Michigan Snowmobiler

AMSOIL Synthetic Oil Products Frequently Asked Questions

2008-03-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

How much does Amsoil cost?

Opens in New Window Amsoil Cost

Can AMSOIL Motor Oils be used in any engine?

Certainly, AMSOIL Motor Oils may be used in any mechanically sound gasoline or diesel fueled engine. Basically, that means they are excellent for use in any vehicle's engine.

When is the best time to switch to AMSOIL?

Switching a vehicle to AMSOIL synthetic motor oil is fairly simple, but there are a few things you need to be aware of. First, if you have a brand new vehicle we recommend that you run a short cycle of petroleum oil on a gas engine passenger car or light truck (typically 500 miles) and approximately 5000 miles on a diesel engine before installing AMSOIL. This doesn't mean that you can't install AMSOIL sooner, as many OEM's install synthetics as a factory fill, it simply means these are our recommendations based on our extensive engineering studies and knowledge of this topic. Check out this page for more information on Switching to Amsoil.

Should I use an oil additive like Slick 50 when using AMSOIL

Absolutely Not! AMSOIL has long discouraged motorists from using any kind of aftermarket lubricant additive. After all, AMSOIL synthetic lubricants use the finest quality synthetic basestocks and additive systems. AMSOIL motor oils are formulated under the strictest quality control standards to provide superior lubrication performance. Additives cost money and only detract from the quality of AMSOIL motor oils.

A perfect example of why AMSOIL discourages use of aftermarket additives is the Federal Trade Commissions (FTC) recent lawsuit against zMax auto additives, seeking to halt false and misleading advertising and gain refunds for consumers who purchased the products. According to the FTC, the enhanced performance benefits zMax claims its products provide are totally unsubstantiated, and in the same tests cited to support performance claims, motor oil treated with zMax actually produced more than twice as much bearing corrosion than motor oil by itself. They further allege that the three different zMax products - an engine additive, a fuel line additive and a transmission additive - are nothing more than tinted mineral oil.

The complaint states that since at least May of 1999, zMax has aired infomercials promoting its Power System, a $39 package of three additives to be used in the engine, fuel line and transmission of automobiles. The infomercials are quite convincing, even going as far as featuring testimonials from various consumers and race car drivers making such claims as, I was averaging about 22 miles to the gallon on the highway. I installed the zMax and so I jumped right up to about 28 miles per gallon and zMax guarantees a minimum of 10 percent gas mileage increase. Other advertising claims zMax with LinKite has the scientific, CRC L38 proof it takes your car to the Max! and Why zMax Works - Cuts carbon build-up on valve stems 66%; Lowers wear on valve stems 66%; Lowers wear on piston skirts 60%; Reduces blow-by leakage 17.7%; Increases combustion efficiency 9.25%; Lowers fuel consumption 8.5% - Results of an independent CRC L38 test.

The CRC L38 test is a standard auto industry test which measures the bearing corrosion protection properties of motor oils. According to the complaint, in early 1997 an independent testing facility performed two CRC L38 tests of the zMax products. The results showed motor oil treated with the zMax additives produced more than double the bearing corrosion as motor oil alone. According to the FTC, the defendants eliminated the bearing corrosion results, as well as all other negative results, to produce one report from the two sets of tests, using this report in its infomercials and on its website.

The FTC charge alleges that zMax did not possess and rely on reasonable substantiation for the following product claims: increases gas mileage by a minimum of 10% reduces engine wear reduces or eliminates engine wear at startup reduces engine corrosion extends engine life reduces emissions They also allege that the defendants falsely represent that the results of the CRC L38 test prove that zMax: increases gas mileage reduces engine wear extends engine life lowers fuel consumption by 8.5% lowers wear on valve stems by 66% lowers wear on piston skirts by 60% cuts carbon build-up on valve stems by 66% Finally, the FTC charges that zMax does not have substantiation for the representation that the testimonials and endorsements shown in zMax advertising are the actual and current opinions, findings, beliefs, and/or experiences of those consumers; and the typical or ordinary experience of members of the public who use the product. The lawsuit against zMax is the latest in a long line of FTC charges against auto additive manufacturers. The FTC has previously halted allegedly deceptive advertising by the marketers of Dura Lube, Motor Up, Prolong, Valvoline, Slick 50, STP and other major brands of engine treatment systems.

Slick 50 Engine Treatment STP Engine Treatment Valvoline Engine Treatment Dura Lube Super Engine Treatment Dura Lube Advanced Engine Treatment Motor Up Engine Treatment Prolong Super Lubricants zMax Auto Additives

Which 30 Weight Oil Do I Use - What is the difference?

AMSOIL 0W-30, 5W-30 and 10W-30 synthetic motor oils are ALL 30 weight oils. The answer is that ANY one can be used regardless if your vehicle owners manual says to use, for example, a 5W-30. "W" means winter. In winter weather the 0W oil will flow like a 0W oil, and the 5W will flow like a 5W oil and a 10W will flow like a 10W oil just until the engine warms up.

In order to understand the differences one has to first understand that the numerical values given to these various weight oils are strictly empirical numbers. For example, 0W does not mean that the oil has no weight. That is one of the reasons why we say it is strictly an empirical number. In order to determine the differences between the three oils one has to look at the kinematic viscosity of each lubricant. The kinematic viscosity is essentially the amount of time, in centistokes, that it takes for a specified volume of the lubricant to flow through a fixed diameter orifice at a given temperature.

Let's compare the kinematic viscosity of the three AMSOIL lubricants:
AMSOIL 0W-30 is 57.3 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.3 cST @ 100 deg. C
AMSOIL 5W-30 is 59.5 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C
AMSOIL 10W-30 is 66.1 cST @ 40 deg. C, & 11.7 cST @ 100 deg. C.

As you can see from the data above the kinematic viscosities are extremely close. Therefore, whether you use the 0W-30, 5W-30 or the 10W-30 is strictly a matter of choice. With the small differences in kinematic viscosity you would be hard-pressed to detect these differences on initial engine start-up without specialized engine test equipment.

All three oils are excellent motor oils and ANY one can be used in a vehicle which requires either a 0W-30, 5W-30 or 10W-30 oil as well as in several other engine applications including an engine which recommends a 5W- 20 oil.

AMSOIL Series 2000 0W-30 Severe Service motor oil is one of the best synthetic lubricants AMSOIL manufacturers for gasoline engine passenger vehicles and light trucks. The molecular and chemical technology used to develop this oil was derived from AMSOIL's Racing Oil. It is a 35,000 mile/1-year motor oil. This is the same oil used by numerous police vehicles and severe duty fleets nationwide. In fact, many national racing teams use the 0W-30 for the qualifying event, then they change to the AMSOIL 20W-50 Racing Oil for the race. The extra horsepower and friction reduction from the 0W-30 often assists a race driver in attaining a better starting position. In fact, we know exactly which race teams use it, but cannot disclose that information.

This leads to the next topic: many people also ask us if the 0W-30 is too thin a viscosity oil for high ambient temperature operation. The answer is absolutely not! Thicker viscosity oils are not always necessarily better since in addition to its' various engine lubrication functions, an oil must also effectively transfer heat. Only about 60% of an engines cooling is performed by the engine coolant, and only on the upper half of the engine. The remaining 40% of an engines cooling is performed mainly by the engine oil.

Although a vehicle that is recommended to use a 30 weight oil can also use a 40 weight oil, it is usually not needed. You will gain absolutely no benefit from using a thicker viscosity oil if it is not needed. The only time we recommend a 40 weight oil, such as AMSOIL's 10W-40, to a customer in a passenger car or light truck application is if the vehicle's engine is excessively worn and consumes oil at a higher than normal rate or if the vehicle is being used for very severe duty, high load, high temperature applications.

Will adding other motor oil to my engine affect my drain-intervals

Adding another brand of motor oil will reduce the amount of AMSOIL in your engine which will shorten the life of the AMSOIL motor oil. Using another motor oil will require you to change your motor oil much sooner than Amsoil recommends.

How does a synthetic oil decrease friction and improve gas mileage and performance

Synthetic oil molecules are more resistant to contaminants. They are generally smaller, and more consistent in physical size. Amsoil synthetic oil provides less stress on your engine providing superior gas mileage increase & additional horsepower. Reduced friction makes engine bearings rotate easier. This saves energy & conserves fuel. Using AMSOIL will save enough per year in fuel savings to pay for all your vehicles lubrication needs.

Latest Snow

2008-02-07T13:25:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought, the weather man finally got one right. We got hammered good yesterday, about 11 inches of nice new snow. Took the kids out for a spin while it was snowing, you couldn't see 20 feet in front of the snowmobile. It was great. Hoping to go riding on Sunday for a day ride.

MLK weekend ride

2008-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

Me and my friend Steve went to St. Helen this past weekend with 3 other guys, Greg, Bud and Jonathan. We ended up putting on 175 miles on for Sunday. Left St.Helen and headed towards Lewiston, overall the trailers were in good shape, some very good, some very rocky. The day went good until we started back from Lewiston and one sled in out group did not like the 2 degree temps and seized while we were running on a section of trail that goes onto a road, high speeds, very cold and a split carb boot did the REV 800 in. We dropped him off in Lovells at the bar and called someone to bring a trailer to pick him up.

The rest of us headed back out. The rest of the ride went smooth, I did get some wind burn/frost bite on my cheeks, I am not sure how I was leaking air with my BRP module but I wasn't too happy once we stopped, the worst part was the other guys said later that my face was very red. They could have told me, oh well.

We ate dinner at the Firehouse on Rose City, this place is very nice inside and dinner was excellent. The prices were very good also. I highly recommend eating there if you are in the area.

Monday we headed over to Rose City and dropped at Frank Alley park. We headed towards Luzerne and trail on the Ogemaw system were flat as could be, great job as always.

As we approached the Oscoda line I was hoping that the trails was groomed better than last season whe I was up there and they were. The ride into Luzerne to Ma Deeters was actually pretty good, the closer you got to Luzerne the thinner the snow got. You had to watch out for potatoe size rocks on the trail. They need more snow but for what they had to work with, they did a good job. We ended up back in Rose City and did some off trail exploring and found a couple of spots that will be fun to bring the kids up to and let them ride without having to put them on the groomed trail. We ended up with 125 miles for Monday.

All and all a great time with friends and the trails were good, what more could you ask for except more snow and more time off work.

2007-12-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

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First ride of the 2007-08 seaason

2007-12-10T16:19:00.000-08:00

My neighbor Steve and I took a day ride up to Grayling yesterday, 12/9/07. We drop off at the park and ride on M-72, west of town. We took off at about 9:00 am and the Grayling trails were is great shape, very smooth. We took the trail towards the Blue Bear with the plan to head to Larry's in Elmira. We stopped for a minute at the intersection to make sure everything was good and we saw the groomer, unfortunately we had to pass him but the trail was still decent for a white. Considering the amount of snow and the traffic the trail probably had on Saturday it held up pretty good.

We made it to Larry's by 11:10 am, so you know the trails weren't too bad. We had a quick pop and listened the Sunday Polka music, haven't heard that in a while. Well, back on the trail, we headed North to the Chandler. Like I heard, they are not groom part of it because a bridge is in too bad of shape to hold a groomer. We did not see any signs for a detour except a sign saying that the bridge was out. We followed the tracks down the trail and just took it easy and made it through. The bridge isn't out but it is in pretty bad shape. If there is actually a detour, some signs would be nice, especially if it was night.

We took the cut off trail to Wolverine because figured we would head for Indian River. The trail was pretty rough heading to the rail road grade but not too bad. Once to the rail road grade it was sweet. You could go pretty much as fast as you felt like going and there was not traffic. We made it to Indian River by 1:15 and fueled up. We went to the Rivers Edge and had some lunch, there were only 6 sleds on the parking lot. After a great BLT we head back towards Gaylord. The traffic started to pick up and as expect, the closer we got to Gaylord the busier it got and the rougher the trail got. Rough is actually kind of harsh, still darn nice for trails in this area since they see so much traffic. Once in Gaylord we decide to head toward Lovell's. Trail 4 was in surprisingly good shape. We were making real good time when my riding partner Steve hard a noise on his 800 Renegade. We stop about 8 miles from Lovell's to see what was wrong. We found that his flywheel bolt s came loose from his clutch. Not good out in the middle of no-where. He removed a couple aand tried to tighten the others. We took off and made it about a quarter mile and stopped again. Needless to say this was a slow go. About a mile or so from Lovell's I ran in to town to try and find some pliers to help tighten the bolts better. I ended up at the Lovells Riverside Tavern and asked a guy playing pool if he new where I could buy/rent a pair of pliers, he grabbed a tool box from behind the bar and handed me a pair of channel locks and a cresent wrench. I said, do you need any money of my license for them and he said, no, just bring them back. No that is how you treat people. I ran the tools back to Steve and he put all of the bolts back in and we went back to the Lovells Riverside Tavern. We had a bit to eat and figured we would head back to the truck. We didn't make it a mile and a bolt came loose again. This time Steve was on his own to get it back to the tavern.

I headed to Grayling to get the truck. It was dark by now but at least the trail was good. I caught up to one very slow group in the twisties that took a while to clear, it kind of funny to watch someone actually lean going into a corner going 25 mph thinking they were hauling. The deer were out which made the ride never racking. I had one about 3 feet from my frontend, she turned right next to me, she was so close I could have smacked her. That slowed me down a bit. I finally made it back to the truck, loaded up and headed back to Lovells to get Steve. Al told I put 207 miles on my sled. I can't remember the last time I rode on December 9th, let a lone put on over 200 miles. I hope we keep getting stead snow so the business's up North get the much needed shot in the arm that they deserve.

2007 Season

2007-11-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

The 2007 season is almost here, I can hardly wait. Hopefully John Dee is right and we will have a better winter than last season. If you haven't read John's forecast, go to here: Johndee.com

I am going to try this out again this year to see if I like doing this or not. I am going to try doing some product reviews as well to try and get the word out on new products.

If you would like to see anything added to the site, let me know and I will try and accommodate your requests.

When I go up riding I will post a review of the trail conditions, places we stayed and any other information that I can pass along to you.