Change Your Oil – Your Trees Will Hug You For It

On the surface, oil mixes with environmental stewardship as well as water. Anyone who’s concerned about the environment is supposed to oppose oil, right? They’re supposed to view oil as a commodity one uses begrudgingly and only out of necessity.

Switching to a high-quality synthetic oil, however, can change one’s outlook. Premium synthetic lubricants – like AMSOIL synthetic motor oils – deliver surprising environmental benefits compared to conventional oils.

The first is extended drain intervals. The main benefit of driving longer between oil changes is obvious – less waste oil to dispose of. Say you drive 15,000 miles per year and change oil about every 5,000 miles. You have to buy, use and dispose of 15 quarts of oil each year (assuming your engine holds five quarts). If you switch to AMSOIL Signature Series Synthetic Motor Oil, which carries a recommended service interval of 25,000 miles/one year (15,000 miles/one year in severe service), you only need five quarts of oil per year. (Make sure to check your oil periodically and top-off as necessary.) Not only do you enjoy the convenience of a once-a-year oil change, you significantly cut the amount of waste oil entering the supply stream. Imagine if every car and truck on the road used Signature Series and changed oil once a year. The reduction in waste oil would be staggering, and that’s not taking into account the benefits of sourcing less oil in the first place.

The air we breathe also benefits from AMSOIL synthetic motor oils. Conventional motor oils are more volatile than synthetics, meaning they boil off, or evaporate, more readily when exposed to extreme heat. When oil evaporates, it produces emissions that exit the tailpipe and enter the atmosphere, contributing to air pollution. AMSOIL synthetic motor oils offer better resistance to volatility, helping cut emissions and air pollution.

AMSOIL synthetic lubricants also maximize fuel economy. Unlike their conventional counterparts, AMSOIL synthetic motor oils are engineered with pure molecular structures that allow their molecules to slip more easily over one another, resulting in less restriction to moving engine parts. Less restriction reduces the amount of energy lost to friction, increasing fuel economy and benefiting the environment.

Switching to AMSOIL synthetic lubricants and practicing extended drain intervals is a small step that, if we all take, can lead to big changes down the road.

For more information about our company, visit www.amsoil.com/about


IMAGE CREDITS:  (c) Can Stock Photo

Earth Day Note: Count Us Green

You can't manage what you don't measure. That is why AMSOIL made a commitment to begin measuring its environmental impact in all facets of its operations.

From its inception the environmental benefits of a one year oil change instead of every three thousand miles was measurable in terms of reduced packaging waste and reduced used oil to be disposed of. AMSOIL synthetic oils kept engines cleaner also, so that there were fewer bi-products of combustion, less varnish and sludge. It was all good.

But the manner in which the company operates has also been wholly committed to numerous environmentally conscientious behaviors. One of these is to continuously reduce the amount of waste we produce so the each year we have few dumpsters going to the landfill. How low can we go? It waits to be seen but is exciting to see this company-wide initiative in action. Each year we have succeeded in reducing the number and we'll keep on it for as long as we are able. These initiatives and others like it have gained us regional recognition for our commitment to not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.

A second strategy that we embrace is to use use SmartWay® shipping. Launched in 2004, SmartWay® is an EPA program that reduces transportation-related emissions by creating incentives to improve supply chain fuel efficiency. The SmartWay® Program is a public-private initiative between EPA, large and small trucking companies, rail carriers, logistics companies, commercial manufacturers, retailers, and other federal and state agencies. Its purpose is to improve fuel efficiency and the environmental performance (reduction of both greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution) of the goods movement supply chains.

Guess what? We like being green and being responsible. We hope you do to.

AMSOIL Sponsors SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge

Nowadays, people everywhere in every way are looking for ways to go green. This includes more than 150 engineering students from seventeen universities nationwide participating in the 2009 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge. Hosted by Michigan Tech University, this year’s theme is “Flex Fuel.” The event spans six days in March 2009. Students compete in one of two categories, taking a stock snowmobile and reengineering it to reduce emissions and noise while maintaining or improving performance. Finalists compete in a variety of categories including emissions, noise, fuel economy, acceleration, handling, cold start and design. Overall, each team aims to make a better sled that has less impact on the environment.

The first category includes sleds driven by one Internal Combustion (IC) engine, and those in the second category are sleds driven by electrical power with Zero Emissions (ZE). These snowmobiles must be built to meet or exceed the 2012 standards for exhaust emissions and noise output. Furthermore, they must run on bio-fuel only. This creates quite the challenge for these students, and lots of time, research, and ingenuity goes into each project. AMSOIL is very pleased to be associated with these future engineers of America as they look for solutions to better the future of snowmobile design.

The event is hosted by Michigan Tech, and will be held March 16-21 2009 at the KRC Keweenaw Research Center in Houghton, MI. Upwards of 1,000 spectators are expected, and the public is invited to attend any of the competitions. If you can make it, also check out the Polaris Acceleration Event and Polaris Objective Handling Event on Saturday the 21st on the KRC test course. AMSOIL will update the promotions blog with further information as it becomes available, so stay tuned.