Best synthetic oil?

[MChalkley]

Tinmann - Amsoil recommends ATH (the part number for 5-gallon pails is, unimaginatively, ATH-05) for Kubota and JD HST's (as well as GST's, etc.), but the ISO 46 stuff Gary mentions works fine, too. It's more expensive, and is the newer product, and supposedly has additional anti-wear properties. I haven't used anything but ATH, myself, and probably won't. It's so much better than petroleum, from my experience, that I can't see there being a practical performance advantage to going with even more expensive oil in a tractor. And I consider myself a bit fanatical about this kind of thing. But I say: If somebody wants to be even more fanatical than I am, more power to 'em. It won't be easy or cheap to accomplish, though. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

As I've documented before on this board and the previous one, I've observed (and measured) much lower temperatures under extreme load after switching to synthetic (somewhere here there's a post with the exact numbers), as well as much better performance in extreme cold. As Larry said (thanks, Larry!) these factors add up to more than just numbers - they translate to less wear and tear on your equipment - and that translates to money. Additionally, the better performance of synthetic creates a safety net, or insurance, if you prefer, against damaging your equipment if you push it to its limits regularly, as I do.

Both purchasers of the previous tractors I traded in switched them back to Kubota Super UDT, then back again to Amsoil when they noticed the drop in performance, the increase in noice, etc. And neither of them had ever used synthetics before. That should tell you something.

MarkC

 

[Billc]

LHSmith,

Read your post in which you said you are considering switching to Amsoil after the 10 hour service. I don't pretend to know what Mark knows, and I need him to confirm what I am about to say. Anyway, I don't think you should switch when your engine is so new. You need time to break it is which allows the seals to set. Think you may want to wait until the 50 hour service.

Again, Mark needs to confirm this.

Bill Cook

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bill, You are rite on the engine oil to wait until rings seat in before adding synthetic. The original question was hydraulic fluid, in which is ok to put in rite away. Mark, You and I are talking about the same ATF fluid, ISO 46,-30 is ATH-05 in 5 gal. ATH -30 in 30 gal, and ATH-55 in 55 gal drums. I pay 62.50 for 5 gal, does that sound like the same as you pay? Sorry for any confusion. gary

 

[MChalkley]

Bill - I agree with you about not switching to synthetic in the engine until it's got more hours on it. Peronally, I won't switch a tractor over until it's got 150 or so hours on it. The transmission/hydraulic oil can be changed any time.

Technically, there's never been any specific info from Amsoil on when it's safe to switch, but they do say to wait until the engine is "broken in". Some synthetic oil makers, like Mobil, say you can use their synthetic right away, but I wouldn't do it. Maybe theirs isn't as slick as Amsoil's. If you believe Amsoil's "independent lab tests", that's certainly the case.

Gary - I thought you were talking about the new heavy duty anti-wear oils that Amsoil came out with. They're quite a bit more expensive. The price you're paying sounds about right, too.

MarkC

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks Bill and Mark!

I'll wait the 150 hrs.
Is this because the Amsoil is so slick that there is not sufficient friction to do the "seating", or wearing-in?

Larry

 

[Billc]

Mark,

As always thanks for telling me what I meant!

 

[MChalkley]

BillC - Or, as my dad says, "I'm not sure I understand all I know about this."

Larry - Yes, the reduced friction is the reason. You really want those rings to seat properly before switching. In fact, you probably know that, when they build an engine, they put a 30-degree cross-hatch pattern in the cylinder walls to make the rings rock back and forth a little so they'll seat better. If they don't, the engine will have oil burning and compression problems later. I don't know that there's ever been any proof that synthetic oil prevents proper wear-in, but there's a lot of proof that it really reduces friction, especially when an engine is still "tight". (For example, when I first changed to Amsoil in my '86 Taurus at 3500 miles, the engine went from 800 rpm at idle to 1800 rpm instantly.)

MarkC

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Mark,

I need to "shuffle" your dad's words a little, to fit my situation... "I'm sure I not understand all I know about this."

Didn't know about the crosshatching. Interesting.
Also impressive about the Taurus idle.

This could get expensive. Let's see... truck, auto, tractor, chipper, mower, chainsaw, pressure washer, etc.

Larry

 

[gordon]

Should the standard oil-hydraulic filters be used or should the amsoil brand filters be used?
Gordon

 

[MChalkley]

Gordon - I use the Amsoil filters on most of my stuff, but not on the tractor - only because I haven't bothered to see if they make them for the Kubota. I think the Amsoil filters are a lot better than stock ones but, on the tractor, I just change them more often.

MarkC