What's so special about Amsoil?

[mannyhs]

I think the MLM model can certainly account for some difference in price but economies of scale are hardly ever mentioned as a likely reason.

XOM, BP, Shell, Chevron, etc all own oil fields, drilling equipment, refineries and the tankers that transport the oil. The smaller blenders own none of these things and buy their materials from the big guys at marked up prices.

Is Amsoil better and/or higher quality than other OTC oils? Probably not. You can get a lot of miles out of many oils.

Not long ago you could buy the same widget at a mom and pop store on Main Street for a bit more money than you could at Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc

Now you can't.

There can be a high cost to low prices.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: mannyhs
There can be a high cost to low prices.


To borrow a phrase, "That's the Wal Mart way."

 

[LexAtlanta]

Lots of great and interesting responses here.......

I like Amsoil but I also like SOPUS products, MaxLife and Liqui Moly. I have Amsoil Saber in my 2 cycle lawn equipment. Its the only 2 cycle I've ever used in them over the past 10 years since they were purchased new. As to their oil, SSO has been in both my Nissans but now I have Liqui Moly in both. I have run PP in both as well. For my two high mileage Fords, the only oil I will use is MaxLife. I have run Amsoil ATF in a few of my vehicles as well as their gear lube in my off road Jeep and Tahoe tow vehicles when I owned them.

The cost of Amsoil doesn't bother me. Some people go to Starbucks frequently or eat lunch out daily......I buy different types/manufacturers of oil and make my own lunch and coffee. A couple of extra bucks isn't a big deal in the macro of life. I also get a Blackstone report on all my oil changes. The cost of oil and the Blackstone report are small costs when looking at the overall cost of a car.

To the OP......what makes Amsoil special?? Nothing really other than personal preference. Its good oil......great in some applications like their Saber product and gear oils. There are also other oils out there that are equal, or better, depending on the application. Research your need and make an informed decision. Advertising is just hype to get you interested in buying a product whether it be pencils or oil.

 

[LexAtlanta]

One thing I forgot to add in my original reply......

FWIW, I think a UOA is very important in knowing the state of your engine. A quality oil coupled with a UOA is a winning combo in my opinion.

 

[virginoil]

Originally Posted By: LexAtlanta
One thing I forgot to add in my original reply......

FWIW, I think a UOA is very important in knowing the state of your engine. A quality oil coupled with a UOA is a winning combo in my opinion.


UOA not important it may help and only required if you depart from OEM guidelines, recommendations, and lubricant/product approvals for conditions of vehicle use. You are correct your summation above is your opinion only.

Wining combo is follow OEM manual for OEM guidelines, recommendations, and lubricant/product approvals for conditions of vehicle use in question.

 

[kschachn]

How do you tell if one oil is working better than another with a UOA? I've only used them to look for gross abnormalities such as coolant or metal values so high that it means something is self-destructing.

Originally Posted By: LexAtlanta
One thing I forgot to add in my original reply......

FWIW, I think a UOA is very important in knowing the state of your engine. A quality oil coupled with a UOA is a winning combo in my opinion.

 

[jk_636]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: mannyhs
There can be a high cost to low prices.


To borrow a phrase, "That's the Wal Mart way."


What does everyone have against Walmart? They have a successful business model, employee thousands across the U.S. and offer great products at low prices. No one is going to spend 2-3x more than they have to, thus the success of Walmart.

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted By: jk_636
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Originally Posted By: mannyhs
There can be a high cost to low prices.


To borrow a phrase, "That's the Wal Mart way."


What does everyone have against Walmart? They have a successful business model, employee thousands across the U.S. and offer great products at low prices. No one is going to spend 2-3x more than they have to, thus the success of Walmart.
Chinamart. Enough said. I won't stepfoot into one, ever.

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote:

What does everyone have against Walmart?


They privatize profit and discharge risk

 

[bbhero]

Well how about the principle that because they pay their own employees so poorly that the tax paying public "helps" them with public assistance because wally world doesn't pay them enough to begin with.
Now look, I fully understand that 1) if they paid a fair amount more than prices would be certainly higher 2) Walmart does not operate on a very high profit margin.. 2 to 4% and if they distributed all of their yearly profit amongst all of their hourly employees it really wouldn't amount to much at all. Businesses are in it to make a profit. Not break even.
I just wish at least Walmart paid a bit better. And yes, I am someone who wouldn't mind paying extra for that.

 

[LexAtlanta]

For decades my brother owned heavy machinery and trucks. Logging equipment, farm equipment, log trucks, etc. Oil analysis proved a very valuable tool for him in assessing the condition of the engine and what was in it. I didn't think too much about UOA for cars until I became a member of BITOG. I always thought it was just for HD equipment and trucks. BITOG and Blackstone have changed my mind.

A simple thing I look at is the TBN. In my Sentra, the last 2 UOAs were on SSO 5W-30. One sample had 15,000 miles and a TBN of .2 and the second had 14,000 miles and a TBN of .9. Iron was up alittle on the second sample versus the first even though the mileage was shorter. Driving conditions were the same....BAD Atlanta traffic daily plus heat. I have now switched to Liquimoly to see if there is any difference. If there is, I can count the variable of changing the oil as a factor. If there is no difference, I can discount the variable of the oil as a factor.

We could get off into a whole tangent on how to read and interpret a UOA report and the trends it helps bring to light. As stated in my original reply, I think a quality oil coupled with a UOA is a winning combo. Not everyone will agree.......that is why Baskin Robbins has 32 flavors.

Below are a couple of links to two papers that describe some of the benefits of a UOA.

https://www.exxonmobil.com/lubes/exxonmobil/emal/files/TTopic15_UsedOilEval.pdf
http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/873/oil-tests

 

[Greasymechtech]

They have great oils and have a product range that many manufacturers don't cover.

Other than Redline, any competitor to MTF or MTG available at your local store? or 75w110? synth PSF?

Amsoil needs 75w85 in both GL4 qnd GL5 varieties. Redline has it covered. Royalpurple doesnt have a thin ATF or more MT choices.

I won't leave other manufacturers out of this thread. Redline, Amsoil, RoyalPurple... give me a choice of fluids that are not always covered by Castrol, Valvoline, Mobil, Pennzoil....

I also wont visit a dealer for inflated price OE fluids.

http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/
http://www.redlineoil.com/products.aspx
http://www.drivenracingoil.com/dro/
http://www.royalpurpleconsumer.com/
http://torcousa.com/tech-sheet.html
http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/products/
http://www.mptindustries.com/mpt_products/index.htm
http://www.schaefferoil.com/oil-lubrications-products.html
http://renewablelube.com/gasoline.html
http://www.getg.com/G-OIL_motor_oils.php
http://www.oilextreme.com/moil1.html

 

[LexAtlanta]

Nice list of links, thank you.

 

[DBMaster]

Nothing against Wal Mart. I just couldn't resist using its own phrase. If I don't like a merchant I don't buy things from it. Pretty simple. I do buy from Wal Mart as well as from smaller merchants.

 

[wgtoys]

Originally Posted By: lawnguy
What's really so special about Amsoil synthetic oil, compared to Mobil 1,etc ?


Men who wouldn't be caught dead becoming an "Avon Lady" now have a way to get into the game.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: zpinch
Their Motorcycle oils are also the best lubricants on the market, their motorcycle lubricant paper prooves that.


They can say anything they want, in their marketing literature.

I've tried pretty much every oil I could find in a long line of high-performance Motorcycles. The Amsoil was just okay. For the price, there are better performing oils. To date, the best I've found is Motul 300V 4T, followed closely by Redline M/C oil.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: zpinch
Their Motorcycle oils are also the best lubricants on the market, their motorcycle lubricant paper prooves that.


They can say anything they want, in their marketing literature.

I've tried pretty much every oil I could find in a long line of high-performance Motorcycles. The Amsoil was just okay. For the price, there are better performing oils. To date, the best I've found is Motul 300V 4T, followed closely by Redline M/C oil.



agreed.

I've got a case of straight 60 v-twin oil in my garage right now but for the past year I've used rotella in favour of it.
Not that Amsoil is bad. I'm certainly not saying that however there are many other quality products out there that easily rival it in the real world.
Just sayin

 

[zpinch]

Originally Posted By: 02SE
Originally Posted By: zpinch
Their Motorcycle oils are also the best lubricants on the market, their motorcycle lubricant paper prooves that.


They can say anything they want, in their marketing literature.

I've tried pretty much every oil I could find in a long line of high-performance Motorcycles. The Amsoil was just okay. For the price, there are better performing oils. To date, the best I've found is Motul 300V 4T, followed closely by Redline M/C oil.


You are basing this on what exactly?

 

[02SE]

I'm basing it on how the various oils performed in several parameters of engine, transmission, and clutch operation in stock bikes to some very highly modified bikes.

I don't have time to type out a long-winded dissertation, but suffice it to say the Amsoil was just middle of the pack. I have no allegiance to any oil manufacturer, I just use whatever works the best.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: jk_636
There is no reason to spend extra coin on Amsoil when you can get a 5 quart jug of Royal Purple for $37 at Walmart. You would be hard pressed to find a better oil at a better everyday value.

If Amsoil ever changes their ridiculous sales strategy and bring their oils to the mainstream market I would try them. Im surprised that their gimmicky sales strategy hasn't put them out of business yet. Most products cant survive over time relying on pyramid scheme sales strategies and mail order alone. JMHO


ST Syn at half the cost is a better value for a group III based PCMO.