since new (except for the breakin period which I used Lawnboy oil since it was free with the mower). Last year I removed the muffler to check for carbon deposits and there were none worth mentioning. Also the cylinder wall was in perfect condition with no signs of scuffing. This oil doesn't cost any more to use than the Lawnboy oil and it does a better job. I mix it at 80:1 (Eight oz. in a 5 gallon can). Oh BTW your sparkplugs seem to last longer using Amsoil 2 cycle oil too.
cheers.gif
 
quote:

Is Amsoil really the best motor oil available ....?

It depends.

Define "best".

This site would simply not exist if there was one BEST motor oil. Volvo's and Amsoil get along quite well. THAT is the REAL reason I am an Amsoil dealer.

My next car probably won't be a Volvo. But it will get the "best" oil for the engine design, my climate, my OCI, etc. It may not be Amsoil.

Hope this helps (probably not)

PS Ignore Amsoil marketing crap, just as I would expect you to ignore Mobil, Castrol, Pennzoil, etc marketing crap. (Again another reason this site exists) No, offense but I thought you are a regular here. Thank you.
 
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I'd like to veer slightly off topic here for a second. If all AMSOIL dealers and especially their corporate people, showed the same level of professionalism and integrity exhibited by AMSOIL dealers on this site, I suspect there would be a lot more AMSOIL customers. Time and time again the dealers on this site provide valuable, credible input and they do so without trying to cram AMSOIL down our throats. Even when someone comes on and bashes the product or company the folks here manage to keep their cool and conduct themselves with class. Hats off to BITOG AMSOIL sponsors.

If there is one thing I have learned from this sight it is that there is no holy grail of motor oil. Ford modular motors will most likely post excellent UOA on 89 cent Citgo Supergaurd but possibly show higher wear with 0w-30 AMSOIL or higher iron with Mobil 1 yet Pablo's volvo does best on AMSOIL. If one wants to extend their drain intervals out past 10,000 miles AMSOIL sure does make a strong case for being the best overall.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Palut:
...when one does a motor oil related internet search, hundreds of Amsoil dealer sites pop up.

I was getting frustrated over this too until someone told me to add this (but not the quote marks) to the end of my search request: " -Amsoil" It screens out the vast majority of Amsoil pages. EX:

viscosity index -amsoil
 
I agree mikep. Everyone here has a favorite and an opinion. They also have reasons for supporting an oil one way or another, even if it's not a very good reason. But, the Amsoil reps here have definitely supported their products professionally without getting upset or ugly when someone disagrees with them. As for Amsoil's marketing, I don't really care for that either. I think their 25,000 mile recomendation is crazy. I think Amsoil is great and I use it in my bikie all the time, but I would never let an oil go that long in any vehicle. Even if it could go 25000 miles safely in my car because it is that good of an oil I would not do it because my gut instinct tells me not to. As with anything else we deal with on a daily basis, we have to make our best decisions as to what is right and best for ourselves with the information we are provided, including marketing hype.

OK, I'm off my soapbox now.
 
This is one of those questions that no one can answer. All you will get is opinions.

It like asking who makes the best car or truck, or the best beer, TV, computer and so on.

Everyone has their own definition of best and it often has little to do with quality and more to do with favoritism.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Mystic:
[QB] What I am thinking about doing is getting some Amsoil oil that will work in my lawnmower and my weed trimmer and seeing how these small engines perform with Amsoil oil in them. If I notice a lot of improvement then I think I will give Amsoil a try in my car. Probably the 0W-30 or the 5W-30 in the car. /QB]

Try the ATM 10w-30 or the AME 15w-40 in your power equipment.

As for what is best, Amsoil is probaly one of the best for the extended drain. The only problem with Amsoil and the extended drain is that it tends to thicken up out of grade i.e. a xw-30 to an xw-40. In order to get a great UOA and stay in grade on a year/10,000 mile OCI, the use of lube control is in order.
 
quote:

This is one of those questions that no one can answer. All you will get is opinions.

It like asking who makes the best car or truck, or the best beer, TV, computer and so on.

Nissan, Shiner Bock, Sony, and me, respectively.
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I share the view of a couple of other people on this thread. It's great to see people on both side of the Amsoil fence discuss the product in a professional manner. Awesome board.

MR
 
One thing that has me scrathing my head is that Amsoil has the lowest Noack ratings, yet it thickens up when run for a length ot time. Why would an oil that has the least evaporation loss, thicken up so much?
 
Geez ... if I have to change the full-flow oil filter every six months and top off with make-up oil and use lube control and no telling what other additives and install a by-pass filter and do a UOA every six months and buy it from some half-cocked MLM salesman (no offense to the handfull of reputable dealers on this board) and still pay some of the highest prices for a quart of it in order to be able to do extended drains, Amsoil just isn't worth the hassle no matter how good it is. You'd do just as well to stick with dino at a 3k OCI or a different Group IV at a 5-7k OCI.
 
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This is the last post I saw before quitting last night. I have to admit defeat, I fully expected to get up and find the most trashed ramblings ever in response to this question. I almost put it in QP. WOW, what a surprise, the members on here have shown the best professionalism and courtesy I have ever seen on any board. A true mark of gentlemen. Thanks to the posters and my hat off to each of you.
Tony
 
quote:

Originally posted by crashz:
One thing that has me scrathing my head is that Amsoil has the lowest Noack ratings, yet it thickens up when run for a length ot time. Why would an oil that has the least evaporation loss, thicken up so much?

Because it's thickening from unchecked oxidation (per Terry) and not from boil off.
 
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