Corolla engine oil debate

What does your owner's manual say?

I have a '92 Corolla Wagon

The book recommends 5W-30.

I would assume yours is the same.

I would be very surprised if the owner's manual did not give a specification for oil viscocity because it has been in every other Toyota owner's manual I've seen. Oil viscosity and grade should also be screened on nthe oil filler cap.

If in doubt, use oil that is marked "API Service SM" 5W-30.

Oh, really??

Are you missing any pages? Your owner's manual most definitely recommends what viscosity to use based on climate. You'd better check again...

Ray,

I would like to followup with another question. My Highlander recommends 5W-30 and I've used this weight in Castrol Oil but....it's getting harder to find in my area but 10W-30 is plentiful. What are your thoughts on switching weights?

J

Ray O wrote:

I have a 93 Corolla...Look at the oil filler cap. If your manual doesn't say it (it does for my year) it will certainlly be labled there. In any case, the oil recommendation for my year Corolla is

10w-30.

Tom

I think it depends upon the temperature range of your area. 5W-30 oil has a wider temperature range than 10W-40, especially at colder temperatures. Most manufacturers recommend 5W-30 because it is supposedly fuel-saving compared to 10W-30. Your manual probably has a chart like mine does.

I would stick to the factory recommendation. The recommendation for most, if not all, newer Toyotas is 5W-30, and so I doubt if it will go away. I'd start looking at another store for oil.

5W-30 is fuel-saving over 10W-30, although I don't know how much difference there is.

If the auto maker wants the EPA to run their tests using the 5W-30 to possibly boost the mileage numbers, they have to specify 5W-30 as the standard recommended oil, no matter whether it's good for the majority of their customers or not.

Honda is now specifying a 5W-20 in an attempt to boost their overall CAFE numbers even further.

Something else to consider. Consumer's Report did an article on oil some years back. The modifiers in the multi weight stuff tend to break down over the life of the oil. So the 10-40 they tested ended up more like

5-30 after a while. The ones with the least modifiers (i.e. the least range) did better. That means the 10-30 will do a better job at maintaining it's characteristics than 5-30.

Your manual should have a chart. Choose an oil from the hot end of the chart for your Florida climate.

BTW, around here the heavier oils (like 20-50) are hard to find in the winter, but are plentiful in the summer. Maybe your 5-30 will be come more prevalent in the next few months.

But that article was published in the late 1980s and applied to SF grade oils, and at about the same time, GM issued a statement that was critical of SF oils as well and found that none of the 10W-40 oils met SF standards (CR said only one 10W-40 maintained viscosity). But in their more recent test, published about 10 years ago, they found that all SH grade oils maintained viscosity sufficiently. That grade has since been succeeded by SJ, SL, and currently SM.

Used not abused indicates it's not burning oil. I gotta agree with Ray,

5W-30. Worried about thermal breakdown? Use synthetic. Consuming more than a quart every 3000 miles? Go to 10W-30.

Getting the filter changed every time the oil is changed?

I'm still using 5W-30 in a '89 car with over 215K miles.

I'm using 5W-30 in my 92 Corolla wagon with 195,000.

Yeah, but you don't actually know anything about cars, so it's a miracle you haven't been using antifreeze instead of oil because it was cheaper at Walmart.

I must have missed that new test. I'll dig through my files and see if I can find the issue. I usually pay attention to things like that since I keep cars forever.

Fuck you scumbag.....

I love you too. hehe