Best motor oil and oil filter to buy for a 96 corolla

Most will say Original Toyota Oil Filter and Castrol GT/Syntec.

IMHO Castrol is good for small engines. What more important is a regular oil change schedule, like every 3 months or 3,500/5,000 miles, depending on how you drive.

Don't go with Fram. They suck. Go with Toyota OEM. I'd go with Mobil

1. Both Mobil 1 and Castrol are good oils.

Make sure you go with the recommended schedule (3/5k mi is too frequent for most schedules) and the proper weight oil (the recommended weight may have changed as the API requirements changed).

Jeff

I was wondering, should i use 5w 30 or 10w 30. Forgot to ask that. Someone said to use 5w 30 because its better and saves fuel.

Is pennzoil motor oil ok?

Older Toyotas, like mine, require 10W-30 if the engine will be operated above 60F, but newer Toyotas say 5W-30 is good for all temperatures.

What does Toyota say? They warrant your car; the guy who told you to use 5W-30 probably doesn't.

You need to buy the very expensive uncertified oil that I sell as part of a pushy pyramid scheme/multilevel marketing plan/money cult. Using anything else will destroy your car in less than a mile because we destroy the cars of people who don't buy our oil.

Unless you have been using synthetic for a long time (and engine wear has minimal) I would use 10W-30 on a car with high mileage (forgot what you said the miles were).

The oil filler cap or dipstick should indicate what oil viscosity to use. Toyota made the engine, follow their advice.

Penzoil motor oil should be OK.

Did Toyota lower their viscosity recommendations for older engines? I know Ford and think others did.

Jeff

I would not use a lower viscosity if you engine has a lot of engine wear (high mileage not using synthetic oil). If you did use a lower viscosity, you might save a couple of dollars in gas, or you might end needing a new car. Even if the odds of the later are only 1 in 10, do the math to determine the expected value of your decision.

Did Toyota lower their viscosity recommendations for older engines? I know Ford and think others did.

Jeff

Pennzoil and Quaker State are made by the same company now, Dutch Shell. Castrol is made by British Petroleum. I use the cheapest on sale, no problems.

However, I use primarily Purolator PureOne or Bosch Filtech oil filters. (Bosch bought Pureolator last year) I personally don't care much for Toyota filters.

PureOne, highest ranked in SAE tests:

Bosch Filtech:

Go with the thickes oil for the TEMPERATURE range you operate in. Most of the time that would be 10W-30. You'll get a stronger oil film and less viscosity modifiers. Your engine should last longer on 10W-30 than 5W.

IMO, go with a Purolator PureOne or Bosch Filtech and all API approved dino oils should be fine.

While Hengst is primarily for European cars (for example, Mercedes A- class, Audi S-class), here are some info on modern Nano-fibers and meltblown (synthetic variable density) media: