Best time to swap to Synthetic

Maybe the 2.7 comes with fully synthetic, but my 2011 DC V6 did not.
Also, on the oil filler cap it states 5W30.

 

Same

 

My owner's manual also recommends 5W-30.

 

2 different engines, 2 different requirements. The 2.7 requires 0W20 which the OP has listed as his engine in his sig.

 

Te requirement waschanged for 2010...looks like you have an 06.

 

I switched to synthetic on my first oil change

 

I chose 10:30 am on a Sunday morning to change to synthetic.

 

I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic at 65,000.

 

Correct!! What changes were made to the engine for 2010 that would warrant requiring a lower viscosity oil? Or is it a matter of fuel economy? Should I be using 0W-20 instead?

 

no thread is complete without some good old sarcastic, useless humor!

 

I don't think any changes were made to the 2010 engine. There is some debate as to why Toyota switched their requirement to 0W20 synthetic. One main cause was to help improve fuel economy. The second debated reason was in 2010 Toyota started offering their free "Toyota Care" plan to customers who purchased a new Toyota. With that in mind, if Toyota offered the service free to 25K miles, and extended the required oil change interval, Toyota is essentially only paying for 2 free oil changes.

There have been a few folks here on TW who use a high quality synthetic oil such as Royal Purple or Amsoil and go with a 10K mile OCI on pre 2010 V-6 and 4 cyl models with no issues. Personally I'd go with whatever OCI your specific year calls for. Synthetic oil should be fine going to 10K miles with no problem as long as you couple it with a quality oil filter. 0W-20 oils should be fine to use, the thing is it's not the easiest viscosity to find.

 

Synthetic after 5,000 miles and you'll be fine. Stick with the factory recommended oil weight though. I wouldn't go up in weight till you get higher mileage say around 80000 miles or so and then only if you've started to develop leaks. My 97 2.7 I4 4x4 had 158000 miles on it and I still ran Syntec 5w30 in it when I traded it in. She saw a lot of hard use also. You have to work to break the old 2.7.

 

It does't matter when you decide to switch to synthetic. Synthetic is just better. It coats your internals and keeps your engine well lubricated. It's harder to break down the vescosity also, versus traditional oil.
I personally use Synthetic in all my vehicles and bikes, on and off road. Motor, transmission axles, everything. There is a reason the NHRA uses it.
Just don't go back to traditional oil. Also try not to run heavier oil in your vehicle no matter the age, because it will cause your oil pump to work harder. That is why they make high mileage oil for older vehicles.
And if you develop a leak, just fix it. Eventually it will just turn into a bigger problem. Running thicker oil will not fix a blown oil pan gasket. It will just get worse.

 

How many extra kilometers between changes can you honestly gain switching to synthetic... Someone said 10k instead of 5k... true or not??? Every 5k km seems like I am always changing the oil at the most annoying times... always have something on the go...

 

Bad oil pan gasket is an easy fix. They usually, at least in my experience don't go bad. Running a heavier weight will help with mild oil leaks until you can get them fixed. Also the heavier weight can help with badly worn internals. But you are right, leaks will only get worse over time. Anything you do is only a stopgap until you fix it. I had a time fixing leaks on my wife's Honda that she doesn't want to get rid of.

 

this is my plan. Doing it this summer when I figure out what I want exactly. Right now, Im trying to figure out how good the 0w20 toyota oil is, and if I should get that or go with the Mobil one

 

Buy some Slick 50, I got so much more HP and better MPG. And I could fly like superman, but that was an added benefit. Just change the oil. I use synthetic cant tell a difference. If you sleep better at night knowing you use it the do so. I think I may switch back because I do my oil changes when I need to. I am thinking it's all a marketing bonanza??

 

Change over whenever you can, or at your first oil change.

You can use synthetic oil during your breakin. Your piston rings are going to seal or not seal within the first 15 min. of operation. When I use to work at a race shop, we broke new motors with 15-20 min of idling with conventional oil. After the 15-20 min of iddling, we change the oil out with synthetic and on the dyno it goes. My old Integra was street driven at 600+whp for close to 3 years before I parted it out. Never gave me any problems, never burned any oil.

 

I know oil pans are an easy fix. My point was not to let small problems on your vehicle go to long because eventually they will get worse or lead to other problems and even bigger problems. Yes thicker oil does help with worn internals, but should not used as a fix. Over working your oil pump, and sludging up your internals also which could lead to valves clogging or sticking, and oil covered spark plugs, piston sticking. Your engine was designed to operate with a specific oil. Different oils are used in different applications of vehicles, meaning turbo's, stock, heavy duty. Whatever the case maybe.

 

A top quality oil won't sludge up anything as long as it's changed regularly. Weight has nothing to do with sludge. Crap oil and improper PM does. Even if you go heavy, say 10w40, your oil pump will not be overworked. Unless your running heavy weight in extremely cold conditions and then your pump shouldn't have any problems unless it's getting ready to crap out. Heavy oil in cold conditions can lead to dry starts though which will definitely wear internals over time. Oil covered spark plugs are usually indicative of bad seals not sludge buildup.

Again you are right don't let something small turn into something major. It's much easier and cheaper if you do it that way.