When I bought my quad my dealer recommended that I use synthetic oil after the break in period. First question-I know the manual says 100 miles is the break in period, but is this enough of a break in for the change to syn. oil? I have read many a post on the syn. vs. dino debate, but being that I ride in a lot of water and mud and should probably change the oil pretty regualar, is the syn. advantages greater than the cost difference? If I choose not to use the AC oil and filter what would you recommend(is the Mobil 1 motor cycle oil the best?) and what brand of filter(I use Fram on my truck but have recently heard bad things about them)?

P.S. I know about the friction modifiers and that the oil needs to be wet clutch approved.

 

i heard that you should put about 300 miles on before switching to synthetic. i use amsoil in my truck and like it. gonna use their atv oil after i get some miles on the new one. use a fully synthetic oil, i haven't heard much good about the blended oils. do a search on oil filters, you'll find a list of different brands. the oil debate is just like anything else, everyone will have a different preference. do a little research and pick the one you like.

 

I was told by the dealer I bought from that they come from the factory filled with synthetic.

I can't confirm if this is true or not.

 

Don't use the synthetic oil just yet ,It won't brake in properly witch can affect the performance .
My dealer told me to go several oil changes ,make sure it's broken fully, 2 to 400 miles .
just my 2 cents

 

Just bought a 2003 Arctic cat 400 4x4 auto would like to run a synthetic oil in it after break in. Any sugestions what kind to use, Mobile 1, Mobile 1 ATV 4 cycle????

 

I'd wait at least 500 miles before going to a full synthetic. And make sure it is approved for wet clutch sytems- even the arctic cat auto uses a centrifugal wet clutch so it has the same requirements. They do NOT come with a full synthetic from the factory- its a petroleum base. Arctic does offer a full synthetic oil though and as for oil filters i'd recommend the factory one (suzuki) or a k&n or hi-flo

 

I put 500 miles on my 500 Auto before I went to synthetic to make sure it was totally broken in. I read on a Jeep forum a thread about synthetic vs. dino in which a chemical engineer for a "major oil company" made the flat out statement that when useing a premium synthetic oil, wear stops. That's pretty radical, but he stood by his argument; said it was based on hundreds of fleet tests covering hundreds of thousands if miles in all traffic conditions. Now, please don't flame me; I'm just passing on what the man said. And, FWOW, I've had GM and Chrysler mechanics tell me the same. I use Mobil 1 for motorcycles or Arctic Cat syn oil, and a good quality filter (which does NOT include Fram) such as Wix or A-C/Suzuki. I change oil once a year and it runs better now than when it was new. I do get in deep water and some nasty mud. I even replaced the grease in the wheel bearings with Mobil 1 grease when they went bad from mud and water.

 

You forgot mention anything about anti-drain back valves in filters. K&n -suzuki-bmw-some wix and so on have them. But a lot of them don't. And we all know when the most engine wear is supposed to take place right.

 

Reading many of the posts around here I take most things dealers say with a grain of salt. Now that I think of it, this was the same dealer that told me to run straight anti-freeze in the cooling system. (not good).

I emailed Amsoil's tech support and asked this question. This is the reply I got:

"Regarding the use of AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils in brand new or rebuilt engines, it is recommended, however not mandatory, that the motor be initially operated with petroleum oil up to its first normal drain interval. The advantages of doing this are as follows.

New engines or engine components generate high wear metals to begin with and generally contain debris from machining and assembly. It is more beneficial to allow these wear metals to collect in an inexpensive motor oil than to circulate throughout the crankcase for extended periods in a synthetic motor oil. By operating the vehicle to its first drain interval with a petroleum oil, these wear metals and manufacturing debris collect in the oil and are then flushed out of the crankcase when drained. This allows for a much cleaner operating environment for the synthetic lubricant.
Within the first miles of operation, if there are any defects in the assembly or workmanship of the engine components, they may be corrected before installing the more expensive synthetic motor oil. Occasionally, rebuilt engines may have re-machined components or materials which can sometimes be mismatched. These problems will develop in a fairly short period of time. If excessive oil consumption, leaks, or any other problem is noted, this should be corrected prior to changing to AMSOIL Synthetic oil."


Thought I would pass it along. Draw your own conclusions...

 

My first post in the A Cat forum. The Dales run synthetic oil and on the handlebars when you buy them new it says " Break in oil only, MUST BE CHANGED AFTER ONE HOUR OF OPERATION" Follow owners maunual. We have seperate tranny and engine oil. There is a great article in one of the streetbike mags on the newstands right now. It might have been ATV Sport, can't remember...It has motorcycle oils vs car oils in non synthetic, synthetic blend, and full synthetic. It was a very in depth article and the bottom line is Mobile 1 full synthetic car oil has the least thermal breakdown over any amount of time. They ran these oils in a GSXR1000 and R1. Bikes w/ 150hp and the Mobile 1 is what I will buy from now on.. They have all kinds of charts for different things that oils do. Motorcycles oils are different in properties, but they aren't better. The dealer will tell you they are better, because they want your dollar instead of seeing it go to Autozone...