I went to buy some motor oil for my Jeep today. I was educated about motor oil 50 years ago. Today I seen the oil bottle maked AMBER" color? What's up with that?

Does new oil come in different colors and grades like maple syrup? Lol

Maybe you're supposed to color coordinate your outfit with your oil? As long as it matches what your owner's manual calls for (e.g., SAE 10W30) I wouldn't think the color matters.

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You're shy a few manners.

They have synthetic, non-synthetic, high mileage, high mileage synthetic etc., etc. ,etc. Just find out what your engine calls for as in 5w30 or 10w30 it should state in your owners manual then just get what is on sale in that grade. A lot of marketing hype!! Sure its nice to use a good synthetic as it breaks down slower but should be started when car is new then continually changed with same oil each time. You think that is bad take a look at anti-freeze or transmission fluid!!! - it is even worse- because some manufactures developed their own blend for specific alloys and metal contents in their heads vs. engine blocks. All else fails go to your dealership and spend an arm and a leg for their stuff. For rear end fluid or something specific this would be best route to play it safe.

Newer engines require very specific oils etc. make sure you use the proper one or you may have problems you don't want.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

I just wanted plain old motor oil. I'm tuning my Jeep up and changing the oil. I haven't done this in almost 18 years. She plows the driveway only. I have her for 25 years now.

Fall specific oil too!

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My Jeep is about 17 years old now. I don't have the manual in front of me, but I am positive it calls for SAE 10w30.


If color is important, you may want to try some Royal Purple!

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You're shy a few manners.

Or REDLINE.

Just sayin...

Until my wife bought a new Mazda, I had no idea there was such thing as 0W20 motor oil.

Pennzoil..................
Only way to go.

Remember some golfer sitting on a tractor, stating it was good stuff.

10/30 was all my jeep used.
Then they went and did 10/40 to mess with my mind.

The tolerances are much tighter on the new lighter engines. Thus the 0 w 20 and those similiar. The first number is the flow rate. For instance 10w 40 is said to to take 10 seconds to flow properly in at room temp engine. Once that engine is at full operating temp that 10 w 40 is now a 40 weight motor oil. This from alot of oil vendors coming in and doing traing classes at shops I ran for years.

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Spin The Wheel

Just make sure whatever you buy has that little API starburst on it. There are really cheap oils that don't meet API standards. You don't want those.

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Or something like that . . .

The new oils are so thin they pour like water.

I'm an Amsoil guy and attribute our great gas milage and great running engines to that. Been using it in all my vehicles and small engines for 15 years now - I think it's terrific and NO I am NOT an Amsoil sale person....

Mobil 1 for it all. I call their tech line for specifics.

Most newer cars specify low viscosity synthetic oils, but some owner's manuals also state that regular oils are permissible. The idea behind using low viscosity synthetic oils is they result in less engine friction and increase fuel mileage vs. regular oil. I am not so sure that is a true statement.

I have never been particularly choosy about brands or viscosity, just whatever is on sale at the auto parts store, usually 10W30 or 10W40. I have always changed my own.

While you're doing maintenance, don't forget, with cold weather coming on, to change the air in the Jeep's tires to winter air.
That summer air might freeze the tires brittle if the temperature goes below freezing.
:>)
My wife's uncle actually fell for that one when one of his sons said it some years ago.

Never heard the 10 seconds bit, but the rest of it is pretty much correct, though I'm not sure about the temps you cite.
The numbers are viscosity (thickness/flow-ability) numbers, and 10 weight oil is thinner than 30 weight which is thinner than 40 weight.
I always thought that 10W40 has the the viscosity of 10 weight oil at 32 degrees F / 0 degrees C, and it has the viscosity of 40 weight oil at 212 degrees F / 100 degrees C.

"I always thought that 10W40 has the the viscosity of 10 weight oil at 32 degrees F / 0 degrees C, and it has the viscosity of 40 weight oil at 212 degrees F / 100 degrees C."-TRUE.

??? 10 sec flow rule ??? NO,NO,NO.

I worked in an oil & grease lab for 11 years.

I use Brad Penn oil in my older cars. They have flat tappet engines and require the zinc and other stuff that is in short supply in modern oils. It is dark green in color and is a blend of Penn oil and synthetic.

I also learned back in the late 60's from an oil company that in multi weight oils, like 10W30 or 10W40 or any other combination that there was a special wax in the oil, to make it behave like 10 weight when cold and 30 weight when hot, or whatever the numbers of the oil are. I do not recall any specific temperatures.

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Certified NRA rifle instructor

ditto what Chief types, Amsoil was the first Company to blend and introduce full synthetic oil to the US market.

Paying the very small amount to become a 'preferred customer' is very much worth it and I also do not benefit in any way from Amsoil sales; except from my own use that is.

On the Amber oil, was it made by a maple syrup producer?

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Certified NRA rifle instructor

The 'waxes' are paraffin,similar to candle wax. Conventional(non-synthetic) contain paraffins that solidify/crystalize at lower temperarure.
There are 3 grades of full synthetic oil with one of the grades containing no paraffins. 'Synthetic blend' oils just as it sounds is a blend of conventional oil and synthetic oil for improved 'viscosity index'. Viscosity index is the ability to not change drastically in its' viscosity. The higher the viscosity index value,the better. 5W-30 has a higher viscosity index than 5W-20. 0W-50 is a popular grade in Europe. Synthetics have a higher viscosity index compared to conventional because of lesser paraffins.

I have read that the first synthetic engine lubricants were developed by the Germans during WWII. Conventional oils turned to the consistency of tar during the Russian winter. I don't know what oil the Russians used in their tanks.

I am not a mechanic nor oil-specific engineer. I have an old (1987) truck that gets 1500 miles or so a year. I change the oil based on the calendar, not the odometer. If you haven't changed the oil in 18 years, you may have issues other than the type/color/viscosity of the replacement oil. I believe, and I may be wrong, that oil will break down or become contaminated over time whether or not the vehicle is driven. If your old Jeep runs fine, I am probably wrong with my assumptions.

Oil aging in the engine is a subject of some controversy. There is really nothing in oil to "age" but some believe that it does somehow degrade. I have one vehicle that, on average, I drive less than 4000 miles a year, and my practice has been to change it every two years. I am now one year into that cycle, and the oil on the dipstick still looks fairly clean.

This is what the 2016 Yukon SLT is capable at Highway Speeds using the Amsoil and reasonable speeds (about 65 -70 mph). Note the vehicle only has a bit over 2k on it when I recorded this on a 500 mile trip.

It also helps to have the engine that goes from a V8 down to a V4 when cruising speed is maintained and using cruise control. I now have almost 6700 miles on it and when I take another road trip we'll see if it improves.

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OK...

So you are confirming that the "flow rule" statement is wrong.

Are you saying what I posted is right - or is it wrong too?

If we both have it wrong, please set us straight. I love learning new stuff.

Just curious if you have confirmed the accuracy of those numbers the old-fashioned way (number of miles divided by number of gallons)?

I ask because I have found those on-board computer mileage "estimates" to be very inaccurate in some vehicles. Have you ever noticed how the gas gauge on a lot of vehicles is very inaccurate? Like you get 200 miles on the first "half" of a tank of gas but only 150 on the second "half"? Some of those computer calculations are based on those same kind of inaccurate measures.

Not saying that is the case with your Yukon, but until I confirmed it with actual mileage calculations I wouldn't put too much stock in what the computer was showing. YMMV (pun intended)

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Isaiah 41:10

...anybody else old enough to still own a can spout?...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

SAE 30 in summer and 10W30 in winter unless I’m going to go north of Denver up into Wyoming then it 5W30.

Same with wife’s Nissan except it it uses SAE 20 in summer and 10W20 in winter.
Just allow motor to sufficiently warm up in the morning after sitting outside during the night.


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I am the ultimate skeptic and I could not believe the milage myself so YES, I filled the tank all the way, recorded the distance traveled and divided by the number of gallons it took to refill after reaching location - - - it is accurate.

Weekly when driving out to our Shooting Club (about 40 miles each way) friends who are in my SUV often ask the same question about the accuracy. One of them who has a 2017 Tahoe (basically the same exact vehicle as my Yukon) converted to the Amsoil and his milage increased as well.

Now obviously you need to practice good driving habits like no jack rabbet starts, no flooring to pass, tires inflated to proper pressures, and traveling at a nice even speed but it is quite doable. BTW the Yukon runs on Regular Gasoline!

My Wife's Buick LaCrosse also beats the stated Factory Hwy. milage and she has a heavier foot than I. Initially I stared using Amsoil to reduce heat on my Harley's and it dropped the temps about 15-20 º F with no other alterations. I shortly noticed that others with the same Bike I had were getting less gas milage and had to stop to fill up before I did. This is when I started switching over to the Amsol in all my Gasoline powered engines.

During Hurricane Sandy we lost power for almost 10 days and my Generac ran for 220 hours! It performed perfectly with the Amsoil Oil & Filter and would never think of going back to Dino Oil. I also use it in my Ariens Snow Blower.

I know there are guys who think I'm not being up front or hiding something but if it did NOT work like this I would NOT spend the coin the Amsoil costs. Oh, and BTW, I only change my Oil and Filter once a year as they say it should be. Their signature 0-20 is good for 25,000 miles and their EA Filter to 15,000. I do way under that so it' a no-brainer.

Those worked well in college with old style beer cans as well.....

My take on Amsoil. First, I have never used it and know nothing about it. Second, all auto manufacturers are mandated by the federal government to develop the maximum possible fuel economy for their vehicles, and are under the gun to do that. If Amsoil is able to eke out even a minor mileage improvement, then you can be very certain that all manufacturers would use and specify it. But to the best of my knowledge, not a single one does. Why not?

A word of caution. For a 25 year old Jeep. I'd get conventional oil . ( Whatever weight the manufacturer recommends but when in doubt, good old 10-30 or 10-40 works.) I've found out the hard way that the seals in older engines often had issues with synthetic oils causing them to leak.
No point fixing what ain't broke.

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Dave

I use Mobil 1 full synthetic in everything I own. Supposedly the reason for not using synthetic in an older engine is because the oil cleans the crud off old seals which can then cause leaks or seepage. I did have some seepage from a front seal on a Ford Ranger 3.0 v-6 with 100,000 miles when switched to Mobil 1. But it wasn't enough to worry about. The Mobil 1 removed start up valve train noise. If you think synthetic is expensive then realize first it doesn't break down near as quick as dino oil and you can easily run 3x the mileage before changing oil. I changed my 3.5 Chevy V-6 around every 9000 miles and it was always still full on the stick after 165,000 miles on it. I am a believer in Mobil 1.

Amsoil is a smaller privately run Company that IMO sells the best there is when it comes to Motor Oils and filters. Yes they are making a profit but the can not compete with the big oil Co's. on volume so they must do it with quality. The average person has never even heard of Amsoil and yet they have been around since 1972 and grow every year. I do not believe there are that many suckers who would continue to spend their hard earned money on a product that did not live up to its reputation or expectations. Auto manufacturers get inside pricing from large oil company's that Amsoil probably can't give them and because the Auto Co's are very profit oriented they won't spend twice the money filling up your engine with oil as long as they can meet their minimum milage standards.

Auto manufacturers are mandated to achieve certain minimum levels of fuel economy but in no way maximum levels of fuel economy. All they are mandated to do is reach their minimums. That minimum is not counted by individual models but by their averages across their line up. The Auto industry is very competitive and they try to keep prices within reason or else they loose out to competitors. Mobil 1 is a very good oil, but NOT the best IMO. I've done much research into this and again Mobil one may beat out 98% of their competition however Amsoil beats Mobil one. For many here they may not really care and may not be willing to spend the extra money, but all I can say is that every gasoline engine and vehicle engine I've used it in has exceeded my expectations and manufacturers fuel milage claims. At the end of the day I've used Amsoil for 15 years and their products have proven themselves to me. Could I save money using Mobil 1, Penzoil or Shell...... absolutely but IMO the proven quality is worth the extra money IMO. In life we all have to do what we believe in. YMMV

Synthetic has a bad reputation for this - but - it isn't accurate at all.

What synthetic does is clean all the debris, the same gunk that is plugging leaks that already exist. Remove the goo, the seal leaks.

I know this to be factual - lived it, then I read about it.

Synthetic will flush out all the collected debris in an engine.

I cracked open the crankcase of my motorcycle for repairs - disgusting as a 1985 hand me down bike could be.

Ran a few cycles of Redline in it and when I cracked it open again to replace the stator - OMG!!! Clean like a new bike inside.

Synthetic doesn't cause leaks, it reveals them.

This is 100% correct. HOWEVER, the end result is the same.

I have switched older engines over to synthetic several times and every one leaked more with synthetic than they did on dino-juice.

I won't switch over another one that already has more than around 75,000 miles or so.

Anything I buy with less than 75,000 on the clock, I'll switch over to synthetic for the rest of it's useful life.

I have used Mobil 1 in our 1999 Taho from the beginning. Has 76K on it. Change the oil every 6 months.
The 325i BMW has on it using anything but synthetic voids there warranty.
So do many new cars and trucks.
Must be a deal with the oil Co.....
BTW, believe that synthetic oil was developed for the B29's as they flew so high that regular oil turned in to molasses....

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Fair enough!

I share your opinion.