BOWTIE

Patman, or any other self proclaimed oil/oil filter expert, I have a few questions about oil and oil filters. First off, I know Patman and others have said good things about Amsoil, and the new Castrol 0-30, but does anyone know anything about Amsoils European formula. I was checking out their site researching motorcycle oils and saw a European formula 5-40. Has anyone used or know anything about it. Also, I know Patman is not a big fan of Royal Purple, but do you know how the R/P 10-40 compares to the Mobil 1 0-40 and the new German Castrol 0-30. Lastly, I am going to order some extra oil filters and was trying to decide between the K&N HP-2006, and the Amsoil SDF-64 (both are the truck filter). Which of these is now the preferred filter. I thought I remembered reading quite a while back but could not remember, that the Amsoil was more restrictive but filtered better . Also, I am still undecided on the motorcycle oil. I will either go with Royal Purple Cycle Max, or the new Amsoil motorcycle oil. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Mr. B

iTrader: (1)

http://www.amsoil.com/products/afl2.htm

Many popular North American engine oils may actually be harmful to European engines. European automobile manufacturers design vehicles to use specific high quality lubri¬cants with specific properties and additives. Most motor oils offered in America do not meet the demanding specifications, and the European lubricants are not readily available. As a result, problems such as premature wear and engine sludge develop.

"Europeans build their cars and impose higher requirements on the type of oil than we are used to here in North America," remarks an oil industry source. "They have more of a multi-tier system within their specifications, whereas the API uses the lowest common denominator as a guideline. It is by its own admission, within API 1509, a minimum Spec.,,

While the American Petroleum Institute (API) sets oil standards in America, the Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) sets them in Europe. "ACEA standards reflect a wider complexity of the offering of engines on the market right now," says Herve Blanquart, VP Automotive of Motul North America. "On top of that, manufactur¬ers have introduced their own standards, most of which start with the ACEA standards, and go further in specific tests to solve specific problems and address specific issues."
In the U.S., the API adopts one standard for all engine oils. "For example they are work¬ing on ILSAC GF-4, and the problems they are running into is that this oil will be too thin for a lot of older engines," explains Blanquart. "In Europe, they decided from the beginning that they would not adopt a lin¬ear standard - rather a standard for each type of application - gas, diesel, turbo, etc."

European vehicle manufacturers keep tight control over which lubricants they, allow to be used in their vehicles. Inner-company bureaucracies are in charge of keeping the approved lubricant lists up-to-date with the latest requirements, and a few companies apply some of the regulations to North America. European aftermarket service sta¬tions must stock different lubricants for dif¬ferent automobile brands. Sometimes different models put out by the same manufac¬turer require different lubricants.

Do-it-yourselfers are less prevalent in Europe. Qualified repair shops, fran¬chised or tightly controlled by the vehicle manufacturers in order to dictate the type of oil being used, typically perform most of the oil changes.

The high quality oils used in Europe allow Europeans to enjoy longer drain intervals. However, when European vehicles are exported to the United States, the concept becomes distorted.
"There is in general a longer drain associ¬ated with the higher tier oils in the European system," remarks the oil indus¬try source, "so the thought process is if we don't allow the longer drain in North America, consumers should be able to get by with API spec oils - but it leaves man¬ufacturers open to the type of problem Mercedes-Benz recently experienced."

A recent class-action lawsuit brought for¬ward by owners of certain 1998 through 2001 Mercedes-Benz vehicles claimed they weren't informed that synthetic motor oil was required in order to take advantage of the extended drain intervals afforded through the use of the vehicles' Flexible Service System (FSS). Many using conventional oils experienced pre¬mature wear problems, and the settlement will cost the company over $32 million.

"The long drain indicator used by Mercedes is predicated on using Mercedes-Benz-approved oil, which is a very top quality synthetic oil," explains the oil company source. "When those vehicles came to the States, somehow dealerships weren't impressing upon the consumer the need to use the right oil. And whether or not the dealers were doing so, some consumers were putting in regu¬lar API-spec oil, resulting in problems."

Although synthetic motor oils are general¬ly of higher quality than conventional oils, not all synthetics can meet the stringent European specifications. "A good quality synthetic could solve the problem," says the source, "but in the case of M-B, for example, you're dealing with an extreme¬ly high-spec oil. Not every synthetic is going to meet that spec. Some only meet the baseline API specs. Just because it's a synthetic doesn't mean it's a top tier prod¬uct.

"Shop owners must keep in mind that there are numerous special requirements for European vehicles and that they shouldn't always be knee-jerking to the stuff in the big tank. If you call M-B, Volvo, or VW, for example, they should be telling you that their vehicle needs ACEA spec products."

Although it's easy to assume that the more expensive the vehicle, the better quality the lubricant it needs, that's not always the case. For example, the mid-priced Volkswagen TDI requires a very specific, high spec lubricant.

Formulated with top-of-the-line synthetic base stocks and robust additive packages, AMSOIL synthetic motor oils provide superior protection and performance over competing synthetic and conventional motor oils and meet or exceed the most stringent European oil specifications. AMSOIL synthetic motor oils provide superior protection and performance in both foreign and domestic automobiles for extended drain intervals of up to 35,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.

BOWTIE

I was aware of that, I am wondering if anyone has used it in an LS1. Or has anyone used it and had it analyzed. How does it stack up to the Castrol European formula 0-30, or Mobil1 0-40, or even Royal Purple 10-40. Thanks anyway.

Patman

Amsoil's new formula is too new for any conclusions just yet, as nobody I know of has run a used oil analysis on it. I do think it would work well in the LS1 though.

As far as Royal Purple goes, forget about their 10w40, as their racing 41 is a much better formula. It's like a 10w40, but it holds it's viscosity much better and has a very good additive package in it. It has turned in excellent oil analysis results in the LS1. I would use this before Mobil 1 0w40, although if you drive in cold weather the M1 0w40 will flow much better, so during the cold months it is the better choice.

I prefer the K&N oil filter over the Amsoil oil filter myself.