Amsoil vs Mobil 1

The K&N filter is for those that run high volume pumps with thick oil, you know, the 20w-50 stuff. The Amsoil filter is very good, too, but sometimes a pain. You have to have it shipped and pay for the shipping or become a preferred customer or......

 

Wow check you guys out your serious here! I didn't expect to see a comparison like this here.

Maybe I should see about becoming a vendor so you guys could buy from me. Do you have vendors here?

 

You've just revived a 26 month old thread!

 

Yep because I am shocked this type of stuff happens on the Diesel truck forums. I didn't expect it to be here. I am proud to see it!

 

Like Long Run said check out BITOG.COM they have some excellent UOA forums on this debate. I am a tiny bit suspicious of Mobil 1's pure syntheticness also since I now run Redline Motor Oil 5-20. Because the actual feel of the Redline Oil between your fingers is very odd like no oil I have felt before. It feels like really slippery plastic. That's the only way I can describe it. They claim there oil is pure poly base stock with no extra additive packs. Its $10 a quart. Alot of claimed synthetic oils are just hydro cracked mineral oil with additive packs especially EP. Mobil 1 feels like oil. I have always used Mobil 1 and like it as it seems to do an excellent job trapping dirt and keeping it suspended in the oil and not allowing it to stick and harden to the motor. I've had the valve covers off a few of my cars that have run Mobil 1 there whole life and after a wipe off you could eat off of them.
With this Redline try out I am shooting for a 15,000 miles change out with OEM filter replacement every 5K.
Redline now offers 0-20 oil too specifically for Hybrids & small engined cars.

 

All synthetics have additives added to the base stock. If there wasn't an additive added it could not meet any ratings set forth by the mfg. It is a high lubricity oil because of the high ester content. The only draw back is that esters doesn't get along with moisture very well at all.

The Redline gear oils don't perform as well as the engine oils.

 

I ran Amsoil synthetic oils in my `01 Honda Civic in the days when Mobil 1 did not come in the required 5w-20 grade. It was expensive and a hassle to obtain. That car died of issues having nothing to do with engine wear.

When it died, I got an `06 Civic with the Mileage Minder contraption instead of a coupon book. The 5,000 mile intervals that device decrees seemed too long for conventional oil. Using Mobil 1 that I buy for a reasonable price at Wal-Mart with the recommended oil change interval has seemed the fitting solution.

What do we really hope to accomplish with synthetic oil? If there is any value in it, that lies in minimizing the wear and tear just when the engine starts cold and does not yet have oil pressure. Perhaps the synthetic oil suspends contaminants better, and takes them with it at oil change. When I get the Prius I plan to buy later this year, I will use the Mobil 1--deeming a more exotic solution not worth the expense or extra trouble. I gather that the Prius can benefit more from lubrication help at cold start than a conventionally powered car does.

 

You are correct that synthetics hold the contaminates better, provide far better cold start up protection and run cooler due to less friction than a conventional oil.

As far as hard to get I am not sure its hard to get unless you have never bought anything online before. Everything is a mouse click away these days. Being that you can buy it wholesale online (if your a preferred customer) and shipping is very cheap due to a corporate deal with ups its not really that hard to get. Just plan 3 days in advance with 9 distribution centers around USA & Canada nothing is more than 2 days away from your door step. :thumb:

 

I've always used Amsoil in my snowmobiles but, truthfully, never payed that much attention to what into my cars or trucks as I'd typically have the dealer(s) do it as part of other regular maintenance.

My question, which is probably for you MadJack, is:

What would be more appropriate for a Prius, the 0W-30 Sig-Series or the 5W-30?

 

I always have the same answer to anybody who asks why I use synthetic oils: proven low temp performance.

 

I disagree with you. I think Redline gear oils are excellent as evidenced by many happy customers over at Bitog.com. Redline gear oil has fixed many a cranky transmission for me also. But let me guess...Amsoil is a much better product?

 

Hopefully, we won't get into a discussion of the "best" oil between the top of the line synthetics. It's sort of like arguing whether gold or platinum is the more valuable metal when everyone else is using pig iron.

 

At the risk of repeating myself, I have been using Mobil 1 on every car that I have owned, since 1976. This included a 1980 Olds Diesel station wagon which I put 115,000 miles on before I sold it and bought a 1980 BMW 320i (used in 1983). I have never had a hint of an engine problem in any of my cars. The reason that I mentioned the Olds Diesel is that the oil in that car, after 3000 miles tended to look like black mud. The carbon and blow-by products that got into that oil were really nasty. My guess is that a safe oil change interval on DIno oil should have been 500 miles. I'm sure that there are better synthetic products out there. But, having said that, why would you want something better? After all, it's not as if you could put it on your wrist.

I could never understand what all the crap falling on GM was about regarding that car. I was getting 23 to 24 MPG on a 5000 Lb behemoth. You could carry a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood inside with all the doors closed. It was reliable, as long as I put some Kerosene in the tank in the winter. My theory is that the majority of American drivers were not ready for a car that you actually had to change the oil on.

 

That's a miracle right there. The motor was poorly designed for diesel use.

Folks who actually knew how to take care of diesel engines, eg farmers and truck drivers, got good life out of their GM diesels. The average car driver who thought all oil was exactly the same, and bought their fuel from a hole in the wall service station where the diesel in the tank had been there two years, had plenty of trouble

For example, a co-worker has a 05 Golf TDI that had plenty of trouble the first winter. He was getting his fuel from a hole in the wall service station.

I took him for a ride in my Prius to a large and very busy truck stop on the outskirts of Winnipeg. Ever since he started getting his diesel from there, no problems whatsoever

 

What I said!:rockon:

 

Blackstone Labs.

Miles on unit:17k

Miles on oil:15k

Make-up oil: .5 quarts.


You've run this oil for about 88% of this young engine's life, and that's the reason that we are still finding high
iron, copper, and silicon. We normally expect wear-in to be past by the time you get to about 10,000 miles, but when
you run long oil changes from the start, the process takes longer. You'll get there eventually, though you could speed
the process along by changing the oil at 7,500 miles next time. Note fuel at 3.0%. This is more than we like to see but
hopefully it's from rings seating. The TBN read 4.1 showing some active additive left. Check back.

ALUMINUM 5
CHROMIUM 0
IRON 18
COPPER 9
LEAD 1
TIN 11
MOLYBDENUM 1
MANGANESE 1
NICKEL 1
SILVER 0
TITANIUM 0
POTASSIUM 3
BORON 5
SILICON 58
SODIUM 6
CALCIUM 3206
MAGNESIUM 11
PHOSPHORUS 594
ZINC 711
BARIUM 1

cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 8.85
SUS Viscosity @ 210°F 55.3

Flashpoint in °F 315
Fuel % 3.0
Antifreeze % 0
Insolubles 0.3

A TBN that high with 3% fuel is outstanding after 15k.

 

I agree about the TBN, the oil holds up well even with that much fuel dilution

 

I am onkly talking about test results not what an uneducated guess by a customer says. Everybody who never has a problem with an oil will say its great oil. The engine oil from Redline is good but the gear oils don't fair so well in certain ASTM tests that were performed on them. All I am saying is check the testing and make an informed decision as to what you want in your investment. There are mnay good gear oils besides Amsoil. Amsoil is a top quality oil but it isn't the end all of oils. RP & Lucas gear oils could end all if used in high stress applications judged by the test results showing their failure in the viscosity test after going thru just a 20 hour shear test. Mobil 1, Castrol, and others are very good gear oils.

Don't go by what Johnny , Manny and Moe says do research and make informed decisions.

 

Hey all I said was I disagree with you with your flat out statement about Redline gear oils being poor and referenced one of the best sites on the Internet for oil UOA's as my reference. Bitog (Bob is the Oil Guy). I have seen the testing and did make an informed decision. There's literally thousands of UOA post's there about Redline & Amsoil and other great products. And thousands of cool posts about every car on the market and oil testing on them. Any "Synthetic dealer" would immediately know what I was talking about. Instead you bring up your friends Johnny,Manny & Moe.

Gear oils have additive packs and almost all ATF is heavily additive but Redline motor oil claims a very minute detergent additive and not much else touting its pure poly base stock. I don't have the exact chemical formula to quote but it sure feels really different. Even 1000 miles later on the dipstick. All I can do is try it and then test it. Just like the Redline D6 in my 07 CVT which so far drives like a dream.

There's alot of discussion on Bitog lately on WS fluid too.They claimed for a while they had little data on WS concerning Toyota's "lifetime fluid" rep but lately have had alot of Tundra's. WS has a very light additive pack apparently. Which for our CVT's is probably a good thing.

 

I am on BITOG and am familure with the talk and UOA. I would also like to point out I never FLAT OUT said Redline is Crap. I said "their gear oils didn't fair well in testing (should have said Lab testing). Then I said check the test results amd make informed decisions. I didn't say don't use it, I didn't say it was crap and I didn't say that nobody should ever try it. I also said that the engine oil is good stuff. I would caution anybody to read lab test results on any gear oils they might use.

There are plenty to read on BITOG there is plenty to read on other website about lubrication. If you want to read a White Paper on Gear oils read it. Yes its paid for by Amsoil who else is going to pay for it? Not Redline or M1 so keep an open mind and read closely don't skim. When you read closely you will know exactly what each test is and what result is good in that test. Also notice that Amsoil doesn't finish as the #1 oil in most tests. Why would Amsoil pay for something then publish it when they aren't the best oil in each test? Doesn't seem like good business practice to say your not the best in any given test. They do it to show that in all tests they have the best overall average in all the tests.

You can add or bump up any additive to be the best in any given test. But to be the best all around you have to take the middle of the raod in many areas. Its the best compromise in all areas that makes it a good oil in all areas of lubrication.