2012A4Q5Owner

What about the lunging into 2nd gear when driving slow? Totally different issue? My car never did this until getting a TCM update. I asked them why it needed it and they said it was to fix the transmission. I never experienced any issues until they did that update.

I haven't noticed the shudder yet. Sometimes I wish I had a smart fortwo for super tight turns that the Audi can't do.

snagitseven

You won't. The power steering hose issue was only in 2009 A4 B8's. 2010+ have the redesigned hoses.

Moviela

I am concerned with the use of Amsoil in gasoline Audi cars. I am suspicious of companies with "secret formulas," sales through multilevel marketing, and most advertising boasting of user testimonials and anecdotal reports. It does start off with good base stocks, usually from Mobil. If it were truly a better product, even at higher prices, Wal-Mart, dealers, Autozone, Advanced, and Pep Boys would sell it.

I have noticed they say some of their oil meets Mercedes Sheet 229.51 and suggests that it can be used in gasoline engine cars. That sheet, however, is only for diesel engines while Mercedes gasoline engines need Sheet 229.5 qualified oils. They are quite different.

Mobil 1 makes only one oil qualified for VW extended change interval gas engines. That is 0W-40, sometimes called "European Formula."

The datasheet for the Mobil 1 0W-40 shows it has 50% more of the additive package of other Mobil 1 oils. This prevents sludge and engine wear when used with the approved polyester filter.

The Amzoil datasheet is like the Chinese Bill of Rights which is just a blank sheet.

If engineers thought there were any component of the "boutique" oils that would make their cars better, faster, more economical, or just plain sexy, it would be in the factory fill. Truth is there is nothing novel or unique from the boutiques, just marketing hype and high prices.

2012A4Q5Owner

Amsoil is the company who started synthetic oil, years before Mobil 1 or any other company came out. I've seen this oil perform absolute miracles. A friend of mine is a dealer for it. He's been running it in his pickup truck for 11 years. We pulled the valve cover one day and everything looks brand spanking new inside like it came from the factory. I've tolds lots of people to buy that oil over the years and had nothing but thanks for telling them. I've seen lots of people have oil consumption go away.

I've often asked why they don't just sell it at Walmart as well. They said they tried that years ago but since the oil is made to last so long, it costs more to produce. People can't justify paying more money for an oil without somebody explaining to them the benefits. Nobody at Walmart will do that, so if Walmart carried it, the oil would just collect dust. I heard that Walmart actually approached Amsoil and wanted to buy a million dollars worth of product to put in their stores and Amsoil said no. Walmart is an absolute ruthless company to deal with. Look how they screwed Rubbermaid and put that one facility out of business when Rubbermaid's cost of raw materials went up. That's what was explained to me about Walmart and Amsoil when I asked. They said Walmart makes you sign a contract to fix prices. If the costs of the raw chemicals go up (due to shipping costs, etc.), they say, "Too bad. You said this price for our wholesale costs and that's all we gonna pay. You eat the difference." Amsoil refuses to eat the difference. I actually like the way they market it. Anytime I have technical questions, I have somebody I could go to. I never had any good customer support for any other oil. Plus with other oils I would get oil consumption, just as I am with these 2.0T's right now. As soon as I put Amsoil, it stopped. I also noticed one thing in common... any time I ever saw a negative comment in an Amsoil post, it was always from somebody who never used it, so I will take what that person says as a grain of salt. I don't care how a product is made or marketed. As long as it works for me, does what it says and saves me money, I'm going to keep buying it.

I talked to another guy years ago that said his dad used to buy used cars from an Amsoil dealer. The dealer would buy a car brand new, put Amsoil in it and drive it to 200,000 miles. His dad would buy the car from that guy and put another 200,000 miles on it. Then his dad would sell or give the car away with 400,000 miles and the cars would still run like new. That's what he told me when I asked what made him buy Amsoil. And that wasn't from any marketing BS I read. That was straight from a customer's mouth.

I currently work at a tire shop. I talked to the owner about Amsoil. He said he's know about it for a long time and knows how good it is. I asked why we don't carry it. He said, "Amsoil is for educated people that usually make good money and plan on keeping their cars for a while. The people we have as customers are usually broke and only want to buy the cheapest stuff they can get their hands on." With Amsoil you would get the biggest benefit to switching to it if you own a domestic or Asian car. With our Audi's we have to stick to the factory drain interval. If I owned a Hyundai, Honda or Ford, you can switch to their oil and filters that will last up to 15,000 or 25,000 miles. I've tried those in previous cars. I went 80,000+ miles on 4 oil changes. The car ran like brand spanking new when I got rid of it. Even with high miles on the oil, when I would drain it, it would still be golden brown where you could see through it. It would not be jet black or have any indication of sludge whatsoever. It's my great personal experiences why I had to talk about this oil. Since you don't find it in stores (thanks to most greedy shop owners), the only way you can find it is on the Internet. That's how I order it now. I'll usually order a case at a time and keep some extra on hand in case there's an issue. My father was a mechanic for over 40 years. He didn't believe in using synthetics by anyone, no matter who made it. I've had him using it since 2004 and he changes his oil way past a year because he'll often forget. His van still runs like new after all these years, even when not changing the oil on time. It doesn't burn any oil or anything. Way too many stories I've heard in person, not just marketing materials that the company puts out. So I'm sorry, I can't agree with you. And by you bashing the product, you're really doing a disservice to all of the people on here, especially those who have oil consumption issues. I almost had an engine rebuilt because of oil consumption. Amsoil saved me a few grand from not having to do that. So that's why I took the time to talk about it here. I know some good dealers that can hook anyone up with good pricing. Just send me a message. Don't listen to negative comments. It won't get you anywhere.

dscline

Hooray for multi-level marketing.

Moviela

This statement is not true. The Germans and Americans were using synthetic oils during WWII. Research actually started in the 1930's. Motul (French oil company) was selling a synthetic product in the 60's in North America before Amsoil was founded.

Chevron was making the API level III base stocks in the early 60's. Mobil 1 started selling an early version of their product in 1974, but testing had been going on for a decade before that. Amsoil is not a refiner, just a blender. They purchase base stocks like API level III from Mobil or other refiners. Interesting to note here that Germany does not allow marketing a level III base stock oil as "synthetic."

Why doesn't Amsoil publish what is in their products? Why can't they meet Mercedes Sheet 229.5 specifications for gasoline cars? What is the specific additive package used in their formula, and the concentration?

I have not bashed or made negative comments about Amsoil. I have taken engines apart after long periods of using Mobil 1 and miking the cam, crankshaft, pistons, show wear of .001 to .002" which is virtually nothing. Have you done that with an Amsoil engine? Have you send oil samples to Blackstone for analysis? How was the condition of the oil? How much Si and metals were in the oil?

Other than testimonal opinion, do you have any objective measurements that show any advantage over any other synthetic on the market? Anyone with a VW group 2.0 TFSI engine publish the results of oil analysis with Amsoil?

I will continue to question the use of Amsoil in Audi gasoline cars.

2012A4Q5Owner

In 1972 no US company was selling synthetic oil here. They pioneered it for cars in the US, hence their trademark, "First in Synthetics". Before the cars, only jet engines were using synthetics. The guy who founded Amsoil had a bug up his a$$ to put synthetic oils in cars. I've heard the stories. It was such a hard sell in the late 60's and early 70's. Nobody believed in it back then and thought it was a waste of money to use synthetic oil in a car (man, how ignorant people are!). It was only after he started taking the market share that Mobil 1 started to get involved years later. Mobil 1 is in bed with all of the car dealers. They used to make a 25,000 mile oil and then lots of car dealerships complained that customers were staying away too long and to stop making it. (Oh, poor them!)

What year Mercedes Benz are you saying that Amsoil is not compatible with? Their AFL is currently compatible with 229.31, 229.51. Their AEL is only compatible with 229.51. You can use either of their two European oils. You just can't use any of their signature series oils. If you use the signature series oils you will mess up your engine over the long term as those oils are not compatible.

In a previous car I put on very high miles on the oil and had an oil analysis done and everything was good except the TBN was down to 2, which is when you're supposed to change it. I had an engineer who worked at Ford take a look and he said the readings were incredible. That's why Amsoil starts off with a high TBN level. In the European oil it starts with a Total Base Number of 8. Once it drops down to 2, it's time to change the oil. In their other oils I think some of them have as high as 10 to 12 or so. That's why their oils last so long in non-German cars.

When you look at their oils, it shows the ASTM results for each oil. You need to compare those results to the oils you have in question. Any oil company worth its salt will post those ASTM results. That is the only true way to know how good an oil is. You and I could argue all day who's car has the most horsepower, but until both of us go to the dyno and get measured, that's the only for sure way to know.

If you take engines apart after long periods of using Amsoil, you will get the same or better results. The only difference is that Amsoil will be much cheaper to use than Mobil 1, most notably when used in Asian or Domestic cars. In German cars you have to change the oil at the manufacturer's recommended interval (either 10,000 or when the computer tells you.) But if you owned a Honda, Ford, Chevy, etc, you could easily go 15,000 to 25,000 miles, depending on the vehicle. That's about the only thing I miss after switching to an Audi. Other cars are so cheap to maintain. With my Honda I could go all year or 15,000 miles on the same oil and filter. That's 5,000 more than I can go with an Audi or Volkswagen. I was thinking about being a dealer for it, but it's too much of a hassle. So I just get it from my friend who is a dealer.

Thanks.