Well, here goes a free plug for Redline oil...
I'm not impressed with Amsoil since I cannot find one test that is a) performed by a independent tester, and b) reflects real-world situations, not some load on a ball-bearing test using brand new oil.
I have therefore decided to go with Redline despite it's slightly higher cost.
The after emailing them they said the closest Red Line dealer to me (Tampa area) is:
Hi- Fi Racing
Zephyrhills, FL 33541
813-788-0097

If you go to www.redlineoil.com and email them, ask them for a PDF document about thier Amsoil comparison tests where they ran Amoil through an engine for a while and found that it degrades in lubricating performance quite a bit compared to Redline. That's why the tests Amsoil does are done with new oil. I figured I'd paste these here all in case anyone wants to mail-order some, which is what most of us would have to do with Amsoil anyways.
If you're the type who only buys oil from local stores, it looks like the best solution is Mobil 1.

Redline mail order dealers:

Al Smith's Automotive Products
(MD) 800-582-3737

Motor State Distributing
(MI) 800-772-5266

German Motor Works
(TX) 817-877-1772

BSR Products
(NC) 800-572-6837

CV Products
(NC) 800-448-1223

There are also many online dealers carrying Redline.
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I’ve owned cars that blow – this one blows the bloody doors off. [img]albums/album25/ama.gif[/img]
Alta pulley, Stebro exhaust, Pipercross intake, Progress rear anti-sway bar.

VinceAndJessica.com

 

Good choice orbhot, I have been using Redline for quite a few years. Wouldn't think of using anything else. In addition to using in all my & my wife's cars, also use it in my lawn tractor, snow blower and old Sears air compressor (before they came out with the oil free style). Yes it does cost a bit more and, isn't the easiest to locate but, its the only oil I would even consider leaving in for 10,000 miles. My 2004 mcs just turned 2201 miles today and I'm changing the oil & filter tomorrow. By the way IMO Castrol Syntec is crap!

 

Incase you didn't know Orbhot has a personal grudge against AMSOIL and even took the time to attack me while I was a sponsor. He accused me of getting free advertising when I was paying in fact I was one of the first sponsors to this site. (he never bothered to look) Yes, I am a dealer for the "Evil AMSOIL!!"

You can search his topics and for some strange reason he goes out of his way to attack AMSOIL.

His posts are basically silly and really not worth the time to confront but I will mention the 4-ball wear test (now the 5 ball) is just one of many tests AMSOIL uses including the NOACK volatility test which AMSOIL was the first to use in 1974. It's also funny he acts like he is stressing to find independent tests (states this in many of his posts) and adds this spin to his problem. He should get a job with the New York Times.

AMSOIL was in business years before Redline or any other synthetic manufacturer and if you need tests there are millions of AMSOIL customers using oil analysis in which they all know AMSOIL's guarantee to keep its viscosity within the guaranteed interval stands strong. That is as independant as it gets. Orbhot lives in Florida which is AMSOIL's #1 market by a long shot! The Orlando warehouse ships several times the orders compared to the other AMSOIL warehouses, so if he has a problem getting data I would suggest loosing the ego and listen to the people around him.

Orbhot, you better tell NASCAR, the Unser family and thousands of city, state and county fleets that use AMSOIL to reduce their energy and operating costs across the nation. Sears, Interstate battery, etc. Even the guys at http://www.nuzzomotorsports.com which are a top MINI cooper team and had BAD LUCK with Redline so they switched. That they are all wrong! Better tell Mark Ferguson too. He uses AMSOIL.. (EVIL AMSOIL!!) You might as well tell all those thousands on motorcycle customers that AMSOIL caters to with their commitment to manufacture non-moly lubricants that for less cost create performance they can feel..

New oil? Used oil? What do you think a test is? Once the oil is subjected to Sequence IIIF testing it's used. The tests are posted on the AMSOIL site but they are independant - done by Lubrizol in Cleveland. And there is no evidence of Redline in any of these tests. Why would Lubrizol come out and say only AMSOIL demands us to constantly improve their base stocks?

Please tell me about Redlines ester based rotary compressor oils? Their Allison transmission oils? How many years have they been in business? Are their products guaranteed? Why don't they have any replacement products acknowledged by organizations such as American trucking Assoc., World Snowcross Assoc., and others.
And why is it when we work races (boat races) the mechanics always come up to us saying the lower end gear units stopped busting when they switched to AMSOIL from Redline. I have actually gained many dealers in the offshore racing platform just from this alone. Redline gearlubes are known by their "former" users to not last.
Redline will not publically say they are better than AMSOIL with actual data because they will get sued. AMSOIL does advertise it's data because it's fact and the newcomers in the Synthetics industry use AMSOIL as the one to try to keep up with. I have been to the HQ and talked to their people including the suppliers (Ethyl, Lubrizol and Battenfield which supply to all manufactures except Mobileexxon).

AMSOIL makes Group III, IV, and V lubricants but none of the extended interval oils are group V (except for the new Sorocco Ester based compressor oil) as they fail in Hydrolytic stability (the reason Redline synthetic motoroils must be changed frequently) You don't need a independent test to learn about that either... And AMSOIL uses PAO (polyalphaolefin based) Group IV oils because they can produce the best product at a far lower cost..

All you have to do is talk to the people that use it. They switched for a reason.

Now, from this point on I am eating at Churches Chicken because KFC says, "We do Chicken Right" but I can't find any independent tests..
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Sport Rider (motorcycle mag) had an oil test a few months ago that included Amsoil if you want independent testing. Any large public library should have archives and they have a reprint service.

I can't remember the specific results, but basically Amsoil performed well. They had Amsoil, some of the Mobil varieties, a garden-variety organic, and Maxim if memory serves. A lot of the tests were spectro results to compare additive levels, and a discussion of what each would buy you.

They did, though, do the burn test, and a 4-ball wear (right term?) test.

Jeff