First of all, you're going to need oil. I guess that seems pretty obvious, right? Well, just make sure you're getting the most bang for the buck. If you are running a gasoline fueled engine, take a look at the "Synthetic Motor Oils" link on our home page. Here you'll find information on determining the best oil for your application. If you're running a diesel engine, yep, you guessed it, take a look at our Synthetic Diesel Oils link on the same page.

I would recommend that, if your application allows it, go with the Series 2000 gasoline engine oils or Series 3000 diesel engine oil. They are more expensive, but the protection is absolutely unbeatable and the fuel mileage improvement is incredible. In addition, the Series 2000-0w-30 gives you 35,000 mile drain intervals as opposed to 25,000 with our standard synthetics. In my opinion, they are well worth the extra.

However, if you don't wish to pay the extra, feel free to go with the AMSOIL standards. They are less expensive and still do a superb job of protecting your engine.

There is a third choice for those with gasoline engines, and that is AMSOIL's new XL Extended Life Synthetic Oils. These oils were originally designed for use at Quick Lube Centers, but turn out to be an excellent alternative for those people who are still uncomfortable with the idea of going 25,000 or 35,000 miles without an oil change. The XL Extended Life oils are 100% Synthetic but have been designed with a recommended oil change interval of 7500 miles. Choose either the 5W-20, 5W-30, 10w-30, or 10W-40, depending on the weight your vehicle calls for.

In addition, the XL Extended Life oils can be used with conventional oil filters and will still go 7500 miles before the necessity of an oil change. Nevertheless, I would certainly recommend using AMSOIL's oil filters as they deliver far superior filtration and are much more durable.

If you are going to run any other AMSOIL Synthetic Oil besides the XL Extended Life, you should definitely stick with an AMSOIL Ea Nanofiber Oil Filter for your engine instead of trying to use a conventional filter of another brand. Following the oil filter link on the navigation menu should give you an understanding of why this is important and will help you determine which size filter to purchase.

These AMSOIL full flow oil filters should be changed at 6 month or 12,500 mile intervals on gasoline engines. For diesel applications, they should be changed at 6 months or one half the AMSOIL oil change interval. Therefore, if you are using a standard 25,000 mile gasoline engine oil, you would need one filter for the initial oil change and another filter for the 12,500 mile filter change (as well as a quart of oil to top off the system).

Always flush engines (if they have over 50,000 - 60,000 miles on them) with AMSOIL Engine Flush when converting from petroleum oil to AMSOIL. Petroleum oils create sludge and varnish on the inside of engines. Most synthetics are very high in detergent action. They will break loose the sludge and varnish the petroleum oil made in large particles. These large particles will circulate throughout your engine, potentially clogging oil galleries and ports. No matter how good an oil is, it does you no good if it can't get to all the places it should in an engine. If a component becomes starved for oil it dies!

AMSOIL Engine Flush cleans the crankcase, cylinder walls, pistons and rings for maximum efficiency, protection and performance. It preps engines for installation of AMSOIL synthetic motor oil. One can per vehicle is sufficient.

Before you change your oil take off your old oil filter and install a new AMSOIL full flow filter (you will need two AMSOIL oil filters for your initial switch to AMSOIL; you may even wish to purchase a third for your six month/12,500 mile FILTER change so as to avoid paying freight for such a small item). An AMSOIL oil filter will help remove the gunk that the engine flush breaks loose much better than your old conventional filter would.

Then just pour one 16 oz can of engine flush into your oil system (make sure that you are a 1/2 quart low first--the removal of your old oil filter should do the trick) and let the car idle for 20 to 30 minutes. Then, while the oil is still warm, drain it. Finally, install a new AMSOIL full flow oil filter and pour in your AMSOIL synthetic oil.

NOTE: If your vehicle has over 80,000 or 90,000 miles on it or is more than 8 or 9 years old, and you are not currently using another synthetic oil, you may not wish to switch over to AMSOIL. Vehicles with such high mileage may have dry, cracked seals and gaskets. Having used conventional oils for so long (even with 3,000 mile oil changes), the sludge and deposits from oil burn-off may have caused a build-up to occur which is plugging the gaps around these seals and gaskets and preventing leaks.

Flushing such an engine with AMSOIL Engine Flush might uncover these leaks and create the need for replacement. Depending upon your situation, you may not wish to do this. Even if you don't flush the engine and simply put synthetic oil in the engine, the high quality detergent additives in the oil would eventually clean out these deposits anyway. This is a decision that you will have to make on your own.

However, if you are currently using a synthetic oil and have seen no detrimental effects, you would probably be ok to switch over to AMSOIL even on a high mileage vehicle.

Now, you could stop here and call it good. Already you have done some amazing things for your vehicle by simply flushing your oil system and installing AMSOIL synthetic oil and an oil filter. However, if you want to do it right, there are a few other things to consider.

Since 80 percent of the dirt, debris and contaminants that enter your oil do so through your air intake system (how else would it get in there?), does it make sense to ignore this aspect of filtration? Why make the oil filter do all of the work?

By installing an AMSOIL Ea Nanofiber Air Filter you would greatly increase the air flow into your engine and enhance the filtration of the incoming air by at least 50%. Seems like a pretty significant difference to me. In addition, AMSOIL Foam Air Filters are made to last the life of your vehicle. They NEVER need to be replaced. Just wash, re-oil and re-use once per year. It's that simple. Take a look at our AMSOIL Air Filters page for more details.

Feel free to E-MAIL me if you have any questions about AMSOIL products; if I don't have the information you need, I can probably point you in the right direction.