Hey guys,

This is my first turbocharged car and I'm just wondering if you guys have noticed that your oil is black before the recommended time or km's to change the oil. It is a new car so I'm wondering if this is a problem or if it is common on turbocharged cars. I changed my oil roughly 3000 kms ago and now my oil looks like a dark coffee color :(

5W-30 is a darker color oil and it would mix w/ the old left over oil from your oil change and make it a little darker so i believe its normal. it happenes on all of our cars at ROUSH

Ive changed minr 2 times and only have 4k miles on the car. It was very black both times. Im definitely staying with every 3k at least maybe every 2.5 k. Im glad others have this issue I was worried it was something I did.

+1

I've got about 4000 miles, have changed it twice, and both times its been pretty black. I put in one of those magnetic plugs this last time, we'll see what that picks up if anything.

do yall do your own oil changes??

if you do how do you remove the bottom engine cover??

im at 1680 and i wanna change mine soon

What does the oil smell like to you?

1600 is around where i changed mine the first time. Removing the lower engine cover is pretty easy, will take you all of 2 minutes. The hardest part is getting the car up high enough. The skid plate actually has a section directly under the oil pan and oil filter that you can remove (as opposed to removing the whole thing) using just a few little pop out plastic screws.

One suggestion, buy an oil filter removal tool that you can attach to a socket. I tried with my hands and with a belt type, couldn't do it either way. With the socket attachment it came right off.

One suggestion, buy an oil filter removal tool that you can attach to a socket. I tried with my hands and with a belt type, couldn't do it either way. With the socket attachment it came right off.

the first oil change in the hardest for trying to get the oil filter off, and i don't need to worry about getting the car high enough i got a car lift like at the dealers i just need to know the filter type or size or part number or what not lol

any more info?

Dealer changed mine twice. Showed it to me once. It was black as hell. They really didnt make any comment. The only mods on my car when oil was changed was UICP so really nothing. I would love to hear more if this is going to present an issue with the car.

Maverick 124....Mitsubishi OEM oil filter / Part# MZ690116 or NAPA GOLD / Part# 1356

FYI, that the crush washer on our drain plug is sneaky! Lots of folks miss it the first time as it look like it's just part of the plug itself. I'll see if i can't find the thread on that...

Edit: Found it:

http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4058

I have been changing / checking my own oil for years... change the oil, and drive down the street a block and back to your driveway and check the dipstick it will be much darker than what comes out of the bottle going into the engine.... not an issue.

I will do my first oil change at 1000 miles, and every 5000 miles from then on. If you are really concerned go to blackstone labs http://www.blackstone-labs.com/standard_analysis.html and order yourself an oil sample kit. Send them the sample for analysis and it gives you a lot of piece of mind.

Keith

I've got about ~1800mi on my GSR and noticed the oil looked pretty brown and smelled like fuel when I checked it around ~1500mi.

They been discussing this recently over at EvolutionM:
http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=367610

The consensus seems to be that it's from the rich tune from the factory.

K&N oil filter part number HP-1010

Sorry but the mobile one fully synthetic really gets worn on these cars around 2-3 k already. I checked the viscosity and oil quality manually myself and it begins to deteriorate quickly after 2k miles...in fact I can feel the difference on the car. I am either going to switch to a different oil after the next change or change it more often.

Hmmm perhaps they beat up on the oil more than the 4g63's.... I will do my first change at 1000 miles, and then do a sample through the dipstick every 2000 miles from there on out to set my personal oil change interval based on the results of the samples.

Keith

Sorry but the mobile one fully synthetic really gets worn on these cars around 2-3 k already. I checked the viscosity and oil quality manually myself and it begins to deteriorate quickly after 2k miles...in fact I can feel the difference on the car. I am either going to switch to a different oil after the next change or change it more often.

Sorry but the mobile one fully synthetic really gets worn on these cars around 2-3 k already. I checked the viscosity and oil quality manually myself and it begins to deteriorate quickly after 2k miles...in fact I can feel the difference on the car. I am either going to switch to a different oil after the next change or change it more often.

I had mobil1 too but yesterday changed to Royal purple and the car woke up no kidding it even made the shifter smoother. I highly recommend RP:rock:

i do oil change at every 1500 miles no later. and i only use quaker state full syn 5w 30. my engine is cleane as a babys bottom. and i do tranny changes every 10,000 miles an di use red line.

I've got about ~1800mi on my GSR and noticed the oil looked pretty brown and smelled like fuel when I checked it around ~1500mi.

They been discussing this recently over at EvolutionM:
http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=367610

The consensus seems to be that it's from the rich tune from the factory.
Acutally it appears to be more complicated than just a "rich [OEM] tune". The actual thread that addresses this issue is here: http://forums.evolutionm.net/evo-x-engine-turbo-drivetrain/385792-fuel-dilution-oil-problem.html
Yes, it is long but addresses "everything you always wanted to know about.." fuel dilution.

Later, Ken

Hey guys,

This is my first turbocharged car and I'm just wondering if you guys have noticed that your oil is black before the recommended time or km's to change the oil. It is a new car so I'm wondering if this is a problem or if it is common on turbocharged cars. I changed my oil roughly 3000 kms ago and now my oil looks like a dark coffee color :(

It is bec the car fuels so rich. On the one hand the X's fueling is not such a bad thing, little extra engine protection. But regular oil changes are needed, also check your spark plugs, i changed mine at 3k miles and will again at 6k.

my 2c :)

^wow, if fuel is getting past rings you have an issue

every three thousand miles and your fine. synthetic oil of course.

My family owns an AUTO SHOP here in Oklahoma. --I just changed my EVO OIL. at 1147, and it was like black as night coffee at best. Put in 10w30 Mobil 1 syn. As it appears that Mobil 1 isnt making 5w30, or its hard to get....Anyways, my mechanics suggested that it be changed 3-5k will not be a problem. Turbo Cars will always have darker oil than N/A counterparts.

If anyone in the Oklahoma City Metro Area would like to come by my shop. Just shoot me a PM......Thanks!

^Where and what shop? Full service or just quick change kinda place?

Bloody hell...It's been 6000-7000 kms' on my car, it did not tell me of any oil changes. Does the trip computer tell you about service periods and oil changes?? Some cars don't need oil changes for 20,000kms...and some more.
My friend checked my oil and it was pitch black, he said something about an oil change. What oil do you guys recommend?

Doesn't oil act as a detergent as well as a lubricant??? So if it wasn't getting black it wouldn't really be doing it's job. Also doesn't the owners manual recommend changing oil every 5k miles? On a turbo car I tend to change it every 3k just because I am kind of anal like that.

If you have the Navi you can set the intervals manually...that's what I did. Plus it lets you set 2 or 3 user entered reminders too! Pretty handy. I haven't yet, but I'm going to put in all the various SST, diff oil etc. in there as well.

verkion

Hey guys,
This is my first turbocharged car and I'm just wondering if you guys have noticed that your oil is black before the recommended time or km's to change the oil. It is a new car so I'm wondering if this is a problem or if it is common on turbocharged cars. I changed my oil roughly 3000 kms ago and now my oil looks like a dark coffee color :(


Firstly, Mobile1 changed their formula awhile back and the oil is not what it used to be. This is common knowledge over in the Subaru community and there has been many discussions there about this very subject.

I used it religiously in my WRX until I noticed that it turned black rather quickly and burned through oil in a very good engine with good compression.

I switched to Rotella T Synth 5-40 which has good results at Catipillar and Blackstone labs after being raced at the track.

Im not sure what Im going to use in the X, perhaps Amsoil synthetic.

Im only at 400 miles but Im going to get rid of the Mobile1 crap this weekend-

My oil is getting black and its only been 3 weeks since my 2nd change. Also, dipstick smells like fuel. Took it to the dealer for a slow/mild oil leak, (they ordered new gaskets for me, there's a TSB for this), and also asked them to look at the fuel dilution problem...end result? They claim its normal. LOL.

verkion

I used it religiously in my WRX until I noticed that it turned black rather quickly and burned through oil in a very good engine with good compression.

The Dark Oil Myth: Dark oil does not indicate the need for an oil change. The way modern detergent motor oil works is that minute particles of soot are suspended in the oil. These minute particles pose no danger to your engine, but they cause the oil to darken. A non-detergent oil would stay clearer than a detergent oil because all the soot would be left on the internal engine parts and would create sludge. If you never changed your oil, eventually the oil would no longer be able to suspend any more particles in the oil and sludge would form. Fortunately, by following the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval, you are changing your oil long before the oil has become saturated. Remember, a good oil should get dirty as it does it's work cleaning out the engine. The dispersant should stop all the gunk from depositing in the oil pan.
The only real way to determine whether oil is truly in need of changing is to have an oil analysis performed. Since most people don't want to bother with this, it's acceptable to err heavily on the safe side and simply follow the manufacturer's recommended change interval for severe service. There are still a few cars that specify 3K intervals for severe service, but not many. If you look at countries other than the U.S., the oil recommended change interval is much higher than even the normal interval specified by vehicle manufacturers in the U.S.

http://www.nordicgroup.us/oil.htm

I ran Mobil 1 5w30 in my old 2007 WRX too...never burned a drop. In my X though I run the Extended Performance Mobil 1 5w30, which has a GF-4 rating. Mobil 1 Extended Performance has 36 percent more anti-wear additives and 37 percent more cleaning agents than the regular Mobil 1 formulations.

^This makes sense. Never thought about it that way! Nice find/post.

It's normal for our cars. My brand new oil turns black again as soon as I start the car.

Having black oil is normal in my opinion. Now if you are worried about what exactly is going on in your oil send it to AMS oil and have them check it out. Just because the oil is black doesn't really mean anything.

Good find Darwin.

That certainly explains things better, very nice explanation Darwin.