Do you know anyone that has tried to get Amsoil to pay for a failed engine repair. It is impossible to prove a lubrication related failure on a two-stroke other that looking at trends and statistics of thousands of engines.
I have a customer that running his 310 that we built him at 100:1 on Amsoil. We recommended a 20:1 mixture but a friend was an Amsoil dealer and told him that Amsoil would pay for lany lubrication related failures. This guy rides only at the dunes and I think that the only time the engine is below 8000 RPM is when he is refueling or taking a leak.
The old OEM crank (connecting rod bearing) failed the 1st week end). He thought that maybe the old crank was old and was worn out when he put our new top end on it. He installed a new Hot rod crank and it did not run through 5 gallons of fuel before the rod welded to the crank. He thought that maybe he got a bad hot rod crank so he installed a new OEM crank. I check his intake hose and filter and he was not getting any dirt past the air filter. I begged him to use more oil but he was one of the followers of the "Less oil makes more power disciples". The New OEM crank did not make it through a whole weekend before it welded the rod to the crank pin. He installed another new Hot Rod crank and started using castor oil at 20:1. He stopped by the shop about a month ago and said that the last crank is still running and it has been 4 or 5 years since it was replaced. He also said that he recently replaced the piston and noticed that the connecting rod is not black or discolored like the big end of his rods use to be running the 100:1 oil ratios.
This is just one of hundreds of similar stories I can tell about customers that have got an expensive education on oil ratios.
Moto-cross is one of the least stressing on engine parts of any form of racing because of all of the off and on throttle operation. Road racing, circle track and dune riding seem to require the best oils and more oil in the fuel than woods riding and Moto-cross.
By the way Amsoil never paid any of his repair bills because "they were not lubrication related failures"
Yes, I do agree with you that dune riding and the other racing conditions that you mentioned are more stressing than mx . I can't speak on the issue that your customer had due to me not knowing the whole story. Almost sounds like the disconnect may have been with his friend.
The fact that Amsoil wouldn't pay for any of the repairs really makes me think there was something else going on there or guideline were not followed . Amsoil listens to their customers, and responds quickly if there is a problem. They would research and change their recommendations on something if there is an issue. Yes, I can say this with authority because I work very closely with this company.
Yes, I do know individuals who Amsoil has actually covered their engine, even though the cause of failure was NOT actually due to the oil, but due to failed parts and/or builders. And yes, they do also have thousands of hours logged running these oils in thousands of engines using thermal imaging, dynos, SEM's, and other top of the line equipment to insure that their lubricants can handle what they recommend. That is better research, testing, and support than I have seen from any other lubricant company period.
Jerry, I do appreciate you sharing your experiences with us. Don't want you to think that I don't. Stuff like this is good for the forums. We don't have to agree to share information and grow together.
