50% Oil Life = Dark Oil?

[camaro1]

Originally Posted by jmat

I work for an oil additive company who supplies the ingredients to every manufaturer you see on the shelf. My job is engine oil test engineer. I run engines every day to test finished oils and get them approved for market. Color isn't a concern. Best way to be sure is have analytical tests run at a lab. If you are using synthetic 5000 miles should be no problem.

ok, explain this then,, we have 3 grades of bulk oil at work and multiple brands in quarts,, the last 6 months to a year or so the cheaper bulk oil has gotten lighter and lighter in color while the mid grade dexos and the mobil synthetic are a darker color.

well everyone at work uses the bulk oil for there own vehicles and we all change oil every 3000 miles, i tried the bulk cheap (i wont say what brand),, and my engine starting to have lifter tick(chevy equinox), i swapped to bottle synthetic and the lifter tick is gone

2 other guys have trucks with over 50,000 miles that have never used any oil between changes and all of a sudden they are both using over 2 qts in 3000 miles,, they both started using bottle mid grade oil and both of them stopped using any oil

along with all the cust vehicles that have oil issues now.

this wasnt just 1 bad batch of oil either, as we move lots of oil and our tanks are filled every 2 weeks and all these vehicles had several oil changes with oil consumpition before switching oils

gm is having big issues with trucks and suv's using oil, it just seems that the cheaper oils dont have what it takes to hold up, especially in hard conditions., then you look at the gm oil life monitor on these vehicles that let a person go over 7000 miles and still show 40% oil life ,, but the car has drank 2-3qts already

never had any of these issues before when everyone knew you change your oil at 3000 miles or 3 months,, and before many of the additives were taken away from oil

[NavyDood]

Originally Posted by jmat

I work for an oil additive company who supplies the ingredients to every manufaturer you see on the shelf. My job is engine oil test engineer. I run engines every day to test finished oils and get them approved for market. Color isn't a concern. Best way to be sure is have analytical tests run at a lab. If you are using synthetic 5000 miles should be no problem.

Hatco, Ethyl, Afton, Mobil?

[velociSSimo]

NavyDood - none of these

camaro1 -
Do u mean the oil is changing color while in the bulk tank ( no answer for this one), or is it lighter whenever it arrives new? If it's lighter when it arrives new and is a cheaper oil than it may not have a consistent additive package. The company may not be using the same additive supplier for every batch and this can effect color. In general most oils, even the best, get additives supplied from different companies and are typically geographical based.

As for issues with cheaper oils... you get what you pay for.

The oil sensor has nothing to do with actual oil quality. It uses an algorithm based on driving conditions (speed, temps, etc). It is a best guess correlated with engine test results in a lab. It does not measure actual oil quality. there are some manufacturers going to an actual oil life monitoring system that does this, but it is rare at this point.

Actually the current oil specs require more additives to meet the criteria to take an oil to market. It is a myth that oil companies are using less additives vs. years ago. A cheap oil today will have more/better additives than the same oil from years past. This doesn't mean that cheaper oils have less than expensive oils. That's why they are expensive. Again, you get what you pay for.

Always remember that when you buy oil to check the little logo with the specs in it. Make sure it is the current spec. Oils on the shelf that are cheap may only be intended for use in older vehicles and are licensed that way. Check your manual for the spec your car recommends.

[Stingraye]

Look guys, we can argue about how dark an oil should be before you change it all day long. You can't determine exactly howuch oil life is left just by looking at it. Odds are if you're using good quality synthetic oil and changing it every 5k miles, you should still have decent oil life left which is ideal. If you're changing your oil at the max interval then chances are the oil is burnt up and not providing adequate protection anymore. If you want to use the extended interval and plan to own the car out of warranty, do so with caution. If you use an extended life oil and change it early, you'll have a happy engine for life.

[NavyDood]

Originally Posted by jmat

NavyDood - none of these

Hmmmm. Interesting. Who do you supply to then, Warren Distributors? What oils engine oil, Tranny Fluids, gear oils?

[NavyDood]

Can anyone tell me by looking at this oil if it is bad? Guess what? It's not. That oil had 22,500 miles on it and was good for continued use. A visual inspection of oil means nothing. If you saw metal flakes and blah blah blah in your oil when changing it, then you ahve a whole other world of hurt going on in the engine.

[Agent WD-40]

Has anybody sent out a sample to a lab to see how it compares to the Oil Life Monitor?