Which synthetic oil.....

Mostly driven on interstate roads, my 2014 Taco TRD 6cyl. 45,000 mile oil/filter change is coming up. Have done all the recommended maintenance. I`m driving from S.C. to Houston, Texas in early July. Dealer service dept. have been using Penzoil dino oil 5w/30 since it was bought new. All service done by dealership the Taco came from. Should I go with synthetic oil for this round trip, if so, which? Thanks in advance.

 

Nothing wrong with what you're using as long as your OCI is 5000 miles.

 

Yes, OCI is 5,000. Usually 100-200 early.

 

It's usually not well advised to switch back and forth from Dino to synthetics... This will blow up into a butt-hurt oil bashing thread... FWIW it seems very popular and successful to choose Mobil 1 full synthetic. I recommend wix, Napa, purolator gold, or Oem filters. I run 5000 mile changes on Mobil 1 full syn. It is very reasonable to go 7500 miles on this oil. Amsoil makes a great line of oils, but bang for the buck always goes to the Walmart 5qt jug of Mobil for around $25... Assuming you are doing this yourself. Read the threads on oil filters, and oil. Be sure to catch the one about draining the trans by accident. Once my truck is out of warranty I will go to 7500 intervals.

 

According to BlackStone Labs, as long if you change the oil on time and it meets specs, any oil will work be it synthetic or regular dino.

 

Amen

 

I have the dealer use their 0w-20 synthetic, most of the new Toyota's come with it anyways and have 10k intervals. Dealers usually have coupons for dino oil change $20-25, or synthetic $40-45 (normal price is ~$75). They have not approved an interval beyond 5k miles since my 07 came with 5w-30. I usually take it to around 7k miles but keep an eye on the oil after 4k. I'm getting Toyota synthetic oil and less oil changes for almost the same price as dino.

 

I have a 2006 Tacoma and have been using Royal Purple since the first oil change. I change the oil around January 1st every year. Up until recently I only put around 4000 + miles on the truck every year. Now that I'm retired and I drive the truck almost daily and my yearly mileage will increase. Using synthetics there is no reason to change the fluid as frequently. That's one of the purposes of synthetics. My BMW & Porsche also get changed once a year and this was recommended by the dealer.

 

I have a 2010 Tacoma and use Mobil 1 synthetic and Napa Gold filters since the first oil change. I change every 3,000 miles. I also started using Lucas Synthetic oil stabilizer for the past 5 or 6 oil changes. A lot of guys will tell me I am wasting money, and maybe I am, but I like the truck and want to make sure it lasts. I save a little money by changing the oil myself. Got 85,000 on the odo so far, no problems at all.

 

use the cheapest cost synthetic and change it out 5k-6k miles

 

this thread gets started about once a month. it all comes down to personal preference and you hardly ever hear someone having engine issues due to bad oil.

for me, it's Mobile 1 and OEM filter and I change when the truck tells me too (every 5000 miles)

 

Changing to synthetic for one random time will bring no benefit what so ever.

Although I would go with synthetic 100% of the time just because you don't need to change the oil as often, it holds up better, is cheaper in the long run, and usually does better than dino. But doing synthetic one time, especially if you are going to keep the 5k change intervals will have zero benefit to you.

 

I use Mobile 1 full synthetic and an OEM or equivalent filter. Believe it or not, Walmart is the best place to buy oil from. They sell 5 qts of Mobile 1 full synth for about $26. My wife's Subie runs the same type of oil as the Taco, but only needs 4.5 qts so I just buy two 5 qt jugs rather than a 5 qt and a single qt.

The oil gets changed about every 5k-6k miles, which is roughly twice a year.

 

I use Walmart Supertech 5w-30. $15 bucks for 5 qts.

For those that question Walmart oil. Do yourselves a favor and head over to Bob Is The Oil Guy and his analysis of Supertech synthetics.

 

It won't affect anything switching back and forth but it's still goofy, kind of like switching from 87 to 91 every other week. Just pick one, you aren't saving very much money by going back and forth. Only run OEM filters.

Only use Toyota OEM filters for a 2nd gen.

I'm onto using 5w-30 Mobil 1 Full synth and have since I took over oil changes at the 20k mark or so? OEM filters only as they are far better than every other one out there.

 

Keep it Penzoil and go with Platinum. My 15 gets Mobil One bought it used with 30K.

 

To drop my $0.02 in the mix. with my 4cyl 2010 I ran Mobil 1 5W-20 Synthetic in the summer and 0W-20 synthetic in the winter with the Mobil 1 M102 filter. Typically 6500-7000 miles between changes. Ran it that way from 32,000 miles to when I sold it at 130,000. Truck never skipped a beat and oil never really got to black until that 6500 mark.
With my 2015 I just picked up with 11,700 miles on it, I am planning to do Mobil 1 5W-30 synthetic and the same oil change 6500-7000 miles.
Once you switch to synthetics however you need (or really should) stick to using them. Dont bounce back and forth between them since you can run into issues. Whether its slugging, containments, and bad blending between the oils.
Conventional oil shouldnt go beyond 5000 miles. but with synthetics you can stretch it I would say safely 7,500 miles. Anything beyond that you run the risk of running low on oil due to consumption as well as the filter clogging and starving the engine.

Now a days the cost difference between conventional and synthetic is pretty close and you can run the synthetics longer which is why myself, and others, go this route.
Also if you tow a lot or drive fairly aggressive I would say synthetics is better option to
Hope this helps!

 

Thanks everyone for populating this thread with great info! Please keep it up.

Right now my 2012 Tacoma, with 1GR-FE has about 38k miles. I've taken the truck to South Coast Toyota of Costa Mesa, CA for the last few oil changes. I always use the same service writer, Jason L., each time I taken the truck for an oil change and/or service. Jason has told me on one occasion, that the 1GR-FE is designed to run on conventional oil, at least this is what one Toyota Master Technician has told him. On another occasion, Jason told me that synthetic oil is of higher quality and should be used in the 1GR-FE. Seems like he can't make up his mind! Haha. Jason has also mentioned that at 150k miles, the truck should be changed with synthetic oil. Jason concluded by saying that Technicians at his dealership prefer using the weight of oil listed on oil fill cap, regardless of vehicle milage.

Based on posts made in this thread, I get the impression that people are using Mobile 1 Full Synthetic, 5w-30 with a stock oil filter, at an oil change interval of 5k miles. If I'm interested in keeping the truck for 300k+ miles, should I also adopt this regiment at my next oil change?

About a week or two ago, I took the truck in for an oil change at South Coast Toyota. I asked Jason to use synthetic oil for the oil change. Jason said "no problem" and also said that he would only charge for cost of conventional. After reviewing the Technician's paperwork, when it came time to pay for the service, the paperwork indicated that conventional oil was used. I didn't have the heart to ask Jason what type of was used, since he probably wouldn't know. Going forward, I will bring my own oil to the dealership when I get the oil changed, so I can say for certainty what oil is being used in the truck.

I've been on TRD's website and they list/advertise a TRD oil filter. What's the difference between the stock OEM oil filter on the 1GR-FE and the TRD filter? Larger capacity/volume? Higher filtration standard, such as a 15 micron filtration rating?

I trust most everyone's judgement about what oil and filter to use, however if someone has a high mileage Tacoma, equipped with a 1GR-FE, I'd like to know what what your using and if you've felt you had success with this decision.

Thanks!

 

I think that changing the oil at 5k is pretty conservative. If you really want to know how much one can stretch the oil, you can submit a test to an oil testing agency like BlackStone Labs. They will tell you how the engine is wearing and if the oil can handle more miles.

Also, in regards to the paperwork, maybe the tech wrote down on the mechanic's work order to use synthetic, but on your final paperwork, it just says conventional just to cover his butt. THen again, its hard to say if he really did use synthetic. SOme of these service adviser guys that work at dealerships are major prima donnas and won't care what you tell them, they will do what they want. Others can be genuinely nice and care for their clients. I know a guy at Diamond Honda that has been a service adviser for over a decade and he gets so many requests because he very forward, honest and takes care of his clients.

In regards to the oil filter, I'm also curious to see what the differences are. I did a quick search and found some claim that the TRD filter is made with "synthetic" elements that are suppose to do a better job at filtering, but there is no proof to back it up.

 

just bought my truck it's an 06 with 79k miles. Decided to run full synthetic. I was there for the leaf recall and they did the oil change for $60. Not bad. 5W-30 full synthetic. Comparible to Mobil1???