pdonket

On a data sheet you can see the differences between Amsoil, Redline, Royal Purple, Pennzoil Ultra, and Mobil 1. In reality, based on your driving habits, all of the above oils will perform basically the same.

I went into my car purchase thinking like you, I want to baby my car, I'll shell out the big bucks for a full synthetic like Amsoil, but after doing it and seeing other more affordable and still excellent oils out there, I'm not refilling with Ams.

If I were you, I'd run Pennzoil Ultra or Pennzoil Platinum. You can get Pennzoil Ultra at wally world for about $32 for 6 quarts. Pennzoil platinum would probably save you another 5 bucks.

At $9.50 for Amsoil, you're talking $57. Yeah, you won't be poor going with Amsoil, but I'd rather save my $25 and do something else with it.

SCCAGT

Yes, frequent oil changes are just as good with cheaper oil. The only point I can make about using synthetics, Amsoil in particular, is that the engine parts will STAY clean. You know, the shiny metal color. Any of the normal oils will turn them brown except where the contact points are on bearings and cam lobes. I've seen the tear down differences with my own eyes.
But no, nothing wrong with cheaper oils for longevity. I dont mind the extra cost myself.

Mikes_BLK_GT

There is signature series amsoil which is supposed to be the best on the market and there is an OE series which is much less expensive but is also supposed to better than mobil1. I currently use mobil1 and change every 3000-5000 with a motorcraft filter although now that I am FI will change closer to 3000 and am considering the change to amsoil myself.

MustangMan1718

For what you are doing with your car right now, I would say that you can get away with a semi-synthetic as that is what comes in it from the factory. The equivalent of this is Valvoline's DuraBlend or MaxLife oils.

However, once you add on your forced induction like you say you plan on, you most-certainly want to use a full synthetic for the extra wear and tear that it adds onto your engine. When cars come in to our shop that have stock forced induction (such as GTIs from Volkswagens or GTPs from Pontiac) and choose not to use a full synthetic oil, we have to type in that we are not responsible for any damages from their choice of oil on the invoice. It really does make that much of a difference.

Also, Valvoline's synthetics are the SynPower and the MaxLife Full Synthetic. I don't remember the full reasoning behind it off the top of my head (as it was a few years ago now) but the SynPower is going to give the better protection while the MaxLife version will give you additives to protect your seals from leaking.

And if it wasn't already obvious, yes, I work at a place that only sells Valvoline oils. :P I'm not discrediting any other manufactures, but rather helping you based upon your own needs in the way that I know how. But I would recommend using any type of full synthetic oil no matter what. I know Valvoline has a 300,000 mile engine warranty for using their oil, which helps show that they trust their product. But if you look into the automotive industry as a whole right now, you will see that synthetic oils are the way of the future. Many new Toyotas require 0w20, which is full synthetic only. And all 2011+ GM vehicles require "Dexos" which is an additive that is only found within full synthetic oils. If a car doesn't use it, their warranty is instantly voided. But the tradeoff is longer engine longevity and increased efficiency from a lighter weight than something like 10w30.

And I apologize for the wall of text, but I've basically turned into the equivalent of the Hank Hill of engine oil.

Goldenpony

I think Amsoil is an extremely good oil, probably better than most people need. I'm like Nuke, I used to use Amsoil but I now use Pennzoil Ultra. I think they are both top shelf products, and the Pennzoil is easier to get. I still use Amsoil oils in my trans and rear end.

VistaGT

I've always had smooth running engines with Amsoil and would recommend it.....My lexus GS350 (which I don't think is the smoothest running motor) runs very nicely on the stuff. As others have said Amsoil is expensive and while other sythetics are good, you get what you pay for.

MAXIMUS-GT

This was simply awesome, thank you so much. NOT that all the other threads weren't extremely helpful (they WERE) but this broke it down nice and easy into dollars and cents and cast a light upon the non-necessity of 'over babying' for the sake of 'over babying' haha! Thank you so much, I am going with the Ultra for my upcoming change and won't look back.

I suppose it all comes down to a quality base oil running through the engine, paired with a good frequent oil change schedule Does anyone have any advice on the usually advocated 'Every 3,000 miles' advice? Seems I have heard experts in the past say that's mega overkill, but for a couple houurs max of my time and $40 or less at Wal Mart, I can change every 3,000 miles no problem.

MAXIMUS-GT

That was the one question still bothering me, I assume FI means Forced Induction (Blower) which I will be getting in the Spring of next year (Kenne Bell). Does this, or engine cleanliness, make enough of a difference to have me make the switch to AMSoil at that point in time, or now? An extra $25 every few-five thousand miles won't hurt my wallet whatsoever. Hmmmm......

Nuke

Since you seem to be able to afford it AND you're like most of us (A-N-A-L), then join Amsoil's Preferred Member club (the discounts you get will more than pay for the membership) and begin ordering. It seems that's what you want anyway.

MustangMan1718

This is still a hotly debated issue. On one hand you have one side saying that you can run for 10k miles on an oil change while the other side argues that 3k is still recommended especially with a daily driver since stop-and-go driving is quite tough on your drivetrain.

I actually just asked about this at a class with my area manager and part of it boiled down into the 3k mile recommendation being partially about the business model. More miles means less cars. There was other things he mentioned in his half hour long rant, but this is the main one that stuck out to me.

When I personally talk to customers and they ask how long to run it, I tell them that it is still recommended every 3k miles, but you can possibly run it for about 5k miles at most. Not exactly what I am supposed to do, but it is a much higher quality oil than Conventional.