GaMtnJk

It seems like motorcycle guys swear buy it....but I run Harley Syn3. It is hard to find and I buy it from a local mom and pop place. It cost 11.99 a quart here in Northeast Georgia.

Vincent

Out of curiosity, what weight do you run in your rig, and how do you find dealers? I searched online because I'm certainly willing to try it out myself, but it seems that part of the site is "under const."...I've tried everything else, RP, AMSOIL, Mobil 1, Castrol Syn.,. Based on your knowledge, I'm curious to try it the next 5,000mi.

JKRescue08

There will always be someone out there that doesn't like a product. I have used it for 10+ years in all of my vehicles and I wont use anything else. Contrary to what dognights said, Amsoil has one of the highest flow properties out there which makes it one of the best at transferring heat. Plain and simple, it's oil - it will not be the reason your car breaks down, you will have had other contributing factors.

Probably best that you research, because everyone will have a good or bad opinion.

Vincent

I agree with you 100%, everyone's knowledge/ experiences may be different, which is why I love the wealth of info/opinions on this forum.

dognights

In general. Very general it doesnt matter too much what kind of oil you use if you change it often enough.

With that said oil does a few tasks. First off it obviously lubricates obviously, but it is also used to absorb harmful gases, neutralize acids, act as a heat sink to direct heat away from moving components, and maintain surface friction.

There are basically 5 groups of oil types. These are grouped by what base is use to start with when making the product.


Group one is basic mineral based oil. Think cheap made in "china" oil sent to you in a cloned honda dirt bike motor. You dont want to use this

Group two is your typical "normal oil" base that you can find easily at someplace like walmart. Think normal valvoline 10w-30 your grandpa used in his old pickup

Group three is what some call synthetic oil. Group three is actually group 1 oil that is highly refined with additives. There is really a big debate on this as this group is not really a synthetic oil even thou companies like castrol and other label group 3 as synthetic oil.

Group four is a true synthetic oil base. Amsoil is a group four oil as well as many other popular choices people like to use that perform very well.

Group five is an ester based synthetic oil. This is a plant based product and has very high adhesion properties to metal. You will hear claims of how the produce actually fuses to metal surfaces, etc


The group rating of the oil in general has a direct relationship with the amount and quality of the additives that are also added. The higher the group number typically the higher the amount of calcium, boron, magnesium that is also present in the fluid that acts to neutralize the acids and sulfites. You will also typically find more molybedlum present which increases the lubrication properties of the fluid. The biggest difference thou is how resistant to thermal viscous breakdown they are. Meaning that over time the higher group number oils tend to not thin out over time and prolonged use which allows longer time between changing under normal loads.

In summary if you stay away from super thin oils in the number 4 group and change your oil often enough it really doesnt matter what brand you use too much. If you are looking to put the best in your ride look for the highest TNB rating and use a group 5 oil rated for your intended use. Costs are however varied greatly, which is why people still use grandpa's old valvoline 10w-30 and change it every 2500 miles.

dognights

I use Motul 300v 20w60 weight. This is a group 5 ester based oil.

Space Monkey

Dognights is correct with a lot of what he is saying. I used AMSoil in my 98 TJ and it made the valve train very noisy and the engine started to knock. Now this is NOT AMSoil's fault, but my own for not putting the correct oil into the engine. The 4.0L (OLD A$$ ENGINE) uses SL rated oils like "High Mileage" oils with a lot of ZDDP. I switched it out for Quakerstate Defy and within 2 weeks the motor ran like new again.

Now i have used AMSoil in MANY cars, but they were all sports cars or new cars. I am currently using AMSoil in my new 12 JK since the new motor is rated for it. You must look at what the motor asks for! Make sure the oil you are choosing is for your application!

Dognights, I would highly suggest sending AMSoil your story since they love to dive into researching what happen to things to improve their oils. They may even help you out.

Space

dognights

I will agree that everyone should do some digging around for what works best for them.

I will also agree that Amsoil does have one of the highest flow rates of any of the typical oil products you might find. This however does not directly relate to thermal transfer properties. Amsoil is not a bad product, it is better then quite a few other alternatives for the same money. I however do have issue with the over the top bold performance claims, and the limited(strange) distribution and support network they have. One of the reasons I first tried it on my race bike is due to the great contingency program they had. If you race and win with a little sticker on the side of your bike using their product they basically gave you all the free oil you could use. After using the product I elected to pay for another product then use their free product if that tells anything of my experiences with it.

Space Monkey

Is it really that hard to find AMSoil in the state's? I mean you just order from AMSoil.com and you have the chance to sign up as a vendor immediately and save even more! I also am able to find AMSoil in my local hardware shops like KMSTools. If you have friends that do syn oil changes also then order from the website is actually a great deal if you split the yearly cost for vendor prices.

Space

DustinLH00

I was expecting to be able to walk into a NAPA, Autozone, Advanced Auto Parts, Carquest, Pep Boys, or something similar and pick it up when I needed it. I really don't have the garage space to store a ton of it and would prefer to not pay shipping, especially something as heavy as oil. But, it seems that Amsoil doesn't sell through these normal retail channels. On their website it provides me the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of people that supposedly supply the stuff, but it must be preferred buyers or vendors. I really am not comfortable going to someone's house to get the oil.

I was hoping that I missed something, but it appears that it is a little tougher to get a hold of in person. Now I am re-thinking my choice of oil so I am not sure what I will do.