I have been using conventional oil in my 2006 T4R and am thinking of changing to synthetic Mobil 1 5w30. I always changed my oil at 3000k or 3 months. What have owner's been doing with their synthetic oil change schedules ? would 6 months or 5k be good ? Are there any negatives if you swithc back and forth betweeen conventional and synthetic?
synthetic oil change interval
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stanleybb50
New member
This is very much a debatable question. Many theories on each side. The interval you suggested would be plenty. You could likely go longer.
Try the google custom search above and put in: synthetic vs. dyno (or conventional). Will be many threads and tons of info with people asking the same question already.
Hopefully that helps.
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Try the google custom search above and put in: synthetic vs. dyno (or conventional). Will be many threads and tons of info with people asking the same question already.
Hopefully that helps.
- Sent via Tapatalk for Android
stanleybb50
New member
Yeah, I re-thought my response after sending and agree on the 6 month/5k.
Its your motor and you want to do the best for it.
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RonMAIDEN
Super Moderator
I use M1 with a Puralator PureOne filter in my wife's Focus and my 4Runner and I change them by 8000 miles or 10 months whatever comes first. I think it's also dependant on how much time the oil is in your engine along with the miles so even if my 4Runner only saw 3000 miles in a year I'd still change it by 10-11 months.
TechWrench
Senior Member
Mobil 1 5w-30 SUV since new. Oil/filter change at 5k, filter only at 2.5k. At 98k, still runs like new.
peter78
Super Moderator
For years I have used conventional oil and changed @ 3,000. I use Castrol GTX. When I got the 2001 4Runner, I decided to switch to Mobil 1 and settled on changing oil @ 5,000 miles. If found that if you think 3,000 miles for conventional is a bit of over kill, then 5,000 is a bit of over kill for synthetic. I then bought a used 2004 4Runner and I changed it over to synthetic. I find the oil looks better at 5,000 miles then conventional oil @ 3,000 miles.
I have read quite a few articles about going further with synthetic. I even wrote a thread about going further, but I thought it best to stick with the 5,000 miles. I change the oil myself and it cost me 26 dollars to change the oil with sythetic. I thought it is better for peace of mind to keep it @ 5,000.
I do have an older car with 160,000 miles and I did not change over to sythetic. I have heard different stories of changing over to synthetic oil over 100,000 miles. My 2004, I changed the day I bought it and it had 41,000 miles and I had no problems.
If it were me, I would consider changing over to sythetic oil in the 2006. If you change the oil @ 3,000 miles, I personally would not have a problem changing over, even if you have over 100,000 miles.
Zuke
Member
For me with all my cars-
Dino oil (what ever is on sale)- 5K miles or 6months
Synthetic (what ever is on sale) -8k miles or 10 months
Filters - Toyota OEM, PurOne or Bosch.
I use Synthetic in all my cars up to 125k miles then I switch to dino. I found the longer I used synthetic in a high mileage vehicle he more leaks and burn off I got. I switch to the cheaper dino on these cars and I got less leaks and less burn off.
Dino oil (what ever is on sale)- 5K miles or 6months
Synthetic (what ever is on sale) -8k miles or 10 months
Filters - Toyota OEM, PurOne or Bosch.
I use Synthetic in all my cars up to 125k miles then I switch to dino. I found the longer I used synthetic in a high mileage vehicle he more leaks and burn off I got. I switch to the cheaper dino on these cars and I got less leaks and less burn off.
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ALLEGRO
New member
I moved to Mobil 1 synthetic on all my vehicles back in 1994.
I put about 20,000 miles per year on my T4R. I change (as I did in my other DD's) every 10,000 miles. The oil that comes out looks new. Not dark at all.
I will admit that I change in my Corvette at the 5,000 mile interval, but that is less than once-a-year. The "oil service indicator" on the Vette usually shows about 60% remaining in the oil life. Mobil 1 is the recommended oil for the Corvette, and it is strongly advised to run the service indicator to 0% before changing. Even with this rhythm, the LS1 engine is designed to live well past the 200,000 mile mark. Corvette Forum is full of "high mileage" rides still being enjoyed (read flogged) each day.
BOTTOM LINE: depending on your driving habits, towing, "stop and go" driving, you should be able to approximately double the mileage interval with synthetic oil.
JMHO
I put about 20,000 miles per year on my T4R. I change (as I did in my other DD's) every 10,000 miles. The oil that comes out looks new. Not dark at all.
I will admit that I change in my Corvette at the 5,000 mile interval, but that is less than once-a-year. The "oil service indicator" on the Vette usually shows about 60% remaining in the oil life. Mobil 1 is the recommended oil for the Corvette, and it is strongly advised to run the service indicator to 0% before changing. Even with this rhythm, the LS1 engine is designed to live well past the 200,000 mile mark. Corvette Forum is full of "high mileage" rides still being enjoyed (read flogged) each day.
BOTTOM LINE: depending on your driving habits, towing, "stop and go" driving, you should be able to approximately double the mileage interval with synthetic oil.
JMHO
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PerfectAgent007
New member
I've been using Mobil 1 for about two years now but I use 0w-30 synthetic just for the better winter starts (and it's the same price as 5w-30 at Walmart so I figured 'what the heck?'). I change every 6500 miles / 4 months give or take and I use Mobil 1's double capacity oil filter.
The OCI really varies depending on where you live. If you're up north where it gets cold and there isn't much in the way of dust/microscopic debris flying around, you can go longer but if you live in a place like Arizona where you've got sand almost everywhere then you'll want to cut it down so you can flush the crap out of your engine sooner.
The OCI really varies depending on where you live. If you're up north where it gets cold and there isn't much in the way of dust/microscopic debris flying around, you can go longer but if you live in a place like Arizona where you've got sand almost everywhere then you'll want to cut it down so you can flush the crap out of your engine sooner.
daka320
New member
PerfectAgent007 where are you in AZ. We are in Tempe. Change my oil every 5000 with a synthetic blend. Mike's Tire will change the oil, filter, lube the driveshaft, rotate and balance tires, and check over the car for $55. I figure with the extremes here in AZ 5000 miles is appropriate.
OrdnanceMarine
New member
I've found that different engines need their oil changed at different intervals. I'm sure this has to do with all sorts of variables between engines such as sump capacity, condition of the engine, how many cold starts, how cold are the starts, how much cold idling takes place and on and on.
I haven't owned my T4R long enough to come up with an oil change schedule and stuck with 5k on the standard Mobil 1 that the previous owner had been using and am about 4k on its first run of Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20 and getting ready to send a sample in for testing to see where I stand. I perform used oil analyses on my cars and believe this is really the only way to "know for sure" if you are changing your oil at the right interval. Otherwise you're probably best off using information from other owners who perform oil analyses to come up with an estimate (provided they are using the same oil you're using under comparable conditions) or go with Toyota's default recommendation to be on the extra safe side.
There's something to be said for folks that have a driving style that allows them to change their oil once per year, etc in that you don't have to pay much attention. If I were doing this I'd do like the gentleman above who does it in April, after the winter months are over that tend to be much harder on oil. I have found that oil seems to care more about operating conditions than months of service and have left oil in my cars for well over a year while they weren't being driven that often and the oil analyses have come back looking just fine.
I don't know about the V8, but the oil analysis results I had from my V-6, checking on it at 4200 miles, I wouldn't run it to 8000 miles. TBN was down to 3.1, leading me to believe that 6000 miles would be about as far as I would be willing to go for my circumstances on this oil.
I haven't owned my T4R long enough to come up with an oil change schedule and stuck with 5k on the standard Mobil 1 that the previous owner had been using and am about 4k on its first run of Pennzoil Platinum 5W-20 and getting ready to send a sample in for testing to see where I stand. I perform used oil analyses on my cars and believe this is really the only way to "know for sure" if you are changing your oil at the right interval. Otherwise you're probably best off using information from other owners who perform oil analyses to come up with an estimate (provided they are using the same oil you're using under comparable conditions) or go with Toyota's default recommendation to be on the extra safe side.
There's something to be said for folks that have a driving style that allows them to change their oil once per year, etc in that you don't have to pay much attention. If I were doing this I'd do like the gentleman above who does it in April, after the winter months are over that tend to be much harder on oil. I have found that oil seems to care more about operating conditions than months of service and have left oil in my cars for well over a year while they weren't being driven that often and the oil analyses have come back looking just fine.
I don't know about the V8, but the oil analysis results I had from my V-6, checking on it at 4200 miles, I wouldn't run it to 8000 miles. TBN was down to 3.1, leading me to believe that 6000 miles would be about as far as I would be willing to go for my circumstances on this oil.
KB084RUNNER
New member
I run QHP 5w30 with any filter 5000 miles.
