Motor Oil Tests

[slider2828]

I thought I would share this.... Looks a bit subjective and a bit reading from the bottle, but there are some tests that you can't refute..... Pretty cool stuff... I thought it was pretty informative.....

I use Redline or Amsoil Signature in my race motor and love it.... Royal purple in my daily....

What do you use?

TWuKvnCq1js

[Teambadrun]

Nice video!

[slider2828]

I thought he did it as best as any of us could..... He has a whole bunch of videos that are awesome too like testing expensive to shitty electrical tapes, testing different types of JB or epoxy weld strength, and drywall anchors hhahaha

[s13 @ fullboost]

I sell a lot of AMS signature oil to my E85 customers. Its a fantastic oil that I believe in. The TBN(total base number) is very high & really helps combat the acidic nature of the ethanol.

I use AMS oil 20W-50 high zinc in my Spec E30 Race car. I have had the same motor for three seasons now, so in my opinion its testament.

As far as normal pump gas cars go....most motor oils are perfectly fine with adequate drain intervals. The cheaper the oil generally means the faster the detergents wear out.

Almost all my European customers need a 5W-40 & I will sell them AMS oil Euro or Liquid Molly both fantastic oils.

I even use AMS oil in my diesel they have great soot thickness control additives.

These are just my opinions I know many people have different ones, with that said AMS oil is number 1!

[mechanicalmoron]

I DO believe amsoil is a great oil, but my problem is they seem to formulate things for stupid drain intervals, where I'd prefer maximum performance with an additive package that doesn't have to make trade-offs (according to my understanding, anyway) for freaken' million mile changes.

Also, their marketing is very frustrating and irresponsible, because cars need to be checked by someone who knows something about what they need, every few thousand miles - tell people that they can be super clever and save money and never change their oil and their engine will be totally happy and fine and even better than last time they checked it, and..... well, they believe it. It's fine for someone who can really take care of a car to go 25k and keep their fluids up, but people who can't get into trouble, because they don't understand (and can't be made to understand) the nature of engines, what happens inside them, what needs checking, what happens if you don't, and how unfixable it will be.

[slider2828]

I would also like to add their GL4 Transaxle Transmission Oil is the best as well. Improved cold shifting and notchiness to any transmission. I tested over cheap gear oil, shitty royal purple (never use it!), also redline shockproof and 1 other redline product....

There was a real big thread on zilvia about it a long time ago and a lot of people tried and agreed.

[PoorMans180SX]

I thought I would share this.... Looks a bit subjective and a bit reading from the bottle, but there are some tests that you can't refute..... Pretty cool stuff... I thought it was pretty informative.....

I use Redline or Amsoil Signature in my race motor and love it.... Royal purple in my daily....

What do you use?



EDITED FOR CLARITY:

I do like this guy's testing and his honesty. He recognizes that the wear scar test is not indicative of a hydrodynamic wedge condition like engine's operate under. I definitely like that he cooked the oil, as that seemed to separate out a lot of good oils from basic ones.

The problem with the testing is that none of them take into account shear, which is a very large factor in a hydrodynamic wedge environment. Would it have changed the results? Maybe, but probably not much IMO.

I would like to point out that Amsoil is the only oil in this test that is confirmed to contain a majority of Group V Ester base stock. Some of the other oils have some, but are majority PAO or heavily hydrocracked Group III. I think this is significant. Redline had revised their safety data sheets to the point where it is unclear what percentage they use. Also higher end Motul uses Ester base stocks, but that wasn't tested. Motul and Redline both have some of the highest HTHS (High-temperature high-sheer) viscosities (at around 4.4), which mean they should do a better job not breaking down under hydrodynamic sheering. I'm not sure this has been directly compared via used oil analysis to other oils.

It's also very hard to tell how engine oil is performing without long term testing in an engine over multiple oil change intervals. Additives like zinc and moly only adhere to metal over a certain temperature and form a high-pressure anti-wear layer that is sacrificial in nature. Even with long-term testing, it's hard to identify actual wear, as many oils perform admirably.



I DO believe amsoil is a great oil, but my problem is they seem to formulate things for stupid drain intervals, where I'd prefer maximum performance with an additive package that doesn't have to make trade-offs (according to my understanding, anyway) for freaken' million mile changes.

Their racing oils are more geared toward what you're looking for, but why don't you want long oil change intervals? These guys that change synthetic oil every 3000 miles or after every race are crazy IMHO. One of the biggest benefits of synthetic oil is it's oil change interval extension.

I would also like to add their GL4 Transaxle Transmission Oil is the best as well. Improved cold shifting and notchiness to any transmission. I tested over cheap gear oil, shitty royal purple (never use it!), also redline shockproof and 1 other redline product....

There was a real big thread on zilvia about it a long time ago and a lot of people tried and agreed.

Yeah, the only issue I have with that is that they all have been reformulated since then. Redline now has super-lightweight shockproof, and I would love to see that tested. I know my KA transmission was a big fan of pure lightweight shockproof, but most people are afraid to run something like that. I know Motul gear oil has a fantastic reputation as well.

[TheRealSy90]

Personally i've transitioned to using Amsoil in every vehicle I own. Yes I change the engine oil in our daily drivers once a year because we don't come anywhere close to the 15k miles interval. More like 3-5k a year on it.

I use Amsoil Signature series in everything except my drift car which gets fresh Amsoil Dominator every 3-4 events.

[PoorMans180SX]

If anyone is interested, I've compiled a spreadsheet of information on oils in the 0w40-5w50 range (This would be the most common weight to use if you run your engine hard). I really want to do some long term analysis to see if it yields any worthwhile information but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Hoffman5982]

Always enjoyed this guys channel. He runs caparisons on everything.

As for oils, Amsoil is the best stuff I've ran in the trans on my s13. I'll be changing my s14 to it soon. I'd love to run their oil in my engine but I can't get past the price. I run Mobil 1 in my Subaru, which I change at 5k miles because it's usually getting pretty dark at that point, Rotella T5 in my s14 because a jug fills it perfectly, it's cheap, and the car doesn't get driven too much, and I've started running vr1 in the drift car. Wix filters on all of them.

[slider2828]

EDITED FOR CLARITY:

I do like this guy's testing and his honesty. He recognizes that the wear scar test is not indicative of a hydrodynamic wedge condition like engine's operate under. I definitely like that he cooked the oil, as that seemed to separate out a lot of good oils from basic ones.

The problem with the testing is that none of them take into account shear, which is a very large factor in a hydrodynamic wedge environment. Would it have changed the results? Maybe, but probably not much IMO.

I would like to point out that Amsoil is the only oil in this test that is confirmed to contain a majority of Group V Ester base stock. Some of the other oils have some, but are majority PAO or heavily hydrocracked Group III. I think this is significant. Redline had revised their safety data sheets to the point where it is unclear what percentage they use. Also higher end Motul uses Ester base stocks, but that wasn't tested. Motul and Redline both have some of the highest HTHS (High-temperature high-sheer) viscosities (at around 4.4), which mean they should do a better job not breaking down under hydrodynamic sheering. I'm not sure this has been directly compared via used oil analysis to other oils.

It's also very hard to tell how engine oil is performing without long term testing in an engine over multiple oil change intervals. Additives like zinc and moly only adhere to metal over a certain temperature and form a high-pressure anti-wear layer that is sacrificial in nature. Even with long-term testing, it's hard to identify actual wear, as many oils perform admirably.





Their racing oils are more geared toward what you're looking for, but why don't you want long oil change intervals? These guys that change synthetic oil every 3000 miles or after every race are crazy IMHO. One of the biggest benefits of synthetic oil is it's oil change interval extension.



Yeah, the only issue I have with that is that they all have been reformulated since then. Redline now has super-lightweight shockproof, and I would love to see that tested. I know my KA transmission was a big fan of pure lightweight shockproof, but most people are afraid to run something like that. I know Motul gear oil has a fantastic reputation as well.

I didn't realize they reformulated... Is there a before and after on the transaxle oil? My previous trans didn't like shockproof during cold at all.... I live in california so should matter much....

I think he ran oils that he could get ahold of... Esther and Motul is pretty hard to get ahold without ordering.

Always enjoyed this guys channel. He runs caparisons on everything.

As for oils, Amsoil is the best stuff I've ran in the trans on my s13. I'll be changing my s14 to it soon. I'd love to run their oil in my engine but I can't get past the price. I run Mobil 1 in my Subaru, which I change at 5k miles because it's usually getting pretty dark at that point, Rotella T5 in my s14 because a jug fills it perfectly, it's cheap, and the car doesn't get driven too much, and I've started running vr1 in the drift car. Wix filters on all of them.

VR1 I heard is pretty good too.... Why not Redline? They similar I heard.... VR1 expensive?

[Hoffman5982]

VR1 I heard is pretty good too.... Why not Redline? They similar I heard.... VR1 expensive?

VR1 is more readily available to me. I haven't looked into redline oil before though

[s13 @ fullboost]

I didn't realize they reformulated... Is there a before and after on the transaxle oil? My previous trans didn't like shockproof during cold at all.... I live in california so should matter much....

I think he ran oils that he could get ahold of... Esther and Motul is pretty hard to get ahold without ordering.



VR1 I heard is pretty good too.... Why not Redline? They similar I heard.... VR1 expensive?

If any of you need Motul I can get it same day. I am in Chatsworth CA so if its feasible for you please do not hesitate to PM me.


VR-1 is very cheap by comparison to AMS oil. I used to sell it but I stopped due to lack of demand.

[1on1]

I've been using Delvac 15w-40 Diesel Oil. Cheap enough to change oil before and after an event and have been using it since I got my sr20.

Recommended by Martin as he runs this in his rx7.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-Delvac-15W-40-Heavy-Duty-Diesel-Oil-1-gal/17034368

*Reminder, Oreilly's price match Walmart on oil.

[shaggyjake]

I love any opportunity to share this link:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/motor-oil-all-chapters-inclusive-copy-and-save-this.136052/



It is an incredibly detailed breakdown of how oil really works in your engine. The link isn't directly related to specific oils, but is full of awesome information. I read this about once a year and recommend it to any and all car enthusiasts.

[PoorMans180SX]

Always enjoyed this guys channel. He runs caparisons on everything.

As for oils, Amsoil is the best stuff I've ran in the trans on my s13. I'll be changing my s14 to it soon. I'd love to run their oil in my engine but I can't get past the price. I run Mobil 1 in my Subaru, which I change at 5k miles because it's usually getting pretty dark at that point, Rotella T5 in my s14 because a jug fills it perfectly, it's cheap, and the car doesn't get driven too much, and I've started running vr1 in the drift car. Wix filters on all of them.

FYI VR1 (especially the conventional) is a bit shit. I don't know what you get it for price wise, but it's got a poor viscosity index and noack volatility. I've seen cars have consistently high wear metals using it until they switch to a synthetic (even one of lower viscosity). I can't find the SDS on it, but all of Valvoline's "synthetic" oils are mostly Group III base stocks, so you're not much better off with the synthetic version. I'd imagine it's HTHS isn't great either, but they don't give any info on it in their product sheet.

I didn't realize they reformulated... Is there a before and after on the transaxle oil? My previous trans didn't like shockproof during cold at all.... I live in california so should matter much....

I think he ran oils that he could get ahold of... Esther and Motul is pretty hard to get ahold without ordering.

VR1 I heard is pretty good too.... Why not Redline? They similar I heard.... VR1 expensive?

I'm in Michigan, where I have to order basically all of the oils anyway hah. I haven't seen any specific before and afters, it's a lot harder to find virgin oil analysis on gear oils.

I've been using Delvac 15w-40 Diesel Oil. Cheap enough to change oil before and after an event and have been using it since I got my sr20.

Recommended by Martin as he runs this in his rx7.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-Delvac-15W-40-Heavy-Duty-Diesel-Oil-1-gal/17034368

*Reminder, Oreilly's price match Walmart on oil.

Why change your oil after each event? Seems like a waste to me. Even then, why not just run better oil and keep it for multiple events? I see this a lot in the car world, but just because someone recommends it doesn't mean it's great. I'm sure it works okay, but there are far superior oils on the market. The Mobil Delvac 1 0w-40 basically shits on the rest of the Delvac line as far as quality and spec go. It's thicker at high temp, thinner at low temp, has a higher HTHS, and a higher TBN. Even then, for a racing vehicle, it doesn't have an additive package that's anything special. I'd say it would make a fantastic daily driver oil.

For another example, Rotella T6 that all the Subi's run because they think it saves their engine is not a great oil. It's pretty much all severely hydrocracked group III base stock. It has an okay additive package and is a 40 weight, which is why it helps them survive. All the UOA's that I've seen have shown that it sheers to close to 30 weight rather quickly anyway. I know they did just do a new formula.

I love any opportunity to share this link:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/motor-oil-all-chapters-inclusive-copy-and-save-this.136052/

It is an incredibly detailed breakdown of how oil really works in your engine. The link isn't directly related to specific oils, but is full of awesome information. I read this about once a year and recommend it to any and all car enthusiasts.

Wow, that is quite the article. Good explanations, but there's definitely some generalizing going on when talking about weights. 0w30, 5w30, and 10w30 will not all have the same thickness at operating temp, despite the 30 number being the same. Nor will they have the same HTHS or Noack volatility.

Once I get my DSM running, I'm going to be doing an oil shootout of sorts on 0w40/5w40 weight oils.

[RalliartRsX]

PoorMans180SX

What would you recommend for oil for a trackday 350-400WHP SR20VET that sees temp swings (trackday temp swings) from 30-40F Ambient to circa 100F ambient. Clearances for the mains and rods are standard SR20 spec. Ring clearances are slightly larger than SR20 specs.

4-5 20 min lapping sessions a day per event.

[PoorMans180SX]

PoorMans180SX

What would you recommend for oil for a trackday 350-400WHP SR20VET that sees temp swings (trackday temp swings) from 30-40F Ambient to circa 100F ambient. Clearances for the mains and rods are standard SR20 spec. Ring clearances are slightly larger than SR20 specs.

4-5 20 min lapping sessions a day per event.

Amsoil Signature Series, Redline, or Motul 300V in 5w40 variety (Amsoil only has 0w40). Depending on how often you change it, you could use 0w40 in the colder months for sure. I like Redline the best, but that is personal preference. You can't go wrong with any of those. Motul Sport 5w40 is available for a great price on Amazon if budget is a concern, but you might want to consider mixing it with a quart or two of 300V to boost the additive package.

If you had opened up the rods a little you could do 5w50+ and have a little more load capacity, but C'est la vie.

Here's some valuable articles to read on clearance vs oil weight vs load capacity and such.

https://www.substech.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=effect_of_oil_viscosity_on_hydrodynami c_friction_of_engine_bearings

http://www.substech.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=oil_clearance_and_engine_bearings

[slider2828]

FYI VR1 (especially the conventional) is a bit shit. I don't know what you get it for price wise, but it's got a poor viscosity index and noack volatility. I've seen cars have consistently high wear metals using it until they switch to a synthetic (even one of lower viscosity). I can't find the SDS on it, but all of Valvoline's "synthetic" oils are mostly Group III base stocks, so you're not much better off with the synthetic version. I'd imagine it's HTHS isn't great either, but they don't give any info on it in their product sheet.



I'm in Michigan, where I have to order basically all of the oils anyway hah. I haven't seen any specific before and afters, it's a lot harder to find virgin oil analysis on gear oils.



Why change your oil after each event? Seems like a waste to me. Even then, why not just run better oil and keep it for multiple events? I see this a lot in the car world, but just because someone recommends it doesn't mean it's great. I'm sure it works okay, but there are far superior oils on the market. The Mobil Delvac 1 0w-40 basically shits on the rest of the Delvac line as far as quality and spec go. It's thicker at high temp, thinner at low temp, has a higher HTHS, and a higher TBN. Even then, for a racing vehicle, it doesn't have an additive package that's anything special. I'd say it would make a fantastic daily driver oil.

For another example, Rotella T6 that all the Subi's run because they think it saves their engine is not a great oil. It's pretty much all severely hydrocracked group III base stock. It has an okay additive package and is a 40 weight, which is why it helps them survive. All the UOA's that I've seen have shown that it sheers to close to 30 weight rather quickly anyway. I know they did just do a new formula.



Wow, that is quite the article. Good explanations, but there's definitely some generalizing going on when talking about weights. 0w30, 5w30, and 10w30 will not all have the same thickness at operating temp, despite the 30 number being the same. Nor will they have the same HTHS or Noack volatility.

Once I get my DSM running, I'm going to be doing an oil shootout of sorts on 0w40/5w40 weight oils.

I think they were running T5 vs T6 in Project farm and there was way more TBNs in T5 and T4 Than T6...... He said it was weird as it was sent for analysis......

Amsoil Signature Series, Redline, or Motul 300V in 5w40 variety (Amsoil only has 0w40). Depending on how often you change it, you could use 0w40 in the colder months for sure. I like Redline the best, but that is personal preference. You can't go wrong with any of those. Motul Sport 5w40 is available for a great price on Amazon if budget is a concern, but you might want to consider mixing it with a quart or two of 300V to boost the additive package.

If you had opened up the rods a little you could do 5w50+ and have a little more load capacity, but C'est la vie.

Here's some valuable articles to read on clearance vs oil weight vs load capacity and such.

https://www.substech.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=effect_of_oil_viscosity_on_hydrodynami c_friction_of_engine_bearings

http://www.substech.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=oil_clearance_and_engine_bearings

Dude... I ran Redline because it was down the street vs. driving like 30 minutes to get amsoil. For Redline after I idle the car to cool the oil down a bit, on shut off, I could still here the turn spinning so freely, its pretty amazing shit..... So now that I can't get redline so close, probably amsoil now hahaha

[PoorMans180SX]

I think they were running T5 vs T6 in Project farm and there was way more TBNs in T5 and T4 Than T6...... He said it was weird as it was sent for analysis......

Dude... I ran Redline because it was down the street vs. driving like 30 minutes to get amsoil. For Redline after I idle the car to cool the oil down a bit, on shut off, I could still here the turn spinning so freely, its pretty amazing shit..... So now that I can't get redline so close, probably amsoil now hahaha

Yeah sometimes companies will add different/more additive package to their conventional oil because the base oil breaks down much faster, meaning the oil has to lean harder on the additive package. It makes sense to add more alkalinity to a conventional oil so it can resist acid breakdown whereas the synthetic doesn't need as much and will still outlast it because of the superior base stock.

Yeah, it's a great oil IMHO. Group V/IV base stocks, a good dose of moly and ZDDP for anti-wear, plenty of calcium for cleaning. Also ester oil tends to have a slight seal swelling effect. One of the cars I switched over stopped using oil all together and the other it was reduced by quite a bit! I run racing 50wt in my lawn mower (kinda silly I know) and that thing will sit for the entire winter and start first pull every time. A bit anecdotal, but impressive nonetheless.

[TheRealSy90]

As for oils, Amsoil is the best stuff I've ran in the trans on my s13. I'll be changing my s14 to it soon. I'd love to run their oil in my engine but I can't get past the price. I run Mobil 1 in my Subaru, which I change at 5k miles because it's usually getting pretty dark at that point, Rotella T5 in my s14 because a jug fills it perfectly, it's cheap, and the car doesn't get driven too much, and I've started running vr1 in the drift car. Wix filters on all of them.

IMO Amsoil saves me money as I don't have to change the oil as frequently. Also they ship extremely fast to your door. My cummins ram gets a change once a year. Daily drivers once a year also. The drift car gets changed every 4-5 events just because it lives on rev limiter a lot.

Also, oil getting dark isn't a bad thing. That's contaminants staying suspended in the oil instead of deposited inside the engine. Hell change the oil on any diesel engine and it's black as soon as you start the engine and check the level again. Doesn't mean the oil is bad.

[mechanicalmoron]

On frequent oil changes:

It's partly just paranoia, of course.

Many of us got started with cars with pretty shitty cars. We've experienced firsthand how there's a lot more to an oil than just how it theoretically behaves when it fails, they've all got that figured out pretty fine. It's really the things that oil's formed as engines malfunction, and wear, and have not been maintained, and have been abused, and originally hand design flaws and planned failures and jobs that they'd need and intentional obsolescence and all that jazz. Oil that's well under it's change interval often has lots of water, chunky stuff from outside the engine, chunky stuff from inside the engine, wear metal crud, fuel contamination, and that's not even counting how the engine was dirty from two hundred thousand miles and thirty years of neglect before you even bought it.

All that leads to diesel oils with very aggressive detergents and slightly boosted weights and stupid cheap prices performing pretty fuckin' amazing in real world use on multi-owner vehicles.

Also, if it's still in the car, you can't know how well the oil's doing, or how well your engine in general is doing. You can take a sample, but when it's 15 dollars to drop and fill, why not just do that and know you've got any bad stuff and given it the best go at life you can, and still check out what you took out?

T6 isn't the world's best oil, but from my somewhat lay and paranoid point of view on oil, it seems to be a great cheap (somewhat) synthetic on the thin side of 40 weight that you can put in just about anything. If you magicked a fresh fill of rotella 5w-40 into any random car you see on the street, you can be pretty sure that car would do better and live longer for it.

[PoorMans180SX]

On frequent oil changes:

It's partly just paranoia, of course.

Many of us got started with cars with pretty shitty cars. We've experienced firsthand how there's a lot more to an oil than just how it theoretically behaves when it fails, they've all got that figured out pretty fine. It's really the things that oil's formed as engines malfunction, and wear, and have not been maintained, and have been abused, and originally hand design flaws and planned failures and jobs that they'd need and intentional obsolescence and all that jazz. Oil that's well under it's change interval often has lots of water, chunky stuff from outside the engine, chunky stuff from inside the engine, wear metal crud, fuel contamination, and that's not even counting how the engine was dirty from two hundred thousand miles and thirty years of neglect before you even bought it.

All that leads to diesel oils with very aggressive detergents and slightly boosted weights and stupid cheap prices performing pretty fuckin' amazing in real world use on multi-owner vehicles.

Also, if it's still in the car, you can't know how well the oil's doing, or how well your engine in general is doing. You can take a sample, but when it's 15 dollars to drop and fill, why not just do that and know you've got any bad stuff and given it the best go at life you can, and still check out what you took out?

T6 isn't the world's best oil, but from my somewhat lay and paranoid point of view on oil, it seems to be a great cheap (somewhat) synthetic on the thin side of 40 weight that you can put in just about anything. If you magicked a fresh fill of rotella 5w-40 into any random car you see on the street, you can be pretty sure that car would do better and live longer for it.

Sure, it works okay. The detergent package isn't actually that aggressive, and it's more focused on keeping particulates suspended than actually cleaning (because diesel spec), but sure. It's also pretty shit at not foaming, which is important for an engine running to 7500+ rpm.
The issues with neglect and "crud" should be solved in one oil and filter change, so not sure why that's a factor to consider. I've changed every car I've ever owned over to synthetic and they are all better for it for sure.
T-6 is a perfectly serviceable oil that is an improvement over the dino junk a lot of people put in their cars, but it's far from the best option.

[PoorMans180SX]

I've been talking with Amsoil and Redline and neither one wants to disclose their ratio of PAO (Group IV) to Polyol Ester (Group V) base stocks. Redline said that it was majority PAO but "close to half" Ester, and Amsoil said their mix is "similar in ratio" to Redlines.

I'm actually pretty interested to try out Amsoil's Boosted XL line. While being group III base stock it has some pretty impressive specs on paper.

Also, High Performance Lubricants, based in Manteno Illinois, has some impressive lubricants, all of which are PAO based Mostly.

Schaeffer's 9000 is also a quality PAO based lube.

I'm bored at work and I nerd out on this stuff. It would be interesting to see used oil analysis of these products in more hard-working, high performance engines. Bob is the oil guy is great, but it's 99% boring daily driver cars.

I will be doing a shootout of sorts between a few of these. Logging oil pressure and temp and then sending them for analysis after they've served their purpose in my SR. Gonna take a while though.

[TheRealSy90]

I think AMS Dominator is better in every aspect over the XL line, just a couple more dollars.

Still running AMS in everything. Can't beat it. I laugh at all the people on FB that say AMS is a scam, they don't understand.

[PoorMans180SX]

I think AMS Dominator is better in every aspect over the XL line, just a couple more dollars.

Still running AMS in everything. Can't beat it. I laugh at all the people on FB that say AMS is a scam, they don't understand.

IDK, there's a big gap in the dominator line where a 40 weight should be. If I end up finding the engine is better on a 50 weight, then maybe.

I think Amsoil is great stuff.

[My!]

I'm actually pretty interested to try out Amsoil's Boosted XL line. While being group III base stock it has some pretty impressive specs on paper.



im using 10-40 boosted xl in my sr20. only done about 2k miles on it tho, nothing out of the ordinary to report.

[Dboyizmlg]

Subscribed.....

[smoked240]

I spoke with a long time family friend last weekend, he's owned a Transmission shop for over 40 years now and he swears by AMSoil. Like he said, sure you will pay more for the quality but they have done the R&D over the years to get the best.

He also went on to explain the 5 oil groups and pretty much anything off the shelf in NA will be a group 3 oil. There are a few exceptions like the Amsoil Sig series is a group 4 along with some redline oils.

I wasn't aware of the oil groups and have no knowledge other than what he mentioned. He even said some oils are just distributed from a large factory and many companies just slap their brand on it. He said Supertech is one of them. Not sure on the accuracy, just food for thought.

[240KA]

i've nerded out on engine oils before for a little bit, but still very noob.

poorman, i have a stock pile of T6 and pennzoil synthetics and mobil 1. they might not be the "best", but i feel they do a fairly adequate job of lubricating the engine in a 3k-5k oil change interval for their price. would you agree? if not, what are some of the lower-than-amsoil quality oils that you'd suggest? you said amsoil is at the top, but can u find a compromise in price and OCI with a less expensive oil? i like my SR, but not $15 per quart amounts of love :P hopefully you don't comeback with "gotta pay to play", cuz i find that hard to believe when it comes to oils of today.

edit - yes if you pay more you'll get better quality oils, but i think a "lower quality" like a T6, pennzoil, mobil, will do a good enough job in a 3k-5k OCI condition or in a couple of race events, that most of us would never see the true benefits of a more expensive oil. although, i'm guessing the higher priced amsoil offers some kind of insurance if you lose oil pressure all of a sudden. because of its chemistry and bond, it allows the engine to perhaps run longer with no oil pressure than say a T6 or pennzoil or mobil1.

[TheRealSy90]

I will gladly put 2-3 grand in oil changes over years of ownership versus risking burning up rod bearings more quickly.

Amsoil Dominator 15/50 is perfect for sr's in hot climates, and within the oem viscosity recommendation. Hell I ran 15/50 in my daily driven sr through two Idaho winters and it was fine lol.

IMO There's no need for a 0/40 or a 10/40. Also it's not Weight it's Winter.

[smoked240]

i've nerded out on engine oils before for a little bit, but still very noob.

poorman, i have a stock pile of T6 and pennzoil synthetics and mobil 1. they might not be the "best", but i feel they do a fairly adequate job of lubricating the engine in a 3k-5k oil change interval for their price. would you agree? if not, what are some of the lower-than-amsoil quality oils that you'd suggest? you said amsoil is at the top, but can u find a compromise in price and OCI with a less expensive oil? i like my SR, but not $15 per quart amounts of love :P hopefully you don't comeback with "gotta pay to play", cuz i find that hard to believe when it comes to oils of today.

edit - yes if you pay more you'll get better quality oils, but i think a "lower quality" like a T6, pennzoil, mobil, will do a good enough job in a 3k-5k OCI condition or in a couple of race events, that most of us would never see the true benefits of a more expensive oil. although, i'm guessing the higher priced amsoil offers some kind of insurance if you lose oil pressure all of a sudden. because of its chemistry and bond, it allows the engine to perhaps run longer with no oil pressure than say a T6 or pennzoil or mobil1.


AMSoil has their own compromise in oils to be honest. They have the multiple lines of Oils for different prices. $15 a QT is crazy expensive but doing quick math, If I had to change my oil once a year opposed to 2-3 times, I am already saving money! This is all factored in on miles you drive each year, I maybe get 10k in a year if I am lucky. I use T6 in my WRX so going to the Boosted series, which would still last me 1 year would be cheaper and one less oil change.

To me this doesn't matter, just food for thought. I don't think i'll switch my WRX to AMSoil but I know my RB is going to run it once I get it going.

He showed me the 3 common kinds. Signature series/Boosted/OE. I think the prices were $15/10/7(This might have been dealer price? I am not sure) don't quote me but it's close!



EDIT:TheRealSy90. I agree with the 0/40 being useless. I ran 0/30 in my RB for about 8 miles until I changed it out due to having no ZINC whatsoever, my lifters were ticking like crazy. After my rebuild I am seeing like 9bar psi at WOT so was testing lighter oil to see if it would help lower my pressure. Im not sure when or if too much oil pressure can cause issues.

[slider2828]

Actually on that note guys!!!! I need a little help.

I have a 3qt accumsump..... I am going to run Rotella T5 as a startup oil to get to about 500 miles......

So obviously I am going to fill that accusump.....


So when I switch to AMS Signature.... how do I get all that oil out??

I guess put 60psi in the accusump, to push the oil and drain it....

Any good ideas on how to drain the oil cooler and lines? or screw it a little mix is alright?

-Ken

[S14rebuild]

Actually on that note guys!!!! I need a little help.

I have a 3qt accumsump..... I am going to run Rotella T5 as a startup oil to get to about 500 miles......

So obviously I am going to fill that accusump.....


So when I switch to AMS Signature.... how do I get all that oil out??

I guess put 60psi in the accusump, to push the oil and drain it....

Any good ideas on how to drain the oil cooler and lines? or screw it a little mix is alright?

-Ken


The right way is, drain engine oil, then open the valve on the accusump, let it bleed out.

As for the cooler and lines, ive always disconnected the lines. Put one in a bucket and ran shop air thru it(low psi) can get messy but only way to get all the oil out.


Do not forget to prime the motor backup before starting...

[PoorMans180SX]

i've nerded out on engine oils before for a little bit, but still very noob.

poorman, i have a stock pile of T6 and pennzoil synthetics and mobil 1. they might not be the "best", but i feel they do a fairly adequate job of lubricating the engine in a 3k-5k oil change interval for their price. would you agree? if not, what are some of the lower-than-amsoil quality oils that you'd suggest? you said amsoil is at the top, but can u find a compromise in price and OCI with a less expensive oil? i like my SR, but not $15 per quart amounts of love :P hopefully you don't comeback with "gotta pay to play", cuz i find that hard to believe when it comes to oils of today.

edit - yes if you pay more you'll get better quality oils, but i think a "lower quality" like a T6, pennzoil, mobil, will do a good enough job in a 3k-5k OCI condition or in a couple of race events, that most of us would never see the true benefits of a more expensive oil. although, i'm guessing the higher priced amsoil offers some kind of insurance if you lose oil pressure all of a sudden. because of its chemistry and bond, it allows the engine to perhaps run longer with no oil pressure than say a T6 or pennzoil or mobil1.

If you?re mostly concerned about anti-wear additives, you can buy Redline?s break-in oil additive, which had zddp and phosphorous. You?re then only missing out on things like boron and moly. Honestly those oils will do a adequate job with a little boosting to the additives.

I will gladly put 2-3 grand in oil changes over years of ownership versus risking burning up rod bearings more quickly.

Amsoil Dominator 15/50 is perfect for sr's in hot climates, and within the oem viscosity recommendation. Hell I ran 15/50 in my daily driven sr through two Idaho winters and it was fine lol.

IMO There's no need for a 0/40 or a 10/40. Also it's not Weight it's Winter.

You live in a very hot climate. Also the only way to pick the best oil would be monitoring pressure and temp, and having a consistent UOA trend low in wear. Just because ?nothing happened? doesn?t mean it?s the ideal oil. I?ve seen oil temps drop 50* from switching oils. Just adding thicker oil doesn?t always mean better protection either.

Actually on that note guys!!!! I need a little help.

I have a 3qt accumsump..... I am going to run Rotella T5 as a startup oil to get to about 500 miles......

So obviously I am going to fill that accusump.....


So when I switch to AMS Signature.... how do I get all that oil out??

I guess put 60psi in the accusump, to push the oil and drain it....

Any good ideas on how to drain the oil cooler and lines? or screw it a little mix is alright?

-Ken

Honestly, I wouldn?t worry about it too much hah.

[tuzzio]

This thread really makes me want to fix my leaky valve cover gasket and change my oil / intervals, mostly because im lazy...but I change frequently because I definitely have that "oil is the blood of your engine, the fresher the better" mindset.

Also, filters. I used to check up on bobistheoilguy once and a while, and people seem all over the place with answers. I currently run the Purolator Boss PBL20252 on my KA (Which ive ran for 5 years now) and never had any issues. Should I change to something else? Or..

[240KA]

This thread really makes me want to fix my leaky valve cover gasket and change my oil / intervals, mostly because im lazy...but I change frequently because I definitely have that "oil is the blood of your engine, the fresher the better" mindset.

Also, filters. I used to check up on bobistheoilguy once and a while, and people seem all over the place with answers. I currently run the Purolator Boss PBL20252 on my KA (Which ive ran for 5 years now) and never had any issues. Should I change to something else? Or..

oil filters were hard to keep track of for me - not worth the time to keep up with them as far as which one is currently the best one, i mean i'll check out the oil filter section once in a while. cuz one day they'll say Purolator One is the best value for the price, but then next day someone will post a picture of the insides and everyone else would say it looked bad or that it was torn. so i stick with wix xp or fram ultra, mobil has been around for a while so it's probably still a good filter but i don't need to be following all these different filter companies :P
either way any of those filters will easily handle 15,000 miles of daily driving, and eaaaasily 3k-5k of track driving. sounds crazy, but from what i've read, i feel comfortable doing that with those synthetic filters.
if this KA is just a daily put put car, then you don't need to worry one bit about a filter. even the normal wix and orange fram or the middle fram (tough guard i think) will be just fine.

[PoorMans180SX]

This thread really makes me want to fix my leaky valve cover gasket and change my oil / intervals, mostly because im lazy...but I change frequently because I definitely have that "oil is the blood of your engine, the fresher the better" mindset.

Also, filters. I used to check up on bobistheoilguy once and a while, and people seem all over the place with answers. I currently run the Purolator Boss PBL20252 on my KA (Which ive ran for 5 years now) and never had any issues. Should I change to something else? Or..

Depends. From what I can tell purolator boss filters are 35 micron absolute, which is pretty good, but not the best on the market. Fram Ultra and Amsoil are 20 micron absolute. "Absolute" refers to their 98.7% efficiency in a multi-pass test, and they will trap particles smaller, just at a lower efficiency. From what I've read particles under 20 micron are too small to cause wear. How much of a difference the filter makes is pretty hard to tell though, as no real long-term studies exist.

Also keep in mind that your air filter is a huge factor in how clean your oil is. If you have some chicken-wire air filter on your setup, then you best make sure your oil filter is up to par, because there's going to be shit in your engine that you don't want, haha. From what I can tell, Amsoil and Injen both have their "nano-web" filters that actually filter well while being high flow. Plenty of "high flow" filters on the market that are basically just screen doors.

oil filters were hard to keep track of for me - not worth the time to keep up with them as far as which one is currently the best one, i mean i'll check out the oil filter section once in a while. cuz one day they'll say Purolator One is the best value for the price, but then next day someone will post a picture of the insides and everyone else would say it looked bad or that it was torn. so i stick with wix xp or fram ultra, mobil has been around for a while so it's probably still a good filter but i don't need to be following all these different filter companies :P
either way any of those filters will easily handle 15,000 miles of daily driving, and eaaaasily 3k-5k of track driving. sounds crazy, but from what i've read, i feel comfortable doing that with those synthetic filters.
if this KA is just a daily put put car, then you don't need to worry one bit about a filter. even the normal wix and orange fram or the middle fram (tough guard i think) will be just fine.

I can't seem to find absolute micron ratings for the Wix filters, which is a little annoying. Yeah BITOG is cool but there's plenty of penny-pinchers and anecdotal espouse'rs on there, so it's hard to wade through sometimes.

Track driving is a special case, and you may want to switch to a non-bypass racing filter for track days. High-flow racing filters offer some filtration (usually in the 30-50 micron absolute range) at all times, versus standard filters allowing the bypass to open at 3-4k rpms, which means very little oil is going through the filter and most is just going around. This is something that you have to weigh the "risk" and decide for yourself which is best. I plan on testing some standard and racing filters to see if they really have different pressure drops.

Another thing, if you're running a 13/16-16 oil filter relocation mount, you can run a 2-quart racing filter (if you have the room), which adds capacity at the track, and may be another advantage.

[TheRealSy90]

When I used to run Mobil1 15/50 for years before they changed their formula and got rid of all the lovely zinc that sr's love, I ran the Purolator PureOne filter, supposed to be better than anything else on the shelves. But could only get them at PepBoys as far as local stores go.

Now that I run Amsoil I just order the Amsoil filter along with the oil order.

[tuzzio]

Think i'll see what my local amsoil plug can do for me.

[TheRealSy90]

There's really no need for a local "dealer", just get an account and order everything online. It shows up in 2-3 days every time.

[tuzzio]

There's really no need for a local "dealer", just get an account and order everything online. It shows up in 2-3 days every time.

I used to work at a place that was an amsoil dealer, and I still get everything at cost through them so theres that. I'll look into that as well. Motul is readily available to me as well (through them)