Crowdsourcing an Oil Research Project for the 3rd Gen Tacoma

TL;DR: I want to run a community-funded oil research project to find the oil that offers the least wear on the 2GR-FKS. Because there’s no universal "best" oil, I’d like to test multiple options in a controlled way. This would be expensive, so I’m gauging interest in crowdfunding (GoFundMe, Kickstarter, etc.). Each oil change would require twice the oil to prevent cross-contamination, and ideally, we’d have multiple trucks involved to get a proper sample size.


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I've been thinking about running a real-world oil test for the 3rd gen Tacoma. The goal wouldn’t be to find the “best” oil overall—because that doesn’t exist—but rather to determine which oil results in the least wear on the 2GR-FKS in this platform. Lab tests are great, but actual use in our engines under real driving conditions would be more meaningful.

The Challenges:

Cost – Each oil change would require twice the amount of oil to account for cross-contamination from the previous fill.

Sample Size – A test with just one truck isn’t enough; ideally, we’d have multiple vehicles running the same test.

Testing Method – We’d need to collect and analyze oil samples at set intervals, possibly using a lab like Blackstone or Polaris.


Since this would get expensive quickly, I’m wondering if there’s enough interest to crowdsource the funding. Something like GoFundMe or Kickstarter could work if enough people are on board.

Would anyone be interested in contributing? Or does anyone have suggestions on the best way to organize this?

 

I think this would be complete overkill. SuperTech Walmart oil is plenty good enough to keep this engine running for over half a million miles. And you would have to have people document their driving habits, temperature, altitude, air quality, air filter quality and installation, oil change procedure...there are so many variables that are uncontrollable and I feel the results would be so extremely close...it would be moot.

 

plenty of people here use blackstone labs to test their oil, and with synthetic oil being so cheap and ubiquitous, i don't see this as really providing a benefit. Plus, project farm and other youtubers routinely do these types of tests on budget vs premium oils.

 

Soggy, I applaud your endeavor and will add what I know. In the early 70’s, I worked as a tech at an engine lubricants lab. Engine sizes ranged from train diesel to a small 1 cylinder natural gas.
One in particular, was a ford 6 cylinder, from like a Ford Falcon. It was designated for an engine wear test. It ran automatically. It started each half hour, ran for 10 minutes, then shut down and cooled for 20 minutes. BTW - I was told by a lubricants engineer that 80% of engine wear takes place during cold start-up. It would be inspected at designated hours. Engine tear down, cylinder walls and crank measured, piston and rings measured and weighed and intense visual inspection of all components. My sister-in-law also has a Tacoma

 

You're biggest issue is going to be drive cycles.

The larger the public sample size, the larger variant in personal driving distances and individual driving styles.

So to get rid of that variable, now you're talking about paying for dedicated lab testing. And if anyone thinks a bunch of oil is expensive, get a quote on buying lab time...

But honestly, it's oil. The 2gr isn't some mythical rare one-off engine. It's a standard direct injection 4 cycle, using mass produced components.

I think the bigger question that needs to be first answered is "what justifies specific testing beyond current established industry standards?"

 

I’m sorry but I don’t see any need for this. IMHO

 

It’s an interesting project, though I question the value of even an accurate answer. As others have stated, we’re probably so far up the curve for any decent synthetic, that differences are meaningless.

Regarding the concern of different driving styles, etc., that can be mitigated by simply having the whole lot of drivers cycle through the list of oils. Then you have relatively stable driving patterns (as a whole) for each oil candidate. I think this was the OP’s intent, thus the double flush.

 

^ exactly.

Tell ya what, if you send me a check to work against, I will pitch in info.

 

How about Fresh Oil...?

 

I prefer this for the lovely Nutella aroma.

 

This is the most intriguing post of the whole thread.
Made it worth the click.

No idea what it means.
But I'm at a place in my life where I'm ok with "not knowing".

 

My neck still hurts from the topical 180 degree in that post. My brain still hurts because it won’t stop picking at the puzzle.

 

It's Friday for sure. This has to be the dumbest idea ever posted here. Well may except for the stupid deck plate mod of the previous generation, but seriously there is no problem with motor oil. You put way to much emphasis on some thing that really is insignificant in terms of the big picture of potential sources of failure. There are probably 1000 other components that you could research as a source of failure before worrying about motor oil. Why not worry about your coolant? Transmission fluid? Brake booster? Floor mats? There are so many parts that make up your truck why are people so obsessed about the one part that pretty much does it's job regardless of the flavor or reasonable change frequency. I'm sorry, but this is really an ignorant idea. You should consider deleting this post.

 

Easy there, killer.

 

To be a best test the trucks would have to run the same routes with the same passenger loads. Etc.
Cheaper to buy good oil and a brand new engine to replace at 400,000 miles.

 

NO!!! I will end this oil nonsense on the internet once and for all today.

 

And to think that the Toyota engineers didn't already do extensive testing when developing the 2GR is either hubris, naiveté, or both...

 

Settle down there Huitzilopochtli. It's not like the guy rolled in with "What are the biggest tires I can fit without a lift", or "I haven't done any research whatsoever, What's the best oil for my truck?".

 

this video is a worthwhile watch. specifically near the end for the results, where he also draws parallels to the data from SAE papers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ_Gt0yPlO0

if you're truly interested in oil and engine wear, it's worth noting the paper numbers and purchasing them to deep-dive into the studies that have already been performed.

though the youtube page does link to the SAE papers directly.
https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/530224/
https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/600190/
https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2006-01-3413/

the first course of action when wanting to test any idea is to first figure out what the smartest people in that industry are reporting on that idea when paid to do extremely in-depth studies at astronomical costs. after understanding what their data shows, then the idea can be continued at a more refined level to answer the question they haven't. but in many cases, the idea is usually answered by the data.

but oil conversations are fun.

prolong oil figured it out a long time ago, only to be subdued by politics and industry giants!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9Sbo9RQA4w

 

There's no need. Valvoline 0w-20 full synthetic and oem filters work just fine.