Synthetic or standard oil

Does any one use Synthetic or simi Synthetic oil????
or is it best to stick with a good brand of standard oil.
i have 1,000 mile and was planning on an oil change tomorrow. any ideas?/

 

mobil 1 all the way, i love that stuff. runs smoothly and lasts longer.

 

How often have you Mobil one users been changing the oil?

Jeff
06 Taco access cab, V6, 6spd,SR5 Brilliant Red

 

Dj,
Answer really depends on you and how much driving you do. If you like to change your oil every 3000 miles then if is not really cost effective or worth while to pay the extra for synthetics. If you log alot of miles and only change the oil every say every 7-10,000 miles synthetics are more for you. Synthetics are less prone to breaking down due to heat and flow better at much colder tempreatures, so where you live can also factor in. Synthetics work well in trucks that are used for pulling heavy loads, and log alot of miles for companies or private hotshotters because of reduced down time. If you don't tow heavy or live in extreme climates requiring synthetics and change the oil normally every 3000 or so miles any good rated Dino oil will be fine. Just for fun pick up a bottle of Quaker State they always have their 250,000 mile guarantee on the side, it has to many rules to follow for me to bother with it, like you need to go to a certified Quaker state service facility and save all your receipts.... but it is very rare today to see an engine fail due to oil related problems that is properly maintained. Several auto companies cover their vehicles with 100,000 mile warranties like Suzuki and Hyundai, and they don't require you to use sysnthetics either. This answer is way to long but I'm sure you get the general idea the choice is yours.

 

Thanks for the info, I am familar with Mobil One as our 97 Subie has had it since the beginning. Since I live in New England we do get the colder winters and since its my significant others car, I really liked the protection in the extremes.
It just did not seem cost effective if I were going to change the oil every 3000-4000 like I plan to, especially since my 06 is brand new. I was always a little disapointed with Toyota's not endorsing syn oil for there cars/trks. I do know lots of Toyota owners use syn's with out any problems. Just curious to see what applications TW members are using.

 

Jeff,
My wife's car requires synthetics only, but my toyota will be running dino oil for its life span with changes every 3000 miles.

 

Thanks Bulldogger

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I just had my '06 taco at the dealer for it's first oil change last week. I was pretty stunned to find out that they used Kendall GT-1 5W-30 Synthetic Blend. I asked why, and was told by the service rep, that this is done to Toyota specs, and is what enables us to go 5000 miles between changes. Made sense to me.

Mr_CNC

 

Thanks for the info Mr. CNC. I have no clue as to what my local neighborhood dealer uses but I will ask.
I did get my oil done at 2200 and used regular dino oil. Funny that the overall Toyota manual info doesn't really support syn oil ?

 

Jeff,

I too found it interesting that the Toyota manual was not supportive of synthetic oil use.

However, I was thinking that the dealer must use some sort of synthetic to justify 8000 km (or 5000 miles) between scheduled oil changes. I will have to inquire about this during my next service with the dealer.

I was considering running a synthetic oil as well if it would increase the overall life expectancy of the engine.

 

I just got an email from my local dealer, I did ask about Toyota's lack of support for synthetic and he did not tell me that they use syn's but he said if you use it no problem.

 

Hello..first post here on TacomaWorld....but had to comment that I don't believe that there is a lack of support for synthetic oils, or that Toyota or their dealerships are using a synthetic blend to achieve 5,000 mile oil change intervals. I had worked at auto dealership service departments for over 10 years, and was instructed in all of the "scare tactics" to sell 3,000 mile oil changes. First off, European auto makers have been promoting 5,000-10,000 mile oil changes for many years now....with dino oil. Who has been behind the "3,000 mile interval or your engine will lock up from sludge deposits" scare tactics? Auto dealers and oil companies....There is no reason you need to change you oil under normal conditions more often than every 5,000 miles, unless you want to boost your dealership's profit margin, as well as the profit margin of the respective oil company. For vehicles that are under extreme use (a lot of towing, commercial service, snoplowing, etc), 3,000 miles may be more beneficial, but for most of us, 5k is more than adequate....BTW...love this website....my 07 Tacoma is only 2 months old, and I am finding lots of great info here!!! Will post some photos when I get a chance..... 2007 Tacoma Double Cab Silver Streak TRD Sport Hood Deflector, Stainless running boards, Lund Genesis Tonneau cover

 

Welcome, A2Mich, to the forum and thanks for your thoughts. There is no question of the dealers pushing the 3000mile extreme use. I would think they get a better vehicle back in either trade or lease or at least one thats been serviced often and that they have records of.
I did find that when I traded my 96 Monte Carlo Z-34, with extra care and very low miles, that it got me exactly zip. I don't think they cared one way or the other because they were not going to deal with the car later, just send it to the auction.
None the less I have two friends who do the 3000mile with dino oil, religiously, as they have a garage to accomplish this. They both have had at least 4 Taco's over the past many years and all of their trucks went over 200,000 and were healthy, I think the bodies fell off.

Overall, most of the top independent mechanic's seem to think that getting the oil out between 3000-5000 is fine. My particular thoughts are that you keep checking the oil and when it just starts to turn color its ready to come out and that works out to the above mileage.
Jeff
06,acc cab, 4x4, 6spd, V6, bone stock Taco.

 

Thank you for the welcome.....I have always gone by the 5,000 mile rule (probably because I have owned mostly VW's and Toyotas...only owned one domestic brand vehicle-complete nightmare) and that has always been within manufacturer's guidelines. I certainly don't endorse exceeding the manufacturer's recommendations (after all, they are the ones who designed your vehicle), but I believe that most of the time, the 3k oil changes are wasteful and unneccessary, but there are those that feel changing their oil more often is beneficial--so be it. As far as metal particles, etc, that hasn't really been much of a problem for years, as the way engines are manufactured under clean conditions, metal particles aren't much of an issue. Actually, changing the oil too early can cause ring-seating problems...I would simply wait until 5k.

 

$.02
my FL yota dealer uses castrol synthetic.

 

I just sold my 06 Corvette which had the computer tell you when the oil should be changed. I changed it at 6000, even though the computer was telling me that the oil had 60% of life remaining. Synthetic of course.

 

It was my understanding that you should run dyno oil in a new engine until around the 10,000 mile mark and then you can switch to synthetics.
Something about engine break in.

Has anyone heard this?

Bob

 

From all of my years at auto dealers, the only problem I had ever seem from changing oil too early or switching too early to synthetic is the possibility of poor or delayed piston ring seating. BUT, Corvettes, as well as Porsche, and possibly BMW (there may be others as well,) all have Mobil 1 full synthetic as original fill oil. But then again, on vehicles in this price range, which are not produced in the same quantities as your Ford Focus/Chevy Cobalt, etc high volume vehicles, more care may be taken during engine machining, etc........I have always used Mobil 1 full synthetic and change it every 5,000 miles and have had no lubrication-related engine problems.......ever.