Oil color with different brands?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 11, 2016
Messages
1,401
Location
MT
I know oil color doesn't necessarily tell us much, but wondering if anyone knows why it varies with different brands? I used to use PP pretty exclusively, and it would take around 3k miles before the oil darkened. Now for the past 3 changes I've been using Mobil 1 and it darkens within a few hundred miles of use. Same vehicle (Tacoma in sig) and engine. Would it be safe to assume it's cleaning better or holding contaminates better? I know Pennzoil claims to be the best in the business for keeping engines clean. Does oil color really reflect this or am I just overthinking it?

Thanks for your thoughts in advance!
 
I don't remember which brand it was, but maybe in the 80s there was a commercial that said motor oil should look dark, and it wasn't a flaw.

Of course ARCO Graphite was inherently dark.
 
Originally Posted by 1JZ_E46
Synthetic engine oil is clear. It has the color it has because of dyes.

Why would it need to be dyed? I know fuel is dyed (especially for non-road use), but why oil?

I thought the color typically comes from the additives. I've been a long-time Mobil 1 user, and I remember when it used to be a pale amber, but now it's darker out of the bottle. Of course it's probably more Group III than Group IV now.

I remember buying 2 quarts each of Kendall-GT 10W-30 two times. They had the same label, which was API SH on the label, but and additional sticker saying it was their new API SJ formula. Two had this sweet, honey-like odor and a pale amber color. The other two had a burnt smell (similar to most motor oil these days) and a darker color.
 
Because consumers expect oil to be Amber. Learned it from MolaKule. I'll see if I can find the post.

Quote (Mola):

Most oils are dyed "bronze" which we call Amber, because oils are expected (by most of the general public) to look bold and amber.

Redline uses red and orange dyes to differentiate its products, GC and Schaeffer's use blue/green, and of course, Royal Purple uses a specialized red/blue dye combination.

Most additives, right after reaction and processing, are clear. Bronze and/or red dyes are added to differentiate the additives. Sometimes the metals in certain additives, such as MoDTC and calcium and magnesium sulfonates, tend to darken the additive, so the above dyes are added to mask the darkening.

ATF's and most PS fluids are dyed red to detect leaks.

AC compressor fluids are dyed with a fluorescent dye so a blacklight source can be used detect leaks as well.


And


It depends on the additive supplier. Some supply Dispersives for example, that are clear "water white."

On the other hand, some suppliers supply MoDTC almost clear with a greenish tinge, while others color it with a reddish-brown dye.

The darkest additives (dark-reddish-brown) have to be the detergents, such as the calcium and magnesium sulfonates.

Even if you take all the additive amounts required per quart, and even if the majority of additives are colored, the final quart of oil that started out as as water white will only become slightly amber.

The rest is usually dye.

End Quote
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by 1JZ_E46
Synthetic engine oil is clear. It has the color it has because of dyes.


Poured a half quart of Harvest King 5w30 (Citgo) synthetic oil on top of VWB 5w20 late last summer-- the oil change place must have thought it was a 1.6 engine. VWB is always totally clear on change, the Harvest King was a darker color. No one would have paid for dye to make it that funky-ugly.
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't worry about starting color. However I prefer lighter color ... At least you know when it gets dark but if it was for example black to engine with, I wouldn't buy it.

@Molakule or other color experts:
If oil are dyed amber/bronze because general public expects that color, then were the very first engine oils ever produced that color? I mean if we are used to amber because oil was originally amber then why was the oil amber to begin with? btw, i'm not drunk
shocked2.gif
grin2.gif

Maybe oils (cooking, etc.) before engine oil was invented, were amber so everyone got used to it!
 
Originally Posted by OilUzer
@Molakule or other color experts:
If oil are dyed amber/bronze because general public expects that color, then were the very first engine oils ever produced that color? I mean if we are used to amber because oil was originally amber then why was the oil amber to begin with? btw, i'm not drunk
shocked2.gif
grin2.gif

Maybe oils (cooking, etc.) before engine oil was invented, were amber so everyone got used to it!


I believe Group 1 oils are amber without any dye, so that's probably what everyone was used to seeing.
 
Originally Posted by jongies3
I know oil color doesn't necessarily tell us much, but wondering if anyone knows why it varies with different brands? I used to use PP pretty exclusively, and it would take around 3k miles before the oil darkened. Now for the past 3 changes I've been using Mobil 1 and it darkens within a few hundred miles of use. Same vehicle (Tacoma in sig) and engine. Would it be safe to assume it's cleaning better or holding contaminates better? I know Pennzoil claims to be the best in the business for keeping engines clean. Does oil color really reflect this or am I just overthinking it?
Thanks for your thoughts in advance!

My 2006 Tacoma also takes about 3k miles for the oil to begin its darkening process. I like this consistency of the mileage/darkening process, it lets me know everything is on course. Within the next year, I'll be running a batch of PUP 5w30 which is touted for its amazing cleaning abilities. We will see how quickly it darkens.
In the Corvette, I have run M1 5w30 consistently for years and it would take about 2k miles for the oil to begin its darkening process. I recently ran Valvoline synthetic 5w30 in it, and this oil darkened more quickly than the M1 did. Not sure why, but I figure that the different brands have different detergent additives, or different quantities of detergents, so the Valvoline cleaned where the M1 did not. This is just an assumption, or educated guess at what is going on with the single run of SynPower. If I continued to use Valvoline Synthetic for a few years and then switched back to M1, the same thing might happen due to the different detergents.
 
Although the colour of my Amsoil Signature series hasn't changed out of the bottle I notice it darkens much quicker than before and it seems to be the newer formulation where they reduced the calcium. This doesn't mean anything bad, just that the colour changes quicker because the formulation is different than it was.

I also noticed that when draining it in the light it has a bit of a maroon hue to it whereas before it would be just black.

The UOA's I've run on it don't show anything abnormal so it's purely cosmetic in my case. Doesn't bother me at all.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by dwendt44
The last time I used SuperTech synthetic oil, it was nearly clear, like vegetable oil.


My 2¢

Canadian Tire has a house brand of oil called MotoMaster and in the early 1990's their oil was coming out clear from the jugs. A lot of folks in the shop worried that there was something wrong with the oil and refused to put it in customers vehicles. They had to issue a memo from corporate alleviating concerns. It had to do with the blender having a shortage of raw materials or so the memo claimed. My grandfather was a service adviser at the time.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver
I'm a big fan of some of Shell's conventional a.k.a Mineral oils, i have noticed all of them have a slightly greenish tint to them

The definition of "mineral" these days is rather nebulous. Modern requirements seem to make it difficult to use a standard Group I base oil as suitable for modern engines.
 
I remember somebody telling a story on a car forum about a used car dealer who only used non-detergent oil in the cars on his lot...the reasoning was that the oil would do no cleaning of any gunk in the engine and always look beautiful if a prospective buyer happened to pull the dipstick.
Wasn't good for the cars, of course...
 
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I remember somebody telling a story on a car forum about a used car dealer who only used non-detergent oil in the cars on his lot...the reasoning was that the oil would do no cleaning of any gunk in the engine and always look beautiful if a prospective buyer happened to pull the dipstick.
Wasn't good for the cars, of course...

Saw some non-detergent SAE 30 yesterday. The jug clearly said that it was only suitable as a general lubrication oil and for lubricating compressors.
 
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I remember somebody telling a story on a car forum about a used car dealer who only used non-detergent oil in the cars on his lot...the reasoning was that the oil would do no cleaning of any gunk in the engine and always look beautiful if a prospective buyer happened to pull the dipstick.
Wasn't good for the cars, of course...

Saw some non-detergent SAE 30 yesterday. The jug clearly said that it was only suitable as a general lubrication oil and for lubricating compressors.





I thought California banned the sale of those kinds of oils?
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by y_p_w
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I remember somebody telling a story on a car forum about a used car dealer who only used non-detergent oil in the cars on his lot...the reasoning was that the oil would do no cleaning of any gunk in the engine and always look beautiful if a prospective buyer happened to pull the dipstick.
Wasn't good for the cars, of course...

Saw some non-detergent SAE 30 yesterday. The jug clearly said that it was only suitable as a general lubrication oil and for lubricating compressors.





I thought California banned the sale of those kinds of oils?

It was this:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/traveller-non-detergent-oil-sae-30-1-qt

I thought that they were supposed to be placed away from engine oils, but I saw it right between several API EOLCS motor oils. I got curious and the label said it was only for compressor lubrication or general lubrication.

Mobil does have a compressor oil that clearly looks unlike a motor oil label.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top