Why is Oil "Blackish" in less than 1000 miles

007_e350 · 05-01-2014, 01:01 PM

understood turbos cooks the heck out of it but it should still look honeyish for 2500 miles no ?

jadnashuanh · 05-01-2014, 01:06 PM

No...the color of the oil has little to do with its lubricating properties. One of the big things an oil does is hold things in suspension, and if they are big enough, the filter will take them out as the oil passes through. Especially with a turbocharged engine, things can get into the oil fairly rapidly, but until the additives wear out and can't do their job, the color of it is mostly irrelevant. Now, if it spelled burnt or felt gritty, that would be a totally different issue, but color? Not an issue. Now, with a diesel engine, it will get looking nasty quicker, but still works fine.

AdamN52 · 05-01-2014, 01:11 PM

I would think it should turn dark pretty quickly. Don't sweat it.

007_e350 · 05-01-2014, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

No...the color of the oil has little to do with its lubricating properties. One of the big things an oil does is hold things in suspension, and if they are big enough, the filter will take them out as the oil passes through. Especially with a turbocharged engine, things can get into the oil fairly rapidly, but until the additives wear out and can't do their job, the color of it is mostly irrelevant. Now, if it spelled burnt or felt gritty, that would be a totally different issue, but color? Not an issue. Now, with a diesel engine, it will get looking nasty quicker, but still works fine.

I've been changing at 4k past couple of times expecting to recover from the '11k interval' junk that previous owner was stuck to ... hows the idea of little sea foam before the oil change ?
Actually at the bmw westmont's parts department today I saw they're selling Amsoil Engine/ Transmission Flush - says put in 10 - 15 mins before oil change .. I was really surprized to see Amsoil in a BMW dealership

05-01-2014, 05:17 PM

End the speculation...send a sample to Blackstone.

mankytron · 05-01-2014, 05:37 PM

What oil are you using now?

flexinator · 05-01-2014, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 007_e350

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

No...the color of the oil has little to do with its lubricating properties. One of the big things an oil does is hold things in suspension, and if they are big enough, the filter will take them out as the oil passes through. Especially with a turbocharged engine, things can get into the oil fairly rapidly, but until the additives wear out and can't do their job, the color of it is mostly irrelevant. Now, if it spelled burnt or felt gritty, that would be a totally different issue, but color? Not an issue. Now, with a diesel engine, it will get looking nasty quicker, but still works fine.

I've been changing at 4k past couple of times expecting to recover from the '11k interval' junk that previous owner was stuck to ... hows the idea of little sea foam before the oil change ?
Actually at the bmw westmont's parts department today I saw they're selling Amsoil Engine/ Transmission Flush - says put in 10 - 15 mins before oil change .. I was really surprized to see Amsoil in a BMW dealership

I use 10k intervals and send samples to blackstone, while my car was under warranty I did 15k intervals. I'm Fbo. Samples come back looking great at 75k miles... They are posted up here if you want to search...

jadnashuanh · 05-01-2014, 06:46 PM

If you have a car from say before 2000, you probably do want to change your oil fairly frequently...the state of the art in machine tools, computer controls, alloys and the actual oil itself available and used in today's vehicles means that those old 3K intervals for oil changes are a major waste of time and money on a new car unless it sits at idle all the time or maybe used on the track. Even in Germany, where you can, on occasion reach the rev limiter on the Autobahn, the longer timeframes work and the engines last. What your father had to do and his father before him had none of these advances in technology. Today's oil is so much better than even stuff from 5-years ago. On my last car, I regularly had the oil analyzed, and it easily lasted over 10K and that engine ran probably twice the average revs of the new one and had 30% less oil in the sump to work with.

The only way to know for sure is to have the oil tested, but it is DESIGNED to help keep the insides clean and hold the stuff in suspension. It's only when the stabilizers get used up and it cannot keep the pH in check, and the detergents can no longer hold any more crud in suspension that things start to get bad. The oil itself doesn't wear out...it's the additives. That's one reason why they can recycle the oil...super filter it to take out the crud, light refining to get rid of the metals and other contaminants, then put in a new dose of additives, and it's ready to go around again.

BMWs specify a very good oil, and have a decent filter, and a larger sump than most. SPend the money if you want, but unless a test comes back saying the oil is shot, using the factory recommended intervals for most people is not going to harm your engine or its performance.

05-01-2014, 01:01 PM	#1
007_e350 Lieutenant Colonel 217 Rep 1,909 Posts Drives: 335i 2008 MHD'd / x5d E70 Join Date: May 2013 Location: left lane iTrader: (3)	Why is Oil "Blackish" in less than 1000 miles understood turbos cooks the heck out of it but it should still look honeyish for 2500 miles no ?
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05-01-2014, 01:06 PM	#2
jadnashuanh Major 50 Rep 1,061 Posts Drives: 535iGT x-drive; i3 BEV Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	No...the color of the oil has little to do with its lubricating properties. One of the big things an oil does is hold things in suspension, and if they are big enough, the filter will take them out as the oil passes through. Especially with a turbocharged engine, things can get into the oil fairly rapidly, but until the additives wear out and can't do their job, the color of it is mostly irrelevant. Now, if it spelled burnt or felt gritty, that would be a totally different issue, but color? Not an issue. Now, with a diesel engine, it will get looking nasty quicker, but still works fine.
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05-01-2014, 01:11 PM	#3
AdamN52 First Lieutenant 16 Rep 301 Posts Drives: 2007 328xi (E90) Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Toronto iTrader: (0)	I would think it should turn dark pretty quickly. Don't sweat it.
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05-01-2014, 05:17 PM	#5
FCobra94 Guest 0 Rep n/a Posts Drives:	End the speculation...send a sample to Blackstone.
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05-01-2014, 05:37 PM	#6
mankytron Private First Class 20 Rep 120 Posts Drives: 335 coupe Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: ontario canada iTrader: (0)	What oil are you using now?
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05-01-2014, 06:46 PM	#8
jadnashuanh Major 50 Rep 1,061 Posts Drives: 535iGT x-drive; i3 BEV Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	If you have a car from say before 2000, you probably do want to change your oil fairly frequently...the state of the art in machine tools, computer controls, alloys and the actual oil itself available and used in today's vehicles means that those old 3K intervals for oil changes are a major waste of time and money on a new car unless it sits at idle all the time or maybe used on the track. Even in Germany, where you can, on occasion reach the rev limiter on the Autobahn, the longer timeframes work and the engines last. What your father had to do and his father before him had none of these advances in technology. Today's oil is so much better than even stuff from 5-years ago. On my last car, I regularly had the oil analyzed, and it easily lasted over 10K and that engine ran probably twice the average revs of the new one and had 30% less oil in the sump to work with. The only way to know for sure is to have the oil tested, but it is DESIGNED to help keep the insides clean and hold the stuff in suspension. It's only when the stabilizers get used up and it cannot keep the pH in check, and the detergents can no longer hold any more crud in suspension that things start to get bad. The oil itself doesn't wear out...it's the additives. That's one reason why they can recycle the oil...super filter it to take out the crud, light refining to get rid of the metals and other contaminants, then put in a new dose of additives, and it's ready to go around again. BMWs specify a very good oil, and have a decent filter, and a larger sump than most. SPend the money if you want, but unless a test comes back saying the oil is shot, using the factory recommended intervals for most people is not going to harm your engine or its performance.
	Appreciate 0 Quote