I've had only Mobil 1, in some form, in my 2007 Tacoma V6, since I bought the truck new in June 2007 and drained the factory fill at around 3000 miles. I've done each oil change myself, ignoring those who warned against using a synthetic while the truck was breaking in. Started with standard Mobil 1, then used the Truck & SUV formulation (no longer available) a few times. Mostly 5W-30 that the book calls for, but I have used 10W-30 a few times.
M1 seems to have worked well. Initially I was doing around 7000-8000 mile OCIs, then, for at least the last 6-7 years, I've used the Extended Performance formula, with 10-12K OCIs.
I've used a few different filters - Purolator Pure One, Fram Tough Guard, Fram Ultra, and Bosch Distance+. Currently I'm using a Fram Ultra.
The truck uses no oil between changes, and the Check Engine Light has never illuminated.
I do have some seepage around the valve cover gaskets (which has been there for years - probably since around 2010 or 2011; around 60,000 miles).
For about the last 5 years, regime of use has been quite a bit of highway driving. Commute is 18 miles, one way, mostly expressway, in which speeds range from about 65-90 mph, 4-5 days a week. The other 2-3 days, I take a lot of trips to the other side of town to the park, and that's about 25 miles one way, mostly also highway, same speeds. Lotta highway miles on the truck. There are also some short trips, and, since August of last year, I do probably 60-90 min. of idling, per week. So, that's not a factor in the last UOA.
So, I've had a few UOAs done, which have been pretty good...except for the last one, in which Al and Cr increased slightly, and Fe tripled from the last UOA:
Code:
Oil M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30
Miles in Use 12,236 10,994 10,158 7507
Miles 189,230 176,994 114,645 104,487
Sample Taken 26 Jan 2017 7 Jan 2016 28 June 2013 21 December 2012
Aluminum 9 4 6 4
Chromium 2 0 1 1
Iron 61 18 24 21
Copper 5 1 2 2
Lead 0 0 2 3
Tin 0 0 3 2
Moly 76 68 77 78
Nickel 0 2 0 0
Manganese 2 1 2 1
Silver 0 0 0 0
Titanium 0 0 0 0
Potassium 2 0 2 3
Boron 28 25 33 28
Silicon 23 16 16 16
Sodium 10 5 12 10
Calcium 1003 1022 1085 1048
Magnesium 744 891 782 714
Phosphorus 683 660 695 685
Zinc 803 721 803 835
Barium 0 0 0 0
SUS Visc @ 210*F 60.3 62.1 55.4 56.3
cST Visc @ 100*C 10.31 10.80 8.9 9.16
Flashpoint (*F) 400 390 405 390
Fuel (%)
Antifreeze (%) 0 0 0 0
Water (%) 0 0 0 0
Insolubles (%) 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.3
TBN 1.9 1.3 2.5
So, I think this oil has been pretty good for this truck. To my ears, the engine is quiet, sounds great, and runs like new. In fact, I suspect there's very little real wear. But, being a curious BITOGer, I have to wonder if there's something else that would work better.
After the last UOA, I cut my OCI back to 9400 miles, but didn't get a UOA. Kinda wish I had. Probably will on this one, but I'm only at around 3K on this OCI so far.
All the talk of timing chain wear here lately also has me thinking... I use PPPP 10W-30 in my WRX, and it's held up pretty well in the [censored] that is the interior of that engine. So, I've thought about trying it in the Taco as well.
What do you guys think? Experiment, or stick with what has worked?
Also, ideas on cause of increased Fe, Cr & Al? I will say, the truck got driven less frequently, during that OCI, because I bought the WRX in March 2016, and drove it more. So, the truck had some periods where it sat a little bit.
M1 seems to have worked well. Initially I was doing around 7000-8000 mile OCIs, then, for at least the last 6-7 years, I've used the Extended Performance formula, with 10-12K OCIs.
I've used a few different filters - Purolator Pure One, Fram Tough Guard, Fram Ultra, and Bosch Distance+. Currently I'm using a Fram Ultra.
The truck uses no oil between changes, and the Check Engine Light has never illuminated.
I do have some seepage around the valve cover gaskets (which has been there for years - probably since around 2010 or 2011; around 60,000 miles).
For about the last 5 years, regime of use has been quite a bit of highway driving. Commute is 18 miles, one way, mostly expressway, in which speeds range from about 65-90 mph, 4-5 days a week. The other 2-3 days, I take a lot of trips to the other side of town to the park, and that's about 25 miles one way, mostly also highway, same speeds. Lotta highway miles on the truck. There are also some short trips, and, since August of last year, I do probably 60-90 min. of idling, per week. So, that's not a factor in the last UOA.
So, I've had a few UOAs done, which have been pretty good...except for the last one, in which Al and Cr increased slightly, and Fe tripled from the last UOA:
Code:
Oil M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30 M1 EP 5W-30
Miles in Use 12,236 10,994 10,158 7507
Miles 189,230 176,994 114,645 104,487
Sample Taken 26 Jan 2017 7 Jan 2016 28 June 2013 21 December 2012
Aluminum 9 4 6 4
Chromium 2 0 1 1
Iron 61 18 24 21
Copper 5 1 2 2
Lead 0 0 2 3
Tin 0 0 3 2
Moly 76 68 77 78
Nickel 0 2 0 0
Manganese 2 1 2 1
Silver 0 0 0 0
Titanium 0 0 0 0
Potassium 2 0 2 3
Boron 28 25 33 28
Silicon 23 16 16 16
Sodium 10 5 12 10
Calcium 1003 1022 1085 1048
Magnesium 744 891 782 714
Phosphorus 683 660 695 685
Zinc 803 721 803 835
Barium 0 0 0 0
SUS Visc @ 210*F 60.3 62.1 55.4 56.3
cST Visc @ 100*C 10.31 10.80 8.9 9.16
Flashpoint (*F) 400 390 405 390
Fuel (%)
Antifreeze (%) 0 0 0 0
Water (%) 0 0 0 0
Insolubles (%) 0.3 0.2 0.5 0.3
TBN 1.9 1.3 2.5
So, I think this oil has been pretty good for this truck. To my ears, the engine is quiet, sounds great, and runs like new. In fact, I suspect there's very little real wear. But, being a curious BITOGer, I have to wonder if there's something else that would work better.
After the last UOA, I cut my OCI back to 9400 miles, but didn't get a UOA. Kinda wish I had. Probably will on this one, but I'm only at around 3K on this OCI so far.
All the talk of timing chain wear here lately also has me thinking... I use PPPP 10W-30 in my WRX, and it's held up pretty well in the [censored] that is the interior of that engine. So, I've thought about trying it in the Taco as well.
What do you guys think? Experiment, or stick with what has worked?
Also, ideas on cause of increased Fe, Cr & Al? I will say, the truck got driven less frequently, during that OCI, because I bought the WRX in March 2016, and drove it more. So, the truck had some periods where it sat a little bit.