Good evening all.
I'm new here to BITOG, and the level of my automotive repair and know-how is "fuel injected K Car", so I know my way around a car and can do things myself, but don't always have the tools, time, or space to do so.
I've greatly enjoyed reading the facts, opinions, and experiences of the members here as well as getting a laugh out of some of the things I have read during the process of increasing my knowledge and awareness of motor oils.
Point for Discussion:
I have an 11th Gen Corolla (a 2016) with the K313 CVT (2 fluid changes so far) and I now have over 200K miles on it, and I purchased it new in March of 2016.
The car has seen mostly a diet of the US market specced 0w20 full synthetic with mostly 5K mile OCI's, with only two 10K mile intervals that I can recall due to budget at the time. All the warranty oil changes were 5K miles (Sunshine Toyota in Battle Creek is wonderful in ensuring the oil is changed timely) and recieved whatever they may have had, TGMO or not, and QS full synthetic at my preferred private shop.
After hitting 200K, I asked the owner and main mechanic at my shop that since I was at the mileage I was, I tend to drive enthusiastically (lots of WOT, but only once warmed up, and usually to pass those that can't get out of their own way), and since I also had a long-distance trip coming up (over 900 miles one way on Interstate), PLUS the FACT that the owner's manual states that for high speed/higher load driving that a higher viscosity oil may be used (and often a higher viscosity oil is often specced in other regions), whether or not going up one grade of oil would be acceptable.
"Absolutely" was the answer I recieved. This makes sense and is completely logical.
So; for my most recent oil change, I elected to try 0w30.
The product is Mobil 1 0w30 AFE full-synthetic.
Going into summer, I don't need 0w oils, and could do 5w or higher because cold start ambient temperatures matter for "pumpability" if I've read correctly.
On the trip, I had two full tanks of gas to observe and calculate my mileage which included driving over I-65 through the Appalachians of Kentucky and Tennessee through south on the way to Florida.
My hand calculated averages for these two tanks were 37.7 and 40.73 MPG.
Might have I seen higher mileage with the US market 20 weight? Maybe, but for a 7 year old car with over 200k miles and only rated for 37 MPG on the highway, I'd say there's no major loss in mileage, and the experiment is going well.
The engine does start and idle much more quietly with this Mobil 1 0w30 though, that's for sure. Much less clatter and overall noises versus the QS 0w20 I've had before.
The sky isn't falling, my engine didn't blow up, and I'm still getting killer mileage in a quieter car.
Just sharing my experiences and experiments I was feeling giddy to try between reading on this forum, my owner's manual, and the response of my shop.
Thank you guys!
I'm new here to BITOG, and the level of my automotive repair and know-how is "fuel injected K Car", so I know my way around a car and can do things myself, but don't always have the tools, time, or space to do so.
I've greatly enjoyed reading the facts, opinions, and experiences of the members here as well as getting a laugh out of some of the things I have read during the process of increasing my knowledge and awareness of motor oils.
Point for Discussion:
I have an 11th Gen Corolla (a 2016) with the K313 CVT (2 fluid changes so far) and I now have over 200K miles on it, and I purchased it new in March of 2016.
The car has seen mostly a diet of the US market specced 0w20 full synthetic with mostly 5K mile OCI's, with only two 10K mile intervals that I can recall due to budget at the time. All the warranty oil changes were 5K miles (Sunshine Toyota in Battle Creek is wonderful in ensuring the oil is changed timely) and recieved whatever they may have had, TGMO or not, and QS full synthetic at my preferred private shop.
After hitting 200K, I asked the owner and main mechanic at my shop that since I was at the mileage I was, I tend to drive enthusiastically (lots of WOT, but only once warmed up, and usually to pass those that can't get out of their own way), and since I also had a long-distance trip coming up (over 900 miles one way on Interstate), PLUS the FACT that the owner's manual states that for high speed/higher load driving that a higher viscosity oil may be used (and often a higher viscosity oil is often specced in other regions), whether or not going up one grade of oil would be acceptable.
"Absolutely" was the answer I recieved. This makes sense and is completely logical.
So; for my most recent oil change, I elected to try 0w30.
The product is Mobil 1 0w30 AFE full-synthetic.
Going into summer, I don't need 0w oils, and could do 5w or higher because cold start ambient temperatures matter for "pumpability" if I've read correctly.
On the trip, I had two full tanks of gas to observe and calculate my mileage which included driving over I-65 through the Appalachians of Kentucky and Tennessee through south on the way to Florida.
My hand calculated averages for these two tanks were 37.7 and 40.73 MPG.
Might have I seen higher mileage with the US market 20 weight? Maybe, but for a 7 year old car with over 200k miles and only rated for 37 MPG on the highway, I'd say there's no major loss in mileage, and the experiment is going well.
The engine does start and idle much more quietly with this Mobil 1 0w30 though, that's for sure. Much less clatter and overall noises versus the QS 0w20 I've had before.
The sky isn't falling, my engine didn't blow up, and I'm still getting killer mileage in a quieter car.
Just sharing my experiences and experiments I was feeling giddy to try between reading on this forum, my owner's manual, and the response of my shop.
Thank you guys!
