Synthetic oil

Valvoline SYNpower Full Synthetic 5-30
Its cheaper and supposedly has better wear protection than Mobil1.

 

I've read that too. In fact, I've read it in the Amsoil comparison booklet that Amsoil sends out.

 

I have to think that all the major brands are close enough in performance that the differences are within margin of error.

FWIW, I just switched to Mobil 1 Synthetic in the engine. Haven't had a chance to drive it yet.

 

^ I agree about most oil brands being comparable. If we follow the 5k change maintenance schedule then the oils ( no matter the brand used ) will not be forced to go into the extremes of long use and deterioration scenarios.

 

I just went to Mobil 1 from Royal Purple only because O Reilly had it as buy 4 get one free. I'm not expecting to notice any difference at all.

 

i ran stock oil until 10000 miles, then switched to synthetic.. noticed a difference first day. running penzoil.. but i notice it breaking down at about 3000miles..

 

Are you sure it is breaking down? Or is it just getting dark?

Only an oil analysis will really tell you if it is breaking down or getting overly contaminated. Color is fairly meaningless.

 

you have a valid point. it feels rougher than it originally did. what is the advertised lifetime?

 

What do you mean by "breaking down"

 

I use Pennzoil Platinum.....It's as good if not better than Mobil 1 in analysis results I've seen posted on BITOG; plus it's $4 cheaper for a 5 qt jug from Walmart than M1. Amsoil and RP are great too, but overkill for our engines especially if you go by Toyota's recommended 5K mi OCI. Practically any named brand oil is fine these days.

 

I don't know what you mean by "breaking down" but it's fine at 6000 miles so you may want to explain further.

 

Exactly! Most synthetics have been tested to be viable well after 10K mi.

 

been using dino oil, but i'm switching to mobile 1 synthetic today!

 

Mobil 1 was originally advertised with a 25,000 mile lifespan. I don't know the backstory on why they changed that, but the third-party info I had was that customers were losing warranty disputes because they followed the Mobil 1 drain interval instead of the vehicle manufacturer's drain interval.

I've never left it in long enough for any breakdown, wear, or contamination indicator to even be close to 'expired'. I have just kept edging up further and further, waiting to see how many miles it takes before one or more of the indicators shows 'bad'.

 

Aftter switching to syntethetic, you cannot go back to organic, am i correct? i just hit 2500 miles since switching to synth, and it is a tad less thick, but still clean and on the thick side. lol.. a 10th of the advertised..

 

I don't know but, once (about 8-9 yrs ago) while driving on the freeway, the OIL light went off in my 97 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It seemed very weird because I had just had the oil changed (about 1 month before) at my local Pep Boys. When I arrived at my location- I checked the oil dip stick and saw that it was dry! I could not understand why. My cousin took me to buy three quarts of synthetic oil to put in the engine. After adding the oil, I checked the dipstick again, and only the tip was wet!! I had to go back to buy two more quarts!! After adding about 1 1/2 quarts, the dipstick finally read at the "maximum" line. So, what happened to the oil?? I don't know. And, never found out. But, I did thank myself for using synthetic oil!! (It was Castrol synthetic oil, by the way.) So, I now only use synthetic oil on all my vehicles! I currently use Mobil 1 for it's longer change period, though.

AND, most importantly... I now do my own oil changes!!

 

when i bougth my tacoma, it had NO oil in it. went to drive it off the lot and it was just about dry. i was like honestly? it had oil the day before when i test drove and signed the papers..

 

You can switch at any time either direction.

There is an offhand chance that in very high mileage engines, switching to synthetic may dissolve deposits that are acting as seals.

I don't understand what you're saying about "a 10th of the advertised".

 

You say the oil is thick? You want to run as thin of oil as you can get away with. Oil flow does more to lubricate your engine than oil thickness. On the 4.0 I would run 0w30 synthetic and on the 2.7 I would run 0w20. At operating temperature 0w30, 5w30, and 10w30 are all basically the same viscosity, but at start up (where most engine wear occurs) the 0w30 will flow better, protecting your engine, especially in cold temps. JMO.

 

a lot of gooood information in here.. learning a lot about oil.