Oil color is not really indicative as to its ability to do its job.
Look at a diesel engine, change the oil, start it up, check the level, and the new oil on the dipstick is now black.
Similarly a short trip driven engine in a humid environment with big temp swings can have slightly amber colored oil, yet if the oil were to be tested, the TBN( total base number) could be below 2, indicating the acid fighting portion of the oil is worn out.
The only real way to decide how any certain oil is holding up to a certain oil change mileage/timespan/regimen is with a used oil analysis, but these in general, cost more than just changing the oil and filter.
Here is my analysis from a batch of Mobil1 0w-40 that was in my sump for 13 months:
I still need to attend to that coolant leaking into the engine via the timing chain cover.
Notice the TBN is still 4.2, and this was 13 months of pretty much exclusively short trip driving, but in San Diego, not exactly a bastion of weather extremes, so there was not much condensation build up, which is the main TBN depleter.
An oil filter actually filters better the more miles it has upon it, but at some point the media will get clogged and the filter will go into bypass more often, and do less filtering.
There are two types of Bypass within oil filters, the thread end bypass, and the dome end bypass. When the Dome end bypass filter does go into bypass, the oil flow washes the dirty side of the oil filter and allows it to enter the engine.
The thread end bypass does not, or at least to a much lesser degree.
Another feature of a good oil filter is a Silicone Anti drain back valve, which are orange colored. These stay softer and seal better and can reduce the start up clatter as oil can get to the top of the engine faster.
The Filters that any iffy lube joint use are bottom of the barrell. Anybody who cares for their engine is not doing any favors by installing the highest profit margin oil filter the manager could buy in bulk.
Also these joints will use any filter which fits the thread and mounting plate, rather than the specified oil filter. The Bypass ratings can vary filter to filter so this is another way an Iffy lube joint is doing a disservice to an unsuspecting customer.
Unless one opens up the filter, one does not know if the filter was stuck in Bypass, or if the filter media tore.
Who here has bothered to open their oil filter?
This was a Purolator 30001. Sadly there are recent reports of Puro quality control falling and the media tearing where it meets the base plate.
Some engines are much harder on oils than other engines on the same oil. The only real way to see is with a used oil analysis.
Some can notice different noise levels with different oils, but there is no indication that those noisier oils are causing any more wear.
I Do not Like Lucas Oil Products in the engine, though their power steering stop leak has worked for me.
Their oil "stabilizers" have zero additives, No detergents, no extreme pressure additives, no antiwear.anti scuff additives, no TBN replenishers, no Friction Modifiers. When Added to properly formulated oil, all the Lucas Products is thicken the properly formulated oil, and Dilute the additives present in it.
There are also reports of Lucas products causing the Oil to foam up. Do you want foamy oil being pumped through your bearings? Answer, No.
It IS an effective oil thickener. If you feel you need thicker oil, then buy thicker oil. Don't play chemist and rely on a well marketed snake oil.
In general most vehicles will goto the wreckers because of other mechanical issues. The engines will usually still be serviceable when the body or frame rusts out or the tranny quits.
Modern Oils, conventional or Synthetic, are so much better than what was available even 10 years ago that any name brand oil, should do fine as long as it is changed before it is worn out.
So the Oil is Oil approach has merit, but some of us want to know a bit more and actually look at virgin oil analysis and make decisions based on TBN, moly and Boron content, ZDDP levels Magnesium or calcium based detergents.
One other thing that needs mentioning is on older vehicles that spec a 10w-30.
Back in the 80's the oils were not as good and the wider the spread between the numbers, the more prone the oil was to shearing to a lighter grade.
My owners manual says to not use 10w-40 as back then this grade was prone to shearing badly into too thin an oil.
That is not the case with oils one can purchase today.
In fact many 5w-30s will be thinner at start up, and thicker at 100C than their 10w30 counterparts. The same goes for Modern 0w-30's.
And Since it requires higher quality basestocks to make meet a 0w-xx rating, the 0w-30 oil will be superior to the 10w-30. Especially if in a Northern Climate in the winter. Whether this translates into less engine wear is another highly debatable matter.
One must look at the HTHS Spec of an oil, which is how thick it is under full temp operating conditions, and within the 30 weight category, these numbers can vary widely within the category. There are thick 30 weights and thin 30 weights, and some 40 weights which will quickly shear to a heavy 30 weight and stay there.
Synthetic Oil is Not 3x more expensive if one shops wisely. In Walmart a 5 quart jug of Pennzoil yellow bottle conventional is about 16$, a mobil1 product is 23$.
Pretty much the only reason I shop in a Walmart is the oil.
I know I don't need synthetic, and the warm and fuzzies it gives me are just that. But it does seem to have eliminated the lifter tapping on start up, and I generally try to find high quality products, and for the extra 8 dollars I spend on 5 quarts of Synthetic, spread out over a year, well those warm and fuzzies are not really expensive, and to me, worth it.
