I was so amazed with this performance of the grease, the next thing I did was put in the AMSOIL 10W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil. Realize that the motor sits about 4 feet - in the open - on top of the paver - from where the driver sits. In operating the paver, the sound and heat from the motor is always right there.

The oil was changed in the evening after a normal day of paving. This was in September so it was not particularly cold or anything. The next morning when the paver was started on the job site, it started noticeably easier, and immediately idled smoother. Throughout the day I noticed the oil temperature guage (as there is no radiator, the temperature guage measured the oil temperature) was showing about 40 deg. F cooler running. The motor turns a shaft that runs three hydraulic pumps. It is set to maintain RPMs under various loads, so when you operate several mechanisms simultaneously, the engine's sound and response is very noticeable. With the synthetic oil, I immediately could tell the engine was not laboring as hard and was much more responsive.

This was enough to convince me that I should try this stuff in my other cars and trucks. I've since chucked the paving business. Selling AMSOIL is a lot cleaner, cooler, and not seasonal.

A friend of mine does have a Corvair, and belongs to a local Corvair club. He is quite pleased with it in his Corvair and has convinced most of the members to try it in theirs. I've not heard a discouraging word.

One caution I will mention is if the engine has high miles and has used the same oil for a long period of time, when you change over to AMSOIL, plan on changing the oil filter about every one thousand miles for the first two thousand miles. Use of petroleum oil will tend to cause a buildup of a varnish coating on the inside of the engine (I'm not talking about sludge!). AMSOIL, with it's high detergency, will clean up this to a great extent, and deposit it in the oil filter. Often, this prematurely blanks out the filter and when the by-pass valve clicks open, you circulate unfiltered oil. After a while, build-up behind the rings causes excessive blow-by and you will start using oil. This situation often is blamed on the oil. After cussing the oil and changing back to petroleum, the situation is corrected. Really, there is nothing wrong with the oil, just a clogged filter.

AMSOIL also sells an engine flush that is excellent to shorten this process, but I would still recommend changing the filter a couple times. You can use any good brand name filter, just change it when the manufacturer says to. AMSOIL's filters are good for 6 months/12,00 miles, but I would not use one of ours until you are satisfied the cleaning process is complete.

AMSOIL recently introduced a Synthetic 4-stroke SAE 0W-40 oil specifically for 4-stroke snowmobiles, outboard boat motors and ATVs. This oil is made to withstand the stresses air cooled engines endure due to the higher average temperatures these engines operate under. This oil also far exceeds the specifications for automotive engines, and many of the older air cooled Corvairs and VWs called for a 40 grade oil. This new oil is great for these applications.

As for if the cost is justifiable, that is really up to you. I look at it that my time is more important to me than fooling around with five oil changes every three thousand miles (I have five vehicles), but also feel that I can't afford the wear on the engines (I'm not a mechanic and I have a lot of difficulty working on new cars).