So every oil that Ive used that has a high moly oil content, tends to turn a reddish color over time. Redline/AMSOIL Signature Series/HPL/Ravenol.....only one I cant remember was 300v.........these oils start darker also
Does Moly Turn Engine Oil a Reddish Color?
- Thread starter FranklinJL
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I’ve always assumed either the moly compound or combination of additives and the moly carrier oil changed with oxidation to a visible reddish hue
I had a 2015 Altima 2.5 SV engine that turned most oils a reddish color regardless of brand. But it didn't happen until later in the cars life.
I mentioned it here once and I don't remember the response that I received from others. Pablo, you may have commented on this in my thread, but I'll have to look and see if I can find it.
I mentioned it here once and I don't remember the response that I received from others. Pablo, you may have commented on this in my thread, but I'll have to look and see if I can find it.
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I think it's less the moly and more the aminic antioxidants. Moly is nearly black.
Usually those are colorless or yellowish. But it’s very possible it’s a combination as I stated.
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in all my "oil" reading I recently seen talk that Moly will turn a oil dark and some race teams don't like it as it makes the oil hard to read or something? I have no clue but I did read something on the net about it so it must be true?
So true.
I sometimes have the opposite problem with light colours. Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40 was near impossible to read fresh
Yes, HPL has this reddish tinge also.
I'm not seeing it in any Mobil 1 formulations though. I suspect it must be some Moly compound because one features of almost all Mobil 1 blends is low moly around 80ppm.
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I’m on my third change in a row of Mobil 1 Extended Performance High Mileage 5w30 and it absolutely turns reddish on the dipstick after a little while, and stays that way until it turns black enough to not show the red hue anymore. I run my oil 6,000+ miles, so that’s why mine drains probably a lot darker than yours if you’re retaining the reddish hue to the very end.
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Good question with out a good answer!
You would have to have a way to explain red or red/brown varnish in engines before moly compounds where found in fully formulated motor oil!
Castrol GTX of the late 70's through early 1990's was well known to leave redish brown varnish behind yet it contained no moly!
You would have to have a way to explain red or red/brown varnish in engines before moly compounds where found in fully formulated motor oil!
Castrol GTX of the late 70's through early 1990's was well known to leave redish brown varnish behind yet it contained no moly!
There is one thread from 2016 and one from 2019 on the same topic.
Motor oil is now red in color (2016) https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...any,collects byproducts of combustion process.
Why is this oil red?!? (2019)
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/why-is-this-oil-red.308016/
When I read race teams reading their oil, my brain immediately popped up with the guy in the NASCAR garage, many years ago, whom all teams used to have read their spark plugs after running laps. They'd kill the engine while running wide open on a backstretch, then pull their plugs and take the tray to him for reading. He'd make suggestions on tuning.
Anybody else remember this guy?
My Amsoil Signature Series was always reddish. I'm still a few thousand miles from draining my first run of HPL Premium Plus PCMO. I'll let you know.
I don't know exactly the time frame you're referring to, but in the old days, that might have been Bobby Strahlman, the Champion Man.
Would have been the 70s, maybe into the 80s.
Yes. Time frame matches up. We are probably talking about the same guy.