Going Synthetic

Tomorrow I will make the change to Synthetic oil . Anyone care to comment on their synthetic experiences ?

 

It's wicked expensive.

 

I switched to Mobil 1 Synthetic yesterday. Subbed for responses.

 

I did the same Saturday ... great minds think alike ....

 

Not that this likely will affect you but I made the change and for cold weather starts the stuff is great. Don't have to wait so long to warm up like it did with Dino.

If you get the stuff on sale it's not expensive. Stock up when it does go on sale.

 

Switched my 07 @ 2500 miles and been using it ever since 42000.

Used it in my 96 tacoma at 60K and used it until I sold it @ 105000. Developed some minor leaks using synthetic in older mileage engines.

Change the oil & filter every 4500-5000 miles as recommended by Toyota. The oil is very very dark / dirty when I change it and I wouldn't keep it in much longer after 4500-5000 miles.

That's just me.....

 

The general consensus seems to be that the OE filters are the best, especially considering their price. If you get a special that comes with a good high quality filter then go ahead and use it (I usually buy my oil when it is on special and stock up, thus have a few K&N filters). I use Royal Purple and really like the way the truck runs. I doubt it is really any better than Mobil1, PP, or PU but my butt dino tells me the truck runs smoother than it did with Mobil1 and PP. I get far less of a gritty feeling through the pedal and floor at 60 (which a lot of people complain about) when using RP than I did when using the other two. Since you are out of warranty (assuming since you have an 05) you really would only need to a change every 15k if you get one of the high quality oils mentioned in this post and get a good filter...so this negates the extra cost of the oil.

 

Same here.... Saturday. Mobil 1 5w-30 and OEM filter. About $37 for 6 qts at Costco and $5.41 for the filter.

I read a thread somewhere here by Chris4x4 where he literally tore apart a dozen or so different filters, only to find out that the OEM filter had the highest filtration area (something like 225 sq in) compared to the next closest (~156 sq in), and talking about the backflow valve in them....

Convinced me enough that I'll be buying OEM filters for the life of my Taco.



Don't know when I'll change the filter or the oil again... might do filter at 5k intervals and the oil at 10k?? If anyone's got some thoughts on that setup I'd love to hear back - I'm sure others would like to hear experiences, but try not to hijack the thread

 

My truck will be here in about two weeks, and I plan to run full synthetic for the life of the truck, like I did in my SAAB. I think if you plan to keep the vehicle for a long period of time (greater than three years at least) then it is worth the extra cost. But that's just me.

 

I noticed "sludge" in the oil fill cap. Switched to Mobil 1, sludge gone.

Mike

 

Synthetics are like a sore pecker. You can't beat 'em.

 

So, what's to comment on? You really can't tell what kind of oil is inside your engine. They all meet specs... put in what works, and whatever floats your boat... and they all work.

I look at it like this - If I'm going to keep a vehicle for a long time and I want to contribute to trouble-free longevity, I run synthetic only. If it's a vehicle I know I'll trade off in a "normal" span of time, I might run non-syn and simply change it at recommended intervals - it's going to be just fine.

The down-side for me is availability. I live out in the sticks and finding a supply of Red Line is not easy. I have to order on line. it's also around $10 a quart. It's easier to find something like Mobil 1 or whatever. (I drove Porsches for many years, and believe me, when you're talking 12 quarts in a dry-sump system, you need to think about it, and how much you want to spend.)

Here's something to think about also. I drove the above-mentioned Porsche for nearly 200,000 miles over a 10 year span. I ran Red Line exclusively. I did a leak-down test at about 175,000 miles and it was nearly as-new. Rings, valve guides, pistons, cylinders... I can't say enough good things about Red Line (or any syn) and how well it treats your engine.

I run Red Line in the Tacoma, the FJ, my generator, my tractor and especially my bike. I run Castrol dino oil in my '69 MGB. It doesn't exactly require anything better.

Roger

 

I put Pennzoil Platinum 5w-20 in at 5000 miles, and every 5000 through recent change at 25000. I use OEM filters. To be honest, I do get better mileage since the change, but that might be the result of general engine break-in as much as the oil. I find the oil at Walmart on sale and buy the 5qt jugs for like $25. I'll stick with it now.

 

Mobil1 "Extended Performance" 5W-30 is about 26$ here for a 5Qt jug and a 1Qt of the same oil is about 6$ (for that .5qts). The OEM oil filters are cheap and the mobile1 is readily available at walmart.

I used valvoline's conventional once, i think two oil changes ago...meh there's no noticeable differences in terms of performance or MPGs compared to Mobil1's full synthetic i'm using now. I've heard/read that synthetic holds up better in the extremes (cold/hot) than dyno oil. Houston doesn't get incredibly cold in the winters, but the summers are pretty horrible.

 

I switched to synthetic about 1200 miles ago. Im using pennziol platinum. 23 bucks for 5 qts at wally world.

 

I made the switch last year at 65,000. I use Mobil 1 oil and filters.

 

Been using synthetic since day one

 

Switch to toyota's oem filters!

chris4x4 did a really good comparison with other oil filter brands. I'm sticking to the toyota ones

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...-oil-filter-made-thailand-vs-competition.html

 

I wait till Costco has their Castrol Syntec on sale then I pick up 6 liters for $35. I generally get 4 boxes when it does.