Amsoil-NAPA-CRAZY!

[Newf Limo]

I used to have an Amsoil account and ordered directly. Then I found, with the shipping, it was pretty much the same price per gallon (if not a little more) than buying it off the shelf somewhere. At $25. 00/ gallon, I thought I would suck it up and always run Amsoil. My last oil change, I bought 3 gallons at NAPA for $29/gallon. I questioned the higher price, and they told me, "the price of fuel, blah blah blah". I thought "Hmmm, does synthetic oil come from synthetic oil wells in the middle east?"



Yesterday, I went to get oil from my local NAPA. $37. 00 per gallon!!!! 15/40HDD. Are you out of your friggin minds!!!!!!!



So, is Amsoil now an outrageously priced synthetic, or is NAPA sticking it to me again???! They have over 100% mark-up on parts for the general public, because when my mechanic buys parts from them, he charges me his price. I call and compare... . huge difference H-U-G-E! So I know NAPA doesn't like dealing with weekenders, but good grief. Now they are Jamming up the price of AMSOIL?



If this is an AMSOIL issue, what engine oil do you reccomend as an alternative to the liquid gold that I seem to be running? If this is a NAPA issue, what price should I be paying for Amsoil these days, and what is the best way to access it?



Thanks,



Dennis

 

[FourBarR]

Good thing your not in Canada, amsoil at the local ctc store is 10. 00 a quart. I dont use or believe in synthetic unless there is a special operating reason for it, like really cold weather. My truck has 537,000kms on it and uses shell 15/40 since new. oil changed at 6000 k none add between changes.

 

[Newf Limo]

I found a dealer in Portland. His price is 32. 00 per gallon, unless I become a preferred customer. It will cost 20. 00 for that. Then i get my oil at 27. 00 per gallon. I need four gallons, per year (1 for my John Deer). So, it costs the same either way. I think the 'membership' is on a per year basis. If so, there is no savings. If I order it from amsoil, I have to pay shipping. $29. 00 is really my threshold for oil prices. I start to feel taken for a ride after that. Is Mobil making Amsoil? Maybe I have to go to a dual filter and end this oil change business.



My truck rarely has to do any work, and I change my oil at about the 10,000 mile mark. (a little over sometimes). Petroleum oil couldn't hold up to that. I am beginning to think that the only way my engine will reach 500,000 miles, is if I put it into a newer truck. The ol' Ram... ain't what she used to be.



Are all synthetics this pricey? What about some big rig fleet oil?

 

[Newf Limo]

I found a dealer in Portland. His price is 32. 00 per gallon, unless I become a preferred customer. It will cost 20. 00 for that. Then i get my oil at 27. 00 per gallon. I need four gallons, per year (1 for my John Deer). So, it costs the same either way. I think the 'membership' is on a per year basis. If so, there is no savings. If I order it from amsoil, I have to pay shipping. $29. 00 is really my threshold for oil prices. I start to feel taken for a ride after that. Is Mobil making Amsoil? Maybe I have to go to a dual filter and end this oil change business.



My truck rarely has to do any work, and I change my oil at about the 10,000 mile mark. (a little over sometimes). Petroleum oil couldn't hold up to that. I am beginning to think that the only way my engine will reach 500,000 miles, is if I put it into a newer truck. The ol' Ram... ain't what she used to be.



Are all synthetics this pricey? What about some big rig fleet oil?

 

[LRutigliano]

Schucks / O'Reilly has Valvoline 15W-40 (Cummins Premium Blue) diesel motor oil on sale for $9. 99/gal (reg price is $14. 99/gal). I bought 3 more gallons last night...



Its not synthetic, but I change my oil every year anyway...

 

[RRB]

Our local NAPA also has Valvoline Premium Blue 15W40 on sale for $9. 99/gal. There was an oil analysis article in the TDR magazine about 2 years ago. The article published test results that indicated this was a very good oil so I went with it. Seeing that it was also recommended by Cummins, I've used it ever since. I typically change my oil every 5k or less.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

I used to have an Amsoil account and ordered directly. Then I found, with the shipping, it was pretty much the same price per gallon (if not a little more) than buying it off the shelf somewhere. At $25. 00/ gallon, I thought I would suck it up and always run Amsoil. My last oil change, I bought 3 gallons at NAPA for $29/gallon. I questioned the higher price, and they told me, "the price of fuel, blah blah blah". I thought "Hmmm, does synthetic oil come from synthetic oil wells in the middle east?"



Yesterday, I went to get oil from my local NAPA. $37. 00 per gallon!!!! 15/40HDD. Are you out of your friggin minds!!!!!!!



So, is Amsoil now an outrageously priced synthetic, or is NAPA sticking it to me again???! They have over 100% mark-up on parts for the general public, because when my mechanic buys parts from them, he charges me his price. I call and compare... . huge difference H-U-G-E! So I know NAPA doesn't like dealing with weekenders, but good grief. Now they are Jamming up the price of AMSOIL?



If this is an AMSOIL issue, what engine oil do you reccomend as an alternative to the liquid gold that I seem to be running? If this is a NAPA issue, what price should I be paying for Amsoil these days, and what is the best way to access it?



Thanks,



Dennis

I used Amsoil when I got my 98 12V new in 1998. I thought it was too high back then and started using Mobile 1 5w-40 for Diesel. I buy it at WAL-MART when they have it. Shell Rotella makes the same thing and WAL Mart has it sometimes too. I stock up so I am not disappointed when they are out of stock. MY idea is that we should buy the oil that the Turbo likes best. That is where the wallet could suffer the most. I have got differences of opinion on filling the oil filter(s) with oil when installing new ones. I do it because I don't want to starve the turbo bearings on initial start up. You have no doubt seen the oil line going to the turbo bearings. I won't take a chance on it not being necessary. I used Mobile 1 15-50 in my motorcycles and changed it every 10K and never had a problem. I knew many others that did the same thing. I think last time I bought at WAL-MART it was $5 and change per Qt plus TAX.

 

[AMink]

I have used Delo 400 for around 200,000 miles, first in my 98, now in my 06. I change it at 5K and have used Fleetguard or NAPA Gold filters. I have never done an oil analysis and have never had ANY engine problems that could remotely be cause by oil type. It used to cost $30 for 6 gallons at Costco. Now it is $30 for 3 gallons. I see now that Walmart has it for $8. 50. I've thought about going synthetic, but the cost is way too far out there, even if it extends my changes to 10,000. Plus, by changing it every 5K, I get a little "alone time" with my truck!:-laf

EDIT: Was at Wallyworld today and Delo is now $11! That's $2. 50 in about two weeks! Moral of the story is, buy it when you know it's cheaper.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

I may be opening up a can of worms here but (100%) Synthetic is the cheapest way to go if you use a By-Pass filter. The By-Pass filter is a 2 micron filter. Rolling down the highway all of the oil in the engine will pass through the By-Pass Filter every 45 minutes to an hour. The engine is not wearing it is polishing. Change the filters every 5 to 10K and only add the oil lost in the old filters. You can go one million miles without changing the oil. This is completely contrary to what we have learned we should do. 100% synthetic oil does not break down. The oil we use in our cars (if not synthetic) has to be changed because at 3K it has begun the process of breaking down. It begins to use oil because oil that is breaking down is no longer doing its job. I bought a Nissan (New) with a 4 cylinder engine in 1990. I had Mobile 1 15 w 50 lying around that I used in my motorcycles so at 25K on the clock I began using it in the Nissan. I began changing the oil (mobile 1 15w50) every 25K (25,000) When I had 217,000 (a couple of years ago) I had a fender bender that totaled it. At that point it still was not smoking or using oil. I don't recommend it, it is just what I did. I did not have a by-pass filter on it. Had intended to but never got around to it. The big trucking companies (at least some of them) are using by-pass filters and changing only the filters. They do it to save money. From 1966 to 1976 I ran my own 18 wheeler. I owned 4, 1 at a time. 40 to 44 Qts to change oil was an expense but back then I never had heard of synthetic or by-pass filters. It is your truck and your decision. Research it for yourself. I send an oil sample occasionally and one time I got a bad report. Much too much copper in the oil. There is copper in cam shaft bearings. I changed the oil and after a time sent another sample and that sample came back OK. I concluded that the people that do oil samples can make a mistake and that is evidently what happened.

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

This Subject Has Been Beat To Death!!

I have switched to Cat DEO 15w-40 since it is the only "GOOD" oil that I can find locally. All of the emissions crap that we are blessed with forced all of us to be stuck with crap oil.

I was quite surprised with the results of the testing in that Delo 400 holds both positions of best and worst oil. And I noticed that AMSOIL is not "liquid gold" The low emissions CJ-4 oil is about the only thing you can find anymore.

If you plan to keep your truck for a long time, then choosing an oil based on whats in it instead of whats printed on the bottle and a bypass setup of any kind is a good idea.

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/magazines/Issue_057.phtml page 56-61

 

[Newf Limo]

Mikey-KE7LBB,



That was the answer. I read the article, and am now convinced. I can actually save money, buy a much less expensive oil but still a highly rated one, and continue to change oil at 10k or even 15k miles, and still sleep soundly at night.



Since I am going to my Cummins center to get my filter, I may as well get my Cummins Premium Blue as well. It will feel weird to save $98 on an oil change! But I think I can get used to it. :-laf

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

I (like so many others) just bought what most people were recommending and figured that the expensive stuff was best. I was quite shocked to find out that oil I wouldn't use in a lawnmower tested better than some of the premium stuff.

 

[Newf Limo]

It was going to cost $107 just to do an oil change on my truck. Yesterday, I spent $96, and I am changing the oil on my truck, Jonh Deere 4310 diesel tractor, and JD GX335 lawn and garden tractor, including filters. (5 gallons of oil and three filters) The best part, is I feel I am using a higher quality oil than I have been. The down side is, I feel I have been unnecessarily spending a rediculous amount of money for something I was led to believe was the holy grail of oils.



Now, I'm not going to beat up Amsoil, as i am sure my engines have been more than sufficiently protected. But, I don't see how they can justify such crazy prices, especially if it isn't even a very highly rated oil, atleast by the simple standards of that article. I have the benefit (albeit a paid for benefit) of membership to a knowledgebase of over 30,000 people with a common interest. There is almost always somebody that is going to specialize in something around here. What about the things we spend the 'extra' bucks on, that are unrelated to our trucks. For those things, we remain ignorant, and hope that we are truly getting our moneys worth, because 'they' say we are.



In the 10 years I have owned my Ram, I have spent approximately $507 more on engine oil than I would have, had I just bought a high quality 'working mans oil' like the Cummins Valvoline Premium Blue. It gave me tremendous peace of mind. Yesterday, if I had bought 5 gallons of Amsoil instead of the 5 gallons of Valvoline, I would have spent $187. 00! That is 91 dollars difference. That is 2. 6 years of TDR memberships! Now, that, is where one should find their piece of mind!:-laf



So, if you aren't doing dual filters and just topping off, there doesn't seem to be a reason to use synthetic oil??? I will accept it, (because i am broke) but it still feels like a major programming error.

 

[NIsaacs]

I agree and have never felt the need to use synthetic. Always used a good name brand oil and do not do extended drain intervals. However, I have even went one step further and now buy store brand (Carquest/Napa) It is frequently on sale so I can stock up. Both store brands are made by Valvoline (Ashland Oil) so I am comfortable with it.



Nick

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

The only thing I look at now is to see if it says CJ-4 on the bottle and if it does... I DON'T BUY IT!!! It was clear to me after reading the article that ALL the new stuff is garbage! #@$%! I will pay a higher price for synthetics ONLY if they are the last ones to offer CI-4 or CI-4+ for older or "deleted" trucks.

The sad part of this is when they all decide to switch, we are left with oil that doesn't offer the same protection as the old CF-4 did. Even the "OLD" Wal-Mart CI-4 stuff rated better than the new CJ-4 Amsoil!!

When CAT changes their oil to meet the new standard, I'll be buying up the remaining stock of the OnaMax oil from the local Cummins shop (which is Valvoline Premium Blue CI-4+... The OLD stuff:-laf)

 

[cojhl2]

Ever since the 50s we have used Delo oil in every engine on the farm including Diesel, Gas, Autos, Lawnmowers, and oil cans. We have never lost an engine.

 

[bheiting]

Cummins endorses Valvoline Premium Blue oil. It tested very well in John Martins blind tests in his Technical Topics articles in, I believe, TDR issues 56-58. It had better additives than Amsoil - the most important consideration according to Martin. It's also considerably cheaper. Martin has been testing oil additives for years. I'd take his word for it.

 

[Crazy Horse]

ALL the new stuff is garbage!

I agree, all the CJ-4 oils lack lubrication and longevity properties compared to the prior oils. Just like this new 15 ppm fuel that's being shoved down our throats... be sure to use additives with that in 1st and 2nd gens. I've been using Amsoil 15w-40 Marine since 2003 in my 02 2500 and I'm changing my oil every 2 years with oil filter changes every 6 months (now). There has been no oil usage between changes other than the quart or so that is required for what you loose in the filter. . When I lived in Anchorage I changed the filter every 4 months due to the risk of fuel contamination. I believe that fuel contamination is going to be a big problem for all these new trucks that have the pm traps and regeneration systems that have to be maintained regularly by lengthy drives to reach high operating temps. Not good for cold climates or short tripping for sure! This maintenance required reminds me like it was in the late 70's and early 80's with the 5. 9 GM diesel. Cold climates and short tripping killed those motors. I can remember seeing these trucks come into service with the crankcase a quart over full or more with serious engine problems. Recently I have read that manufacturers have relaxed the idea that fuel contamination is not all that bad for the lubrication of these new engines. I'll never swallow that one.

 

[ENafziger]

For those of you using extended oil drain intervals on synthetics, or never changing the oil, what is your thinking on soot?

I've read several places that the micron size of soot is far less than the 2 micron or so filtering that bypass systems are good for... hence the reason for the blackness of the oil even with great filtration. I've also read that this soot is abrasive to the engine and will cause accelerated wear. I see in some signatures above that truck(s) with extended intervals are running a Smarty... so I assume soot loading of the oil is something to be considered.

Thoughts?

--Eric

 

[Newf Limo]

So the Amsoil Rep in Portland... Went off on me! Four Season Synthetic - Your Maine Authorized AMSOil Dealer



He called me to see if I was still interested in the 15w40 HDD. I said that I think I am going to go with the Cummins Valvoline right now because it is highly rated and more affordable. He said, and not so nicely, "Yeah, but with the extended drain intervals with Amsoil... whatever, you can lead a horse to water. . , never mind, whats the use bye*click*"



Just a couple points here!!!



#1: My last timberframing job... October 07. Building has died.

#2: Laid off from ABF Freight December 08.

#3: Working as a 'spare' driver for a local trucking company, barely clearing the 20K/year mark. So $$$ are limited. $107 oil changes... just not doable right now!

#4: I have been a loyal Amsoil customer for 10 friggin years! How about a little respect, you Jackass!

#5: I own and work with horses every day. You can lead them to water, and you CAN make them drink. Just get them thirsty first you putz!



Heavy, very annoyed sigh... . I feel better now. Thank you.