the European blend or the basic synthetic?

Zulu95, are you multi-level marketing Amsoil? Do you have the opportunity for financial gain off of anyone buying Amsoil? I mean, God forbid if you are. 20 years experience...is that certified?

I'm sorry for the sarcasm folks. It seems we have some in a camp that seemingly believe that only large multi-nationals can make a product worth putting in your beloved BMW...due to a certification process. Maybe this is correct and maybe it isn't.

I have heard claims like Zulu95 for years now. Guys that use the stuff in their race cars that have ranted and raved over the product. Mind you, not a single person that has talked to me about Amsoil in a positive manner has ever approached me with becoming a multi-level marketer...or even asked me to purchase the product from them.

So, why the witch hunt? I don't know. I say: live and let live. If you try something new and you don't like it...stop using it. Have your old oil tested and if you switch to the boutique brand oil...have it tested to see if things have improved, worsened or stayed the same.

BTW, I have zero connections to Amsoil. As a matter of fact, I've yet to try it. Why? Lazy! Ordering oil online is a bit of a hassle. If it was in my local auto parts store...I would've tried it by now.

However, after the recent bashing of Amsoil and Redline in the other thread...I'm ready to give them a go. Who knows...I might even start a business selling the stuff.:rofl::bustingup

I have used both the "regular" synthetic and I am once using the European Blend. I am not selling, nor do I have plans to ever sell Amsoil but I will continue using their product as long as the quality is maintained.

Agree. Oil change interval > Oil brand/type

hey what do you guys think of royal purple?!
Royal Purple XPR 5W30 Synthetic Engine Oil Quart | Product Details | Pep Boys
or
Royal Purple SAE 5W30 Synthetic Engine Oil Quart | Product Details | Pep Boys
and with 35$ off
http://www.pepboys.com/docs/pdf/Oct_...r_exp10-31.pdf



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No, I don't think Castrol is any better than many other quality, certified, 5w-30 oils. OE BMW is fine, Castrol is fine, Mobil 1 is fine, there are lots more. As long as someone independent is validating the specification other than the web marketing person for the oil company.

Well, it seems I might be one of the ones you are referring to ;)

I don't like Amsoil's marketing method, but that has nothing to do wtih the quality of their oil. It may be great. We all decide to purchase things or not for reasons other than the perceived or validated quality of the product, and that is fine.

As to the quality of their oil, it is an unknown for their premium products. They refuse to independently test it. They say they don't need to. Again, fine, no problem, but don't ask those of us who do rely on real test results to believe that the oil is any good without data to support it. Data from the webmaster at Amsoil just doesn't mean as much to me as data from test protocols designed by the API. So it isn't bad oil to me. It is just unknown oil. And as an engineer who has worked in the engine business for several decades, I don't like putting unknown products into my own engines. Or my customer's.

Amsoil make some API certified products now. That could work. But wait, they put a warning on those products that they will not meet the requirements for oil change intervals that the OE engine manufacturers decided. Companies like Castrol and Mobil 1 test their oil with BMW recommended change intervals and publish that their oil will meet those change interval specs. So what is wrong with the Amsoil product? I can run 24,000 km intervals on multiple vehicles when not in severe service (15,000 miles for those in the US) without issues. But not with Amsoil, apparently. So the only people putting down the quality of Amsoil products are in fact Amsoil themselves.

I don't know what this has to do with large multinationals, you lost me there. I don't have an opinion about the size of Mobil, Castrol, BMW, or Amsoil. I don't see how it is relevant.

Stating facts about oil products isn't bashing. But relating engine failures to a specific engine oil without a failure analysis is.

It seems like a long time since we had an oil thread. Must just be time again. :rofl:

I think that many racers seem to like Royal Purple for racing. I wouldn't necessarily take that as a reason to use the same products on the street.

Their XPR oil products are for specific racing engines and fuels.

Their HPS products do not meet API certifications, and they are quite open about it. Kudos to them. They say why they can't pass those tests; it is because they made a conscious decision to add more of certain additives (like zinc) than engine manufacturers permit.

Their API-certified products are likely as good as any other current API product. I would just ensure that there is an API SM label on the bottle you purchase, since they sell so many different oils. But that is just me.

I actually do stock Amsoil at work, however, I don't really care if the customer wants it or another brand. We started stocking it because a lot of people asked for it, and it isn't readily available.

Are you telling me you will really go 15k between oil changes? They probably put that on there because people will go 15k, then blame the oil company for the 60k failure.

I actually had a customer come in yesterday with an 06 330xi (E90) with about 60k miles. The car looked mint. Popped off the oil cap, and the sludge build-up was HORRIFIC. He did 15k oil changes. I showed him, and told him it might be time to consider trading it in while he could still get good money for it. 15k oil changes are BAD no matter what way you slice it.

I have never run to the change interval lights, but note that my driving style causes the lights to come on at 28,000 km (17,500) on our current vehicle. The X5 was doing short trips for awhile, not enough time to warm up, so it was changed at 12,000 km (7500 miles). Driving habits changed over time, and I went to 16,000 km successfully. My other vehicles have been run to 20,000 km many times, but I have usually changed it at that point based on time, not distance. The X3 has run 24,000 km (15,000 miles) but that is still well before the lights demand it. I've never had any problem with BMW oil change intervals as recommended by the manufacturer, on any BMW vehicle. I do appreciate that if I am towing, doing a lot of idling, too many short trips, then the lights are not a complete indication of servicing requirements.

Many years ago I worked in a shop doing oil changes at 3000 mile intervals.That was appropriate for engines with that level of technology, and those oils. It just isn't applicable these days. We all need to get over it, IMO. I do not accept that 15k oil changes are bad any way you slice it. Look at the pictures I have posted here of a 100,000 mile BMW engine disassembled after 15,000 mile oil changes. It was spotless. The difference in that car and your customer's is the use, not the 15,000 mile interval.

When you refer to sludge, are you referring to byproducts of combustion? Black? Sludge issues often have more to do with engine design and usage than oils. Or is it the white condensate paste that forms due to moisture in the engine, emulsified with the oil? Lots of that around on BMWs, very related to driving habits. If someone is abusing their engine by driving 5 or 10 km each day, and never letting it get warmed up and the condensation burned off, then it isn't much to do with the oil change interval, more than misuse.

Good to be able to talk about engines again after all these threads about cosmetic modifications and custom programming.

edit: Here is a link for those that want to see the pictures.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...intervals.html