There's a lot of lab reports out there about which premium synthetic is the best and while they don't agree which is the best, they all seem the agree that all of them are really good. Amsoil, THROUGH Bob, is actually cheaper than Mobil 1 or the others. Especially when you pile your orders up and get case discounts.
Bob sells at a "high volume almost-no-margin" business model. Selling at cost often times (reaping the benefits of sale volume incentives from the manufacturer instead of profit margins from those retail sales. You pay what he pays and then he gets the bonus from Amsoil for selling a ton). He is THE cheapest source of Amsoil and it makes the price BELOW that of off-the-shelf options like Mobil 1.
My last order from him was about $230. He can't advertise his prices because they are below MSRP and Amsoil has some kind of rule about that; but I don't think he'd mind me sharing what I paid. That's with shipping. At the current price for Mobil 1 and OEM filters (instead of Amsoil oil and filters) that same order would cost me $316. That's a lot of mulah saved. That's with his low prices coupled with case discounts. (Two cases of oil + filters). I run Amsoil in everything so that's oil changes for ALL vehicles.
A great example is the Mustang (2014 3.7L) which holds 6 quarts of oil plus a filter and requires synthetic per the manual. Mobil 1, right now, that's $60 for the oil (6x$10/qt) and another $12 for the Motocraft OEM filter. So $72 for a full synthetic DIY oil change. $79.99 at the dealer using Motocraft Synthetic Blend (which is also acceptable, apparently).
After breaking down the price and filter; it was $53 for the amount of oil it takes, plus the filter. The oil being comparable to Mobil 1 and the filter being an improvement over OEM. The oil change prices for the Kawasaki and Honda motorcycles, and my daily driver ('14 Focus) are similarly lower than if I were to run Mobil 1 or Valvoline full synthetics and OEM filters.
More expensive than conventional, yes, but competitively prices in the synthetic segment.
Not cheaper than car filters and heavy equipment oil, but, I wouldn't be running that anyway.
Why are you guys paying all of that money for oil. I've always used regular Kawasaki oil and it works fine. No smoking, runs smooth and fires up every time.
I just use synth in all my vehicles. I do notice that my vulcan runs a bit cooler shifts a bit better. I'm not necessarily locked in to amsoil, but w/ the kindness of Bob it just makes it a no brainer as he is able to provide us at a cost that bests mobil-1 and others.
Synthetic oils do provide superior lubrication and wear resistance. But the tolerances and build quality of these modern bikes coupled with how few miles most of them get (100k+ is the exception, not the rule); most folks probably won't notice longer life from synthetic oils over regularly changed conventional.
But there's more to it than that. Quieter operation, smoother shifts, cooler running temps, better fuel economy. It all makes the synthetic worth it.
Because I hang on to my cars for a long time, running Synthetic in them makes a LOT of sense. I also drive a lot; and have now owned 3 cars with over 300,000 miles on them; sold in running condition with nothing but minor repairs (water pumps, etc.) over their lifetime. My current car has 37,000 miles on it and has had Amsoil in it since about 6,000 miles, I ordered the car from the factory and got it with 0 miles on the odometer.
At the end of the day the difference in price isn't that significant and the benefits are worth it. YMMV.
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