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Old 12-12-2012, 09:30 AM   #126
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allegedly amsoil has never had to actually take the blame for a failure. this is either really good or really bad. really good if it's never come to that. really bad if they managed to blame it on the user for some technicality (OCI, filter choice, etc.).
No, I just think that failure due to a specific lubricant is pretty hard to prove, especially when you can provide multiple independent lab tests of the oil and show that the oil in the engine when the failure occurred meets all of the OEM specifications.

Failure due to the choice of oil is rare to begin with. Oil that is not up to snuff creates premature wear, but that takes many, many thousands of miles to manifest (and the warranty period is long gone by then).

Actually this is my primary reason for choosing Amsoil, as I think it will delay this type of wear better than some other oils and I plan on keeping the car a long time.

Obviously by failure due to lubrication I am not referring to mechanical failure due to a broken oil pump, plugged pick up, bad or leaking filter, or a blown head gasket, or failure to install a drain valve, etc ad nauseum.

But those could not be blamed on the oil, if the oil meets or exceeds the OEM specifications. I think if you follow Amsoils guidelines there will not be a problem with sludge, because I haven't seen any evidence of someone who uses amsoil having that kind of problem, even if they are doing extended changes.

And failure due to lubrication in a non-turbo engine isn't that common to begin with. I haven't driven behind many old Subaru's blowing smoke out the exhaust. Most cars get junked for other reasons.
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:35 AM   #127
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Obviously by failure due to lubrication I am not referring to failure due to a broken oil pump, plugged pick up, bad or leaking filter, or a blown head gasket, or failure to install a drain valve, etc ad nauseum. But those could not be blamed on the oil, if the oil meets or exceeds the OEM specifications.
what if the dealer says b/c there isn't a little API stamp on the bottle that it doesn't meet the OEM specs? at this point do I have to go to court to prove that it in fact does meet those specs?
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:40 AM   #128
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what if the dealer says b/c there isn't a little API stamp on the bottle that it doesn't meet the OEM specs? at this point do I have to go to court to prove that it in fact does meet those specs?
All you need is the used oil analysis to show the oil in the engine at the time of the tragedy exceeds the OEM specs. This presumes SOA tries to blame something on the oil choice, which is a stretch to begin with. If you blow up your oil pump they are not going to blame the oil unless there is a pan full of sludge.

Now if you forget to put oil in your engine, or you let the dealer do that, you deserve what you get. The odds are if you do your own oil changes you are less likely to have an oil related issue.

I haven't heard of a single person here who overfilled their engine with oil when they changed it themselves!

Last edited by Zeeper; 12-12-2012 at 09:46 AM.
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:42 AM   #129
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If in doubt, don't use Signature Series.

I'm fine with crawling under my car every 5k miles, and then putting Amsoil OE 0W-20 into the crank case, which does have the API stamp. This gives me a chance to look around for other problems, which is always a good idea.

So you see, I'm not trying to reduce the frequency of my oil changes, as they give me an excuse to be under the car, which is good to do periodically anyway.
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:46 AM   #130
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I'm tempted to use the OE but as mentioned earlier in the thread I'd like to actually make it close to 5k miles before having to change the oil. this will take me approximately a year.
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:49 AM   #131
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I'm tempted to use the OE but as mentioned earlier in the thread I'd like to actually make it close to 5k miles before having to change the oil. this will take me approximately a year.
If you drive it one year without changing it (even if you only drive 5,000 miles) using any oil other than Signature series you are violating the service recommendation, in this case of both Subaru and Amsoil.

With Signature Series, you at least have one company providing affirmation that it is ok to do that.
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:51 AM   #132
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If you drive it one year without changing it (even if you only drive 5,000 miles) using any oil other than Signature series you are violating the service recommendation, in this case of both Subaru and Amsoil.

With Signature Series, you at least have one company providing affirmation that it is ok to do that.
what is the subaru recommendation on time? 6 months?
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:54 AM   #133
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I haven't decided at what point I will switch to Signature Series in my Impreza. I'm thinking 10k - 20k miles. I don't want to do it when the engine is too tight - for example, race engines are built loose. I figure when the mpg's taper off it will be adequately broken in. I've been running Amsoil throughout my Corolla for over 150k miles and as I've said, although it's rated the same as the Impreza it gets about 8 mpg better on the highway.
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Old 12-12-2012, 09:55 AM   #134
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what is the subaru recommendation on time? 6 months?
7.5 months or 7,500 miles, whichever comes first.
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Old 12-12-2012, 02:31 PM   #135
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so I've been doing a lot of reading about amsoil today, really trying to get a feel about what the right decision is. I'm tempted to go with amsoil OE and just follow manufacturers 7.5 month intervals (I def won't hit 7500 miles in that time). what I'm not clear about is if OE is really any better than anything else out there. It's a type III motor oil just like most other "synthetic" oils.
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Old 12-12-2012, 02:54 PM   #136
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so I've been doing a lot of reading about amsoil today, really trying to get a feel about what the right decision is. I'm tempted to go with amsoil OE and just follow manufacturers 7.5 month intervals (I def won't hit 7500 miles in that time). what I'm not clear about is if OE is really any better than anything else out there. It's a type III motor oil just like most other "synthetic" oils.
I would just use any oil and do 6 month oil changes on your car (check to see if that meets the service requirements for severe service, because frequent short trips with a cold engine are severe service).

I like Amsoil and drive under 10,000 miles a year so doing an annual change with Signature Series is what I feel fine with.

I'm doing the same schedule with my wife's 2011 rogue that sees 15,000 miles or under.

If we were not keeping the cars for a long time, my wifes rogue would not have synthetic oil in it (not required) and I would be using whatever 0W-20 oil is on the shelf at walmart (Starts with a capital M and has a number not larger than 1 on the bottle) and I would change it every 7.5 months or 7,500 miles, whichever came first.

That is all you need to maintain the warranty and keep the car running until it is traded or sold to someone else.

Last edited by Zeeper; 12-14-2012 at 08:49 AM.
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Old 12-15-2012, 09:48 AM   #137
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so i bought amsoil PC. when do I get the number? why can't I log into their website? why does the website claim it doesn't know my e-mail even though they sent me a confirmation that I just paid them $10. bastards....
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Old 12-18-2012, 12:58 AM   #138
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Amsoil OE is fine for 7500 mile interval correct?
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Old 12-18-2012, 06:47 AM   #139
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Amsoil OE is fine for 7500 mile interval correct?
Hence the name OE, yes
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Old 12-18-2012, 07:02 AM   #140
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Hence the name OE, yes
the guy I'm looking at buying the oil from has a limited supply of XL (which is what I was thinking of running for a few years and doing the 7.5 month intervals). I may just go with the OE if he has a good amount of that. I just can't bring myself to go with the SS without that silly API badge on there. if burning oil is as common as it seems I don't want to risk doing anything that the dealership can question me on. Backed by Amsoil or not it just doesn't seem worth the hassle. Later on when I feel pretty confident my car isn't burning oil I'll consider the switch and going for longer intervals.
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Old 12-18-2012, 08:24 AM   #141
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For now, I use Amsoil OE and a 5k OCI. At my next oil change I'm going to send in an oil sample for analysis. If the lab says the OE has life left in it at 5k, then I'll jack up my OCI to 7.5k.
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Old 12-18-2012, 08:28 AM   #142
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the guy I'm looking at buying the oil from has a limited supply of XL (which is what I was thinking of running for a few years and doing the 7.5 month intervals). I may just go with the OE if he has a good amount of that. I just can't bring myself to go with the SS without that silly API badge on there. if burning oil is as common as it seems I don't want to risk doing anything that the dealership can question me on. Backed by Amsoil or not it just doesn't seem worth the hassle. Later on when I feel pretty confident my car isn't burning oil I'll consider the switch and going for longer intervals.
Not only would the American Petroleum Institute not *want* to put a badge on the SS since it's a Group IV full synthetic and doesn't even have any petroleum in it, I don't know if they *could*.
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Old 12-18-2012, 09:19 AM   #143
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Not only would the American Petroleum Institute not *want* to put a badge on the SS since it's a Group IV full synthetic and doesn't even have any petroleum in it, I don't know if they *could*.
I think they could. According to amsoil it is the amount of phosphorus or something like that that would make them not pass the test.
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Old 12-18-2012, 12:54 PM   #144
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Not only would the American Petroleum Institute not *want* to put a badge on the SS since it's a Group IV full synthetic and doesn't even have any petroleum in it, I don't know if they *could*.
how does it feel to be wrong all the time?
http://www.api.org/certification-pro...-09-01-11.ashx
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Old 12-18-2012, 01:13 PM   #145
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Flyboy, if there's a particular section of that 28-page document you'd like us to focus on, that would be helpful.
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Old 12-18-2012, 01:21 PM   #146
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Flyboy, if there's a particular section of that 28-page document you'd like us to focus on, that would be helpful.
not really. just skimming through it is shows what is required to test Groups I-V oils. hence Group IV oils CAN be API certified.
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Old 12-18-2012, 01:21 PM   #147
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Flyboy, if there's a particular section of that 28-page document you'd like us to focus on, that would be helpful.
page two mentions the different classes of oils at the very least. they are mentioned other places as well. i guess the point is that they do in fact have guidelines for class IV and V oils.
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Old 12-18-2012, 01:27 PM   #148
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page two mentions the different classes of oils at the very least. they are mentioned other places as well. i guess the point is that they do in fact have guidelines for class IV and V oils.
exactly what my point was.

The API establishes the guidelines for certification, it is up to the manufacturer to have the oil tested if they choose. The API really doesn't care if it is manmade or it came out of the ground, they are just in the testing business (as far as this topic is concerned)
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Old 12-18-2012, 01:45 PM   #149
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Out of curiosity, has anyone tried G oil? Have had a handful of people say its great, thought I would check it out and they do offer a 0w20 full synthetic.
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Old 12-18-2012, 01:46 PM   #150
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i'm 1/2 tempted to try out the Mazda 0w-20 at my next change
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...25&nt=3&page=1

this is what I'm using now, and it is proving to be great oil
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...gonew=1#UNREAD
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