Probably 80% or more of my travel is commuting in rush hour traffic.
I only average approx 7k mile per year or 3,500 miles per OCI.
I only average approx 7k mile per year or 3,500 miles per OCI.
Does 80% inner city commuting merit snythetic oil?
- Thread starter 06RANGER
- Start date
- Status
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
What is the length of your commute. If under 5 miles each way, I would change every 6 months with a high quality dino or syn blend.
Yeah, it's right at 6 miles one way and other trips to the grocery, etc... are usually less than 2 miles
Run syn oil and make the oil companies happy.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,798
Originally Posted By: 06RANGER
Yeah, it's right at 6 miles one way and other trips to the grocery, etc... are usually less than 2 miles
How long does it take to complete your 6 mile commute? I recall living in NE Phila. 6:50am ..empty main boulevard ...7:00a.m GRIDLOCK.
Yeah, it's right at 6 miles one way and other trips to the grocery, etc... are usually less than 2 miles
How long does it take to complete your 6 mile commute? I recall living in NE Phila. 6:50am ..empty main boulevard ...7:00a.m GRIDLOCK.
Originally Posted By: 06RANGER
Yeah, it's right at 6 miles one way and other trips to the grocery, etc... are usually less than 2 miles
How often do you get a longer trip, say 15 miles or so? Also, what is your annual miles driven? What engine? The 4 banger probably get the oil hot quicker as it works harder.
Main thing is oil gets to full operating temp to burn off the nasty combustion byproducts that always find their way into the crankcase (especially when the engine is cold). If, your 6 miles takes 20 minutes, you may be getting there (as Gary hinted at).
Yeah, it's right at 6 miles one way and other trips to the grocery, etc... are usually less than 2 miles
How often do you get a longer trip, say 15 miles or so? Also, what is your annual miles driven? What engine? The 4 banger probably get the oil hot quicker as it works harder.
Main thing is oil gets to full operating temp to burn off the nasty combustion byproducts that always find their way into the crankcase (especially when the engine is cold). If, your 6 miles takes 20 minutes, you may be getting there (as Gary hinted at).
I actually own a 07 Yaris LB now ... got to change my user name.
i'd go full synthetic and change it every 6 months with that type of driving condition.. but theres no real way for sure to tell, my strongest suggestion would be do to a UOA after 6 months with dino and then try with synthetic and run the two UOA's and find out how the condition of the oil is.. that way it will tell you if you need to change it or not. with no suprise a good dino will probably be 6 months, but maybe with a good full synthetic you can probably go a full 12 months before changing it..
For a Yaris, you'd be fine with good ol' classical mineral oil; the little 1NZ isn't very hard on oil at all IMO.
I can't say that limited annual mileage + heavy stop/go = use synthetic. It certainly doesn't hurt though.
Short trips where the engine does not reach full operating temperature and stop and go traffic are very hard on any oil. I use synthetic in similar circumstances, but here in Virginia where temperatures are cold between November and March, water vapor in the crankcase condenses and deteriorates the oil when the engine doesn't get hot enough for long enough to vaporize it and purge it from the oil. So I'd be more concerned about doing frequent oil changes (as you do) than which oil is best.
BTW... one way to tell if you have a moisture/condensation problem is to inspect the inside of the oil filler cap and the top of the oil dipstick tube. If you see any signs of light brownish oily foam or water droplets in these areas, you have high moisture in the crankcase. I see this particularly in the winter months on my volvo, but the problem disappears during summer months.
Short trips where the engine does not reach full operating temperature and stop and go traffic are very hard on any oil. I use synthetic in similar circumstances, but here in Virginia where temperatures are cold between November and March, water vapor in the crankcase condenses and deteriorates the oil when the engine doesn't get hot enough for long enough to vaporize it and purge it from the oil. So I'd be more concerned about doing frequent oil changes (as you do) than which oil is best.
BTW... one way to tell if you have a moisture/condensation problem is to inspect the inside of the oil filler cap and the top of the oil dipstick tube. If you see any signs of light brownish oily foam or water droplets in these areas, you have high moisture in the crankcase. I see this particularly in the winter months on my volvo, but the problem disappears during summer months.
Originally Posted By: strombony
My mothers car incurs this white oily foam on the inside of her cap during the winter months... does this mean the engine has sludge throught?
Not necessarily. The white oily foam tends to form in locations that don't get hot (the top of the dipstick is an ideal place).
This light colored water/oil emulsion foam is not sludge in the traditional sense. Sludge is dark almost black coagulated buildup of oxidized oil and contaminants and forms over the long haul on valve trains and throughout the engine.
My mothers car incurs this white oily foam on the inside of her cap during the winter months... does this mean the engine has sludge throught?
Not necessarily. The white oily foam tends to form in locations that don't get hot (the top of the dipstick is an ideal place).
This light colored water/oil emulsion foam is not sludge in the traditional sense. Sludge is dark almost black coagulated buildup of oxidized oil and contaminants and forms over the long haul on valve trains and throughout the engine.
Originally Posted By: strombony
My mothers car incurs this white oily foam on the inside of her cap during the winter months... does this mean the engine has sludge throught?
Most brand new cars at any given autoshow have this same milky emulsion going on under the oil fill cap. As jesbo says, it's just caused by very short engine runs where the engine never heats up fully and moisture condenses on the oil coating. Just give 'er a good boot on the highway and problem solved (ask your mom first though
)
My mothers car incurs this white oily foam on the inside of her cap during the winter months... does this mean the engine has sludge throught?
Most brand new cars at any given autoshow have this same milky emulsion going on under the oil fill cap. As jesbo says, it's just caused by very short engine runs where the engine never heats up fully and moisture condenses on the oil coating. Just give 'er a good boot on the highway and problem solved (ask your mom first though
)Pennzoil YB would be fine for you or any quality dino.
Originally Posted By: Max_Wander
For a Yaris, you'd be fine with good ol' classical mineral oil; the little 1NZ isn't very hard on oil at all IMO.
I've been using GTX 5w-30 with approx 3,500k OCI's at 6 months
For a Yaris, you'd be fine with good ol' classical mineral oil; the little 1NZ isn't very hard on oil at all IMO.
I've been using GTX 5w-30 with approx 3,500k OCI's at 6 months
I've been making my own syn blends with what ever syn/dino oils that I buy on sale/rebate/closeout. Right now I have a whole bunch of PP, PYB and GTX. I'll use 2 PP with 3 dinos and run 6mo/3,000mi. Also have a whole bunch of straggler qts of dino oil which includes Valvoline, Havoline, Chevron and MaxLife. I'll use these in the lawn/snow equipment or just as a topoff oil.
- Status