Racing Oil

Racing and high-performance engines are typically modified to deliver maximum horsepower and speed. Their powerful designs create shearing forces that can cause lesser oils to lose viscosity, leaving bearings, pistons and other components vulnerable to wear and failure. AMSOIL synthetic racing oils resists viscosity loss due to mechanical shear to maintain a strong protective oil film. Are heavily fortified with zinc and phosphorus anti-wear additives to provide additional protection against scuffing and wear in severe racing conditions.

Also, AMSOIL synthetic lubricants withstand intense heat, elevated horsepower and massive torque has made us a fixture at all types of racetracks. Our synthetic lubricants have helped teams operating off-road trucks, stock cars, high-powered boats, motorcycles and snowmobiles capture countless checkered flags and season championships. We believe that Racing is Research™, and we use the data collected from racing to tailor the complete AMSOIL product line for even greater levels of performance.

Racing is Research

The cumulative information AMSOIL has gathered through racing has been instrumental in the development and validation of numerous products, including Severe Gear® Synthetic Gear Lube.

“Racing allows us to identify the most extreme operating conditions and develop lubricants that meet or exceed those standards,” said Len Groom, Technical Product Manager, Powersports. “The information we gather has direct bearing on the passenger car/light truck market as well, with vehicles becoming more sophisticated and generating increased power and heat.”

The Inspiration

The gear lube used Prior to Severe Gear could cling to gears despite centrifugal forces forces, shock-loading conditions and the steep angles from driving over massive boulders and obstacles, but this product had a flaw: “The gear lube was the consistency of molasses,” said AMSOIL Race Program Manager Jeremy Meyer. “Extensive manipulation was required to increase its temperature into an operable range. Before a race, some teams actually raised their vehicles and ran them in place to warm the gear lube.”

The synthetic chemistry of Severe Gear eliminates the need for pre-race warm-up by providing excellent fluidity

The extreme shearing forces inside Bob Teague’s Mercury® 525 EFI V-8 racing engines helped provide the demanding conditions required to develop DOMINATOR® Synthetic Racing Oil. “Bob Teague’s marine engines operate at one speed: wide-open throttle,” said Meyer. “If an oil maintains its viscosity in that environment, we know it will perform equally as well in other applications.”

AMSOIL Synthetic Motorcycle Oil is also thoroughly tested on the track, providing the opportunity to dispel the myth that synthetics are “too slippery” for use in wet clutches. “The AMSOIL/Factory Connection/Honda team approached us with a need: they wanted faster starts out of the gates,” said Meyer.

Laboratory research, field validation and racing are the backbone of AMSOIL product development, and it’s been that way since day one. ‘“Racing is Research’ isn’t just a slogan; it embodies the extensive research AMSOIL performs on race tracks throughout North America - research that directly benefits everyone. The exact same lubricants used in professional racing vehicles are the same lubricants available to all AMSOIL users,” said Meyer.

The results gathered from on-track research are not limited to racing products. The knowledge is applied to the entire AMSOIL product line to ensure AMSOIL products provide the best-possible protection and performance.

Listen to the Experts

After a successful weekend of racing during the opening rounds of AMSOIL Championship Snocross, driver Lincoln Lemieux made the Pro Open final on Sunday.

Lemieux was on the to-three in about 14 laps out of the 20 lap race when the unthinkable happened, he stared to slow down , losing power by the second and had to drive back to his trailer.

When team owner Steve Scheuring arrived, the heat from Lemieux’s Ski-Doo* RS600 engine was overwhelming. “There were parts of the engine that melted,” said Scheuring. “You could smell that antifreeze had gotten hot. Everything was just hot. That’s the best way I can describe it. Just hot.”

“In a normal situation when something like this happens, the motor will lock up because of the high temperatures. The rings will stick to the piston. The pistons will score the cylinder walls. There’s a good chance the crank bearings will seize,” said Scheuring.

Instead, the rings and pistons were still free and the crankshaft still turned freely. “We saw some minor [piston] scuffing,” said Scheuring, “and it was like, ‘this is crazy how well the inside of this motor looks.’”

Each one of Scheuring’s Ski-Doo engines makes up a big portion of a race sled’s high cost. “We could take this motor, put new gaskets in it, put new exhaust valve covers on it and go racing,” said Scheuring. “We go above and beyond the capabilities of these motors. If they fail they cost us money, they cost us time and they cost us races, and we can’t afford to lose any of those.”

Scheuring credits AMSOIL DOMINATOR® Synthetic 2-Stroke Racing Oil with saving his engine. “We’ve worked with AMSOIL the last 20 years developing two-stroke oils for our race sleds,” said Scheuring. “In my opinion, I believe 100 percent the reason that motor lived was because of the AMSOIL products.”

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RACING PRODUCTS

Dominator Racing Oils

Provides superior performance and maximum protection in high-performance and racing applications. DOMINATOR is engineered from advanced synthetic technology to better withstand the elevated rpm, high temperatures and shock-loading common to racing applications.