AMSOIL drain recommendation for 15W-40

[Dick in Falls Church]

AMSOIL has just updated the data for AME full synthetic 15w40. This is based on extensive oil analysis over many years--

"# For diesel-fueled, light truck vehicles, extend oil drain intervals up to 25,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first, or longer based on oil analysis.

* - In diesel auto/light trucks, replace AMSOIL or Donaldson Endurance™ oil filter at 25,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first. Replace Donaldson “P” Series and other brand oil filters at standard OEM* intervals.

 

[reyjay1]

and I still don't think I could bring myself to do that, maybe the one year, if less milage, would keep soot levels in acceptable levels, but I still have a problem with a blanket statement like that. Esp. when this covers the GM vehicles too with the little bitty 8 quart sump.
Between fuel in the winter and soot, at one year you may not be doing the engine any favors.

 

[billmac]

This is quite a change from the previous 7k mile or 6 month service interval for the Amsoil full flow filters in diesel applications. I was getting ready to change the SDF-80 in my Dodge Cummins since it has been in service for 6 months (less than 7k miles); now I'm not so sure. Looks like I could go another 6 months using the same filter.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
IMHO and regardless of Brand I would want to do a UOA at the Manufacturer's OCI and then extend from there based on those results and further UOAs at regular intervals - say each 5k

Donaldson Endurance FF filters are excellent and will normally go for a full OCI up to 30k with ease. I change my ELP filters at an average of 54k - at the OC!

Amsoil want the filters changed to "recharge" the oil (or to prevent thickening), this is not such a bad idea but the UOA will tell if it is worth continuing with the oil first

Regards
Doug

 

[TooSlick]

As Doug stated, the intelligent thing to do here is to periodically sample the fluid and look at the level of soot and/or total solids, along with the viscosity. If soot drifts above 1.5% and/or the viscosity increases by more than 10%, I'd change the FF filter and top off the sump.

AME has recently been re-formulated - hence the new bottle label - and does an even better job of suspending and dispersing soot so that it doesn't agglomerate due to electrostatic attraction. Fleet tests have been run in OTR applications, w/ soot loading up to 10.0%. These engines showed normal iron wear (< 50 ppm) and minimal viscosity increases - up to about 17 Cst @ 100C, as I recall.

 

[TexasTDI]

quote:

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Originally posted by TooSlick:
AME has recently been re-formulated - hence the new bottle label - and does an even better job of suspending and dispersing soot so that it doesn't agglomerate due to electrostatic attraction.

---

I wondered why they changed the label. It's great to know Amsoil is always looking for ways to improve their products.

Unfortunately, I have a case of the "old" AME already. My 91 VW Jetta only holds 4.5 quarts per oil change, and with an OCI of 12 months / 10k miles, it'll be almost THREE YEARS before I go through my case of oil.

 

[416Rigby]

Is the S3000 oil better than the AME? The price sure is higher. Also, can the Euro 5w-40 be used in regular diesels? Thanks.

 

[TexasTDI]

quote:

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Originally posted by 416Rigby:
Is the S3000 oil better than the AME? The price sure is higher. Also, can the Euro 5w-40 be used in regular diesels? Thanks.

---

HDD Series 3000 5w30 is the best diesel oil Amsoil offers. That's why it's so expensive.

I haven't seen or heard of anyone using the AFL in a light-duty truck diesel, if that's what you were referring to. And, fwiw, the AFL 5w-40 didn't perform quite as well as the AME 15w40 did in my chipped 2000 VW TDI. It was close, but for the money, the less expensive 15w40 seemed like a better choice in my situation.

Overall, I'm not impressed with the AFL 5w-40. For years Amsoil said they would never even bother with a 5w-40. Their position was that their 5w30 could be used in place of the 5w-40, and that it was superior to any 5w-40 oil available. But I guess they gave in to peer pressure, since so many 5w-40 oils were hitting store shelves. I guess they finally realized they needed to keep up with the competition and offer a 5w-40 as well.

 

[416Rigby]

Thanks. I meant the new Euro 5w-40 they have listed. As for the S3000, I just wanted to know what makes it better than the other oils.

 

[mburnickas]

I know when I had my Ford Powerstroke diesel there 15w40 worked great (via oil tests) when running 11 to12K drains.

I purchased a Kubota tractor, BX22, 3 years ago and ran Amsoil 15w40, then tested (last spring). I am trying there Series 30000 and going to test.

All I know is there 15w40 is a **** good oil for the price. The Series 3000 is supposed to have a better add pkg. For me, I will find out soon enough. For the price delta of like $10.xx per gallon more (37%), it better give 37% better results for me to continue using it.

 

[TooSlick]

416Rigby,

The main advantage of the Series 3000 is that it gives you the wear protection of an SAE 15w40, along with about 3% better fuel efficiency and much better cold weather performance. The data I've seen from OTR trucks shows comparable wear rates to AME, at least when bypass filters are also used. The other benefit of the S3000 is that it's also one of Amsoils' best gas engine oils (ACEA A3/B4 rated, with HT/HS viscosity of 3.6 Cp). If you have a "mixed fleet" you can use this in everything you own. In fact, my neighbor has used it in the twin, 8.1L Mercruisers in his 1994, 37' SeaRay Cabin Cruiser, in place of the Amsoil 15w40.

The 5w-40/AFL is intended ONLY for light duty, diesel engine passenger cars that require the ACEA B3/B4, VW 505.00, GM-LL-025B, or MB 229.3 or 229.5 specifications. It does also carry the CI-4 rating, but that's to provide the extra detergency required for turbocharged GAS engines....

If you want something very similar to the 15w40, but thinner, the new Amsoil 10w30, HD diesel oil (ACD) is the way to go. It's priced the same as AME but will also provide better performance and fuel efficiency.

Tooslick
Dixie Synthetics

 

[TexasTDI]

quote:

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Originally posted by billmac:
They have also been adamant about changing the Amsoil FF filter at 6 month intervals/ 7k miles irregardless of the UOA results.

---

This is why I use OEM oil filters on my 91 VW Jetta. OEM OCI is 6 months / 7500 miles. The OEM filter will last at least 7500 miles. Yet the more expensive Amsoil filter will only last 7000 miles???

Why pay more $$$ for an Amsoil filter that is recommended to be changed out sooner than an OEM filter?

 

[47HO]

Actually, Amsoil recommends their filters be changed at 6 month / 12,500 mile intervals.

 

[TooSlick]

These revised, spec sheet recommendations foreshadow a new product announcement, which I'd expect to come by the end of the year....

 

[billmac]

quote:

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Originally posted by 47HO:
Actually, Amsoil recommends their filters be changed at 6 month / 12,500 mile intervals.

---

As regards the AME product, the old "service life" specification for Amsoil filters was 6 month/12,500 mile intervals for gasoline engines. For diesel engines, the spec was 6 month/7,000 mile intervals as I indicated above. This specification was also shown on the Series 3000 HDD and the ACD product pages. The updated AME data, as mentioned at the begining of this thread, does not specify 6 months.

 

[billmac]

Doug and TooSlick, thank you for your expertise. Actually, I have no intention of extending the 6 month service interval of the Amsoil FF filter unless I do a UOA. What I found interesting though is that Amsoil has always indicated in the service life write-up for the AME product that extended drains were possible based on UOA findings. They have also been adamant about changing the Amsoil FF filter at 6 month intervals/ 7k miles irregardless of the UOA results. At least, that's been my take on it.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

billmac-

You can't get SDF-80 oil filters any more. They have been replaced by the Donaldson ELF filter with finer filtration and even better flow.
Per the label, efficiency is 98.7% at 15 microns, 50% at 7 microns.
And there you have the 1 year/25,000 mile filter.

 

[LubeOiler]

You can't get SDF-80 oil filters any more. They have been replaced by the Donaldson ELF filter with finer filtration and even better flow.
Per the label, efficiency is 98.7% at 15 microns, 50% at 7 microns.
And there you have the 1 year/25,000 mile filter. The main advantage of the Series 3000 is that it gives you the wear protection of an SAE 15w40, along with about 3% better fuel efficiency and much better cold weather performance. The data I've seen from OTR trucks shows comparable wear rates to AME, at least when bypass filters are also used. The other benefit of the S3000 is that it's also one of Amsoils' best gas engine oils (ACEA A3/B4 rated, with HT/HS viscosity of 3.6 Cp). If you have a "mixed fleet" you can use this in everything you own. In fact, my neighbor has used it in the twin, 8.1L Mercruisers in his 1994, 37' SeaRay Cabin Cruiser, in place of the Amsoil 15w40.

The 5w-40/AFL is intended ONLY for light duty, diesel engine passenger cars that require the ACEA B3/B4, VW 505.00, GM-LL-025B, or MB 229.3 or 229.5 specifications. It does also carry the CI-4 rating, but that's to provide the extra detergency required for turbocharged GAS engines....

If you want something very similar to the 15w40, but thinner, the new Amsoil 10w30, HD diesel oil (ACD) is the way to go. It's priced the same as AME but will also provide better performance and fuel efficiency.

This is great stuff,information provided by creditable sources. Thanks guys!

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
I have used the Donaldson ELF filters for the last several years. I insisted that Donldson import them here and they did. I was the first commercial user in OZ and now after some years they are selectively made locally by Donalson and quite popular
They may leak at the top seal if not installed tightly enough. For the first year we opened each filter on removal to ensure that the media was intact - it was always perfect

Our change interval using these filters is 90kkms (54k miles) or twelve months

The minimum HTHS for a "universal" HDEO is 3.7cSt. This especially applies to MTU-DD engines of series 40,40E,50,55,60 638,D700,MBE900,MBE4000 and many Cummins, CAT and related engines and is usually stated in their official oil specification documents (DD 7SE270 for example)
IMHO oils without a minimum HTHS of 3.7cSt should be avoided in all US made heavy diesel engines

Doug

 

[TooSlick]

LubeOiler,

When the new spec sheet comes out for the Series 3000, 5w30, expect to see the 25,000 mile/1 year service interval recommended for pickup truck and passenger car diesel engines.

Tooslick