Synthetic or Conventional Oil?

Which weight do you use for SYN oil ?

 

OP, You can get a hundred different answers here. When in doubt, use whatever your owner's manual calls for and rest easy knowing that you made a fine choice.

 

5w-30 just like Toyota says to.

 

Then why does Toyota call for a different weight on SNY

 

If you know the answer why ask the question?

Owners manual says 5w30 in the 4.0 V6.

 

Mobile 1 synthetic 0w30 is my oil of choice.

 

It's all the same. Pick the cheapest. Change it at the interval Toyota states. By based on region.

Also the "W" = "Winter" not "Weight"

 

I change mine every 5k ish, always with a OEM filter. I use M1 HM or Pennzoil Platinum synthetic. I prefer synthetic oil but that's my preference and is not based on any scientific evidence that it's better than dino. It cost between 28-32 bucks so the cost isn't an issue. I think unless you fall into the severe service category if you use a high quality oil, either dino or synthetic, and use a quality filter and change at the interval prescribed in the owners manual you'll be good

 

Napa synthetic and Napa gold filter...

 

I run Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic and OEM filter every 5,000 miles.

Do whatever makes you happy.

 

Same here.

 

It's not all the same. As you pointed out that W means winter. Those number signify how fluid that oil is in different temperature ranges and operating temperatures. It can matter.

 

Same here - Mobile1 syn every 5k. And I call BS on the earlier statement that you can go 5k and have the oil come out looking new. Never have I seen that happen on any vehicle. At 5k she's always a toasty brown/black. Maybe with diff fluid but not engine oil.

 

That's why I said based on region. Go by the operating manual.

I switched between Conventional, Semi-Synthetic, and Synthetic based. Now that I get serviced at the dealer I use what they use and it is bulk Toyota oil (not sure where they source that from).

As I found out from TW threads on oil, Mobil 1 isn't 100% synthetic.


*buy

 

That's really the bottom line, follow the manual using a good brand of oil and OEM filter, you should be fine. My last truck's 22R-E had 300K on Toyota/Denso filters and Castrol GTX at 3,000 mile intervals.

This could open up a whole mess. Which are PAO vs Ester Group III, Group IV, Group V, which are lying. There was once a time with Mobil 1 synthetics were very good. Now you have to do so much research to know. I personally run Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30. Is it the "best" oil out there? Nope. Is it a pretty good oil? Yup. I prefer to balance convenience, not needing to keep a case of Amsoil around and being able to find 5 gallon jugs at Wal-Mart is easier for me. I have been considering a change to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum but haven't done anything about it. The Bob Is The Oil Guy forum is the place to go if you want to wade through it all.

 

Do it!! All of my vehicles now run Pennzoil Platinum. I used M1 for the longest time, but noticed that our Subie was using oil, not badly, but enough to notice. I read that people had good luck switching to PP so I tried it and oil consumption reduced fairly significantly. It also made the engine a little quieter than before, especially on cold starts, so now I use it on all my vehicles. I should note that it made no noticeable differences on my truck or my wife's Honda.

 

When/if you switch to synthetic, check your oil every now and then. My Corolla uses/leaks oil when I run synthetic and so does my T-100. In all fairness, they both have over 260,000 miles on them.

My Tacoma and my wife's Sienna both do just fine on synthetic. They definitely start easier on a cold morning. I don't see or feel any difference in performance or engine noise on one or the other.

 

This is the main reason I run synthetic oil. It makes a noticeable difference in very cold temperatures. Engine cranks better, the shifter only feels like you're pulling it through honey, you don't get additional braking from the diffs turning in Jello.

 

I run Mobil 1 5w30 with a Toyota filter and change every 5k(which is about every 6 months for me). I get the M1 at Costco for like $4 a quart. If I was driving more I'd probably extend the interval.

 

whatever is onsale