is motor oil important? are some better than others?

[TC4Rnr]

if so, do you know what kind of oil they put in your engine when you take your vehicle to the dealer oil change?

the reason I'm asking is because I know quite few lube techs from different dealerships in town, and all they know is their oil come in from the same bulk supplier, no one has a clue what brand it is.

some put on Castrol stickers, some Chevron, some Volvaline when the job is done, but all of their oil are coming from the same damn tanker.

most independent shops I saw are using bottled oil.

 

[peter78]

Consumer Reports did an article about oil a few years ago and said, most conventional oil is about the same, they saw no real difference. I changed over to Castrol in the late 70's. To me changing the oil on a regular basis would be the most important thing.

For conventional oil, Castrol GTX has a good reputation.

 

[lexmex]

Most of the Toyota/Lexus places I've seen use Mobil, but some dealers differ.

I'd agree Castrol GTX is a great conventional oil, Chevron makes some great Chevron conventional oils, too.

I would say that it's not really all about the oil, but also the climate where you live, how you drive, what you do with your vehicle and also the vehicle itself. Some vehicle's engines just love to eat oil, and some are more tame.

I've been using synthetics, but also I'm a bit more tough on my vehicles and have lived in some tough climates (notably Mexico City for 6 years) and that can put a lot more wear and tear on an oil and vehicle, than someone who perhaps takes their vehicle offroad once or twice a month.

www.bobistheoilguy.com has some interesting forums where people talk about the finer points of oils themselves, but again a lot has to do with other factors.

 

[VNT]

changing oil on regulard basis is probably the single most important maintenance you should do. I use Castrol Synthetic, the extra few bucks is worth it for me

 

[techno]

It's very important to use the exact oil specified from the manufacturer. Brand names are not usually called out by manufactueres, mostly just the standards that the oil must meet (5W-20 etc). These figures are important because they address the prime function of the oil, lubrication, over the expected temperature ranges the engine will see and has been designed for. Where you will see differences in brand performance is in the secondary functions such as cleaning, corrosion inhibiting, cooling and sealing (and price).

The API standards have been around for a long time, but recently most European and Japanese makers have found those standards do not meet their engine requirements, so they've produced their own oil standards. They will sometimes sell their own oils with their brand name because it's exactly what should be run for best performance, and not as commonly believed as simply re-branding to make more money.

 

[WhiteChevelle]

I always stick with Toyota brand oils, I have a friend that is a tech trainer for Toyota corporate nor cal and he has told me extensively how much R & D Toyota puts into just lubricants, so that's what I do- stick with what it came with from the factory

 

[TC4Rnr]

Most of the Toyota/Lexus places I've seen use Mobil, but some dealers differ.

how do you know about that? all the dealers use bulk fill system, and they put all kinds of stickers on the window.

I always stick with Toyota brand oils, I have a friend that is a tech trainer for Toyota corporate nor cal and he has told me extensively how much R & D Toyota puts into just lubricants, so that's what I do- stick with what it came with from the factory

none of the dealers I know uses Toyota oil, but they do sell. trust me on this one.

changing oil on regulard basis is probably the single most important maintenance you should do. I use Castrol Synthetic, the extra few bucks is worth it for me

$100 for synthetic $50 conventional at most of the dealers unless you have coupons.

Consumer Reports did an article about oil a few years ago and said, most conventional oil is about the same, they saw no real difference. I changed over to Castrol in the late 70's.

yet, every oil brand advertises their oil is different and superior than others.

 

[lexmex]

I'm going from personal experience when I say I've seen mostly (but not all dealers) Mobil being used. I know Castrol has been used in some dealers.

When I lived in Mexico, every dealer that I went by there told me they used Mobil. In fact, the Toyota oil bottles had mentioned on the bottle imported by Exxon/Mobil.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Oils


The main thing (as someone already mentioned) is to change both the oil AND the filter frequently. Whether you use Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Valvole or Mobil is less important than the fact that you change it often enough.

Second to that, be sure it has the right API certifcation/rating for your type of vehicle & engine. This will be a big 'S' (for spark ignition engine) with another letter after it - probably a 'J'. Oil for diesel-powered vehicles will have a 'C' (for compression ignition engine) and another letter following it. Just be sure that second letter is a letter equal to or greater than what is called for in your owner's manual. For example, the oil has 'SJ' and your car calls for 'SH' - which means you are good to go.

Third, be sure the viscosity is correct for your car and the climate. Most cars will call for 5w30 oil, but 10w30 is acceptable in some places (especially in warmer months). Other cars will need 5w20 and you might need 0w30 if you reside in Alaska. The oil cap might say one thing on it, but consult your owner's manual for further information based on your car and your climate.
:moon:

Using synthetic is great, but don't get lulled into urban legends that you can go 20,000 miles between changes or any other hype. Sure, it will go longer than mineral oil before it breaks down - but remember that it still picks up dirt and carbon from inside your engine. If you do decide on longer drain intervals, be advised that your filter might still need to be changed.


P.S. Consider doing an engine oil analysis from Blackstone Labs. They are supposed to be very good and unbiased.
:flamethrwoer2:

 

[Uneek]

The main thing (as someone already mentioned) is to change both the oil AND the filter frequently. Whether you use Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Valvole or Mobil is less important than the fact that you change it often enough.

Second to that, be sure it has the right API certifcation/rating for your type of vehicle & engine. This will be a big 'S' (for spark ignition engine) with another letter after it - probably a 'J'. Oil for diesel-powered vehicles will have a 'C' (for compression ignition engine) and another letter following it. Just be sure that second letter is a letter equal to or greater than what is called for in your owner's manual. For example, the oil has 'SJ' and your car calls for 'SH' - which means you are good to go.

Third, be sure the viscosity is correct for your car and the climate. Most cars will call for 5w30 oil, but 10w30 is acceptable in some places (especially in warmer months). Other cars will need 5w20 and you might need 0w30 if you reside in Alaska. The oil cap might say one thing on it, but consult your owner's manual for further information based on your car and your climate.
:moon:

Using synthetic is great, but don't get lulled into urban legends that you can go 20,000 miles between changes or any other hype. Sure, it will go longer than mineral oil before it breaks down - but remember that it still picks up dirt and carbon from inside your engine. If you do decide on longer drain intervals, be advised that your filter might still need to be changed.


P.S. Consider doing an engine oil analysis from Blackstone Labs. They are supposed to be very good and unbiased.
:flamethrwoer2:

:iagree: 100%.

I use Castrol GTX.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

The main thing (as someone already mentioned) is to change both the oil AND the filter frequently. Whether you use Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker State, Valvole or Mobil is less important than the fact that you change it often enough.

A friend of mine was cheap & smart. He bought a new 280zx turbo back in the day. Then, because of his uniqueness, he'd go to Wal-mart and buy whatever oil was on sale (10w-30 winter, 20w-50 summer) and whatever filter was cheapest. When he sold the car with 270k miles of mildly aggressive driving the suspension was shot, the drivers seat was shot the engine ran perfectly, burned no oil and only had been through 1 turbo rebuild. His secret? Around 2200miles he'd buy the stuff for the oil change and leave it in the car with a drain pan. The second the car hit 2500miles he changed it. He was recounting a trip one time and very casually threw in that he did a rest-stop oil change:wtf: He was that dedicated. The other thing he was VERY good with was appropriate idle time prior to shutdown (important for turbo).

:iagree: 100%.

Yep...

 

[TC4Rnr]

:iagree: 100%.

I use Castrol GTX.

my question is "how do you know what you are getting from the dealers?"

when I'm too lazy to change my own oil, independent shops let me watch so I know what's going in, only bottled oil by the way. but there's no way any dealership would allow you in their shops.

again, they can put any kind of sticker on your windshield as they want.

I know that because I know multiple lube techs work at different dealers they know the tanker driver and the oil are coming from the same tank.

if you say Toyota dealers use Toyota brand motor oil, I'm truly having a hard time to believe they would do that.

 

[90toytruck.]

Huge fan of castrol here too !!!!

 

[Burt]

Mobil-1 Full Synthetic here. Regular dino just doesn't compare.
I do my own changes, so I can usually find oil and filter for 25 bucks.

 

[Uneek]

my question is "how do you know what you are getting from the dealers?"

when I'm too lazy to change my own oil, independent shops let me watch so I know what's going in, only bottled oil by the way. but there's no way any dealership would allow you in their shops.

again, they can put any kind of sticker on your windshield as they want.

I know that because I know multiple lube techs work at different dealers they know the tanker driver and the oil are coming from the same tank.

if you say Toyota dealers use Toyota brand motor oil, I'm truly having a hard time to believe they would do that.

You don't. We don't know if and when the dealer or Toyota might change suppliers. You can go as far as bringing in your own oil to provide the dealership to use for your oil change. But as I recall, some members have found the oil they provided wasn't used.

It comes down to them being honest and you having faith in what they say they'll do.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

I raced a turbo charged car for 8 years and spent more time than that around the dragstrip and I've seen how dino oil vs synthetic reacts in extreme conditions especially high heat and I haven't touched dino oil in almost 20 years.

With my turbo Eclipse I changed the synthetic every 4-5k miles but that was only a once a season change and that oil took a beating but with my 4Runner I do it every 8000-9000 miles or 10 months whatever comes first using Mobile 1 and a Puralator PureOne filter. With synthetics I believe it's more of a time interval than miles and I don't go longer than a year between changes even if I only put a few thousand miles on my truck in that time period.

 

[Mr. Leary]

Mobil-1 Full Synthetic here. Regular dino just doesn't compare.
I do my own changes, so I can usually find oil and filter for 25 bucks.

x2.

Mobil 1 Full Synthetic... my engine has 189k on it now and still dynos at 181hp. Only potential negative I see is... it does not mix well with other oils... you will get sedimentation.

 

[JBgotM]

This will be oversimplified, but hopefully will explain the basic differences...

The oil you buy is composed of 2 things; base oil stock and the additive package.

The difference between dino and synthetic is the blending of the hydrocarbon in the base stock. This means the base stock is less succeptable to oxidation over time. It still oxidizes, just at a slower rate (hence, you don't change it as often).

After that, companies develop their own formulation of additives. For those who use oil in heavy duty applications, they really pay attention to the additive package as you can formulate for certain priorities and goals. For a passenger car, you are really fine as long as you use the appropriate weight and change at an appropriate interval. You don't have huge oil capacities with a heavy duty cycle, so the differences are less critical and the change cost isn't a big deal.

The change interval should actually be determined by the actual oil properties, but that isn't historically done on cars. You will start to see oil condition monitors (real time parameter based, not just model based) in more and more cars.

Someone mentioned Blackstone labs. I have had them do oil analysis on my cars. I have had it done on my BMW M Roadster because of having 90k+ imles with track events, tons of auto-x etc. and wanted to look at wear rates to get an indication of motor health. I did it recently on my subaru as I am breaking in a new engine rebuild and wanted to look at how it is wearing in and for any issues with the rebuild.

Attached is a report from my roadster for those who want to see an example.

http://members.roadfly.com/jbgotm/oil_analysis_92k.jpg

FWIW, here is what I typically use...
M Roadster - Mobil 1 0W-40
Subaru WRX - Castrol Syntec 5W-30
4 Runner - Castrol Syntec 5W-30

 

[BROOKLYN]

oil change is the most important service you can do on your car. its very easy to learn and you can chose the oil you feel comfortable with. I use mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30 and i change my oil every 7k. dealers use shit oil and they couldn't give a shit what oil spec the car takes they use the same for all. i once had to warrenty an engine cause some morun tech but gear oil from the drum in a prius. (i used to work for toyota)