pls advise: conventional or synthetic

[Mida]

I know this question has been asked several times and the debate is still on...:argue:#
I want to do my first oil change since I got my truck.

From the info I got here, I was able to view the vehicle history from Toyota owners site using my VIN. I found it has been serviced using only conventional 5w30. Mileage now is 124,500!

Do you advise I stick with conventional or make a switch to synthetic??
Based on research, I understand that the switch to synthetic may result in leaks if there's sludge in the engine:fear: I'd like to Seafoam first before changing the oil...I'm having a tough time trying to make a decision Please advise me and tell me the best oil to use.:help:

 

[Desert Fox]

My 2003 had 156,000 miles on it when I got it. I switched it to Mobile 1 the first oil change. Drove the car for 20,000 miles before it was totaled. Used Mobile 1 every 5,000 miles. No leaks

My 2005 had 100,000 on it when I got it. I changed the oil using Mobile 1. It now has 105,000 on it and I am preparing for another oil change, using Mobile 1.

I have not put Seafoam in the oil and I don't think I will. I do put it in the gas.


I wont tell you if you should change or not, just what I do.

 

[NJshadow93]

Switched my truck to Mobil 1 Synthetic from convention at 119k, and my sisters RAV4 from conventional to Mobil 1 Synthetic at 152k, no problems with either.

 

[Mida]

My 2003 had 156,000 miles on it when I got it. I switched it to Mobile 1 the first oil change. Drove the car for 20,000 miles before it was totaled. Used Mobile 1 every 5,000 miles. No leaks

My 2005 had 100,000 on it when I got it. I changed the oil using Mobile 1. It now has 105,000 on it and I am preparing for another oil change, using Mobile 1.

I have not put Seafoam in the oil and I don't think I will. I do put it in the gas.


I wont tell you if you should change or not, just what I do.

:thanksesert Fox!
Mine's a 2006 Limited 4WD...which Mobil 1 did you use? Mobil 1 5W-30 Synthetic or Mobil 1 0W-30 Synthetic?

 

[Mida]

Switched my truck to Mobil 1 Synthetic from convention at 119k, and my sisters RAV4 from conventional to Mobil 1 Synthetic at 152k, no problems with either.

:thanks: NJShadow93

 

[LTDSC]

Changed over to Synthetic when i got it at 95k miles, im at 104k and changed it twice now. No leaks nothing weird. 5w-30 Mobil-1

 

[Desert Fox]

I use 5/30

 

[Lineman]

Do your own research! This topic has been discussed millions of times on millions of sites. Make a decision and man up.

 

[ktom3001]

I recently switched to Mobil 1 5/30 with the 15,000 extended service additive. It was all they had in 5/30 at Walmart. I don't plan to wait 15K between changes.
The oddest thing happened though, and I never expected it. The motor runs way smoother at idle now and pretty much all through the RPM range.
In the past, it would idle just a little rough at stoplights after a few minutes. I thought this was the iridium plugs as they don't always agree with the ECU.
I only have ~300 miles on the syn oil but I'm completely shocked at how smooth the idle is.

 

[Lineman]

I run 0/30 Amsoil.

 

[Jyn]

Performance-wise, I think synthetic/conventional is just a gimmick. I just enjoy synthetic so I can change my oil every 5,000 miles instead of 3,000 with conventional.

 

[Druss]

I use pennz ultra synthetic and mobile 1 high mi. synthetic mostly to extend oil change intervals with (4) vehicles it seemed I was always underneath one of them changing oil.
I have switched three of these over from conventional at 72k, 90k, and 120k miles with no apparent leeks due to going with synthetic. I also use higher quality filters now were as before I would use cheaper since only going 3k-4k between oil changes. I shoot for about 8k-10k mi. now between changes and this makes cost efficient as well.

 

[Jeff S.]

The term "synthetic," when applied to motor oils, is a marketing term. I mean that literally, in a legal sense. It is a MARKETING term.

The end user can determine the chemical differentiation by the oil's class.

Mobil 1 is highly refined crude oil with undisclosed amounts of laboratory created PAO chains mixed into the base stock.

You will have no issue switching to Mobil 1. It is a good oil with great additives that will extend drain intervals and lower the pourable temperature.

It's a myth that synthetic oils will cause a leak. A Class IV motor oil, whose base stock is PAO, will displace false seals (sludge). False seals are becoming a thing of the past, because even cheap motor oils (and the additives in them) are so much better today.

 

[Nuke]

I've owned over a dozen vehicles and a number of them went over 200,000 miles on dino oil with no issues. The bottom line is that ANY oil, when changed at the correct frequency for that oil and your driving habits, will provide more than adequate protection for however long you own your vehicle.

A good synthetic can easily be driven over 10,000 miles. If you can't feel comfortable with that then you're wasting your money but, heck, it IS your money.

My philosophy is this, depending on driving environment, habits, time in the engine:
1. Dino: change at 3k - 4k miles or 6 months
2. Syn Blend: change at 5k - 7k miles or 6 months
3. Full Syn: change at 8k - 15k miles or 1 year

And of course, for anything beyond 7k miles, be sure to use a filter rated for longer mileage. I prefer the Amsoil eA filters for my current vehicles that exceed 7k miles between oil changes (all 3). Even my V6 T4R which sees boat towing duty at least once per week gets changed at 8k mile intervals, MINIMUM. My previous 2 T4R's had similar duty with oil changes typically at 10k miles and they went 205k and 152k miles before they were sold to friends. Last I heard both had over 300k miles on them with no engine work.

As far as changing to full syn after 100k miles, it was folklore that the synthetic would dissolve the crud that was actually sealing leaks. That is partially true but very few engines have had issues from the switch. My ex-wifes Camry was swapped over at 70k miles, developed a minor "puff" of smoke on cold startup which subsided after she switched back to dino a thousand miles or so. So even IF you develop a leak, you can switch back to dino and just go to shorter intervals.

 

[WXman]

The biggest gimmick on the forums is that Mobil 1 is the best oil. Mobil 1, in fact, has been claimed to not even meet the specs of many manufacturers. From an analysis standpoint, it's actually not as good as a lot of other oils on the shelf next to it. Yet, it's more expensive. Why do people keep buying it? Because the forums say to.

Personally, I use Pennzoil Platinum. Less cost and better oil. However, conventional oil is perfectly fine. I've asked around various forums for somebody to tear down two engines at 100K, one run on syn all it's life and one run on conventional all it's life so we can compare the differences and to date nobody has taken me up on the offer. I've seen inside plenty of engines in my lifetime and the fact is this: synthetic will not do anything for you that conventional doesn't.

The bottom line is to change your oil frequently. And by frequently I don't mean 3K. That's way too soon. If you're using conventional oil 5K changes are great. I'd go 10K easily on syn. Analysis has shown that at 10K the oil still has some detergents left in it. People who change oil every 3K are literally throwing money down the drain. It would be like buying new tires every 10K when you've still got 70% of your tread left. Who does that?

 

[Nuke]

....Personally, I use Pennzoil Platinum. Less cost and better oil. However, conventional oil is perfectly fine....

+1 on the Pennzoil, either Platinum or Ultra.

I was using Amsoil in one of our 2 Mustangs but switched to Pennzoil when I had stopped putting a lot of mileage within 1 year on it. All 3 of our vehicles are fed Pennzoil but I still use the Amsoil Ea filters; M1 filters if I'm in a pinch.

 

[WXman]

Yeah I can put a few thousand miles on Penn Platinum before it even starts to lose it's honey color. There's no way I'm throwing out oil that still looks like it came out of the bottle. So I'm going to do 10,000 mile changes, and every other week or so I check the level to keep it at the proper spot on the dipstick. Fortunately, my 4.7L doesn't use hardly any oil at all between changes.

I think it does have valve guide seals going bad, because upon startup I can smell the burnt oil briefly. But then it runs fine and uses none between changes. At some point in the next few years I guess I'll put new valve guide seals in it.

 

[Nuke]

Yeah I can put a few thousand miles on Penn Platinum before it even starts to lose it's honey color. There's no way I'm throwing out oil that still looks like it came out of the bottle. ....

Not to flame your comment but I was trained in oil analysis for the power generation industry and the gents providing the training set the class straight that black oil (or whatever color other than honey) does NOT indicate "bad" or "used up" oil. Hydrocarbons give the oil that dark color and they are NOT wear products. Oil can become dark within 3k miles and still have more than sufficient protective properties well beyond 10k miles. Oil testing has proven this decades ago. I know guys on the Mustang forums that routinely test their oil and they comment on oil becoming dark well within 10k miles but still testing fine at 15k miles.

I haven't used color as a basis in about 25 years.

 

[97hb]

Ran the cheapest walmart oil on sale for about 200k. Then switched to Rotella because I use it in both Hondas as well as my lawnmower and outboard. Makes things easy to buy bulk.

 

[MtnT4R]

I use Valvoline max life full synthetic every 10k because it retains its viscosity at low winter temps, where conventional oils tend to thicken up quite a bit more. Doubt you would ever have a problem with that in TX though.