How many kilograms are in 1 liter of motor oil?
How many kilograms are in 1 liter of motor oil?
Answer
The density of motor oil is 0.85 kg/L (at 15 °C; 5W-30 is 0.830–0.855, 5W-40 is 0.850–0.862). The source gives a band of 0.83–0.862 kg/L.
How the mass of 1 liter of motor oil was worked out
0.85 kg/L × 1 L
=0.85 kg
The density comes from Mobil Delvac 5W-30 TDS (0.8516 at 15 °C) · SINTEC by SAE grade. At 15 °C; 5W-30 is 0.830–0.855, 5W-40 is 0.850–0.862.
Why a liter and a kilogram are not the same thing
A liter measures volume, a kilogram measures mass, and density is what ties them together: how many kilograms one liter of this particular substance comes to. The coincidence that makes people treat them as one thing is historical — in 1795 the gram was defined as the mass of one cubic centimeter of water, so a liter of water weighed a kilogram by construction. For anything else the equality breaks.
The extremes of this page make it obvious: one liter of LPG weighs 0.51 kg, while one liter of densely packed sand weighs 2 kg — four times more at the very same volume.
If the substance is not known in advance, start from how many kilograms are in 1 liter — the same volume across every substance at once.
The other way round: how much room a kilogram takes
This page starts from a volume and answers in kilograms. The opposite question — how many liters a given mass comes to — is what the kilograms to liters calculator is for. Both read the same density table, so the two pages agree wherever the answer is volume times density.
For motor oil that means 1 liter weighs 0.85 kg here, and one kilogram of it takes 1.18 liters there.
Related Calculations
See Also
- Kilograms to Liters - How many liters are in a kilogram of water, honey, gasoline, sand and other substances — by density
- L to Ml - Convert Liters to Milliliters
- Sand Calculator - Cubic yards, tons and coverage for any area
- Topsoil Calculator - Cubic yards, weight and coverage for any area

How much 1 liter of each substance weighs
| Substance | Mass | Density, kg/L |
|---|---|---|
| Beer | 1.01 kg | 1.01 |
| Cement | 1.25–1.4 kg | 1.25–1.4 |
| Coal | 0.65–1.27 kg | 0.654–1.266 |
| Cucumbers | 0.62–0.64 kg | 0.62–0.64 |
| Diesel | 0.83 kg | 0.834 |
| Gasoline | 0.74 kg | 0.74 |
| Honey | 1.42 kg | 1.42 |
| Juice | 1.06 kg | 1.06 |
| LPG | 0.51 kg | 0.51 |
| Milk | 1.03 kg | 1.03 |
| Mineral spirits | 0.78 kg | 0.78 |
| Motor oil | 0.85 kg | 0.85 |
| Sand | 1.65–2 kg | 1.65–2 |
| Soil | 1.3–1.5 kg | 1.3–1.5 |
| Sugar | 0.72–0.9 kg | 0.72–0.9 |
| Tomatoes | 0.55–0.6 kg | 0.55–0.6 |
| Vegetable oil | 0.92 kg | 0.92 |
| Wall primer | 1 kg | 1 |
| Water | 1 kg | 0.998 |