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Synthetic Oil

by dnevitable1, January 6, 2007

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hey I was wondering I have nearly over 100k miles and wanted to change to synthetic motor and transmission oil. any tips on my oil change intervals would be after I change it to synthetic?

Bikeman982

hey I was wondering I have nearly over 100k miles and wanted to change to synthetic motor and transmission oil. any tips on my oil change intervals would be after I change it to synthetic?
Check a repair manual for your year and model car. We have a lot of posts here about oil and change intervals.

 

I think synthetic oil can go longer than regular oil before a change is needed.

yeah but i hear about that myth with changing to synthetic will cause leaks. others say that it removes sludge from the dry unlubricated seals, so it'll result with a dry seal. then oil goes through. not sure. anybody know anything about the high mileage synthetic myth?

Cars leak oil if seals are bad. It doesn't matter what kind of oil is in the engine. What kind of oil you run doesn't matter. You can also mix oils too. All but a very few select racing oils can be mixed with any other type of oil. Any type of oil that can't be mixed should never see the light of a Corolla unless it is a drag race only car.

I changed the oil in my Mustang last week and used a little bit of max life that was left in my garage by someone else with some dino and synt oil for winter. It was a mix of three different kinds of oil.

Go visit bob the oil guy forums. Some of the people collect different types of oil like some people collect wine. Some of them mix all kinds of oil together trying to find some magical formula of I don't freaking know. They have some scary people their, but you can get some truth. Pretty much a lot of what people say about oil is BS. Probably the number one BS thing is, oil doesn't wear out. It's just that it can only hold so much suspended dirt (particles) before it can't lube anymore. It doesn't break down like TV would suggest. I guess with a overheated engine, it could, but with normal temps, it just gets too dirty and needs to be changed.

As far as transmission fluid goes, make sure you get something compatible with your transmission. I like redline myself. I also am running royal purple in my Mustangs T5 trans (local shop gets better support them redline) and it smoothed it out real nice. For a auto, the MTF seems to cover everything. For a manual, and mix of MTL and MTL-90 is pretty sweet.

I've switched to synthetic at 90,000 miles and had no leaks. Then I switched back at 110,000 mi and still didn't have leaks. If you get leaks it's because seals are damaged. Don't rely on oil to repair damaged seals.

Oil doesn't break down but the additives in the oil do break down often causing a change in viscosity. For example, a 5W-30 may start to be more like a 5W-20 after a few thousand miles.

Synthetic oils tend to have a lower viscosity at lower temperatures making them more able to flow through the engine on a cold morning.

Go to bobistheoilguy.com and read the posts. Very informative but also complex.

hmmm. lots of info. ill have to go read his info.

early synthetic oil caused leaks because the material the seals was made out of was incompatible. this was corrected long time ago in several different ways. first the synthetic oil formula has changed, second, the seal material has changed, mostly from technology. im sure theres other reasons also. im no guru there. also, synthetic oil is thinner, so an engine that didnt leak before, might upon adding oil. not because the oil caused the leaks, but becuse it flows better, if you under stand what i mean. also, did you know synthetic oil is not man made? it is still oil that comes out of the ground, just has been chemically modified to make all the molecules the same size. this info came from our oil supplier, who is a mobil one dealer, so it may be "tainted".

aaron

Bikeman982

I switched to synthetic oil at 155,00 miles on my 1994 and have had no leaks.

I just switch to AMSoil as I currently have a 90 mile commute one way and I was changing my oil about once a month or so.. AMSoil is good for 25,000 miles or one year. They also sell a filter that will last 1 year, if not you have to change the filter at recommended intervals.

I put synthetic in my Corolla at the first oil change and every 5000 mi since. I have no leaks.

Now, my jeep, that is a different story.

yeah just switched to royal purple trans and motor oil at 144,000. so far so good.

Bikeman982

I have put on 7,000 miles since I switched to synthetic and I don't have any leaks.

My '88 had over 300k when I gave her to my stepson. I started using synth around 230k and it leaked the same as with the dino. It did run quieter in cold startups and where i used to change oil at 3k, I stretched it to 4500 miles. The dino used to get pitch black around1500 to 2000 miles whereas the synth wouldn't get black until about 3000 miles. It's good stuff, use it.

Bikeman982

It's just a myth:

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorO...leage_Cars.aspx

If you do switch to synthetic ( TRUE Grp IV ), be sure to get the best oil filter you can buy: Either an M1 or Napa Gold

Here's what they say;

 

Question:

Switching to Mobil 1 in High-Mileage Cars

I have a 1991 Mercedes-Benz 350SD, and at the 135k-mile service, the dealership switched to 5W-40 synthetic oil. It has been using 15W-40 all along. Recently I purchased a 1995 Volvo 960 with 98k miles on it. I believe the previous owner was using 10W-30. I want to prolong the lives of both cars by using synthetic oil. However, two repair shop people had advised me that synthetic oil is good only if you start using it when the car is relatively new, and that I should not switch to synthetic oil when the car has more than 50k miles. If this is true, what's the reason behind it?

-- Elton Woo, Piscataway, NJ

Answer:

There is simply no factual basis to this myth. You can switch to Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil at any age or mileage and, as long as the engine is in good mechanical condition, you should reap all the benefits that you would experience in a new car. In fact, switching a car from mineral oil to Mobil 1 at higher mileage can help reduce engine sludge and other harmful deposits that may have accumulated over the years. That's why highly regarded companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche recommend the use of Mobil 1. One thing you should be aware of it, however, is that your Mercedes diesel and your Volvo may require different viscosities of Mobil 1. Check your vehicle's owner's manuals for more information.

also, did you know synthetic oil is not man made? it is still oil that comes out of the ground, just has been chemically modified to make all the molecules the same size. this info came from our oil supplier, who is a mobil one dealer, so it may be "tainted".aaron

These are what BITOG guys call group 3 "not real synthetics" and they crap on them all the time.

If you do switch to synthetic ( TRUE Grp IV ), be sure to get the best oil filter you can buy: Either an M1 or Napa Gold

I thought it means "Toyota OEM filter" ie. 90915-YZZF1 for us Corolla folks. default_biggrin

I use Mobil 1 and this filter and the pair has served me well so far for 8000km OCIs. (My generation of cars call for 6000km OCI, mind you, so I'm stretching it.)

Bikeman982

I use Mobil 1 synthetic oil, but still use the cheap Fram filters.

I get them at a discount and even though they are not the best quality, they still work.

ive got a bunch of fram filters left over that came with my car when i bought it, PM me if you want them since i dont use them anymore. you can have em for cheap+shipping.

Bikeman982

ive got a bunch of fram filters left over that came with my car when i bought it, PM me if you want them since i dont use them anymore. you can have em for cheap+shipping.
Your "in box" is full.

 

 

fixed, sorry about that.

heard frams are worst in performance. that's why walmart sells frams

default_ohmy well im not using them.

Bikeman982

heard frams are worst in performance. that's why walmart sells frams
Seems that they are adequate for my needs.

 

 

Having searched on BITOG forums extensively - the very best UOA (used oil analysis) for the 1ZZ-FE engine came with using pennzoil conventional oil. Even better than the high cost synthetic oils in our engines... go figure..

I personally use the purolator pure one filters (14477, longer than stock) but most of the BITOG guys like the wix

I have heard that the FL400S filters (motorcraft number) will also fit, and add some extra oil to the system as well. (much much bigger filter than stock)

Not sure if it's appropriate to post some links to relevant UOAs...

metal concentrations indicate wear - silver and lead = bearings, iron being cylinders and chrome indicates rings. silicon generally indicates dirt getting into engine.. lower is obviously better

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - pennzoil yellow

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - german castrol syntec (0w30)

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...part=1&vc=1 - syntec 5w30

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - amsoil 0w30 (ouch)

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - havoline 5w30

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - exxon, havoline and trop artic 5w30

From what i've seen, the 1zz-fe motors like dino or synthetic blends better than straight synthetics...

Bikeman982

Having searched on BITOG forums extensively - the very best UOA (used oil analysis) for the 1ZZ-FE engine came with using pennzoil conventional oil. Even better than the high cost synthetic oils in our engines... go figure..

I personally use the purolator pure one filters (14477, longer than stock) but most of the BITOG guys like the wix

I have heard that the FL400S filters (motorcraft number) will also fit, and add some extra oil to the system as well. (much much bigger filter than stock)

Not sure if it's appropriate to post some links to relevant UOAs...

metal concentrations indicate wear - silver and lead = bearings, iron being cylinders and chrome indicates rings. silicon generally indicates dirt getting into engine.. lower is obviously better

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - pennzoil yellow

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - german castrol syntec (0w30)

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...part=1&vc=1 - syntec 5w30

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - amsoil 0w30 (ouch)

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - havoline 5w30

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/sho...page=0&vc=1 - exxon, havoline and trop artic 5w30

From what i've seen, the 1zz-fe motors like dino or synthetic blends better than straight synthetics...

Interesting results depending on oil type.

 

 

Thanks for the links - good to have something to compare my samples to. Kind of weird - I usually get better numbers with full synthetics (Group IV)vs the dino or blends. I guess it is like they say - "your mileage may vary".



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