I have 101,000 on my odometer. My dad told me to use 10W-40 motor oil; my friend told me to use 10W-30 what do you guys use or recommend me using on my car? I don't want to wear out my car....

This post has been edited by hioctane: Jul 21, 2003 - 10:34 PM

I use castrol gtx 10w40. It's good oil but I still burn a little of it. I also use a k&n oil filter

--95STHATCH+Jul 21, 2003 - 7:51 PM

QUOTE (95STHATCH @ Jul 21, 2003 - 7:51 PM)

I use castrol gtx 10w40. It's good oil but I still burn a little of it. I also use a k&n oil filter

thanks a lot

i use 5w 30 moble one synthetic and moble one oil filter its the best high quality but well worht it >>

5w 30? they make that?
i use 10W 30 Mobile 1.

Synthetic is the way to go.

a lot of the old boys say to throw in a heavier oil with an engine that is burning oil like the 10w40 or even 15w40.

Don't do it!!! >>

it will only kill your engine faster. Use what is specified for the engine. And I agree, synthetic is the only way to go, I use nothing but.

i guess i'll go with the 10W 30 Mobile 1

use 10w 30 in the winter and 10w 40 in the summer.. remeber toyota engine can last forever well maybe not for ever.. but if you take car of it... it might out live you...

So what does the car's manual recommend? My car didn't come with an owner's manual. I think I've heard they take 5W-30 somewhere, but most quick oil change places I've been to use 10W-30.

10w-30 is what Toyota recommends. and I don't see much point in using synthetic in a economy engine (7a,5s) but if you can afford it, why not I guess >>

I use Valvoline Max Life 10w30. No problems so far, plus i almost have 200,000miles

i used Castrol High Milage in the 7a (160k miles). but in the GZE, it's all about some Castrol Syntec. w00t.

oh yeah, both 10w-30. >>.

-John-

Speaking from a chemical standpoint, synthetic oil is superior in every way. Brands are almost identical except for the additives in the oil.

The 5S-FE and the V-6 1MZ-FE both had some limited oil problems (do a google search with 'toyota oil sludge' and you can see the results). The oil draniage in the head is not great to begin with and the 15 degree slant to these motors may contribute. With the oil in the head overheating, conventional oil breaks down much sooner due to the impurities in conventional oil (I know I sound like a commercial and no, I don't work for an oil company).

I have also read a research paper that was conducted on new york taxis a while back where the cabs used synthetic oil. The filters were changed at the regular intervals, however the oil was not changed for more than 50k miles! The engines were no worse of than one using conventional oil with regular changes. Synthetic oil does not break down, it just gets dirty.

Synthetic oil will help your car live longer.

i use 10w-40 Mobile ONE fully synthetic. good stuff, a little money though.

Assuming you start with a good synthetic it should always be a better performer than a natural oil. Natural oil is a distilled product made from crude oil. So invariably it does not have a uniform composition. The molecules that comprise the natual oil will have varying length of carbon rings I believe the range is around C15-C35. Anyway as some of the oil is burned off by the engine the composition of the oil will change so by the time you get your oil changed it has changed quite a bit from the original composition. Synthetic formulas on the other hand should be more uniform overall and should see less degredation from heat. So oil filters being equal the synthetic should give a longer more consistent protection.

That's weird I went to the kragens today and I heard one of the employees talk about synthetic oil with one of the customers there, so I went up to him and asked him if synthetic oil good or just regular oil. He said that synthetic oil is good for cars with low mileage and he also said if I go synthetic, I can't go back to using regular oil because it would mess up my engine and it would leak. He said before using synthetic oil, I would have to drain all of my oil. Can somebody else clarify this for me? >> thnX

yes, he is right about the switching part. You should not go back to conventional oil once you use synthetic and you should drain all of the conventional oil before switching. Synthetic oil swells the gaskets slightly and if you switch back, the gaskets contract letting some oil leak. But on that note, if you add in a liter of conventional in an emergency, it isn't going to damage anything.

The part about only low mileage engines does not make any sense. If it is good for one, it is good for the other. Maybe he thinks the cost is not worth it if the engine is on its last mile. Dunno though. If your older engine is labouring at idle, it will allow it to idle smoother.

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This post has been edited by hioctane: Jul 31, 2005 - 1:36 PM

I've been using Castrol Syntec 5w30 and K&N oil filters for the past 95,000 miles and have not had any problems. My 95 ST has 190k on it and I've only had to replace the starter and a battery(in the 4 years I've owned it). Every now and then it will mysteriously burn a quart of oil, but it normally happens if I've gone more than 3500 between changes.

--macavely+Jul 21, 2003 - 9:12 PM

QUOTE (macavely @ Jul 21, 2003 - 9:12 PM)

use 10w 30 in the winter and 10w 40 in the summer.. remeber toyota engine can last forever well maybe not for ever.. but if you take car of it... it might out live you...

This is exactly what I go by. Right now I'm using Valvoline synthetic blend 10W40. I do alot of around town driving, so it heats up relatively easy.