New York City cabs and AMSOIL
Life on the streets
New York City cabs are subject to long periods of idling, traffic, weather and
temperature variations. The classic choice for field tests.
Like all field tests, real-life testing
would provide something the laboratory never could. Unpredictability.
Welding The Plugs
The AMSOIL test involved sixteen cabs divided into four groups of four cabs
each. The first four were controls.
"Group A" would use the same petroleum oil
and filters already in use by the fleet, they would follow the existing fleet
custom of changing oil every 3,000 miles.
"Group B" used AMSOIL
10W-40 Synthetic Motor
Oil with an AMSOIL Oil Filter. The oil change interval was doubled to 6,000
miles.
"Group C"
used AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil with an AMSOIL Oil Filter. The oil change
interval was quadrupled to 12,000 miles.
But "Group D" ran the ultimate test. Using
AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil, an AMSOIL SDF Oil Filter and a AMSOIL By-Pass
Filter (changed at 12,000-mile intervals), the taxis were "filled for life". No
oil changes at all. In fact, the drain plugs were welded to the pan.
The life of the test was 60,000 miles.
Overall, the AMSOIL test fleet accumulated nearly ¾ million miles.
Inside The Engines
With the tests completed and the engines removed and disassembled, there was no
visible evidence that an AMSOIL-filled engine without an oil change in 60,000
miles was worse off than a cab with 20 petroleum oil changes.
A systematic analysis of sludge, varnish,
rust, and wear showed little variation between taxis with AMSOIL products and
those without, even though AMSOIL oil change intervals ranged from double to
twenty times the petroleum-filled engines.
In its written conclusions, the testing
facility responsible for compiling the test data made this observation:
"The data presented in
this report indicates that AMSOIL synthetic SAE 10W-40 passenger car motor oil
formulation as desribed here provided protection of test engines from excessive
wear and deposit formation far beyond the normal 3,000-mile change interval."
In a separate letter to AMSOIL's Technical
Director, the testing facility diplomatically touched on the problems caused by
using the Chevrolet engine for testing, while agreeing with the long-drain
conclusions produced by AMSOIL Synthetic Oils:
"I believe the general
conclusion that your 'four times normal drain' engines appeared as clear as our
mineral oil 'normal drain' engines is testimonial to your oil, in spite of the
unanticipated severity of the General Motors 3.8 liter engine."
Adding It Up
In the end, the long, grueling test, so riddled with the unpredictable events of
real-life, pointed to a product vastly better than ordinary petroleum. It
established base-line data that supported AMSOIL recommended drain intervals of
25,000 miles or one year. It gave visible evidence of how AMSOIL Synthetic Oil
behaved in the worst of circumstances. And it established the role of the
company's synthetic lubricants in the looming age of conservation and
environmental awareness.
For those who used their vehicles to make a
living, it promised a way to make the vehicle last longer, have fewer down hours
for general maintenance, and a way to increase the profitability of their
business.
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