I ran across a dealer yesterday and picked up a brochure for AMSOIL products. I've never used any of them, but the write up and info on their web site sounds like a decent product.



I'm sure someone here has used it before. What are your thoughts about their different stuff, oils and fluids in particular? Quality? Does it last as well as claimed? How would you compare with others, say Mobil 1 products?



Thanks in advance.

 

All motor oils need to pass industry standards on things like sludging, heat resistance, detergents, lubrication under load, and so on. The better they do on these tests, the higher the rating you get.



Cheap ass mineral oils tend to get an API rating of SG/CF

The best oils I can find get a rating of SN/CF



I dunno what amsoil gets, but they seem expensive as f*ck and I've seen a picture showing them to do really badly in a particular test. I actually emailed a bunch of oil companies and asked them how I can choose good oils, and they all said to go by the API rating as that covers the most bases.



Find the weight you want, and go for the highest API rating you can find.

 

i run into many people that swear by them or are just too enthusiastic with their products, my local 7-11 stocks their products..when asked why i don't use it despite the benefits and results of using amsoil..it's simply due to cost and the fact that my beta I has over 200k miles on it and leaks a bit of oil now and then..but runs like a champ.

 

Nothong wrong with running conventional oil, especially in a car with higher mileage

 

Sure, nothing at all. Unless you like to go more than 3000 miles between oil changes. Get yourself some Pennzoil Platinum synthetic 5W30 and don't look back.

 

I wouldnt start running synthetic oil in an older car, especially one that already leaks oil. You'rw just asking for trouble.

 

If you had two oils of the same weight, say 10w-30



One is mineral

One is synthetic



What prevents the mineral oil from leaking? Plus like stocker said the synthetic lasts way longer, synthetic oils tend to have a much higher API rating.

 

Synthetic oil is usually thinner than conventional oil and has more detergents in it. Causing the sludge that's built up inside the motor, that's stopping most oil from leaking out, to be washed away. Hello new oil leaks!



All oil questions should be directed here:



www.bobistheoilguy.com



Awesome site with lots of info on oil and filters.

 

Synthetic oil of identical weight ratings will not be thinner than conventional. If you are running the world's shittiest oil and never changing the filter, it is conceivable that you might have some sludge buildup blocking a leak. You probably are down 10% on fuel economy and spending the exact same amount on oil because you change it twice as often.



Clean up your engine with better oil. If it leaks when cleaned, either fix it or ignore it. That's an excuse from old school engines that ran super dirty, and it was a bad excuse back then. Welcome to 10 years ago, when it no longer applies!

 

Ok. Sorry. Not like i dont have experience with this exact situation or anything. I owned an 86 Chevette, 175k+, decided to run synthetic (i was 16 and thought it was a good idea?), leaks everywhere. Why not run an engine flush while youre at it? I dont see any benefit in switching to synthetic on an older high mileage car that has run regular oil for 200k+