Opinions on Amsoil and bypass filtration.

[903Dodge]

Napa gold filter and whatever oil is on sale. Delo, Rotella, Valvoline 15w-40. 

[angus]

12 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

I know AH64ID is a big AMSOil fan but just recently rebuilt his engine from a failed cam gear that wiped out the oil pump. So he's starting all over again from ZERO.

Ohhh, I see a discussion coming now LOL!

Edited May 1, 2016 by angus

[dripley]

I am definitely not a hot shotter. I do get alot of mixed driving and idling in the winter time. The closer I get to home the more miles I rack up since I go home every chance I have. Right now I putting about 700 a week on. About half is interstate the other half around town  and back thru the mountains to get home. Seeing a good mix where I am now.

Just now, angus said:

Ohhh, I see a discussion coming now LOL!

I have been waiting for that to happen.

[leathermaneod]

Lol now I really can't wait for him to jump in here. I am also one for brand loyalty. I finally have all Valvoline right now except for the tans which only gets the OEM stuff, and t case which has Napa. Although they told me Valvoline makes there ATF. Oh here's another slightly related question. Has anyone seen/run the nv4500 fluid from quad 4x4? It's supposed to be a slightly cheaper acceptable alternative to the oem....

[Mopar1973Man]

7 minutes ago, leathermaneod said:

I am also one for brand loyalty.

 

I'm not brand loyal. I'm specification loyal yes... But not brand loyal.

 

7 minutes ago, leathermaneod said:

Has anyone seen/run the nv4500 fluid from quad 4x4? It's supposed to be a slightly cheaper acceptable alternative to the oem....

 

Yeah I've seen it but typically I get good price from the dealers locally. I do a bit of phone calling to find the lowest price I can then call my local dealer tell them X dealer sell it for Y price. He'll typically match that price. Still going to call the local dealer and see if they still stock the fluid.

 

(Googled...)

 

Oh crap! I just found that NV4500 fluids are no longer made. Great this is going to add to my chasing stuff for my rebuilt NV4500 transmission I'll be picking up this week.

http://www.quad4x4.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=acton&key=90020

 

[leathermaneod]

Wow so I guess I'll only be using oem stuff until the dealers run out of it. Then I'll have to switch to that stuff....at least it's $10 per qt cheaper lol hopefully it's as good for these transmissions...

Edited May 1, 2016 by leathermaneod

[01cummins4ever]

I never

26 minutes ago, dripley said:

In the winter I will start mine and let run a minute or so with the exhaust brake on then just idle it out of the rv park to the highway and drive. I take pretty easy until the temps get up 120 or 140 and then I am gone.

 

And Leather, I too ran a K&N for quite while before changing over to the BHAF.

you guys are making me feel bad, I know I need to update my sig, but cant figure out how to do it.I actually got rid of my KN filter after watching Mikes video. and put the stock paper element back in a year ago. maybe one of these days might upgrade to a BHAF. but for now the stock is just fine.

As far as my oil change, I have been with shell rotella 15/40, and mostly Napa or wix filters since day 1. and Ive been the sole driver of my truck since 2003, and I do plan on keeping it around for at least 500k miles or more. I also live in a harsh environment with -25 temps in winter and close to 100 in summer and a lot of steep mountain driving. mostly recreational with 5 th wheel and toys behind it.

 

One reason I never went with synthetic (besides the price) is that I would feel guilty about going 12-15000 miles between oil changes, it just doesn't fit me, I would rather be under my truck every 7500 or so and gives me chance to look thing over and I might see something before it does become a problem. Its just good old school maintenance to me.

 

[leathermaneod]

I didn't even read your sig lol. I would def get a BHAF or similar on there. My truck came with the air raid intake and k&n filter on it. I did a lot of research and it seemed the best option for me was the stock air box, so I bought one off eBay for about $100. Then I got to reading bout them sucking in dirt at the corners. On top of that, I opened the hood one day to find the filter minder partially sucked down(yes the filter was new and clean). I reset it thinking it was a fluke, but soon after, after a pretty high boost run I saw it had happened again and sucked down even further this time, so I ordered up a donaldson BHAF from Vulcan and printed out the template for the heat shield. I ended up making it out of 3/16" diamond plate I think, and wrapped the edge with weather stripping, so it looks pretty sweet in my opinion.

 

 I was brought up on 3000 mile intervals so I've only recently started going up to 4-5k even with synthetic lol. It is crazy expensive though. Costs about $100 an oil change for my truck, and about $45 each for my Honda Civic and CR-V...Mike keeps telling me I should go 7500 though so maybe I'll go a little longer this time...

Edited May 2, 2016 by leathermaneod

[Killer223]

i was and still am to an extent brand loyal, i love Valvoline products. i ran the 5/40 for years every winter and the 15/40 every summer. but after watching my blackstone lab reports tell me nothing really changes between oils i stopped with the synthetics.

i think if i was to get over my OCD and let the oil stay in for more then 8K miles then the synthetics would be worth it. else at the 5-8K miles range. dino oil is just fine.

I'd say if you plan on extending OCI out to over 10K miles then yes get the synthetic. else there is really no need unless in COLD climate all the time.

so i switched to Travellers 15/40, at 39$ a 5 gallon pale when on sale. And i order the dbl7349 filters from amazon. i'll drain at or around 7K miles. my lab results come back as suitable for around 10K miles and "check back" but i just can't force myself to keep the oil in that long. engines like CLEAN oil. soot/carbon is hard like diamond, my brain says change it.  it's cheep enough.

i couldn't see any benefit in the synthetic to justify the expense. for how often i change the oil.

Instead of miles we should all go by hours per oil change. i think the modern oils are rated for like 500 hour intervals.

 

i think the DBL7349 was rated to 15 micron, and was one of a few rated at full flow capable in cold weather.

42 minutes ago, leathermaneod said:

 and about $45 each for my Honda Civic and CR-V.

 My wife has a 2012 civic, we use walmart super tech 5/20 synthetic for $17 a 5 qt jug. and a bosch filter for 8. with 105K miles no issues what so ever.

if you are fallowing the manual and changing around the 8500 mile mark you'll be just fine.

food for thought. in really cold climates i'd be buying Mobile one.

 

 

 

 

[01cummins4ever]

yep, the BHAF is definitely on the near future list, never was to impressed with the stock air box.

Nothing wrong with keeping fresh oil in the engine, if you can afford it. Its pretty much is what ever satisfies you. I don't think I could go more than 7500 on conventional oil, even though I'm sure there is people that go farther, I think its just more of a personal thing.

Even on my work truck ( 2001 Freightliner FLD w/ series 60 Detriot )  The company doubled our oil change intervals to 15K miles do to switching to a synthetic blend, and I do all my own maintenance on the rig and I'm usually bringing it in the shop at about 12,000 miles or so just because I cant stand it any longer.

Also a lot of the Big OTR company's run full synthetic in their trucks that do mostly interstate driving and they push them till 30k between oil changes, but with that they replace their trucks every few years too.

 

 

 

 

[leathermaneod]

This is just a thought, but I'm curious, what would have happened with your analysis had you run the Dino 15/40 in the winter and compared that to the 5/40? Or did you? Basically I'm wondering if it saved you some wear in the cold weather, that's what really worries me because of living here in upstate NY. Even when I go back to southeastern PA here in the next two years, it still gets pretty cold there....I'm pretty good about plugging the truck in, but I can't at work. It's not cold all year long of course, but it gets pretty darn cold for quite a while. Last week it was still in the 40°s. I have also toyed with the idea of switching back to Dino in the summer, but wasn't sure if that was good to go back and forth like that. I have also used traveler in the past, but one time got to the bottom of a 2.5 gallon jug to find some kind of sediment looking stuff at the bottom. So that was the end of that. Not sure how big a deal it was, but it sure didn't seem right. I also have some rotella t left over so I could use that again too. I also always figured the synth cleans the engine better. I wish I could find a decent 15/40 synth that wasn't too expensive, but all I know of is Amsoil.

 

As as far as the Hondas, mine are an 04, and an 06. I'm honestly not sure what the OCI is supposed to be, I'd have to look in the manual lol. But I've been using valvoline high mileage synth blend, and just switched to high mileage full synth, and the Bosch distance plus filters from Walmart. I guess I could look into the super tech, my dad uses it, I've just always heard such good things of valvoline idk....my civic just hit 200k and my crv has 146k and just got back from driving it to Florida and back. Didn't use hardly any of the valvoline full synth. 

[Killer223]

i saw no change in my lab report in winter from 5/40 to the 15/40. so i stuck with the 15/40 dino.

Cam2 is a good synthetic 15/40 it's sold here at CalRanch.

 

as for the best 15/40 any that meat the correct spec, CJ-4+ then you'll be fine.

[Mopar1973Man]

1 minute ago, Killer223 said:

as for the best 15/40 any that meat the correct spec, CJ-4+ then you'll be fine.

 

That what I do...

 

Originally it was CI-4 was the API spec but oils have changed to the CJ-4 spec which supersedes the CI-4 spec. for our trucks. Most will say the CI-4 is a better oil because it had better content of additives. With the change CJ-4 they aimed at removing sulfur and reduced some of the additive package so some get scientific and nitpick the specs to death.  15w-40 oil is a good all around oil. Since I don't get super cold but maybe one month of winter then its over and done and the weather warm up above 0*F. I've seen several times where I left the house in minus weather and returned home to minus weather and never broke above 0*F all day. Just anytime the engine temp is low fire it up allow it to warm, drive easy till it does warm up to about 140-160*F and get on with it.

 

Tend to fall back on what I see around me. With all the Dodge Trucks in the canyon here and none of them I know of are running synthetic oil. Most get there oil change done at the local Chevron so its going to be 15w-40 Chevron Delo. It not like I'm exception to the rule but taking into account of my knowledge of trucks, owners, and what is serviced where. Yes I've got connection with all the local shops too.

[leathermaneod]

Well thanks for all the info and opinions guys. Very appreciated as always! I hadn't heard of the Cam2 before. I'll have to look into it. Guess maybe I should do an analysis this time and see what happens. Would finding the sediment looking stuff in the bottom of the jug of traveler have bothered you guys?

[Killer223]

i've found sediment in the bottom of just about every oil i've used. you have a filter for a reason. i really wouldn't bother me.

[leathermaneod]

Interesting.  Maybe I just never saw it before since most oils I buy don't have white jugs. I just worry about if that sediment gets dumped into the center of the filter when filling it. In that case it would go right to the engine....

 

do do you know of any studies or comparisons done that included the cam2 oil? Or do you know if it uses group 4 base stock for their synthetic?

[Killer223]

i NEVER and i mean NEVER fill a filter in the center hole. heck i don't even pre fill them.

as for the Cam2

http://www.pqiamerica.com/June%202014/cam21540.htm

 

https://engineoil.api.org/Directory/EolcsResultsDetail?accountId=-1&companyId=10097&resultsUrl=%2FDirectory%2FEolcsResults%3FaccountId%3D-1

 

[Buzzinhalfdozen]

Is anyone running a 10w-30 year round?  The duramax/powerstroke guys have been for years and it seems like the OTR trucking industry is heading that way also. 

[leathermaneod]

6 hours ago, Killer223 said:

i NEVER and i mean NEVER fill a filter in the center hole. heck i don't even pre fill them.

as for the Cam2

http://www.pqiamerica.com/June%202014/cam21540.htm

 

https://engineoil.api.org/Directory/EolcsResultsDetail?accountId=-1&companyId=10097&resultsUrl=%2FDirectory%2FEolcsResults%3FaccountId%3D-1

 

Thanks for those links!

 

Does anyone else out there not fill their filter on these engines? I was always taught it was important with such a large filter. Maybe that's completely wrong? 

[Killer223]

if you do fill it, fill it with the outside holes. never the center one.