Amsoil, what a waste of my money
10-26-2004, 09:53 PM
#11
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Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
Synthetic oils do not change oil consumption.
Synthetic oils do not provide enough friction loss to see a speed increase in a normal boat application.
So with that said, the synthetic lube you paid for did exactly as it was expected to do.
So why spend money?
Synthetics are BETTER lubes. If your motor is basically stock and is of moderate horsepower, then the bearing sizes and lube system is entirely adequate for the application. No need to upgrade the lube.
If you have a hopped up motor, then you are asking the same bearing surfaces to support a higher power level. At some point, the loads creep towards the limits of the lube. As the lube gets time on it, it begins to break down and lose viscosity and become diluted with impurities. At some point, the lube film drops below the requirements of the application and scuffing occurs. High quality synthetics will extend this useful life far in excess of what you can expect from a non synthetic.
As has been said, use less expensive but quality lubricants, and combine that with regular change intervals and you will be fine.
Synthetic oils do not provide enough friction loss to see a speed increase in a normal boat application.
So with that said, the synthetic lube you paid for did exactly as it was expected to do.
So why spend money?
Synthetics are BETTER lubes. If your motor is basically stock and is of moderate horsepower, then the bearing sizes and lube system is entirely adequate for the application. No need to upgrade the lube.
If you have a hopped up motor, then you are asking the same bearing surfaces to support a higher power level. At some point, the loads creep towards the limits of the lube. As the lube gets time on it, it begins to break down and lose viscosity and become diluted with impurities. At some point, the lube film drops below the requirements of the application and scuffing occurs. High quality synthetics will extend this useful life far in excess of what you can expect from a non synthetic.
As has been said, use less expensive but quality lubricants, and combine that with regular change intervals and you will be fine.
10-26-2004, 11:01 PM
#12
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Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
Monitoring oil consumption over 50 hours.I never run my oil that long.25 hours is a number I like.Oil is real cheap in comparison to all the broken parts we all have scatered around our garages.
10-27-2004, 05:31 AM
#14
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Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
What happens with synthetic oil if you happen to get some condensation in your motor?
I am a firm believer of synthetic oils. Been using Mobil 1 for over 300K miles in 4 different vehicles and not one failure or leak. The wifes previous car was turbocharged and it too ran Mobil 1 for 100K+ with no turbo failures. My previous truck ran 150K on Mobil 1 and didn't leak or consume one drop.
Many years ago I had an old Craftsman lawn mower that smoked pretty good. I went to change the oil one day and all I had to put in it was Mobil 1. I figured "what the hell, can't hurt it now". By the time I was done mowing the yard the engine was barely smoking. After the next use it had all but stopped smoking and was running smoother. The more I used it the better it got.
Blaster, how long did you run the Amsoil? Was it the whole season or just one oil change?
It takes time to flush out all the old oil deposits before any benefit will be seen. I think it took three oil changes before I saw any difference in my old truck.
10-27-2004, 08:48 AM
#15
Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
My wife has a Land Rover,(Not my Idea). Anyway, I think it had a lifter that didn't pump up once in a while on start cold, then it would go away after about 40 seconds. I normaly don't touch this thing nor do I want to. All oil changes and maintenance was in a package from the dealer. But I do change the oil in between the dealer intervals. I think the dealer uses a 10w-30 mineral oil. I use alot of 15w-40, so thats what it got also. The lifter would still make noise about half the time on a cold start. Now the maintenance package is over and the vehicle has 55k+ miles as of last spring. I changed the oil in March and used Synthetic Rotella T 5w-40. It took me a little while to realize it but the lifter noise is now gone. Coincidence maybe? I should go back to mineral just to see if it comes back. It might not come back even if I did. I just don't have the heart to do it. Hydro has sold me on Mobile 1 20w-50 in my boat engine and Redline Heavy shockproof in the drive. Doug
10-27-2004, 09:28 AM
#16
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Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
Question..
Is there any benifit to switching over to synthetic on a Mag motor with close to 300 hours on it that has never seen synthetic before? Any harm in doing so?
Is there any benifit to switching over to synthetic on a Mag motor with close to 300 hours on it that has never seen synthetic before? Any harm in doing so?
10-27-2004, 11:04 AM
#17
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Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
A friend of mine used casrtol 20-50 gtx in his top gun and we ran a poker run, The oil temp got very hot due to the oil was completely broken down. Changed the oil to mobil 1 and the problem has not repeated itself. I am sticking with mobil 1. If the cost of an oil change is the deciding factor in what oil you use, consider the cost of a blown motor or rebuild......Just my opinion, but then again who the hell am I !!!!!!!!
10-27-2004, 04:46 PM
#18
Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
Originally Posted by mcollinstn
Synthetic oils do not change oil consumption.
Synthetic oils do not provide enough friction loss to see a speed increase in a normal boat application.
So with that said, the synthetic lube you paid for did exactly as it was expected to do.
So why spend money?
Synthetics are BETTER lubes. If your motor is basically stock and is of moderate horsepower, then the bearing sizes and lube system is entirely adequate for the application. No need to upgrade the lube.
If you have a hopped up motor, then you are asking the same bearing surfaces to support a higher power level. At some point, the loads creep toward the limits of the lube. As the lube gets time on it, it begins to break down and lose viscosity and become diluted with impurities. At some point, the lube film drops below the requirements of the application and scuffing occurs. High quality synthetics will extend this useful life far in excess of what you can expect from a non synthetic.
As has been said, use less expensive but quality lubricants, and combine that with regular change intervals and you will be fine.
Synthetic oils do not provide enough friction loss to see a speed increase in a normal boat application.
So with that said, the synthetic lube you paid for did exactly as it was expected to do.
So why spend money?
Synthetics are BETTER lubes. If your motor is basically stock and is of moderate horsepower, then the bearing sizes and lube system is entirely adequate for the application. No need to upgrade the lube.
If you have a hopped up motor, then you are asking the same bearing surfaces to support a higher power level. At some point, the loads creep toward the limits of the lube. As the lube gets time on it, it begins to break down and lose viscosity and become diluted with impurities. At some point, the lube film drops below the requirements of the application and scuffing occurs. High quality synthetics will extend this useful life far in excess of what you can expect from a non synthetic.
As has been said, use less expensive but quality lubricants, and combine that with regular change intervals and you will be fine.
"Synthetic lubes are BETTER". Using the criterion you described above ought to help many see the rational in using such products.
10-27-2004, 07:11 PM
#19
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Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
How do you know what weight oil is the best all around for longevity, performance and economy? If oil temps are kept in check, say 220 - 230 max reading in the pan and oil pressure is good is there really a reason not to run a 10W30 or 10W40? I run 10W40 Amsoil HP motor oil in my NA 598" which produces 800+ HP. My belief is running a heavier oil may protect the bottom end better, but at the same time put more stress on the cam / dist gear and timing chain. Heavier oil also takes a few more HP to pump and the heavier oil can create a little more drag in the rotating assy, which could cost a few HP. I know the HP loss with heavier oil is minimal, but find a few other "free" gains like this and they start to add up. Now if temps get very high, say 270+ I agree a heavier oil with a 50 attached to it somewhere is probably required. I have read that a good synthetic 10W40 will have a more substantial film thickness than a good dino 20W50, but I have no clue if that is true. I am sure Hydro or someone else will enlighten me!! 
Thanks,
Craig
Thanks,
Craig
10-27-2004, 08:25 PM
#20
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Re: Amsoil, what a waste of my money
Of course heavier oil will create more drag.
Too light of an oil will allow the film to break down and parts will scuff.
"Just right" will be the viscosity that doesn't allow metal to metal sliding contact anywhere in the motor.
Too heavy will give additional insurance on the film breakdown, but can also (when waaay too heavy) allow cold start oil starvation as it gets up to temp before flowing properly.
I personally ran "too heavy" of an oil in a 327 daily driver with a solid lift cam and a 4 speed. On a really cold day I leaped in and took off, only to have an immediate street race opportunity before the oil was warm. Spun some rod bearings. Was running straight 50 weight cause I thought thicker was always better. Wrong.
So as you can see, maintaining an adequate lube film is imperative. Fresh oil will always give you a good film. As it gets time on it, it can lose its film strength and you lose your cushion. Heavier oil will give you more cushion.
But a correct synthetic will also give you more cushion AND cold temp flowability FAR in excess of conventional stocks.
Too light of an oil will allow the film to break down and parts will scuff.
"Just right" will be the viscosity that doesn't allow metal to metal sliding contact anywhere in the motor.
Too heavy will give additional insurance on the film breakdown, but can also (when waaay too heavy) allow cold start oil starvation as it gets up to temp before flowing properly.
I personally ran "too heavy" of an oil in a 327 daily driver with a solid lift cam and a 4 speed. On a really cold day I leaped in and took off, only to have an immediate street race opportunity before the oil was warm. Spun some rod bearings. Was running straight 50 weight cause I thought thicker was always better. Wrong.
So as you can see, maintaining an adequate lube film is imperative. Fresh oil will always give you a good film. As it gets time on it, it can lose its film strength and you lose your cushion. Heavier oil will give you more cushion.
But a correct synthetic will also give you more cushion AND cold temp flowability FAR in excess of conventional stocks.
