Anyone using Amsoil? I am about to change over to Amsoil oil and their filters in all my cars - '04 Lincoln LS, '04 Ford Escape, '98 Mercury Mountaineer, and '98 Contour.
Current plan is to use the 5W20 XL7500 series in the two new cars and change at the factory suggested 5K intervals to avoid any fights in case of warranty issues. Amsoil recommends up to 7500 miles with this oil. Will use 5W30 in the Mountaineer and Contour and change at 12K intervals, but change the filter at 6K intervals. Amsoil recommends 15K for this oil and 7500 for the filters.
Appreciate any comments or experiences with Amsoil oil or filters.
Exactly what leads you to this conclusion - Amsoil ads?
I don't actually think there is anything wrong with the product. I don't think it is anything special either. In my opinion it is over hyped. You need to pay careful attention to the Amsoil claims and be especially careful when reading the information provided by the distributors (as opposed to Amsoil Inc.).
Do you realize that the XL7500 oil is just a highly refined group III petroleum based oil and not a synthetic oil in the same way that Mobil 1 is a synthetic oil? The XL7500 is the same sort of synthetic as Catrol Syntec, just a lot more expensive. I can't see any reason to prefer the Amsoil product over Syntec if you are following the vehicle manufacturer's maintenance schedule.
If you want to maintain your new car warranty you need to follow the vehicle manufacturers maintenance schedule, no matter what you think Amsoil is saying about extended drain intervals. After the vehicle is out of warranty it is your money, so you can go to the extended drain intervals.
Personally I think most US car makers specify oil change intervals that are far too conservative. Basically the same engines running similar oils have much longer oil change intervals in Europe. I still do my Ford changes at 3000 miles, but I doubt it is necessary.
about 5 years ago i had an amsoil dealer try to sell me on using his "magic synthetic oil", after seeing the 3 55 gallon drums of valvoline all fleet in the garage. after listening to his praise of this snake oil ,and him putting down all the other brands, he gave me a goverment specification sheet rating
Look, my Father-in-law sells this stuff and uses it too. However, I use Mobil 1. It's a whole lot cheaper and is readily available in a wide variety of SAE designations. I would strongly advise not using Amsoil. Not that it's a bad product. It's not. It's just that there are equal products at a better price. As to their filters? If they were so great the manufacturers would use them too. Use the part recommended by the automaker and change them often.
We love Amsoil customers that push there oil changes to 12,000 miles. I have already done a few motors because of this. Just because there is limioted viscosity breakdown in a synthetic after 10-12000 miles does not mean the oil is still clean and free of contaminates. Mostly what we see is people don't even check the level for 6-7000-8000 and by then its done the damage. :) Brad
Oh so by that logic, Goodyear tires are better than who-flung-dung tires, but auto mfr's ALWAYS put goodyear tires on their cars right?? :-D
Oh and to clarify, I've been using (not selling, I'm not a dealer, or a shill, just my own personal experiences) Amsoil filters and Series
2000 0W-30 oil for years in my car with no problems. Oil filter change every 6 mo, oil+filter change every 12 mo. And let me tell you, if nothing else, my winter starts are 100x better than with old dino oil (as in, the car usually won't start in the winter with dino oil, get it?) And I was using valvoline (dino) before the change as well.
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