| Author | Message | ||
     Iman501 |
if i buy syn blend oil is it worth the extra cost? nobody tells you how much of it is syn. | ||
| Froggy |
Thats why I don't bother with blends. Get Amsoil  | ||
| Whitexc |
Yup...Amsoil. Done. | ||
| Gaza |
The only reason you don`t go full syn is for financial reasons, so it`s better then no syn at all. Amsoil is your twins best friend!! | ||
| Cataract2 |
100% synth or go home. | ||
| Boney95 |
Syn3. Gotta represent. | ||
| Bobbuell1961 |
Ask an oil ? on a forum? are you crazy? I have seen serious damage in air cooled HD engines running Amsoil it's entire life, IMHO it is too slippery for a roller bearing engine, plain bearing ok. Still haven't decided what i will run in the CR but it won't be Sny3. Bob  | ||
| Iman501 |
i should have typed more in my OP, i'm not really looking for a good oil, my dad was just wondering is there really an advantage buying synthetic blend? or is the percent of synthetic so low that its just enough to say its blended, but have no real value? | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
Bobbuell1961, You say this and yet my Grand father had 150,000 miles on his road king using only amsoil before he rebuilt it and when he tore it down it was still in good shape he just wanted bigger cylinders. (Message edited by firebolt020283 on March 03, 2010) | ||
| Hootowl |
"IMHO it is too slippery for a roller bearing engine" You're kidding right? | ||
| Sloppy |
Too slippery for roller bearings??? Wow, I haven't heard that one in a loooooong while. LOL. FYI - roller bearings require 1/100th of the oil film required for a plain or sleeve bearing! That's why may roller bearings can be run in grease, but you can't do that with a plain bearing! The choice to run synthetics (or blends of) or not is a financial decision, with a twist. Synthetic oil allows you to run your oil for a longer period of time than conventional. So IF you are willing to extend your oil drain intervals, synthetics ARE CHEAPER than conventional oils. Synthetics also can withstand more "stress" than conventional oils, so if you have an extreme duty application (stop and go driving, parade duty or racing), it can provide better protection. So the question isn't "are synthetics worth their cost?", the question should be, "are you going to use synthetics to their full advantages to save money?". And that can only be answered by YOU! My oil - Mobil1 15-50, both engine and tranny. NOTE: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! You want to make sure you use an API "C" oil as they have the high detergent levels required for the extra blow by of air cooled engines. Many oils DO NOT have this rating, so make sure you check -- and yes, it DOES make a difference... (Message edited by sloppy on March 04, 2010) | ||
| Ll7 |
+1 ON THE AMSOIL I have used it in harleys and buells with no problems, use it in the primary in the buell too. I just break it in on standard oil then switch to amsoil after broke in. | ||
| Vospertw |
Not to start an oil war... I was looking to switch to Amsoil but noticed that Mobil V-Twin is available at the base exchange - which means no sales tax (8.75% in San Diego) and 300 yards from my house. It came in 2nd to Amsoil in Amsoil's own '2009 White Paper' - any of you guys have experience with it? For the OP's question, I think I would either run straight dino or go full synthetic depending on all the factors being brought up - change interval, usage, etc. | ||
| Poppinsexz |
"In July 1996, Consumer Reports published the results of a two year motor oil test involving a fleet of 75 New York taxi cabs and found no noticeable advantage of synthetic oil over regular oil." | ||
| Vospertw |
Sloppy - I use Mobil 1 15W50 in my BMW as well; why are you using the 15W50 instead of 20W50? | ||
| Sloppy |
There is no reason to use the "V-Twin" oil in the HD air cooled engines. The "V-twin" oil complies with JASO standards but the HD engine was designed under the API standards. As long as you have the correct API "C" grade there is no reason to use JASO oil. Note - there are a number of bike manufacturers that designed their engines under the JASO standard, but not HD. Also there is nothing wrong with using the V-twin oil - it's just an unecessary expense. 1. Consumer reports is a pathetic group. My opinion, yes, but I'm not impressed by them at all. If you want a good consumer report magazine then it needs to be application specific - use Motorcycle Consumer News instead (http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/) NO advertising! 2. Taxi services are very easy on the oil. Yes, it is "city driving", but the engines stay on and keeps the oil warm -- thus it never allows water to accumulate and form sludge, foam and acid. And the worst enemies of oil is water, too LOW of a temperature and too high of a temperature. 3. If you want facts from a reputable source, do your OWN oil analysis. I highly recommend Blackstone Labs. http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ For ONLY $23 you can get FACTS, and not opinions (like even mine  ) Isn't $23 worth it to KNOW how your oil is doing rather than wasting money changing your oil to often (or not often enough...) (Message edited by sloppy on March 04, 2010) | ||
| Poppinsexz |
At the same time that $23 is about the cost of an oil change. 'Of course the manufacture of your bike wants you to use dino oil so your engine will grenade sooner increasing parts sales. High priced syn oils will make it last forever where you never have to buy parts.' - Bull I run what the manufacture recomends as they designed the engine and sould know what it needs. Does that mean HD oil only- no But Buell does give you the specs needed for a comparable brand. How many people have complained about a certain oil ruining their stators. This is what you get when you want to experiment because someone else says its better. (Message edited by poppinsexz on March 04, 2010) | ||
| Poppinsexz |
BTW these oil threads are always fun | ||
| Thekosack |
Depending on the year of your bike and the location you ride depends a lot on the type of oil to be used. Full syn is best all around as for the make that is personal pref. between my Harley's and my Buell and friends, here in South Fl. My 2010 XB12R enjoys Mobil1 Syn 20/50 V twin at $9.00 a quart its not bad and the bike runs cooler. My brother has been running Mobil1 Syn 15/50 auto oil in his 04 "motor only" for some time now and has no problems. Syn is worth the price in the long run. | ||
| Sloppy |
Agreed, very fun. The price of a test is indeed the cost of an oil change, but when you determine how long your oil will actually last (is it 2000 miles or 7000 miles?) you then apply that knowledge for the rest of your bike's life. Hence you (hopefully) reduce the amount of oil changes required which is good for: 1. Your wallet. 2. Your family (more time). 3. Yourself (more time to ride ) 4. The environment. 5. Your knowledge (you can end your membership to the "oil rumor club" ) | ||
| Bumblebee |
Guys, The only oil I've seen damage engines is the oil that wasn't there. If the oil is to thin the oil pump may not be able to pump enough volume to keep the pressure up, so what ever you use just make certain it's the right grade for the engine and environmental temperature you are riding in. Early Synthetic oils (Eon comes to mind) didn't have much viscosity, got real thin when warmed up- (well under SAE 5 wt) under these conditions insufficient pressure built up and the top ends of OHC engines went dry, this caused monumental problems. The legacy of this lives on. Today not so much. I can tell you this, if the oil is changed regularly, the grade used is what's recommended - the bearings, cams, pistons will all still be good when you no longer wish to ride the bike! | ||
| Azxb9r |
I have been using the Mobil 1 V twin oil in my Firebolt for almost 20,000 miles now. Aside from being good oil, I like that it is readily available. | ||
| Poppinsexz |
Good points sloppy! I use the sampling for the condition of my bikes components. Then change the oil at the service intervals or at the time when I park it for the winter. I would think that the manufacture would have already figured out the lifespan of the oil. That is why they set a change interval. We put way to much time and energy into oil debates. Bumblebee also has a valid point, how many engines actually fail due to the oil type? Heck how many people never change their oil and yet their cars still run every day. Every failure I have ever seen has been because of a lack of oil or contamination from some other failure, not because the owner used brand X or Y oil. Here at work we deal with heavy equipment that uses brand X dino oil. They seem to due just fine in the worst conditions with the heaviest loads. The biggest contributator to a long life has been those who kept the oil changed. | ||
| Ronin1 |
I heartily endorse doing oil analysis. I do them every third oil change on ALL my vehicles cars, bikes and the plane. I have run WallyWorld (5W30) synthetic in my turbocharged Mazdaspeed3 and run it 7k to 9k between changes and have since new. (55k now) I also ran it for 168k in my Ford Contour. People on the Ford and Mazda newsgroups would go absolutely banana's about running cheap synthetic oil in a car. But I have the analysis to prove that it's working fine. Do an occasional analysis or guess like the rest.  Jim | ||
| Killroy134 |
I have used Amsoil it works well, I am trying Mobil V-Twin synthetic now. There is no doubt that synthetic oil is MUCH better than conventional oil. You really should use it in everything. |
