AmazonBasics Full Synthetic Oil Test

ReadTheBook · Feb 14, 2019

I stick with M1 for price/availability/knowing its generally a great oil.

The Amazon stuff is made by Warren Synthetics fwiw. They're a top manufacturer of private label oils, and one of the biggest oil/blended lubricant manufacturers in North America.

I'm sure it's fine, but I wouldn't trade it for M1.

knollMk7 · Feb 14, 2019

So i checked my manual; it says:

use only a high quality oil that expressly complies with the Volkswagen oil quality standard specified for your vehicle's engine:

Engine oil specification Gasoline engines

VW 502 00

VW 503 00

VW 504 00

So, not to throw cold water on anyone's opinions here, the Triax 5W-30 504 approved oil (or any 504 approved oil) meets the requirements in MY owner's manual and therefore should be defensible in any warranty issue.

While the sulfur content of US gas isn't as low as the EU it's apparently low enough to permit the use of 504 oil and keep VW happy, no?

DiscusInferno · Feb 14, 2019

knollMk7 said:
So i checked my manual; it says:

use only a high quality oil that expressly complies with the Volkswagen oil quality standard specified for your vehicle's engine:

Engine oil specification Gasoline engines

VW 502 00

VW 503 00

VW 504 00

So, not to throw cold water on anyone's opinions here, the Triax 5W-30 504 approved oil (or any 504 approved oil) meets the requirements in MY owner's manual and therefore should be defensible in any warranty issue.

While the sulfur content of US gas isn't as low as the EU it's apparently low enough to permit the use of 504 oil and keep VW happy, no?

You can keep VW happy spec-wise, but unless you can confirm your state has 10 ppm sulfur gasoline, I would not recommend following the 10,000 mile oil change interval. At minimum, it should be halved, to 5,000 miles (and check by Used Oil Analysis)

swcrow · Feb 14, 2019

I'm still sticking to motul, 'moly, pentosin and M1. Don't care how much the savings are

knollMk7 · Feb 14, 2019

uh...fine, but I think I'll stick with what VW says is OK.

Just for jollies, here's my question: Why would a manufacturer do anything to increase the possibility of warranty claims, instead of making conservative recommendations?

Any increase in these types of issues usually becomes a PR nightmare and hampers future sales regardless of whether they pay claims Not paying claims is a PR problem that's usually worse than the cost of paying them.

I think the specs of 504 are actually better than 502 so the oil I buy is more expensive than Castrol, Mobil et al.

shortyb · Feb 14, 2019

knollMk7 said:
I think the specs of 504 are actually better than 502 so the oil I buy is more expensive than Castrol, Mobil et al.

Just wanting to know why you consider it a better spec? Curious and don't want a webfight, just civil discussion. I love oil threads

.

knollMk7 · Feb 14, 2019

not sure this would answer any of your doubts, or meet your criterion for oil selection. Perhaps someone here on the board will cough to buy some and pay for an oil analysis: My basic aim was for a quality oil that was 5w-30, and 502 or 504

dequardo · Feb 14, 2019

The Fed said:
Is Amazon 100% synthetic? I'm guessing all you here know the Castrol is only about 50% synthetic?

You keep stating this. Are you saying Castrol is committing fraud? Bottles and jugs state Full Synthetic and it meets VW specs.

shortyb · Feb 15, 2019

knollMk7 said:
not sure this would answer any of your doubts, or meet your criterion for oil selection. Perhaps someone here on the board will cough to buy some and pay for an oil analysis: My basic aim was for a quality oil that was 5w-30, and 502 or 504

Fair enough. There is definitely a market for a lower visc. oil as long as it meets the spec for the end user. 504 is lower SAPS and possibly beneficial in deposit formation, however there are other caveats with using it, ie; shorter OCI, fuel sulphur levels, not recommended in all VW APPS. etc. So I guess its not really whether one is better than the other, its more of what suits the end user.

However there are lots of impressionable folks that take the gospel of what is said on the forums and something goes wrong. So we have to be careful that all of the information, good and bad, is conveyed when we talk about something like this and not broadbrush things. Obviously, what is better or best when it comes to oil use for a specific user and their application, will come from proper analysis and interpretation of results.

SugarMouth · Feb 15, 2019

0-40

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...9Kjxk3PlCpcrSLInrj_u4ZtFRcp1yKE4-hZys_7fpsF-M

knollMk7 · Feb 15, 2019

as a footnote, the 5W-30 Triax I'm using is designed for longer oil change intervals, not shorter ones, as I believe all 504 oils are. That's part of the point: less resources consumed, less environmental impact from used oil used filters, etc. and likely better fuel efficiency. The 504 oils are designed for way-extended OCIs upwards of 20k.

If 504 were not listed as "approved" in my owners manual, I would not "experiment" with it in my car and certainly I'm not suggesting it for non-approved applications. So 2 of the arguments against it ("non-approved" and "shorter OCI") are not of concern.

The third concern, "high sulfur" fuel is possibly of interest. However, given the fact that Costco's "top tier" premium is my fill, and all gas since like 2014 is supposed to be reduced sulfur, the benefits of 504 seem to greatly outweigh the remote possibility of a higher sulfur fill.

All in all, I'm planning on a conservative compromise anyway for OCI, 10-15k using the 504 Triax.

shortyb · Feb 15, 2019

I wasn't speaking of the Triax in particular, just about using a 504 in general. Nor am I "against" it either except it not meeting spec for a good number of users here. Sulphur in fuel is not as bad as a couple years go, but still has pockets of concern nationwide. This can quickly deplete a 504's oil's lower additive content combating the sulphuric acid byproduct and the reason for my caveat of shorter OCIs.

Again, sound like you found something you like and will meet your needs/desires. Do us a favor though and throw up a UOA and show us how it does. Happy motoring.

ManInTheClouds · Feb 15, 2019

dequardo said:
You keep stating this. Are you saying Castrol is committing fraud? Bottles and jugs state Full Synthetic and it meets VW specs.

Oh, my dear sweet summer child.

"Fully Synthetic" is marketing BS, and there are very, very, very few oils that are 100% synthetic.
In Europe, Full Synthetic is indeed so - but in North America it doesn't need to be.

To meet VW502, it must contain 30% mineral oil to begin with.

JWTS · Feb 15, 2019

AspektZA said:
Oh, my dear sweet summer child.

"Fully Synthetic" is marketing BS, and there are very, very, very few oils that are 100% synthetic.
In Europe, Full Synthetic is indeed so - but in North America it doesn't need to be.

To meet VW502, it must contain 30% mineral oil to begin with.

502 is a performance spec, there is no base oil requirement. Not sure where you're getting this, besides some internet lore. There are plenty of German "synthetic" oils that meet 502.

You're right, "synthetic" is a marketing term, but in Europe--or anywhere else, there is no motor oil that is "100% synthetic", they just require a higher % of PAO and esters. There's still mineral oil in the additive pack and pour point depressants. PAO base stock come from hydrocarbons as well, so I don't get why people are so hung up on the distinction?

Lastly, there's zero evidence that PAO's outperform group III or III+ oils. All base oils have their advantages and disadvantages. What matters is if the oil is able to pass performance tests. 504/507 and MB 229.5/5.1 are some of the toughest specs out there. If an oil passes those tests, there's zero reason to obsess over the base oil composition.

ManInTheClouds · Feb 15, 2019

JWTS said:
502 is a performance spec, there is no base oil requirement. Not sure where you're getting this, besides some internet lore. There are plenty of German "synthetic" oils that meet 502.

You're right, "synthetic" is a marketing term, but in Europe--or anywhere else, there is no motor oil that is "100% synthetic", they just require a higher % of PAO and esters. There's still mineral oil in the additive pack and pour point depressants. PAO base stock come from hydrocarbons as well, so I don't get why people are so hung up on the distinction?

Lastly, there's zero evidence that PAO's outperform group III or III+ oils. All base oils have their advantages and disadvantages. What matters is if the oil is able to pass performance tests. 504/507 and MB 229.5/5.1 are some of the toughest specs out there. If an oil passes those tests, there's zero reason to obsess over the base oil composition.

VW specifies the make up of the oil, after it passes the ACEA threshold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2mc8syoJzM

The Liqui Moly rep mentions the VW502 recipe makeup at some point in this video.

If you want to split hairs about PAO/Group III/etc., you can just use something like Shell GTL oil like Platinum Euro.

AmazonBasics Full Synthetic Oil Test

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