AMSOIL Twin Port Sales - Introduction

[Duluth Diesel]

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Hello all!

My name is Chuck and I'm an AMSOIL Direct Jobber. I'm quite familiar with all things diesel. I'm here to offer my knowledge, assistance, and hook you up with discounts on all AMSOIL products.

Don't pay full retail online, talk to me first!

Thank you!
-Chuck
Twin Port Sales

[Duluth Diesel]

Originally Posted by gomjabber

I have heard of diesel guys talking about only using Amsoil syn oil in their trucks and will even advertise this fact when selling them.
In a quick nutshell, what is so special about Amsoil compared to let's say Mobil 1?
Just curious.

Good question, thanks for asking.

AMSOIL was the first company to ever bring synthetic oils to the civilian market. In 1972, AMSOIL was truly the First in Synthetics. Prior to 1972, the only synthetic lubricants on the market were available to the U.S. Army Airforce. Germany also developed oil technology during WWII due to their lack of crude oil reserves.

For decades, big oil companies like Mobil did everything they could to undermine and discredit synthetic oil technology, but the performance numbers continually spoke for themselves. With it becoming obvious to big crude oil refining companies, the future was in synthetics. Now every big oil company offers a "synthetic" oil, but they are not all the same. AMSOIL was started by, and is still owned by, Retired Lt. Col. Al Amatuzio. AMSOIL is engineered and made right here in Superior, Wisconsin.

If you are a big oil manufacturer with all your money vested in crude oil, you have no interest in producing a true Group IV synthetic. Your money is made by refining crude oil, or hydrocracking mineral oils (Group III technology) and selling it to the public with short service intervals. Short drain intervals have ALWAYS meant more profit for big oil companies. They make their money by moving crude, and if they can move more they make more money. Think about it: If you refine crude oil and engineer it cheap on the front end and require short service intervals, you keep your production costs low and move more crude because you are selling a product that is designed to not last very long. Big oil has no interest in selling an oil that lasts 25,000 miles. So as a traditional big oil company who doesn't like AMSOIL and doesn't like losing customers to the new synthetic oil market, they did everything they could to crush AMSOIL. But seeing that they were playing a losing game, and seeing that AMSOIL had a superior product, they are legally allowed to market and label Group III mineral oil base oils as "synthetic." Believe me they are not the same.

Does Mobil 1 state on their bottles that their oil is good for 1 year or 35,000 miles, and put a warranty behind it? No they do not. AMSOIL does.

Here: AMSOIL SSO 0W30

Service Life
AMSOIL Signature Series 0W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil is recommended for extended drain intervals in unmodified(1), mechanically sound(2) gasoline fueled vehicles as follows:

• Normal Service(3) – Up to 35,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.
• Severe Service(4) – Up to 17,500 miles or one year, whichever comes first.
• Replace AMSOIL Ea oil filter at the time of oil change up to 25,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first (other brands at standard OEM* intervals).
• In all non-gasoline fueled vehicle applications, extend the oil change interval according to oil analysis or follow the OEM* drain interval.

*OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

(1) Engines operating under modified conditions are excluded from extended drain recommendations. Examples include the use of performance computer chips; non-OEM approved exhaust, fuel or air induction systems; and the use of fuels other than those recommended for normal operation by the manufacturer.

(2) Mechanically sound engines are in good working condition and do not, for example, leak oil or consume excessive amounts, are not worn out, do not overheat, do not leak anti-freeze and have properly working emission control systems. AMSOIL recommends repairing malfunctioning engines prior to the installation of AMSOIL synthetic oils.

(3) Personal vehicles frequently traveling greater than 10 miles (16km) at a time and not operating under severe service.

(4) Turbo or supercharged vehicles, commercial or fleet vehicles, extensive engine idling, first and subsequent use of AMSOIL in vehicles with over 100,000 miles, daily short trip driving less than 10 miles (16km), frequent towing, plowing, hauling or dusty condition driving.

AMSOIL Ea full-flow oil filters are designed for extended drain intervals. They stop smaller particles, flow more oil and last longer than regular filters. For best performance, use AMSOIL Ea full-flow oil filters.

[Duluth Diesel]

There are many oils out there that call themselves synthetic, but not all are created equal, and that's important to know. You do get what you pay for. Group III synthetic oils only use about 12% synthetic base stocks. The rest is hyrdocracked petroleum base stocks. For major oil companies who have their money in crude oil refining, the word "synthetic" is merely a marketing term. It does not mean 100%, but just that a percentage of synthetic base stock goes into their product.

The oils that are commonly mentioned are Group II and Group III synthetics with the exception of Redline, which is a Group V (more on that later). AMSOIL is a Group IV synthetic (PAO) but also uses Group V Ester technology. It gives you the best of Group IV and Group V synthetics. Mobil 1 is a Group III synthetic, sometimes mixing in some Group IV technology. AMSOIL is a Group IV synthetic and includes Group V technology in some racing products.

In the late 1990s, Castrol started selling an oil made from Group III base oil and called it SynTec Full Synthetic. Mobil sued Castrol, asserting that this oil was not synthetic, but simply a highly refined petroleum oil, and therefore it was false advertising to call it synthetic. In 1999, Mobil lost their lawsuit. It was decided that the word "synthetic" was a marketing term and referred to properties, not to production methods or ingredients. Castrol continues to make SynTec out of Group III base oils, that is highly purified mineral oil with most all of the cockroach bits removed.

Shortly after Mobil lost their lawsuit, most oil companies started reformulating their synthetic oils to use Group III base stocks instead of PAOs or diester stocks as their primary component. Most of the "synthetic oil" you can buy today is actually mostly made of this highly-distilled and purified dino-juice called Group III oil. Group III base oils cost about half as much as the synthetics. By using a blend of mostly Group III oils and a smaller amount of "true" synthetics, the oil companies can produce a product that has some of the same properties as the "true" synthetics, and nearly the same cost as the Group III oil. AMSOIL differs from Group III oils. As a Group IV oil, it uses 100% pure synthetic base stocks. This is why you can run it for longer intervals.

Synthetic oils were originally designed for the purpose of having a very pure base oil with excellent properties. By starting from scratch and building up your oil molecules from little pieces, you can pretty much guarantee that every molecule in the oil is just like every other molecule, and therefore the properties are exactly what you designed in, not compromised by impurities. Synthetics were thus originally a reaction to the relatively poor refining processes available from about 1930 to about 1990. The original synthetics were designed for the Army Air Force in WW II. They simply could not make their high- performance turbo-charged radial engines stay alive on the available motor oils of the time.

One process for making synthetic base oils is to start with a chemical called an olefin, and make new molecules by attaching them to each other in long chains, hence "poly." The primary advantage of Poly-Alpha-Olefin "PAO" base oil is that all the molecules in the base oil are pretty much identical, so it's easy to get the base oil to behave exactly as you like. PAOs are called Group IV base oils.

These PAO base oils have an enormous advantage over mineral base oils in low temperature performance and in resistance to oxidation, which is critical in keeping the oil from forming acids.

Another type of base oil is made from refined and processed esters and is called Group V. Esters start life as fatty acids in plants and animals, which are then chemically combined into esters, diesters, and polyesters. Group V base stocks are the most expensive of all to produce. However, the esters are polar molecules and have very significant solvent properties - an ester base oil all by itself will do a very decent job of keeping your engine clean. So, people who are serious about making a superior oil will usually mix some Group V oils into their base stock.

Oils that are strictly Group V ester oils tend to be better suited for high RPM, hot running, air cooled engines. 100% ester based oils are usually more expensive than Group IV oils, and don't have the longevity of PAO (Group IV) or PAO/Ester mixes oils. Group V oils perform very well in the shorter term. They perform very well in race engines and in applications where drain intervals are factory spec or shorter, whereas Group IV oils are better suited for the long haul of extended intervals.

Whatever oil you choose, know what you are buying. Just because the jug says "synthetic" doesn't mean it is made from 100% pure synthetic base stocks.