Toyota Oil, Synthetic vs Conventional for short trips

Sooo? What does the oil cap on your truck recommend? Just curious.

I have the same year Tundra, which uses the same VVT engine technology. I'm supposed to use 0W-20 to avoid valve train issues. Is the oil recommendation different for a Tundra vs. a Tacoma?

My 1st gen Tacoma uses 5W-30. This is my second 1st gen. The last one went 300k with no engine issues and used no oil between changes.

 

You make my head hurt.

So you currently change your conventional oil every 6 months even if you put over 5,000 miles on the truck in that time?

What warranty do you have that recommends that?

In any event my point is no point in switching to synthetic if you are not putting more than 5,000 miles on your truck before an oil change. If you will not change your OCI (which is mileage or year based which ever comes first, not last) then you'd be the guy in your story pouring out money for no benefit.

 

I'm going to be wasting money no matter what because in 6 months I'm not going to hit 5,000 miles. So money is not really my issue. My issue is what's better for the truck? If it only has 28,000 miles on it and I'm making frequent short trips which is going to be 95% of my driving, is it better for the truck to put in synthetic or conventional oil? In order to keep up with the stupid warranty I have to change it out every 5,000 miles or 6 months. Whichever comes first. I could push it longer, but then that gives the stupid dealer two try to screw me over. Even with synthetic oil, Toyota does not extend the oil change intervals for the Tacoma at this time.

 

4 pages into oil thread #324,194.....it's time for my standard response.

https://youtu.be/0kc143SgLQY

 

I know. This went further than I intended. Lol

 

Synthetic oil offers no additional protection for a vehicle over conventional oil. The only difference is oil change interval times.

Did you purchase an aftermarket warranty? Because using different oil change intervals does not void the factory warranty, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or highly uneducated.

Also if you did for arguments sake have a warranty that forbade you from changing your oil at a different interval, I'm sure they would also forbid you from using a non-recommended oil type in your truck (synthetic is not recommended).

 

Why are you making this so difficult! Just use the oil suggested in your owner's manual at the suggested intervals for God's sake....

 

The extended warranty is with Fidelity. I never had a extended warranty before because this is my first new vehicle, so I'm learning the system. I'll look into the interval thing vs the warranty because if that's true, I'll just put synthetic in it and drive it until 5,000 or a year. I only got the warranty to cover anything major while I'm paying off the truck. But from what everybody has told me it doesn't really seem like it's matters which one you use, just pick one and change it on time. Thanks for all your input guys. I really appreciate it.

 

Just use the Mobil1 annual oil and filter. Once year. You're done. Yours would be the 5w-30 flavor

And if someone has already mentioned this. Sorry. I ain't readin' this whole thing. I'm still trying to catch up from the 750 oil threads that were posted last month

 

I will add this. Drop your rig into 4th or even 3rd gear depending on your speed during your short trips once in a while. This will bring up the engine rpm to better burn off moisture in the crank case. Drive it that way for 2-3 miles.

It won't hurt anything. It can be beneficial

 

It's like surprise butt sex with your ol' lady. No such thing as "over lubrication".

 

me either

 

If you are only going to be making those short trips, your biggest issue will be condensation, especially during cold weather. In that case, go with the old 3k mile oil change recommendation using conventional.

If you want to stretch it out to 5k miles, you need to get the engine good and hot occasionally to burn out the moisture... get it out in the interstate once a week and really romp on it.

 

The area you need to be concerned with when shooting steel cased ammo in an AR is the extractor. The steel is a lot harder than the brass and can be tough on most extractors. Plus steel casings tends to get stuck in the breach sometimes and compounds this problem by putting more stress on the extractor.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

I would only drop the coin on this oil if you want to extend your OCI to 15,000-20,000 miles AND you put that on your truck in a year.

This oil is about $80-90 with filters. No point in spending that when regular ol Mobil 1 can get you 10k or one year for half the price.

I'm currently running this oil. I'm changing at 15k miles and will run an oil sample to Blackstone Labs to see how it does.

 

Walmart has it for $39.95. Add about $10 for the filter....and you have a $50 oil change that's good for 1 year or 20k miles. That's perfect for the OP's needs

 

No its not. The OP, if I understand correctly, barely puts 5,000 miles a year on his truck. ALL oil will be just fine for him and take him to 1 year.

Mobil 1 Annual is intended for people who put nearly 20,000+ miles on their car per year.

Again ALL oil lasts 1 year. It's the mileage interval that changes.

The OP would be wasting money to buy that oil.

This oil is very new and is going haywire on price. It was $100 for a Qt, jug, and filter when I got it.
Cost at Walmart is $67 with an extra Qt and filter right now. Still silly to recommend the OP spend roughly $20-30 more on an oil not recommended for what he uses his truck for.

It would be equivilent to telling him to put Amesoil in his engine. He does drive enough to benefit from a premium oil.

 

No it's not. If the OP used that oil for 20k miles doing mostly short trips it would end up looking like chocolate milk.

 

If that really is the case....then I would do an OC every 6 months....as was discussed before. There are plenty of ways to keep the engine healthy with short trips.

Take it out on the highway once a week or so. And, as I mentioned, you can drive in a lower gear to get the engine rpm up...helping burn off excessive moisture

 

You sir need to do some more research before spreading flase information. Synthetic is definitely a better oil.