What's the best oil or oil additive?

the 'best' oil is anything that meats SAE specifications. i always run castrol because they appropriately marketed to me early on in life, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to keep them happy.

the last oil change in the car i did a quart of lucas additive. no difference in performance, only about 2k miles in, so not enough distance to accurately measure oiling quality difference. i'm probably not going to use it again just due to the extra costs that i'm not entirely sure do anything but add an extra step and do little for added runtime.

 

It's not an oil. It's a homebrew additive!

 

Whichever oil is on sale. Last change was mobil 1 because not only was it on sale, but it came with a free filter.

The change before last was Amazons choice.

Next change... Hell I don't know. The one that's on sale, because most of the fluids are due soon.

 

what additive do they use in third world countries



I’m too actually busy with my clutch I’ve replaced twice malfunctioning due to improper factory design to be worrying about a caveman engine lubricated with synthetic

 

The best oil is the one that meets all the manufacturer specifications that you can easily find anywhere at the lowest price.

That said, I prefer to pick one oil brand, and stick to it for the rest of the engine’s life. And the oil I have chosen as my no.1 draft pick is Mobil 1, which has served me well forever since I can remember.

Moreover, I have not needed to add or use any additives, or use any special high mileage oils, but if you twist my arm, I would use Marvel Mystery oil lol!.

 

I would suggest checking out BITOG, you can go as far down the rabbit hole as you want there:
o Passenger Car Motor Oil (PCMO) - Gasoline Vehicles
o Used Oil Analysis - Gasoline
o OTC and Third Party Oil Additives

As for me, KISS: 0W-20 TGMO and an OEM filter ~ every 6 months (Weather dependent) This usually works out to ~6-7.5k miles between changes (The wife's Prius gets the same)

FWIW; my old 1st got the cheapest Wallmart conventional oil and filter I could find for the first 100K, then exclusively Mobil-1 with an OEM filter and BG MOA until I let it go at 379k (Looking back, I think dozens of cans of MOA were a waste, but hind sight is always 20/20)

 

I’ve been getting STP Full Synth lately because it’s Dexos approved (which is a higher standard than regular API), and it’s actually been the cheapest synth at Autozone the last few times I was there. I’m not brand loyal to any oil, but as long as STP meets the highest standards for the best money, I’ll stick with them.

 

Wouldn't a better question be, "What's the best oil for a Tacoma?".
As a race engine builder, I can say there are some amazing oils (if you want to pay for them). Blud Lubricants has one of the best oils you can buy. Most has never heard of it, unless you are in the know with high end race bikes, but it's $25 a quart.

 

Engine or other? I suppose whatever meets oem spec and fits the budget.

The Tacoma gets Valvoline full synthetic 0w-20 from Wally World or whomever has it cheapest and an oem Toyota filter. I'm getting ready to swap driveline fluids and will probably stick with oem Toyota for the transfer case and oem Toyota or redline gl5 for the diffs.

 

How much does that run?

 

This is what I run and imo the closest to "the best". It is not cheap though, 7qts and a filter ran me $118 with tax a few weeks ago and I'm part of their "Preferred Customer" discount plan.

 

Like $7.50ish

 

Just changed my oil with this last week. $26.97 at Walmart. Motor hasn’t blown up yet.

 

Amsoil signature series for oil and the OG liqui-moly additive if I can pick up a can come oil change time. If not no sweat. Only reason i use any additive is because in aircraft maintenance they showed us a video of 2 engines. One ran with extraordinary levels of molybdenum and the other just plain motor oil. Draining the engines running and the plain oil engine seized in a few seconds and the moly engine ran for another 30 seconds before they manual killed and disassembled both. The plain oil engine was scrap but the moly engine was still serviceable.

 

Always hated Pennzoil, but as of late I like there Ultra Platinum.

Been using Archoil 9100 in the oil for the last 12 years. Seems to make a positive difference.

 

Reported for starting a new oil thread.
Reported again for 3rd gen.

 

Welcome to the forum

Section 9.1 of your owners manual starting about page #573 clearly provides all the lubrication specifications for your vehicle.
Any brand that meets the listed requirements will be fine.

I use Toyota oil & filter, they are fine quality, easy to obtain and fairly priced.
I don't use any additives.

 

Pick the color bottle you like the best. Make sure it has the "petroleum institute " star on the label. In my several Hondas if used exclusively Supertech . Ive made the switch to Costco Kirkland synthetic on the Hondas and its what I feed my Taco. I believe its about $ 37 for two 5 quart containers. On a side note in the the taco, I made the switch to 5w-30 from Costco. Zero issues.