How did you like the 5w30 overall? Gas mileage looks like minimal differences between the 30 and 20 weight oils. How was the cold starts? Any sluggishness?
thanks, and no, no discernable difference at all. on the coldest morning while we were in MD, i saw 26 degrees on the dash when getting the engine started. cranked up with the flick of the key and i noticed no unusual noises. i drive all cold engines pretty gingerly for the first 10-15 mins until the oil comes up to temp, but in that time i didn't notice any hesitation or sluggishness.
i will absolutely do a UOA once this oil is changed out. take it with a grain of salt though, as the engine only has 6k miles on it right now and it'll still show higher than normal wear metals as it continues to break in. but...it'll at least make a good baseline for future comparison.
It is my understanding that a primary reason for the 20weight is for the vvt system to work properly.
I use Mobil 1 0w40 in all my vehicles, but since Toyota specced this 0w20, I was leary of using the 0w40 for that reason alone. It's what came factory for Porsche, Mercedes and Corvette, pretty decent oil with a better add package.
not directed at you personally but i generally disagree with the assertion its required for correct VVT operation - if that was the case they would not allow higher viscosities for high speed/severe use as stated in the manual, or the higher viscosities that Toyota specifically calls for in markets outside the US in other 1GR equipped models. just my opinion anyway.
interesting you bring up M1 0W-40...one of my favorite oils! cheap, easy to find, good shear stability, and the add pack. i've actually been running this oil in my old civic Si, a car specced for a 30 weight domestically but calls for up to a 40 weight in other markets.
so far i have 2 blackstone oil analysis on it (6600 and 8200 mile runs) using the 0W-40 and the results have been outstanding. that's on a 100k mile engine that regularly sees its 8000 RPM redline btw. i think a 40 weight is likely overkill for the 1GR so i don't intend to use it in our engine though, but my point is that it pays to look at what oil's specced for other markets and that will help to discern just how much our CAFE compliance dictates oil viscosities for JUST our market while the rest of the globe uses something else.
Just as an FYI my manual says you can run a thicker oil if you operate the vehicle at high speed. Not sure what Toyotas definition of high-speed is but I think 30 weigh oil will be fine. If you do run the 40 please let us know how it goes; the manual also recommends 40 weight oil for Central America region.
my take on it is that its Toyota legal-speak for "if you're going to run the engine under heavy load, and get it real hot, it needs a thicker viscosity". i think comparable use would be hard crawling, towing, extended grade climbing and use in high temps. seems to me they have to dance around the issue with vague descriptions to ensure customers feel compelled to stick with the thinner 20 weight so as to keep Toyota's fleet MPG high enough to maintain their CAFE compliance. again, could be wrong on that, but it makes sense to me.
I wonder what would work well here in Arizona. The part I live in sees over 120° for months at a time.
personally, i would definitely use something thicker than a 20wt for your area...maybe not a 40, but a good 30 weight. in the manual it calls out thicker viscosities for Puerto Rico, up to a 15W-40 in fact - but as far as i can tell, no part of PR gets hotter than AZ! i think its another example of Toyota's legal team having to step around the "mainland US" viscosity to give a hint at what they really want you to use for use in high temps. i mean think about it - its not like PR gets so much hotter, or is vastly more extreme terrain than many places we all venture here in the US, and they can clearly get 20wt oil out there if they want it. i'd go so far as to say most of the western US is a more extreme terrain than PR.
Climate is something I always consider when choosing oil viscosity.
absolutely. here in GA we saw a 100 degree day in early October this year! it gets sweltering in the summer, and stays that way 24hrs a day. that's part of the reason i stepped up to a 30 from a 20. equip your car for your conditions and patterns of use.
The 4Runner's 1GR-FE 4.0L engine is "fairly" easy on oil, no real known issues with the "possible" exception of higher mileage engines having timing chain stretch, code P0016. The anti-wear packages in all these oils will certainly help with any possible timing chain stretch over the life of the engine. This one of the the reasons the Toyota factory oil has such high moly and zinc.
outstanding info and lots of good details there to mull over. thanks for that.
i've noticed the 1GR seems, at least to me, to shed more FE than the typical 1PPM per 1000 miles average you see on most engines. i always wondered if that was maybe due to timing chain wear.
