Oil choice

so I'm due for an oil change, what is the best choice of oil and filter? 2006 Tacoma, 3" lift, 33" tires, 117000 miles, Alabama climate.

 

OEM filter is best. Any good brand of oil will suffice. I use Mobil 1 synthetic.

 

+1. FWIW, my oil brand of choice is Amsoil.

 

OEM or Fram Ultra filter & Mobil 1 have been good to me.

 

Oem fillter and castrol.

 

What grade oil?

 

If you have the owners manual...read it.

 

Since I did a oil change on a Tacoma today get 5w-30.
If you want to be extra safe literally just look at the oil cap to see which weight your truck takes.

 

I use mobil 1 synthetic high milage because my truck burns a little oil between changes. Seems to help prevent that a little more than the regular mobil 1 full synthetic. Bear in mind my truck also has over 200k so it might be a little soon for that since yours is only at 117k, but its something you might consider

 

Look at the oil fill cap. It states what Toyota recommends for your vehicle in terms of viscosity.

You can bump that up to synthetic if you wish, but unless you either extend your OCIs or are very hard on the engine, it's a questionable expenditure considering the quality of the SN API oils.

Commonly found on sale filters that typically are found to work well include Purolator Pure One, Wix, Napa and OEM. There will be lots of OEM folks here; just remember that Toyota doesn't make any filters. Someone else does. Usually the low bidder. Filtration isn't magic and doesn't change a lot over time. The filter for my '04 Highlander 3.3 is the exact same as for my '13 2.7. So even Toyota does lots of 'off the shelf' parts sourcing.

 

I take you don't use synthetic Bill?

 

I do. But I also do 10k OCIs. Which is conservative based on testing. Just makes a nice round number and syncs up with the 2nd round of resetting the 'maintenance light'.

If life is in the way, I have some slack.

I use Mobil1. I'm an OTC guy. There is no evidence making boutique lubricants enough better to bother with.

 

There is no reason to use any other filter than OEM. Avoid Fram altogether. I am sure you want your engine to last. If you change your oil every 3k miles, the brand makes no difference. Mobil1, Amsoil, Castrol, etc. all protect the same for 3k miles.

 

OEM filter and any high quality brand oil, either dino or synthetic is fine if you plan on changing at 5k and you don't tow, lots of stops and starts etc. I prefer synthetic, usually Mobile 1, Quaker State Ultimate Durability or Pennzoil Platinum plus. If you want a precise answer get your oil analyzed by someplace like Blackstone Lab.

 

The stock filter is suitable for a lawn mower, maybe.
Upgrade to a NAPA Gold 1516A filter.
Twice the filter element.
So much better than stock.
Walmart M1 0w-20 5 quart jugs.

 

In the absence of empirical data to back-up your claim, this is the definitive comparison of oil filters for our trucks.

0W-20 is recommended only for 2.7L 4-cyl engines, not 4.0L 6-cylinder models for which 5W-30 is recommended.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Fram. 5W-30 for V6 ~ 0W-20 for I4. It will say on the oil fill cap.

 

I use an OEM filter from Toyota for $5 and a good quality synthetic 5w30 oil purchased at Walmart for less than $25 and I have a Fumoto valve on the drain plug.

A DIY oil change costs around $30 takes me 15 minutes and gets me 7500 miles between oil changes.