engine oil

[PunkA$$]

Hey all. I currently run GN4 10w 40 in my 400ex and for my next oil change was considering trying Amsoil 0w 40 (synthetic) instead.

My question is, if I don't find the synthetic oil to be worth the extra $$ is it ok to switch back to regular oil, or do you have to stay with synthetic once you use it once.

Also, is Amsoil 0w 40 any good?


Thanks in advance.

[bwamos]

0w40???

or 10w40?

10w40 is great stuff

a 5w or 0w? never seen 0w lol.. will be to thin for a 400ex air cooled gets hotter. you need the 10w or 15w types.

0w has to have the consistency of a 3in1 sewing machine oil.. lol.

10w40 for stock or close to stock.

20w50 for bored high compression motors.

the engine will survive with 5w but I don't reccomend it. You arent running a tight tollerance engine.

I run Amsoil SAE 20W-50 Synthetic High Performance Motorcycle Engine Oil

[bwamos]

As a note.. I have not use the 0w40 motorcycle/atv oil. Nor have I seen any tests.. so I wont make judgment.

I'll just say, I'm leery of it.

[jak1389]

no you shouldnt switch from sythetic back to regular, unless your motor has been taken apart. the oil leftover form the sythetic will mix with the regualr oil and create a sludge. not good on motors!

[2000400EX]

I use the Amsoil 0w-40 and like it. It doesn't "break down" like the Honda dino oil.

Here are some specs on it...

http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/images/aff_qt_600pxh.jpg

http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/aff.aspx

[initall]

I use the Same stuff

It is one of the best syntetic oil you can buy. I have had no problems what-so-ever.

I recommend it, and i switched from the Honda oil

[PunkA$$]

Sounds good, I think I'll pick up a few litres and give it a try. Thanks again guys.

[greg_gorrell]

im a little leary over this 0w-40. i would have to check it out before i ran it in anything of mine. plus, i got a whole case of 20w-50 downstairs i took from work when i worked at the refinery.

[bwamos]

Originally posted by 2000400EX
Here are some specs on it...

Here's what I use in my 330ex. Designed to withstand the excessive heat of an air cooled engine.

https://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/images/amv_qt_300pxh.jpg

https://www.amsoil.com/storefront/amv.aspx

[jjohnst03]

Originally posted by bwamos
0w40???

or 10w40?

10w40 is great stuff

a 5w or 0w? never seen 0w lol.. will be to thin for a 400ex air cooled gets hotter. you need the 10w or 15w types.

0w has to have the consistency of a 3in1 sewing machine oil.. lol.

10w40 for stock or close to stock.

20w50 for bored high compression motors.

the engine will survive with 5w but I don't reccomend it. You arent running a tight tollerance engine.

I run Amsoil SAE 20W-50 Synthetic High Performance Motorcycle Engine Oil

Not true!

Let me break it down for you.

10w-40. The 10 is the start up weight of the oil. Thats ALL that number means. The 40 is the weight of the oil when your motor is up to normal operating temp.

Therefor a 0w-40 will run the SAME as a 10w-40 or 20w-40 AFTER it warms up.

The 0w-40 is a better oil to use when you ride in cold conditions. It will get flowing in your motor faster than a 10w-40 or especially a 20w-50 oil. Thats a fact.

So your motor WILL run perfectly fine with an 0w-40 oil. I run Rotella T Synthetic 0w-40 and it runs fine!

Get your facts straight before you post something telling somebody its not good.

[86-250Rnut]

Wow,
that last post just helped me out. i never knew what the #'s stood for. i knew it had summin to do with the thickness or weight of the oil.
thanks
mitch

[jjohnst03]

http://themotoroilsite.com/forums/

That site helped me a LOT with my oil questions. They have VOA's(Virgin oil analysis) posted that you can look at to see what oils actually have molly in them and what oils dont.

You will be surprised to see which oils do have molly that shouldnt have it.

Anyways they have an oil bible on there somewhere that breaks everything down pretty good.

They are also very good about answering questions and referring some oils. They know what they are talking about too....unlike some of the people on this site.

[Vince44]

I heard that synthetic isnt good for the clutch, is it true ??

[2001400exrider]

Originally posted by Vince44
I heard that synthetic isnt good for the clutch, is it true ??

Not ture, long as the oil has zero fictrion modifiers like the amsoil then your good. It even says on the back of the bottle that the oil is safe for wet clutch use. I also use amsoil 0w-40 and no probs what-so-ever..

[bwamos]

Originally posted by jjohnst03
Not true!

Let me break it down for you.

10w-40. The 10 is the start up weight of the oil. Thats ALL that number means. The 40 is the weight of the oil when your motor is up to normal operating temp.

Therefor a 0w-40 will run the SAME as a 10w-40 or 20w-40 AFTER it warms up.

The 0w-40 is a better oil to use when you ride in cold conditions. It will get flowing in your motor faster than a 10w-40 or especially a 20w-50 oil. Thats a fact.

So your motor WILL run perfectly fine with an 0w-40 oil. I run Rotella T Synthetic 0w-40 and it runs fine!

Get your facts straight before you post something telling somebody its not good.

You are correct.. I had a brain fart for some idiotic reason and got my numbers backwards.. lol. I normally ride in 90deg - 100 deg outdoor tempuratures on a 11:! 330ex.. so the 20w50 works perfectly for me.

I am man enough to eat crow when I make a stupid error though. ;)

[jjohnst03]

Its cool man. I just call them how I see them.

There are a lot of people that run around on here that give advice on subjects they dont know crap about. When I see that I like to call them on it and get the facts straight so the people that need help get the facts.

[bwamos]

FYI... a very good read on understanding Oil.
Has some viscosity index ratings of some of the common oils. Amsoil as expected rates very well.

Tech. Tip:More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Motor Oil (http://www.bombardierds650.com/techtips/oil.htm)


Multi-viscosity
Multi viscosity oils work like this: Polymers are added to a light base(5W, 10W, 20W), which prevent the oil from thinning as much as it warms up. At cold temperatures the polymers are coiled up and allow the oil to flow as their low numbers indicate. As the oil warms up the polymers begin to unwind into long chains that prevent the oil from thinning as much as it normally would. The result is that at 100 degrees C the oil has thinned only as much as the higher viscosity number indicates. Another way of looking at multi-vis oils is to think of a 20W-50 as a 20 weight oil that will not thin more than a 50 weight would when hot.

So I wasn't completely wrong. ;) 0w40 has a pour point of about -60def F. I don't do much riding in -30deg weather. 10deg F at 40mph is about as much as I can take.. lol.

Amsoil 20w-50 Synthetic Hi-Perf Motorcycle Oil
Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) = 18.3
Kinematic Viscosity @ 40°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) = 117.6
Viscosity Index (ASTM D-2270) = 174
CCS Viscosity (ASTM D2602) = 3246 @ -15°C
Pour Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-97) = -38 (-33)
Flash Point °C (°F) (ASTM D-92) = 232 (449)
High Temperature/High Shear Viscosity @ 150°C , 1.0 x 106 s-1 (ASTM D 4683), cP = 5.0
Four Ball Wear Test (ASTM D-4172 @ 40 kgf, 150°C, 1800 rpm, 1 hour), Scar in mm = 0.39
Noack Volatility, % weight loss (g/100g) (ASTM D-5800) = 6.7
Total Base Number = 12

Amsoil 0w-40 Synthetic ATV Oil
Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) = 14.0
Kinematic Viscosity @ 40°C, cSt (ASTM D-445) = 71.8
Viscosity Index (ASTM D-2270) = 204
CCS Viscosity, cP @ (°C) (ASTM D2602) = 6000
Flash Point °C (°F) (ASTM D 92) = 224 (435)
Pour Point °C (°F) (ASTM D 97) = -51 (-60)
Noack Volatility, % weight loss (g/100g) (ASTM D-5800) = 6.7%
Four Ball Wear Test (ASTM D 4172 @ 40 kgf, 150°C, 1800 rpm, 1 hour, Scar in mm) = 0.35
Total Base Number >11

So.. after getting into the numbers... the 2 are actually very comparable. I'd for certian use the 0w-40 in stock and water cooled quads. But, high performance air cooled quads.. I still lean toward the 20w-50. Simply for the fact that the High Temp/High Sheer Viscosity is the best in the market.

[Rico]

That 20w-50 would be the best thing to run.

For tons of Amsoil info and if you want to buy some contact this guy and tell him Rico sent you....

http://www.lubedealer.com/pmuzio/

[PunkA$$]

Thanks for all the replies folks.

I actually started this thread two weeks ago and I put the Amsoil 0W 40 in my bike that weekend. So far I've noticed it starts easier, idles smoother and seems to run a little cooler.

I pick the stuff up at my local Canadian Tire store and it costs me about $3.00 a litre more than the GN4.

[HiperEX]

i run the amsoil series 2000 severe racing oil in my 87 265r works great

[jjohnst03]

Originally posted by Rico
That 20w-50 would be the best thing to run.

For tons of Amsoil info and if you want to buy some contact this guy and tell him Rico sent you....

http://www.lubedealer.com/pmuzio/

Would you recomend the Amsoil 20w-50 synthetic over the Rotella T 0w-40 synthetic I have been using? I live in southeast Arkansas so the winters are very mild and the summers are scorching hot.

[Rico]

I"ve never ran rotella so I can't give any judgement on it.

I run 20w-50 all year round and it gets pretty cold here in KY, but I don't ride much in the winter either, but still leave the 20w-50 in there.

[jjohnst03]

I may give the stuff a try if I can get a good deal on it. You cant beat the Rotella as far as quality for what you pay. I pay around $13 a gallon for it.

I shouldnt have any problems switching over since they are both a full synthetic.

[TC426EX]

Amsoil synthetic is the best oil going, hands down. Ive noticed a significant change in temp. since using it and it doesnt break down nearly as quick as others Ive tried. Any modded EX should be running synthetic oil in it, being air cooled. No way Id ever go back to regular oil again.

By the way, now that youve committed to using synthetic, contact Pete, the guy Rico was talking about above and get setup with the wholesale plan. He broke it down for me and I just signed up. You end up saving over 25% off of retail. Im about to order a case of oil and im gonna be saving about 27 dollars.

And I also reccomend you use the 20w50 Amsoil. Great stuff! They have a few different varieties of it, but theyre all pretty much the same. If you want to read a little about the different 20w50's check this thread...

http://www.********forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4518

[MXRACER86]

I use yamalube 4-R sythetic for my yfz. Use honda oil for honda motors, Why use anything else! Does amsoil build your motor? NO! Does spectro build your motor NO!. Honda makes oil for your Honda motor! Trust me, honda oil is better than the others for your 400ex. Honda doesn't want your motor to go bad or have problems, so they make the oil for your motor. Just sit back and think about that!

[jjohnst03]

Originally posted by MXRACER86
I use yamalube 4-R sythetic for my yfz. Use honda oil for honda motors, Why use anything else! Does amsoil build your motor? NO! Does spectro build your motor NO!. Honda makes oil for your Honda motor! Trust me, honda oil is better than the others for your 400ex. Honda doesn't want your motor to go bad or have problems, so they make the oil for your motor. Just sit back and think about that! Honda along with yamaha bid out their oils. They go with the cheapest company. They do not design oils or refine oil. Yes they have certain standards, but that doesnt mean anything. Amsoil is much better than any Honda or Yamaha oil out. Period.

[TC426EX]

Thats ridiculous man... To think that the manufacturer makes the best oil is just incorrect. They research making bikes... That is their business... Amsoil and other lube companies research making OILS and that is all! If you think honda actually makes honda oil or yamaha actually makes yamalube, thats just ignorant because they DO farm them out to cheap companies. Not telling you what to use, go ahead and use the OEM stuff, but its definitely NOT better than Amsoil or Klotz, thats for sure

[yamaharaptor350]

Originally posted by initall
I use the Same stuff

It is one of the best syntetic oil you can buy. I have had no problems what-so-ever.

I recommend it, and i switched from the Honda oil

yea i use it also and i agree ^^^

[greg_gorrell]

just something i found out the other day....i know a few people that work at our local refinery and a lot of the honda oils are being made right here in bradford. at the moment, the honda oils are pretty much the same base as the brad penn oils for sale. the differences between them are the additives. if you were to break them down, they would be the exact same. but anyways, you guys think that the regular petrolium 20w-50 would be better for the 400ex than the synthetic 0w-40?

[TC426EX]

No matter which you decide to run, a 50w oil is what I would go with in warm seasons on the EX. Synthetic is way better than petroleum oil but its a long term commitment. Once you start using it, you need to keep using it and cant go back

[krashomatic]

I am new to the atv world and i would like to know what oils are acceptable to use in a honda 300ex. everyone I ask says Bel-Ray, but they can't have the only acceptable oil out there, and also where is the oil filter located. is it where the oil pump is?

[Old Head]

I've used the honda brand oil but have now switched to spectro. Haven't had any trouble with either. There are many other good oils out there its just a personal preferance imo. Not sure about the oil filter on a 300 but my 400 is on the right if your sitting on the bike. I'd suggest getting a manual for your quad they are an indispensible item.

[Ex'r Marlin]

First of all... Welcome to ATVriders.com!:cool:

Second... The oil filter is located on the right side of the atv. Looking at the engine, you should notice a cover with 3 bolts that require an 8 mm socket to remove.

(I recommend draining the oil first, and having a new oil filter before removing the cover).

Take notice in how the oil filter comes out. You should notice a feeling of the oil filter "pushing" out as you remove the filter. This is because there is a spring compressed behind the filter.

If you have any problems at this point, let us know.

NOTE: DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THE BOLTS after you replace the filter cover to ovoid stripping the threads in the engine.

Personally, I have been using Mobil 1 full synthetic oil for over 5 years now with no problems.

Good luck!

[bwamos]

Originally posted by krashomatic
I am new to the atv world and i would like to know what oils are acceptable to use in a honda 300ex. everyone I ask says Bel-Ray, but they can't have the only acceptable oil out there, and also where is the oil filter located. is it where the oil pump is?

Most any Xw40 or Xw50 will work fine in a 300ex. Especially in its stockform. You just have to make sure it is "safe" for wet clutch. A lot of automotive oils have additional polymers in them that will make your "wet-clutch" slip.

A wet clutch is one that sits in the engine oil. Cars generally have the clutch seperated from the engine lube so they can put in the extra polymers.

I will always reccomend AMSOil though.