The
Great Oil Debate: AMSOIL
by Ed Newman
AMSOIL Marketing and Advertising Manager
Appeared in the February 2001
Issue of American Iron Magazine
This article was written in late 2000, before Harley-Davidson accepted the fact that synthetic oils were better for their bikes, and long before Harley came out with their own Screaming Eagle line. Since that time, AMSOIL has introduced two new premium motorcycle oil formulations with GL-1 ratings, as well as a line of Absolute Efficiency Motorcycle Oil Filters that no longer require changing in the middle of an extended drain interval. To download a detailed 28-page report on how AMSOIL motorcycle oils compare to the competition, click here (2MB PDF).
AMSOIL: Manufacturer
of the first API rated synthetic motor oil offers
experience and insights
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS...
The cover of the
most recent Forbes ASAP exclaims in large red
letters, "What Is True?" The magazine
chooses a theme for each issue and in an age of
information, misinformation and disinformation,
it comes as no small surprise that people are
confused about almost everything. Contradictions
and competing viewpoints abound. No question about
it, it's not easy being a consumer sometimes.
Nowhere is this more
of a problem than in the area of motorcycle lubrication. On
the one hand bikers are told by equipment manufacturers
that automobile oils are not capable of protecting
their bikes. On the other hand, a synthetic
motor oil company like AMSOIL has been providing
motorcycles with superb performance and protection
for nearly three decades. What's a motorcyclist
to believe?
This spring Donny
Petersen defended, even recommended, the use of
synthetic motor oils. In November Harley-Davidson
responded, taking Donny to task and challenging
many of his assertions. A rebuttal by Chuck
Goldmann (ExxonMobil) provided readers with an
excellent overview of synthetic motor oils and
their advantages over petroleum.
I'd like to commend
American Iron for creating this opportunity for
the exchange of ideas regarding the care and feeding
of our machines, and to Donny's courage in putting
his convictions down in black and white as a starting
point. It's always easier to say nothing
than to go on record and get fired at from every
angle. The likelihood of getting shot is
significantly reduced when you avoid the front
lines.
This article is a
response to all three of the abovementioned articles.
AMSOIL synthetic motor oils were the first API
rated synthetic motor oils in the world when introduced
in 1972. With nearly three decades of experience,
and documentation, AMSOIL can make a contribution
to this "Great Oil Debate." Our
tech services staff has been answering questions
by concerned Harley riders for ages anyways. We
might as well attempt to present publicly what
we have been saying all along.
My premise is this:
Everyone knows synthetic oil is better than refined
petroleum. Why not use it?
SYNTHETICS OFFER
SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE AND PROTECTION
The advantages of
synthetic motor oils are well known and have been
written about for decades. I have SAE (Society
of Automotive Engineers, Inc.) papers in my files
that repeatedly endorsed the various benefits
of synthetics. Whether extended service life,
improved fuel economy, increased power, reduced
friction and wear, resistance to breakdown, better
low and high temperature protection, you name
it, the documentation is out there. The studies
have been done.
All of this leads
one to ask a couple fundamental questions. Is
the Harley V-Twin engine different from all other
engines in the world? Is there something
so unique with a Harley engine that all of the
lubrication rules that apply to all other four
stroke engines must be thrown out the window?
Yes, theirs is air-cooled
and can run hot. For this reason alone one
would think it even more important to have a premium
synthetic motor oil.
One of Donny's comments
that bears repeating came near the conclusion
of his April column. "The Motor Company
didn't reinvent the air-cooled engine and, therefore,
its engines don't require specially formulated,
Harley-only fluids." This summary remark
stands at the crux of the debate.
DUAL QUALIFIED
OILS
There were two topics
which the previous writers waded into with great
detail which I would like to re-visit briefly
here: dual qualified motor oils and additive
chemistry.
Historically, one
of the biggest problems AMSOIL has faced when
selling motor oils to the motorcycle market has
to do with this notion that automobile oils can't
be used in motorcycles. Chuck Goldmann did
an excellent job of explaining how some motor
oils might not be suited for both applications,
but that some motor oils most certainly are. (I
won't fault him for mentioning that he personally
uses a Mobil product. As you would expect,
we use AMSOIL products, which Chuck knows are
very good.)
There are actually
two issues here. The first is that the motor
oil be capable of meeting both passenger car and
diesel performance requirements. The second
issue has to do with the use of friction modifiers. The
truth is that friction modifiers have never been
a real performance issue. OEMs (bike manufacturers),
however, created such a strong public perception
against them that in 1998 AMSOIL re-formulated
its two leading oils for the motorcycle market. Later,
because of the continued misinformation that an
automobile oil cannot be used as a motorcycle
oil, AMSOIL took the last step of producing two
grades of AMSOIL synthetic motorcycle oil.
Public perceptions
and fears can drive consumer behavior, whether
true or not. Last year's Millennial Day Meltdown
fear resulted in tremendous sales of generators
and packaged dried foods. The fear driving
this debate revolves around the question of whether
it is acceptable or safe to use anything but Factory
oil.
CHEMISTRY CLASS
All of the articles
presented chemistry lessons. I'm not sure
how important many of these details are for riders,
but it is fascinating for those of us who are
so inclined.
Do we really need
a chemistry degree in order to choose a motor
oil? No. But it's good to remember that all
motor oils are not created equal.
It is unlikely that
any major motor oil company today is going to
produce a really bad product. But is adequate
what riders really want? If you are going
to change it frequently, if you are going to be
a kind, tame rider who never gets on the throttle,
well, Harley-Davidson Oil is just fine, as most
motorcycle oils probably are. But if you're
the kind of rider who puts your machine through
its paces, who makes modifications that bump your
horsepower to the next level, if you're cranking
it up and you want to know your engine has the
protection it needs, or simply want the best,
a premium synthetic motorcycle oil is the lubricant
of choice.
Here's how I see
it. Additive chemistries are just that: additives. They
are chemicals that have been added to the base
stock. These chemicals have various functions. But
the final product can only be as good as the foundation
you build on. Quite honestly, there would
be no synthetic motor oil market if the only thing
you needed to do to get premium performance from
crude oil was put some chemicals in it. The
fact is, petroleum has its limitations. All
oils are not created equal.
A premium product
does not end with the base stock. Additive
selection makes a difference. Chuck Goldmann
notes that not only is selection important, the
process of assembling the motor oil is also important. In
short, you want an experienced manufacturer who
understands the interrelationship of the various
components of the lubricants being produced. It
is not simply a matter of putting ingredients
together.
Harley-Davidson noted,
correctly, that "you cannot distinguish between
a good motor oil and a better motor oil by additive
metals analysis alone." Remember, though,
that this is not the same as saying additive metals
don't make a difference. The truth is a manufacturer
can skimp on certain chemicals to keep costs down
and consumers will not notice anything, even though
there are consequences. I would like to use
an example from a different industry that readers
may understand.
In the realm of house
paint, not all paints are created equal. If
you take a really cheap white paint, you may need
three coats of paint to cover a medium colored
surface. If you take a very high end professional
paint, you can cover that surface with one coat. I
once painted a black door white with a single
coat of premium high quality paint. All of
these paints look white inside the pail. But
the high quality paint has a higher additive content. By
increasing the amount of titanium white, an additive,
you can get better coverage. This additive
is expensive, however, and people often do not
wish to pay the price, so paint manufacturers
produce low end products to satisfy the consumer
who wants to buy on price. Savvy consumers
who value their time are willing to pay more to
get the better, one-coat coverage.
When it comes to
additives, AMSOIL spends more so that the oil
exceeds, not simply meets, the demands of a long
life lubricant. High TBN, and sufficient
zinc and phosphorous, helps reduce engine corrosion
and wear, increases oil service life and reduces
maintenance costs.
REAL BENEFITS
FOR RIDERS
What does all this
mean for readers? There are two very real
and noticeable benefits for bikers who use a premium
synthetic motorcycle oil like AMSOIL. First, the
engine runs cooler. Reduced friction results
in cooler operating temps. If you are riding
hard out on the desert or stuck in city traffic
in L.A., you can definitely feel the heat from
your hog. What can you do? You can't
install air conditioning. You can use a premium
synthetic and run perceptibly cooler.
The second benefit,
extended drain intervals and longer service life,
is appreciated by many AMSOIL users. Instead
of having to change the oil midway through the
season, you simply change the filter. The
oil's additive package is beefy enough so that
the oil is good to go for up to three times the
equipment manufacturers recommendation or one
year, whichever comes first. If you are uncomfortable
with extended drains you can still change at normal
intervals and needn't have fear if inconveniences
cause you to go beyond your normal oil change
interval.
Another, less noticeable
but very real benefit of a beefy additive package
in a synthetic is this: at the end of the year,
bikers in northern tier states also appreciate
knowing that the anticorrosive characteristics
of a premium synthetic are better than their petrol
counterparts. There is less likelihood of
rust and pitting on parts inside the engine as
it sits idle through the winter.
WARRANTY ISSUES
A major concern many
riders have had pertains to the warranty issue.
Harley Davidson has created the impression that
if you are a rider who uses any oil besides Harley-Davidson
oil, you will void your warranty. Many motorcycle
shops believe this to be the case, although the
writer of the November Harley-Davidson article
indicates that "in a pinch Harley-Davidson
recommends that a rider use one of the API C category
oils as a substitute for Harley-Davidson 360."
Nevertheless, the impression is out there that
the warranty will be voided if you use another
product, and since the bike has cost a good chunk
of change, no one really wants to gamble with
that much money on the table. Fortunately, there
is a law called the Magnusson-Moss Act that says,
in laymans terms, an OEM cannot require a consumer
to use an OEM part or fluid in order to maintain
warranty coverage unless that part or fluid is
provided free of charge.
I can't speak for
other oil companies, but I can say that AMSOIL
warrants its oil against lubrication related failure. We
have 28 years experience and wouldnt be in business
today if engine failures were a problem. We
have more experience with synthetics and extended
drain intervals than anyone in the industry.
MARKETING
Don, in his April
column, wrote: "There is nothing wrong
with Harley oil, and it is a good fossil oil to
run in your bike. It is just that modern
marketing can be very skillful in making the consumer
paranoid about using anything but the manufacturer's
suggested oil. There are better oils out
there. Period." Right on, Donny. I
can't agree more.
It would appear that
Harley-Davidson has not made it a goal to empower
riders to make choices. They have made a marketing
decision, forced reliance on Harley-Davidson. Is
this what riders want? Do riders really want
to be stuck with no options regarding motor oil
selection? Do riders want to be forced to use
inferior oil when they know other products can
provide better protection, reduce heat, increase
horsepower?
They say it is not
a marketing issue, however, Harley-Davidson has
chosen not to help their customers use other products.
There are no factual reasons for this. Their oil
does not offer the benefits of a synthetic, and
it is clearly a marketing move.
A lot of riders change
ignitions and make other modifications to run
their Harleys at higher RPM, modifying their bikes
to get more horsepower. This puts more stress
on the engine, creates more heat. These modifications
may also present warranty problems as well. Perhaps
even a majority of riders modify their bikes to
increase performance, and most really ought to
be using a higher performance motor oil. It
would appear that Harley-Davidson is not interested
in helping these riders.
With more heat generated,
oil breakdown does occur. The graph on oxidation
performance in the December issue shows a shocking
difference between HD 360 and Mobil 1 V Twin oil. This
chart and many other tests for benchmarking performance
prove emphatically the superior capabilities of
synthetic motor oils. Why, then, has Harley-Davidson
refused to promote the performance benefits synthetics
offer? It might be that being affiliated
with one oil supplier for so long has slowed Harley-Davidsons
adoption of advancements in lubrication technology.
IN SUMMARY
Synthetic motor oils
offer numerous performance advantages over conventional
petroleum based products. For this reason,
in nearly every other market from trucks to cars
to heavy duty equipment to sport vehicles synthetics
have been greeted with increasing enthusiasm. The
technology is proven. The benefits are many.
There seems to be no good reason why motorcycle
owners should be discouraged from embracing this
trend.
SIDEBAR
In 1994 Lt. Col.
Albert J. Amatuzio was inducted into the
Lubricants World Hall of Fame for his pioneering
work in the development of synthetic motor
oil. During his 25 years as an award
winning jet fighter pilot he had gained
a solid appreciation for the extraordinary
lubricants that protected the engines of
the jets he flew. He recognized that
only synthetic lubricants could stand up
to the demanding operating conditions of
jet engines and the severe temperature extremes
they encountered.
In the mid-1960’s Al
Amatuzio began his quest to develop a synthetic
motor oil for cars, trucks, and other internal
combustion engines. After an intense
period of research and development he assembled
a team of chemists and directed the formulation
of the first synthetic motor oil in the
world to meet American Petroleum Institute
service requirements.
The introduction of AMSOIL
synthetic motor oil set new standards for
motor oil quality. AMSOIL synthetic
motor oil performed like no other before
it, outperforming conventional petroleum
motor oils on all counts. From the
start it became apparent that this innovative
product would play a role in engine performance
and engine life.
AMSOIL products were initially
sold through individual Dealers by word
of mouth. In the 1980’s AMSOIL
products became available at auto parts
stores and other retail outlets that sell
motor oils and lubricants. Today, AMSOIL
products can be found in tens of thousands
of locations across North America as well
as on the internet at www.amsoil.com. |