ha, me too.

 

I didn't read this on the thread, but I beleive that there is controversy surrounding Mobil 1 Full synthetic. From what I remember it is believed to be a class 3 oil, which may or may not be full synthetic oils, they just have some certain additives in them that let them call it "synthetic". However Mobil 1 Extended Performance is a full class 4 synthetic oil, which is what I have put in all my cars, except the landrover which I may or may not put in.

 

Well I wanted to take Spike's advice and wait until I got to 65k mile to change my oil and then change at 5k mile intervals. However, while pricing the Mobil 1 15w50 ($9.99qt) at a new auto parts store, a employee informed me that the "island gas" (We have no "name brand" gas stations) we get comes straight from our Hess refinery with no additives added.He said that is why used oil comes out so black. He said the fuel we ship to the states get the additives added there. He also said that the 91 octane gas is actually 93-94. (We only have two options) 89 or 91 octane.

So anyway I ended up switching last weekend to Mobil 1 15w50 and my truck drives quieter and smoother. I check my oil every few days (once a week) to measure consumption and condition and luckily there hasn't been any consumption since the last oil change running Mobil 1 10w30 which was about 4kmiles ago. ON the dipstick, the oil always appeared to look good, not brand new, but more goldish than golden brown.

I thought I was safe to let it go to the 65k mark but over the weekend when i drained it, the oil that came out told me a different story.

It was the darkest oil i have ever seen come out any one of my vehicles. It did not have any burnt smell to it. Am I safe to assume the auto parts store employee was right about our "Island fuel" affecting oil.

Second thought is that this is just the synthetic oil "cleaning" the engine. I have switched from conventional to synthetic before but I don't remember if the used synthetic oil came out so black.

Any thoughts?

 

I have used their 10W/40 high mileage for 2 years and have no complaints. Make sure to run a Mobil 1-301 or a K&N 3001 filter for better protection.
Josh, Don't want to make you feel bad, but what the heck, I buy my Mobil 1 when on sale for $4.25 or so a quart.

 

Yet another reason why I want to move back to the states. Everything is expensive here. K-mart got some mobil 1 stocked last night and it is $9.79qt! A whopping $0.20 cheaper.

You don't want to know what kind of oil I can get down here for $4.25.

I will get an mobil 1 filter on the next change ...

 

You cant judge the condition of used motor oil by looks, when I worked for a company that recylces used oils I learned alot about lubes, oil does not turn block becasue it is worn out, it turns black becasue of the dirt it picks up.
Full synthetic oil wil last well over 15,000 miles, full synthetic gear oil 100,000+ miles.
I dont recommed going that long, but it can be done.
All oils have a infinite life, (the only exceptions are hydraulic oils, like brake fluid)the base stock never wears out, just the additives, and the more dirt it picks up the less effective the oil is, but then take that oil and distill it, put the additives back in and you have brand new motor oil again.
The only way your no name gas is getting into your oil is if you have a leaking injector, exhaust gases that get into your crankcase (called blow by) will be sucked back out by your PCV (positive crankcase ventalation) and gets sucked into your intake and burned in the engine.
Water is another contaminate, that comes from tempature changes, like here in MI, 50*F at night and 95*F during the day, condensation collects inside the engine, if you dont drive long enough to get the crankcase hot enough to evaporate all the water then it will contaminate the oil, thats why they always say to change it every 3 months or 3,000 miles, which ever is sooner, but you live on a tropical island, its either hot or almost hot so you dont need to worry about that.
Unless you are only driving your truck less than 5 miles at a time and letting it sit for 8 hours after each time you drive it stick with the Mobil 1, change it every 5,000 miles and dont worry about how it looks.

I do wonder though how much it would cost to have 6 quarts of oil FedEx'ed to you.

 

Does anyone add a ZPPD (zinc) oil additive to keep the cam and lifters from waring.
With most oils having to leave it out due to new spec's and it shortened the life of the cat's.

 

Dark is a good thing. It was cleaning your engine. Mobil 1 is known to clean. That 15w50 is a very good oil. Even though our rovers run rich, fuel with Zero additives and fuel with tons of additives is not going to effect the color of the oil. The fuels will effect the oil the same.

 

As long as the oil has 1000+ ZDDP it will be fine. Heavy spring loaded muscle cars may need 1200+, some even suggest 1500+ for those applications.

 

Mobil Extended Performance oils have higher than normal ZDDP, thats one of the reasons I use the 15w-50 iin the summer time, Royal Purple and diesel motor oils also have a higher ZDDP content.