What oil brand do you use for your 3rd gen??

Not arguing.
Just pointing out that carbon is actually a great lubricant. As long as it's NOT gritty, no chunks, etc. Let the filter get those out and the color is moot. Oxidation will cause color change too and oxidation will ruin petroleum oil. But synthetics resist oxidation so well that the dark color usually isn't from that. In a diesel, the oil will turn pitch black in the first 10 miles of use, but it's not detrimental at all.
"Use the labs, not the looks". Well, not just the looks. If it looks thick & gooey - go with the looks!

 

Here is my 2 cents worth...
Let me preface this by mentioning that this is not an apples to apples comparison to a Toyota truck because we are talking about lawnmower transaxles.
I worked for a hydraulics company, that was the factory rep for a major transaxle manufacture. We had a client who used these transaxles on their dodge-um-cars. At the end of each season, we would get upwards of 50 transaxles back for warranty evaluation, which was always denied because of the application.
After year after year of dealing with this, I called the engineering department to see what this guy could do. After discussing the application, I was told to have them drain out the fluid in all of their cars and replace it with Mobile 1. The reason I was given, was that the extreme heat these units produced in this application was shearing the viscosity of the oil.
So I did, and the next year we got 2 back, the next year none, the next 2
I was blown away. I use Mobile 1 in my lawnmower, snow thrower, chipper shredder, Tacoma, Wife’s Subaru, and even put 12 qts of 20-50 in my 12 cyl Jaguar even though I only drive it about 2,000 miles a year.
Are there other brands that are as good - probably, but this was such an extreme example why try anything else IMO.

 

Mobil 1 in every 4 stroke i/c engine I own

 

It’s just oil. Follow the manufacturers recommendations using a brand name and you’ll be fine.

Oil is like gas. All the commercial hype is just that. Lubricants aren’t alchemy and everyone has the same knowledge and uses the same type of equipment during manufacture.

 

I do agree that the color may not mean much. It just makes me sleep better at night. I have done that with all my vehicles and never had engine issues. I do it myself and i dont put on that many miles on my truck, i only have 18k on mine. Im planning to keep this truck for a very long time so its cheap insurance for me.

 

Well you shouldn't be throwing it away in the first place. It should be taken to a place to be recycled. But, again, it just depends how you use your engines between changes. Ideally though, you won't exceed your oil life before changing in the first place or you'll have other issues.

 

Whatever the dealer puts in . But if I could afford it royal purple would be my choice . Shit is way to expensive. Lol . I ran that stuff on my motorcycles . It would cost to much putting it in my truck .

 

Play on words. You know "recycling" is still getting rid of it (and that's a shame when it's good oil).
I don't quite follow your other sentence:
"...you won't exceed your oil life before changing in the first place or you'll have other issues".
What did you mean to say?
My oil life is still very good when I do change it at 25k. Proven for over 41 years.

 

I would have zero sleep if i did 25k OCI. haha!

 

Amsoil 0w20 every 10K.

 

Temperature and other things play factors. Basically what I mean is exceeding the life causes wear issues so, technically, you should have some life left when you change it no matter what, otherwise you're causing undue wear. It's more of a common sense statement than me trying to argue or anything like that.

And yes, recycling oil is still getting rid of it, in a way. It can be refined into other oils, fuels, etc. Much better than relying solely on oil drilling.

 

I use whatever the cheapest API SN+ Certified oil is.
Last 10k change that was Amazon basics 0w-20.

It API certifies it SN+ it’s more than good enough for my Taco.

 

Kirkland signature 0w-20 every 7-10k

 

I hear you.
I was very lucky in my early days with it, in that I had a true Master mechanic with tremendous experience teaching me the hows & whys it was possible. Also, the petroleum oils in use back then were so stinking bad that it was an easier learning curve.
Like I said a few posts back: use the labs. Let the science of it prove itself. If the engine is sound, the oil can still be good. Leaking coolant, fuel dilution, broken rings, etc. are what changes things.

I change it at only 25k because that is the limit the oil company will still warranty it. If I have a mechanical malfunction caused by the oil, the oil company will fix it (up to and including eng replacement). But I have to follow their guidelines to get that coverage. Otherwise, if the labs give me the green light...

 

Mobil 1 0W30. I bought 8 jugs at half price when a local Wally World was closing down (you know you live in a rough area when...). This was a few weeks before I got my truck. I use it also in my Subaru (spec'd for 5W30) and Honda-powered lawn mower (spec'd for 10W30).

I do my vehicle oil changes every 6 months - the oil comes out dark red-brown.

 

I wouldn't loose any sleep over it. I do 25k intervals on my dirtymax's(ranging from 105k to over 300k)... they're all still running strong. An Amsoil dealer by me has had the same oil in his powerjoke for over 100k, No issues. Just changes filters every 25K and tops off oil.

I only do the taco every 10 because I'll be pulling the skids once a year regardless to clean off the crap accumulation on them and touch up the paint. Might as well change the oil while its off.

 

Super Tech full synthetic + Toyota oem filter

 

"Advanced" full synthetic