Taxi Fleets Save Time & Money With Amsoil

LIFE ON THE STREETS
It was 1984. Lubrizol, the prestigious specialty chemical supplier launched an ambitious testing program for its additives and formulations. It involved finding a fleet whose normal use exposed the cars to a wide range of stress. One by one, the existing engines would be removed and disassembled for inspection.

Amsoil was invited to participate. The fleet chosen was made up of New York City taxicabs. Here was a pool of automobiles subject to long periods of idling, strenuous bouts with traffic, and an occasional "follow that car!" or "get me to the airport no matter what," accompanied by the full range of weather and temperature variables. A classic choice in field testing.

But there were other factors the testers couldn't anticipate. Once the tests began, an astonishing rate of smashed and disabled cabs emerged. The test fleet seemed to ricochet through the New York streets like billiard balls. Added to this was the Chevrolet 229 CID V-6, an engine in its last product year and remembered fondly by mechanics everywhere for its ability to produce income.

Like all field trials, 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. Using 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. They are identified as "Group A".

"Group B" used AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil with an AMSOIL Oil Filter. For Group B, the oil change interval was doubled to 6,000 miles.

Using the same AMSOIL products as "Group B", the third division of cars - "Group C" - quadrupled the control interval, changing oil at 12,000 miles.

But "Group D" ran the ultimate test. Using AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil, an AMSOILS Oil Filter and AMSOIL ByPass Filter (changing the filter 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 described 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.