2012 v6 synthetic or not?

There is no longer any factual basis for this.

 

I run Mobil 1 and change the oil every 5 thousand miles. Nice part about synthetic if you go over by a thousand or so, no harm no foul; dyno oil is not like that.

 

Our math doesn't agree...

Conv oil at 10k = 5qt $17 x2
so $34 plus 2 filters

Synth oil at 10k = 5qt $25 + .5qt $3.50
So $28.50 plus 2 filters

Puts him ahead $5.50

I've been thinking about trying this myself with 15k intervals using Mobil1 EP assuming a UOA shows good

 

Completely untrue on both counts.

The whole Pennzoil/paraffin thing has been thrown around by old timers since the 60s and there is no truth to it. The same thing was said about Quaker State. The base of the rumor was that Pennsylvania crude oil carries a higher paraffin content than Texas crude.
But the paraffin is refined out of the final base stocks, and of course, the paraffin itself sold for other purposes. ALL crude oil contains paraffin.


Mobil does have different base stocks that it uses, but there are still no better products available in the same price range.
Amsoil uses Mobil base stocks and blends it's own additive package.
Amsoil and Mobil-1 motorcycle and racing oils are Group-IV base stocks.
The automotive oils are a Group-III/IV blend.

This is due to the loss of the Castrol lawsuit, which allowed Valvoline, Castrol, Pennzoil, and Shell (Rotella) to label their Group-III products "synthetic"... Mobil began using blends to remain cost-competitive (their motorcycle oils are $10/qt).
Mobil remains one of the few facilities that actually manufactures Group-IV base stocks.

Now, there is nothing wrong with Group-III products. They begin life as conventional oil, but they are altered at the molecular level and are chemically identical to Group-IV (which is why they lost the lawsuit).
They generally run slightly higher levels of viscosity improvers, and as such, they do not tend to hold their viscosity rating as well as a true Group-IV, but they still have no trouble remaining in grade under normal service intervals.

 

Same here.

Uhh.... Not exactly.

We're brainwashed by Jiffy Lube and the oil producers that we need to change every 3000.
Fact is that prior to Toyota adding the "Maintenance Required" light to the dash, they had two service intervals... same as every manufacturer.

The service intervals for my 2003 Tundra and my wife's 2000 Echo were 5000 miles for severe service, and 7500 miles for normal service.

Model by model, as the dash displays were redesigned over the last 12 years, the 7500 mile interval was removed.
Her 2004 Rav4 has the idiot light, and only a 5000 interval.


General Motors actually has some intelligence behind their oil life monitoring system, and the system is programmed for the type of oil recommended... generally conventional except in performance vehicles.
The oil change indicator would come on in my '06 Duramax anywhere from 8000 to 12000, depending on how I drove it.

Toyota cheaped out and just made a 5000 mile clock.

 

I love when Rich enters the oil threads

He's the "Dr Sheldon Cooper" in this area.

 

$57.40 is WAY high.

Toyota OEM filters are less than $4.50 each (and can go 10k with synthetic, the 5k filter change is a waste).

6 quarts of Mobil-1 is $36 at Costco, and they regularly run $10-off instant rebates.

But even without the rebate, $36 is the going rate for M1... so it's not $57.40, it's $40 every 10k. $45 if you insist on the extra filter.

 

Bazinga

 

Good to know, next time I'll do a little more research before telling what I've heard.

Any insight on why pennzoil syn would spike in temp? Had happened multiple times to my buddies lt1 Camaro. Now running valvoline vr1 with no temp issues?

 

Yes I remember working at Toyota any car that had synthetic maintenance first 5000miles just top off fluids check over car air up tires and rotate then when it hit 10000miles thats when we changed oil. I dont know about any other toyota dealership ,but the one I use to work at we always used mobil 1 synthetic esp on the cars that toke synthetic. Me personally I would do mine every 5000miles I think 10000 is way too long!

 

No clue... Pennzoil and Valvoline synthetics are comparable products. Had to have been something else.
If you are seeing temp spikes on the dash display of any vehicle due to oil, it's going to be a flow (or low level) condition, and would cause immediate damage if you're actually seeing the temp spike AND it was caused by the oil.

I would suspect something else, more likely to be related to the cooling system and fans.

 

Yep. I didn't double the dino for 10k. Good catch.

$5.50 a year savings. Plus the $25 UOA. Which I think is a must for any change interval greater than 5000 miles, regardles of the oil. Especially the first time you change at an extended interval. Maybe even every other change thereafter.

 

I'm sure dino is cheaper at Costco too. The point is, cost difference is pretty much negligible when comparing 10k changes with synthetic, and 5k changes with dino.

 

Yup, I kinda figured that had happened. It's all good.

I do agree that an initial UOA is a good idea to determine if you can safely do extended OCI with a given engine/oil/driving habits. After that though I don't see where additional UOA are all the beneficial. I'm hoping to do 15k standard and 10k heavier usage.

 

Exactly, thats why i said go 10-12k and your golden

Is that not why we are all here??!!??!!

 

UOAs are good for establishing trends. That's really your benefit in going with one.

I'm a little OCD about oil in my Subaru and do 3,750 mile changes with synthetic and do a UOA on each oil change. One neat thing is it even allows me to see the efficiency of my air filter.

I'm taking my truck in for an oil change at 1,300 miles to flush out the break-in oil. I'll probably pay for this oil change and switch to synthetic and then when Toyota Care kicks in at 5,000 miles I'll just pay the upcharge to go synthetic.

I bring my own oil to my changes on the Subaru since I know all the techs and I'm picky with what I use in it, but for the Tacoma, I'm fairly confident synthetic will be just fine.

 

I've enjoyed this thread . I just bought a 2013 v6 two weeks ago . My sales guy and service manager told me the same story all of you were told about the 10000 mile service and the synthetic oil and I showed them the manual with the 5000 oil and filter change . They couldn't tell me what kind of oil was in it ! Saleman said we would have to look at the oil cap . I have lots of trucks , equipment , motorcycles . my wifes Honda Element and misc engines and I run Shell Rotella T 15/40 in them all .I figure if it will run a over the road truck a million miles it should run my stuff , plus diesel oil is the only oil with zinc still in it . So that's what will be going in my 2013 Tacoma .

 

After all of the Rotella hype and how it's motorcycle wet clutch compatible (MA rated) I caved and ran its synthetic version (T6) in my Suzuki DR-650SE dual sport. Before using Rotella, that bike shifted very smoothly with no clunkiness whatsoever. Within just a few miles the bike began shifting like crap and became very notchy. I dumped that oil immediately (within just 100 miles). Even after numerous subsequent oil changes, the shifting on my bike has never been the same since that brief stint on Rotella T6.

 

I used 5W-30 Mobile1 synthetic in my 2002 4Runner for 8.5 years and about 80k miles and it was perfectly fine.

If they use 0W-20 for my 2012 V6 when I bring it in for the first 5k miles service then I will continue using that after the first 25k miles (free oil changes) but if they use conventional oil then I will change Mobile1 after the frist 25k miles.