Bill I can't wait to hear your comment in this thread.

I switched to Amsoil in March of this year. I have since put just over 6,000 miles on the Amsoil oil. I changed the filter about 3 weeks ago. When I did the change over to Amsoil I did a engine flush with just Amsoil Oil. Sort of a drain, run and refill with Amsoil 2x to get all the old dirty dino oil out. The inside of my engine was very clean to start with, looking down into the valve cover, everything was always nice and bright in there. Dino oil used to get dark brown in the 3,000 miles it was in there. (Castrol GTX) Since switching to Amsoil I have noticed that the oil is very clean considering the miles on it. At just over 6,000 miles and almost 6 months later the Amsoil oil is a nice golden brown color still. What is causing the synthetic oil to appear cleaner then dino oil? Is it the Amsoil filter I'm using? I always used a Nissan filter prior to Amsoil. Or is it the oil itself, with less petroleum crap in it that causes it to stay cleaner longer? Or is it that my engine is running tighter with less blow-by and wear?

What I do know is I'm sure liking the performance of the Amsoil oil and I'm looking forward to the lab analysis after 1 year/~15,000 miles of use.

Would anybody else care to share their thoughts on this subject?

Tom

 

I can answer that...

The filter mhas better cleaning properties and the oil starts out cleaner since no petroleum by-products and the base is more stable

 

Sounds like the answer I was hoping for.

 

You may surprised at my answer: but it's the Castrol GTX and your regular oil changes with a Nissan OEM filter being the reason that your motor still looks good. I think you stated to me you used Castrol GTX every 3k up until the 36k mark, when you temporarily went with Castrol Syntec, right?

In looking at the analysis numbers, you have one of the cleanest VQs on record. That's a good thing, and also a GREAT commercial for using Castrol GTX. It's a great dino oil for the money.


Question: I have "Castrol" as the filter that you used on that last analysis, and I know that's not correct. You used Nissan OEMs from "birth", correct?


Honestly, the more I look into and research oil filters, the less I can justify recommending Amsoil oil filters because of their ridiculous prices. Their oil, on the other hand, is still beyond reproach. I'm more content buying cheaper filters and changing them out more often, if need be.

Based on your maintenance and care, you are probably one of the few who can easily go 1 year without changing it. Several here are eager to immediately going a year on Amsoil so that they won't have to change their oil often, but how the engine was maintained in the past and also taking an initial sample before switching out is paramount to making sure someone's driving conditions, etc., allows them to expect such interval use.

 

Tom may not be surprised about that, but I sure am Why do you say it was the Castrol?

My theory would have been it's a combination of things. First off, the very frequent oil changes at first preventing any sludge buildup, and then the excellent detergent characteristics and clean running nature of Amsoil itself more recently.

It's interesting that you would rather change a cheaper filter more often. Most people want to reduce the maintenance they have to do. I would tend to go the other way and through a by-pass setup on the car and have the best of both worlds

 

Well, his initial analysis already had low wear. Based on his oil history and his frequent changes, it's obvious he took care of the car.

Perhaps Amsoil helped to lower even those values, but we don't know that yet because he hasn't submitted another sample.

Oh I would rather go with the bypass setup as well, this is the "el-cheapo" side of me talking.

I would just rather spend $2 to $3 for a filter than $10 and change it more often. Amsoil's filter prices are ridiculous and their construction/filter media isn't markedly better. The only advantage is they do guarantee their filter for a certain period of time.


BTW, I have bad news on the SDF-36 oversized app. When I get done with my research I'll let you know the details.

 

What...what....I was getting ready to order and this was the filter to choose....

I am changing my oil in 3 different cars (2 Fords and a Nissan)because guess what, since I am now married I have somehow inherited changing the oil in my Mo-in-laws car...DOH! She is definately going on extended drain intervals.

 

Bill thank you very much for responding in this thread!


Yes indeed there was a Castrol oil filter in there for that last sample. I think K-Mart was selling them. But Nissan filters were used for pretty much all Max's life.
I do have one more Amsoil filter which I will use when I change it again in ~4 or 5 months. After that I'm back to Nissan or one of the others you recommend.
I guess being neurotic about my engine helps! I do take extra care of all my vehicles and usually keep them for almost 200,000 miles. I sell them because I get tired of driving the same car, not because it's worn out.

 

hey Bill, I've gotten my oil changed every 3k at jiffy lube for the first 90k miles, always followed proper warm up procedures. I drove 5000 miles between oil changes, umm, 2 times I think.
I switched to Mobil 1 at 90k, and I have 120k now. With Mobil 1, I'm going 5000 miles between changes.
Do you think my VQ is in excellent condition too? It doesnt consume any oil, btw.

 

ASSuming Jiffy Lube did their job, you probably do as well. It does depend on two things: What filters were used? What oil did Jiffy Lube use?

It is asking alot for Jiffy Lube to be consistent for 30 oil changes.

 

You're welcome to e-mail me for more details. I don't want to go on rampant speculation and freak people out here who use the search function or read this stuff often.

 

Ok, then question: was it the black Castrol filter or the white Castrol filter. If it was black, then it was the Castrol MaxPro Plus which is nothing more than a Napa Gold filter, believe it or not. It's made by Wix. They're closing them out here at K-Marts for $2.50 or so. Helluva filter for the price.

Do you recall what number is was? Possibilities are CMP7317, CMP6607...and others, I just don't recall off the top of my head.

Stop telling me Nissan OEMs were used all the time. We need accuracy!



After my recommendations, you can kiss the expensiveass SDF-13 goodbye.

Whoever gets your car is lucky.

 

There you are, I was wondering where you went.

 

You know I can't remember, I want to say white.
Sorry - It will never happen again!
Believe me, I'm well aware of that!

 

And will price it accordingly

 

I thought everyone would like this link. It rates about 30 different oils in every weight class. It basically tells you every little detail about motor oil and has air and oil filter info. Amsoil Air and Oil filters were the best as well as the engine flush. Amsoil faired very well overall, but wasn't the best in every weight class. Mobil's racing oil actually beat the Series 2000 20w-50. Good reading though.

http://www.motor-oil-bible.com/index-test6.html

 

A few issues I have include:


It's outdated, especially with the SL oils coming out to meet new requirements (Mobil 1's SuperSyn formulations for example); most oils tested were SJ and there are some stark differences as re-formulations were necessary to meet the SL requirements. Valvoline's MaxLife formulation was changed significantly.

I've seen the ranking results and disagree with them to some extent based on real world use in the spreadsheet.

Quite an endeavor to partake in, though.



Most of the info in there you can obtain with some research.





Perhaps I should just write a book........