Amsoil...yeah or ney?? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Any experiences positive or negative with the Amsoil products??

I tried to get some info from them, they were more interested in setting me up as dealer and they never gave me the info. lol pass

From what we have seen, two observations: 1. UoA tested “mid pack” at best. Not bad, but by no means great. 2. They have no actual ACEA ratings (critical for the M96 engine). Their literature and website uses marketing hype language in reference to ACEA (“surpasses ACEA” and “recommended for cars requiring ACEA rates oils”). When questioned on the subject of ACEA, they are evasive (ACEA ratings, particularly the ACEA A3, B3, and B4 require submission to independent lab evaluations and then “locking” the formulation (ACEA rates only finished products, not components, and if the formula is subsequently changed in any way, requires resubmission before listing the rating). It took multiple phone calls before Amsoil finally admitted they have not obtained any ACEA ratings, a common phenomenon amongst small oil blenders like them and Royal Purple. Not a bad oil, but not a good one either. But, we do not use it because there are better options that are cheaper, more readily available, and have actual ACEA ratings………. .

With my Boxster? No. But Amsoil is very well respected in the offroad motorcycle world, plenty of racers use Amsoil with great results. I believe it's a group 4 base oil with a decent additive package. As JFP stated, there are probably better choices for the Boxster.

I haven't tried Amsoil yet because nobody around here sells it and I'm not going to "mail order" motor oil. They market their 0W/40 as snowmobile and ATV oil. It shouldn't be a problem, but figured it was worth noting. I've had good luck with Royal Purple products and I can actually go down to Advance Auto and buy a case so I'm sticking with them.

I've been using Amsoil in my regular cars for years and am happy w/ it. I'd be interested in hearing which oil is better for P-cars that cost less. And here is some related info about engine oil: http://www.carbibles.com/engineoil_bible.html

In my shop, we currently use Castrol Syntec 10W-40 as our standard recommendation for the M96/97 engines. Years back, we used to use a couple of grades of Mobil 1 products; however, post acquisition by Exxon, we started seeing the used oil analysis really crap out on several grades, most notably the 0W-40 and 15W-50 (widely used in air cooled Porsches). At the same time, some grades of Mobil 1 (most notably the 15W-50) lost all the ACEA ratings (ever since API moved from being the “gatekeeper” on things such as oil specs and ratings to a marketing and public relations role, leaving the manufacturer’s to “self police” their products; we stopped looking at all API ratings and only look at ACEA specs, which are both stringent and require independent verification). We started testing other brands and eventually settled on the Castrol Syntec line. On-going UoA’s have continued to support this choice. As for pricing, one of the best sources for Castrol Syntec, if you are not a dealer or shop, is your local Wal-Mart. Last week I saw 5 quart containers of 10W-40 Syntec on the shelf at two local Wal-Marts for $22…………….

I just did an oil change last week and can assure you that Mobil 1 has all the ACEA ratings listed as well as the API ratings right on the bottle.

What grade of Mobil 1? Not all have lost their ACEA ratings, but others (like the 15W-50) have. Mobil 1 tech has confirmed this to us in writing. Porsche "supposedly" forced them to resubmit 0W-40 (which they had to do multiple times before it passed) to get A3, B3, B4 ratings from ACEA……………. Mobil 1 ain’t what it used to be………………

I used Mobil 1 5W/30 and a Wix filter.

Ummmmmm……….you do realize that you should not be using 5W-30 weight in the M96? XW- 40 is the minimum weight you should be running……..

Well there goes a $109 down the crapper. That is what I get for asking them "to look it up" for me. I guess I will be changing the oil again this weekend. Anyone want to buy some lightly used full synthetic oil?

Never ask an auto parts counter person a question you don't already know the answer to; otherwise you will get whatever they have in stock. Go to your local Wal-Mart; buy two 5 quart jugs of the 10W-40 Castrol Syntec at $22 per, get a new Wix filter and you'll be "skating away" for about $50.................

Yeah, it sucks getting to know your way around a new brand of cars. I have all the pertinent information in my noggin for every model of land rover since 1948 but I am on the learning curve for the 986. That is why I am here... to learn, thanks for the info.

JFP, I've been using Mobil 10W-40, 5Q jugs from Walmart. I recently had my clutch replaced and RMS updated. My mechanic used Liqui Molly Synth, 5W-40, thoughts on both?

As I mentioned earlier, we do not use any Mobil 1 products and have not for several years. We do, however, continue to be able to test various M1 grades as cars come in for service with M1 oils in them. Unfortunately, I do not like the results. Repeated testing has demonstrated that the product is no longer what it once was, and if anything continues to go in the wrong direction. That said, M1 10W-40 is one of their better remaining products; but it can still be out performed by a considerable margin by other products like Syntec, and usually for less money as well. I have no experience with the other oil..................

After some research on the Amsoil products, I went with Castrol Syntec 10W-40 as well.