Synthetic in new Toy -- or not?

Use ANY oil that meets the specs in your owner's manual, synthetic or not.

Why use synthetic unless you operate in either extreme cold or extreme heat? It does offer a very minor fuel savings, and may offer added engine life, but those are minor and hard to quantify.

Ken

Toyota in Puyallup, WA. State is working on having everyone change over to Syndic oil. This is a very big dealership also, by the way. I own a 2006 4Runner Limited and on there advice changed over to Synthetic oil this last change. Hope this helps.

Synthetics Oil GM Engineer's Opinion,

TW wrote:

TW,

I've heard anecdotal evidence and seen pictures of torn down engines that indicate synthetic oils used in the first few thousand miles will keep the piston rings from seating into the cylinder walls properly.

Modern dino juice is pretty darned good and as long as you use something rated for your engine and change it regularly, the difference between ordinary oil and synthetic oil is probably moot. For a number of reasons it's ill advised to use synthetic then try to save money by extending the time between oil changes beyond the recommended intervals.

That said, I ran ordinary oil in my 95 Tacoma for the first 10K, then switched to Mobil 1. I now have around 180K miles and the compression is near new specifications. I've also paid 3 to 4 times what I'd have paid for dino juice at each oil change. Would I have gotten the same mileage on dino juice? I really don't know. Again, this is anecdotal evidence only with no recognized statistical validity.

I might add that I'm now using Mobil 1 in my 87 Corolla with 135K miles, purchased second hand last Spring. I'm not enjoying the hallucination that it will do anything magical for that engine, which unlike the Tacoma burns about a quart every two weeks. I just happen to have it around. For those naysayers who think that you shouldn't switch to synthetic on an old engine, it's been working fine with no leaks.

-- Mike Harris Austin TX

The reason Toyota and others are sometimes against SYN oil is because SYN oil makers tend to promote longer oil change intervals which is not good because it allows contaminates to build up in oil. If you use quality oil and change it regularly (every 3K or so) the truck will fall apart before engine wears out. List poster said above if you live in a very cold climate where it is 20 below and colder a lot SYN oil does have a edge and whiel it is ture is can take more heat than regular oil, the seals and such in engine cannot so nothing is really gained in that aspect.

----------------- TheSnoMan.com

I can only agree with you 50% at this moment. Out of three cars I own right now--two accord V6 (one 2005, one 2006), one Toy 04 Sequoia. I have used syn(all Mobile 1) on my Sequoia several times with no obvious improvement. First time used Mobile 1 syn on my 05 Acord last month. WOW! BIG difference, the mpg improves about 2-3 mpg, car drives smoothly and quieter.(not extreme cold or hot) I will put mobile 1 next month my the 06 accord, will update to this NG again. Still trying to figure out what type of car will benefit more...

Lots of misinformation about synthetic oil in the postings above and the link to the motorcycle oil info.

The ONLY way to tell when to change oil is by having a testing lab analyze the oil. This costs about $20. It obviously isn't worth the money to do this every time, but can be done a few times to show a trend. Here is a report of a Chev engine with Mobil 1 oil that was tested every 1000 miles, 4 ounces of added every 1000 miles to make up for the oil removed for the tests, the filter changed at

12,000 and new oil added to fill the new filter, and the MObil 1 oil finally dumped at 18,000 miles. Oil rarely has to be changed because of contamination. More often it needs to be changed because of oxidation or because the additives have become depleted. The better oils use higher cost additives with longer lives. Sulfur is not a concern...both gasoline and diesel fuel have sulfur levels so low that now the sulfur in oil, the "thio" in certain additive components, is being lowered.

Ken

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Lots of misinformation about synthetic oil in the postings above and the link to the motorcycle oil info.

The ONLY way to tell when to change oil is by having a testing lab analyze the oil. This costs about $20. It obviously isn't worth the money to do this every time, but can be done a few times to show a trend. Here is a report of a Chev engine with Mobil 1 oil that was tested every 1000 miles, 4 ounces of added every 1000 miles to make up for the oil removed for the tests, the filter changed at

12,000 and new oil added to fill the new filter, and the MObil 1 oil finally dumped at 18,000 miles. Oil rarely has to be changed because of contamination.

More often it needs to be changed because of oxidation or because the additives have become depleted. The better oils use higher cost additives with longer lives. Sulfur is not a concern...both gasoline and diesel fuel have sulfur levels so low that now the sulfur in oil, the "thio" in certain additive components, is being lowered.

Ken

Go figure

We have a RAV4 and our Toyota dealer is totally on side with us using my Amsoil which I bring along for the service. Our other car is a GM make and they also are in agreement with using superior motor lubricant.