Author Topic: Anybody use Amsoil? (Read 5840 times)

fake · « **on:** August 30, 2005, 03:06:18 PM »

Anybody here use that brand? I plan on switching to synthetic around 3K miles. Has there been any problems with the clutch slipping with using synthetic?

mike · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2005, 04:52:01 PM »

OIL threads:
http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=529

http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=286

**Mike noticing a fresh open can of worms nearby; slowly/cautiously backs out of room.**

Steve · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2005, 10:17:26 PM »

Yup. I have been using Amsoil 10-40 car juice in my '01 since '01. No problems whatsoever. Shifts very smoothly.

Steve

terrebandit · « **Reply #3 on:** August 31, 2005, 12:57:58 AM »

http://groups.msn.com/DavesBanditHomePage/amsoil.msnw

tacoman · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2005, 03:25:47 PM »

I've been thinking about using Amsoil. They throw a lot of sponsorship dollars into motorcycling, especially super/motocross.

land_shark · « **Reply #5 on:** August 31, 2005, 03:48:36 PM »

Quote from: "terrebandit"

http://groups.msn.com/DavesBanditHomePage/amsoil.msnw

well, that was frightening! Where can one find this Amsoil (so I know how to plan my route home this evening....)?

mike · « **Reply #6 on:** August 31, 2005, 04:18:48 PM »

Jason, Dave's cam pitting was with the Amsoil. He doesn't use Amsoil anymore....

No doubt Amsoil is into the MC market. And they have had a great rep for a long time with motoryclists. But, for the price is it worth it when there's horror stories like what happened to terrebandit's Bandit. Read Dave's link above, he did a good job of documenting the experience. I remember when he went through that ordeal and it was a nightmare.

All BA's prior surveys tend to support the following favorites:
Syntheitcs:
Shell ROTELLA T Synthetic 5W-40
Mobil 1

Dino Oils:
Castrol GTX 20w-50 or 10w-40.

The most popular has been GTX 20w-50. Motorcyclists in all walks of life have been using this in their bikes for decades with great results...

Eventhough Synthetics get rave reviews by customers and are praised by oil company supporters. Is it really needed when you're gonna change your oil regularly anyway? and a good dino has always been fine until synthetics appeared in the market... My opinion: is it probably is a better product, but why use it when its overkill and a wallet drainer. Is my engine going to jump and scream "Oh boy, Synthetic ! Wahoo!"... Doubt it, unless I'm using a race engine on a drag strip redlining every shift nd changing it after every race day....

If you really have to have synthetic, try Shell Rotella T 5w-40.
Another plus is Walmart carries it by the gallon...

If you wanna use what motorcyclists have proven works in terms of wide spread use and success proven through the ages, try Castrol GTX 20w-50.
It's cheap, and can be purchased at Walmart by the quart or gallon.

The most important thing is change your oil and filter regularly, and don't use paper based filter like fram or reuse oil filters.

Good luck on your info quest... There is so much info on the subject it's clouded, confusing, promotional based, etc... it's mind numbing...

land_shark · « **Reply #7 on:** August 31, 2005, 04:25:04 PM »

....

I actually started using GTX, and have been very happy with it so far. I'm in the 'every 1,500 club', and was thinking about switching out to synthetics. I'll probably think about it again sometime, but dino's working. Thanks for the good post on this.

Mongo · « **Reply #8 on:** August 31, 2005, 11:40:33 PM »

Quote from: "mike"

All BA's prior surveys tend to support the following favorites:
Syntheitcs:
Shell ROTELLA T Synthetic 5W-40
Mobil 1

Based on previous posts I decided to try out the Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 on my last oil service. I had used Mobil 1 in the past and noticed no difference between the two. The Rotella T gets my vote for the most bangs for your buck when it comes to Synthetics!

mike · « **Reply #9 on:** September 01, 2005, 12:51:37 AM »

Here's all the oil filters for the B12 or B6.
CROSS REFERENCE OIL FILTER PART #'S:

Suzuki 16510-06B01
STP SMO-18
HiFlo HF138
Amsoil SMF109
K&N KN-138
Wix 51359
NAPA Gold 1359 (same as WIX 51359)
Perf-Form J-509
Purolator ML6818/ML16818

Here's a pdf of a bunch of filters cut open. Notice the Fram has cardboard end caps (big no no) on page 8.
CLICK HERE Oil filters exposed

I've been using the HiFlo. It has metal end caps.
Cycleshopusa.com sells them for $6.95 each.
CLICK HERE HiFlo 138 just order 4 or 5 to save on shipping later.

Bazza · « **Reply #10 on:** September 04, 2005, 06:56:03 PM »

The Amsoil cam pitting issue is an urban legend in my opinion.

My B-12 has pitted cams and it has never seen amsoil. I also have a VF 750 with pitted cams that have only seen Dino oil.

I can speak with a little knowledge here as I used to work in a machine shop that ground cams.

There are two reasons why cams will pit.

A) very acidic oil .... you will get this condition from chainging oil at very long intervals (or not at all) or where your rings are very bad and gas gets into the crankcase. (Usually seen only in very old engines) Incidently you will get pitting everywhere else (crank etc) We used to see this a lot on engines that have sat in the Arctic for two years with old oil.

B) Poor quality control when the cams are manufactured. (I would bet Suzuki buys their cams from a 3rd party supplier)

If there is ferros metal in the cam itself when it is poured, this will cause pitting.

If the cam is cromed (Industrial crome on the lobes, not the shiney stuff on Harleys) The dip tanks could be contaminated and this will also cause a pitting condition on the cromed cam lobes also.

This is more than likely the case with the Bandit. If I recall BMW had to delay production of the K1200S due to cam lobe issues that originated from their supplier.

Red01 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 05, 2005, 04:54:07 PM »

Quote from: "Bazza"

If there is ferros metal in the cam itself when it is poured, this will cause pitting.

Help me out here... ferrous metal is iron, right? Aren't cams made with iron?

Steve · « **Reply #12 on:** September 06, 2005, 05:57:08 AM »

Yeah Paul, but try

Quote

a good dino has always been fine until synthetics appeared in the market.

An abacus was great until computers appeared on the market right? No lock ups and no virus spread from machine to machine. Drum brakes were good until... Push rods were ...(hold on, I still have a deep affection for push rod engines).

How about

Quote

The most popular

? Or, in other words WTF? Is this American Idol? How many Bandit owners got on board because of popularity? I though this choice was based on the individual's percieved bang for the buck.

I give Terrebandit the highest credit though. He is one of the few that I have seen that has actually tried Amsoil (or any other synth) that speaks out against it. Obviously (by my continued use and support of Amsoil in my b12) I don't share his experience. I do appreciate his POV although mine is opposite.

My personal experience has been that this is the best oil that I have put into a machine. My b12 runs smoother, sounds better, and shifts better. From dyno to Mobil-1 was one step of improvement, from M-1 to Amsoil was that much improvement again (IMHO). If it were less expensive I would run it in all my machines.

I wonder if things continue as they are, will synthetics become more affordable in comparison to dyno-oils? Almost $50 to fill up my car last week, with dyno-gas.

Back to the topic - has anyone else tried Amsoil besides T-bandit and myself? What do you think?

Steve

mike · « **Reply #13 on:** September 06, 2005, 08:50:19 AM »

Nice to see you've maintained your sarcasm, Steve. Now, to the real question, Do you vote Repubican or Democrat ?

I think the whole point is use the oil you're happy with... I'm not going to get drawn into a personal based oil discussion.
BA has done some good surveys and a wide array of member opinions are always welcome - it generates good data on what other Bandit owners are doing with their bikes. The old polls and information are still here on the site, that's where I got my posted info.

I'm glad to have a information source specific to Bandit owners that may not otherwise available.

Oil discussions have notoriously gone South on the net. Many choose to not participate for this reason... It was my gut instinct when I joked about the "can of worms" above, I should've listened to my gut. Will now...

Red01 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 06, 2005, 04:50:05 PM »

I've used Amsoil in previous cages, in fact I used to be an Amsoil dealer (mostly to save myself a few $$ on the stuff).

I quit using it in the Audi I had once it started to consume oil. Since I didn't have two identical Audis to do a comparison with, I can't say for a fact the engine would have started using oil sooner on dino juice, but based on the miles I got out of that car and miles I've gotten out of other cars of arguably lower quality, I don't believe it did any good.

I've run a variety of different oils in my B12 and I honestly can't tell any difference in shift quality, performance or oil consumption between Mobil 1, Rotella (both kinds), Delo 400, Quaker State 4x4, Castrol GTX or their diesel stuff... so I just buy a good quality, name brand oil that's not EC rated and is on sale.