Is brown oil a good sign?

I just changed my oil today w/ Amsoil 5w30. It's been a bit over 2,500 miles since I last changed the oil, and I noticed that the oil wasn't very dark. I thought that turbo engines makes it necessary to change the oil every 3,000 miles, so my question is, is brown oil an indication that the oil could last maybe another oil change? Is it still protecting the motor just as well as if it was new oil? Who here keeps their engine oil in longer than 5,000 miles (what oil)?

 

Amsoil is good stuff. I wouldn't hesatate to run it for 5000 miles in a turbo motor provided there was a quality filter on it.

 

I don't think forced induction has any effect on oil longevity. You can keep using it as long as all the additives are still there in sufficient amounts and it hasn't broken down too far. The only way to know for sure is to get an oil analysis. I keep Mobil 1 5W-30 in my car for 5,000-6,000 miles (topping up along the way of course) without even thinking about it. I'm sure it could go longer if you changed the filter at some point.

 

I use Castro GTX 5w30 in my former Mazda and current Subaru along with the wife's Dodge GrandCaravan. My oil change has always been dark brown except for my wifes Dodge... It's always dark dark dark. I thought I was the aggresive driver. My wife puts in a good 40+ miles to work and back every day... I'm assuming that explain how the oil turns out in the mini-van.

Castro's been good to me... but with the economy today... if Russ can get it for me at cost... woo who... Amsoil in my next oil change it is.

Vic

 

I may have to take you up on that offer, Russ. Funny thing was, I got exactly 5 quarts out of the car. Isn't it supposed to only hold 4.9 quarts?

IIRC, the Subaru oil filter has a pressure valve that only opens up to bypass oil on a certain pressure level. The Amsoil oil filter only has a film of mesh that is always open. I've been using the Amsoil filter for a long time, but I was just informed that the OEM filter has this feature. Any difference?

 

I use Mobil One but change it every 5000 miles or so, although I don't have to top my oil off between changes . The oil is pretty dark by that time but not as dark as I've seen some oil get. Most synthetics these days can be run for much longer.

 

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Zola

I don't think forced induction has any effect on oil longevity.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Not in and of itself, but the additional heat from the oil runing through the turbo center section can break down oil much faster.

WRXen and other recent Subarus are an exception in that they also have a water-cooled center section, so they are less susceptable to cooking the oil than lots of other turbos are.

That said, if you don't drive a turbo'd car hard enough to warrant 3k mile oil changes, you shouldn't be allowed to keep it