Oil change coming up next week

[Matt Herring]

Hey All!

As a novice ecomodder (3+ months now) I've received alot of good advice here and glad I found this site. Looking for a little more advice.

I have a 2005 Toyota 4runner and I'm due for an oil change. I've always driven the car into the dealership, had them change the oil, and driven it home. After being on this site a little now I'd like to actually get involved with the maintenance of my vehicle (I'm sure the techs at the garage will be thrilled).

We have winter coming up in MA and I was wondering if synthetic oil would be a good thing to have (not just for winter I guess). And, if it's a good idea what brand, grade, etc. would be a good idea. I'm not even sure what brand, grade, etc. they pump into my car when I get oil changes (might be a good thing to know).

Thanks for any responses!

[RH77]

Originally Posted by Matt Herring

I was wondering if synthetic oil would be a good thing to have (not just for winter I guess).

Be warned: this question yields fierce opinion from either side.

You want minimal resistance and maximum lubrication on startup. IMO, the best way to do that is to add an engine block heater. I'm not going touch the oil issue with a 3.048 meter pole.

I use old-skool oil in the engine and synth in the auto-trans. The cost-benefit seems to prove both beneficial in my instance.

Many argue to fill the oil only up to the first dot on the dipstick (the "Quart Low Scenario"). This reduces resistance, but requires an increased frequency in level checks.

It depends on if you're ready for such a commitment...

RH77

[kane66]

heres a nice long pdf. for you to read. Make your own decisions based on the information provided.
http://www.msttn.com/dyna/OilReport.pdf

[Ford Man]

I also use conventional oil and change it about every 3-4K miles and one of my cars is 20 years old with 481K+ miles on it with the original engine. People argue that you can run synthetic at longer change intervals which I guess is true, I could probably run conventional oil longer but I'd rather know there is clean oil going into the engine more often with less chance of unnecessary wear. If I were you I'd do what I felt most comfortable with.

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

People argue that you can run synthetic at longer change intervals which I guess is true...

Heh! That would be me...

I run Mobil 1 10W/30 oil and Purolator PureONE filter in my little rice rocket.

I was looking at my odometer last night, and I think I've gone 10,000-11,000 since the last change - guess I better get out there and do it. Never burns a drop between changes, BTW...

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EDIT [14-Oct-2008]

For the sake of accuracy...

I just changed my oil - 9535 miles - was approx. 1/2 qt low.

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Honda recommends 7,500 on mineral oil - no recommendation on synthetic - so, I *know* I can go at least 7,500 miles. 10,000-20,000 is pushing it, IMHO! If you decide to go that long, you better be doing some periodic oil analysis!

The oil filter seems to be the qualifier, not the oil...

For instance, there is no way a Fram filter - which is typically made of cardboard and glue - will last that long! Get a GOOD long-lasting filter!

Anyway, my recommendation is to go with Mobil 1 oil and a Purolator PureONE filter. Any Mobil 1 viscosity will work in any car made, anywhere in North America, any time of year, but you should stick to what the manufacturer recommends - unless you *think* you know more than them...

[nascarnation]

definitely one of the internet's hottest automotive debates
if you want to spend hours on the subject, there's a place called
bobistheoilguy.com where thousands of OCD afflicted oil debaters hang out

[RH77]

Originally Posted by BlackDeuceCoupe

I run Mobil 1 10W/30 oil and Purolator PureONE filter in my little rice rocket

Unfortunately, my '99 Si used a lot of Mobil 1 between changes. So much so, it dipped into the "too low" category once, disabled VTEC in a hard corner, and forced "limp home mode". Then again, my driving style was a bit different in those days

Good advice with the filter. I agree with using Purolator PureONE -- I use those on our cars these days. My family had a bad FRAM incident several years ago and we decided not to use them anymore -- turns out they're garbage anyways.

RH77

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by RH77

Unfortunately, my '99 Si used a lot of Mobil 1 between changes. So much so, it dipped into the "too low" category once, disabled VTEC in a hard corner, and forced "limp home mode". Then again, my driving style was a bit different in those days

Yeah, well...

I've stuck with Mobil 1, through thick-and-thin, no pun intended - for 8 years - and I *think* 3 major reformulations - 2 for sure!

I *know* it's NOT the best synthetic motor oil - but it's available in every corner automotive store and supermarket in America. The best synthetic motor oil would be ENEOS (from Japan), as we speak, but nobody on this site (including myself) is willing to pay the price, or go hunt it down... sooo... Mobil 1 it is for me - do or die!

And, I think it's great that ppl are finally warming up to PureONE filters!!! Kudos!

I've been 'pushing' them ever since they've been around! For years, everyone acted like I was nuts, but now - more often than not - someone or another agrees with me on PureONE filters in any particular thread. Weird!

Anyway, I'm sticking to my story! Mobil 1 oil and PureOne filters... sorry!

[ATaylorRacing]

I USED to use regular ol in all my cars and do the LOF every 200 miles....untill my three year old motor rebuild scuffed the bearings on the 17 second car that I drag race...and only shift at 4600 rpm since the motor is stock and runs out of breath above that. I took the parts to a kowlegeable speed shop and was told that a lot of that is happening now since nearly all the oil companies no longer add zinc. He stated that a lot of guys are now having scuffed bearings and camshafts if they run slightly loose clearances. He recommends only Shell Rotella or name brand synthetics. The Shell stuff around here is only availabe as a 15-50 wt but he said it was okay to go with a 50/50 mix with another name brand oil. So I did that on the Horizon, but switched to Mobil one for all my other cars. The 96 1.0 Geo that I bought used about 1/8th of a qt in the first 2000 miles since I got it back in July so I switched it too to Mobile one.....in the last 4000 niles it has used about 1/4 qt...just like dino oil.

A HINT...do not buy synthetic blend oil since it could be as little as 1/5th synthetic. If go that route just buy a couple of sythetics and mix them with your dino.

I run a Wix or reguler Purolator.

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

Originally Posted by ATaylorRacing

I took the parts to a knowledgeable speed shop and was told that a lot of that is happening now since nearly all the oil companies no longer add zinc. He stated that a lot of guys are now having scuffed bearings and camshafts if they run slightly loose clearances. He recommends only Shell Rotella or name brand synthetics...

Glad you mentioned that...

The reason 'they' took zinc out of motor oil - which is an extreme pressure (EP) additive - is because it kills catalytic converters! That's what lead Mobil to reformulate Mobil 1 a couple times in the last few years. Mobil 1 is Gen 5 or Gen 6 now... I lost track and don't feel like Google'ing it... but they do reformulate it from time-to-time.

Anyway, Mobil took the zinc out of Mobil 1 oil in, like, 2001. This was fine for 'street cars', but Top Fuel racers started spitting cranks like popcorn. They pleaded with Mobil to come up with a solution.

Mobil started adding an existing EP additive that they used in gear oil - SuperSyn (worked like a charm) - and it solved the problem, but it was only available to drag racers! After about a year of 'secret testing' SuperSyn on Top Fuelers - everybody else started clamoring for it too, and Mobil added it to regular ol' Mobil 1 oil.

I figure if Mobil 1 (with SuperSyn) is good enough for 8000+ horsepower Top Fuel dragsters, and 18000 rpm F1 race cars, it's good enough for my 160+ horsepower 8200 rpm Honda CiViC...

And, since you mentioned it... I don't run Mobil 1 in all my vehicles - it's too expensive! In everything else, I use Shell Rotella T or Chevron Delo 400. These are actually diesel motor oils and can be deadly to cat converters too, sooo...

Yes, when it comes to mineral oil, Shell Rotella T and Chevron Delo 400 stand head n' heels above the rest - highly recommended! If you don't wanna run synthetic motor oil for whatever reason, and don't particularly care about your catalytic converter, go with them! Otherwise, Castrol GTX (an offshoot of the ill-fated GTR racing oil - which gummed up street engines) is hard to beat, but it isn't in the same league as the oils mentioned above, IMHO.