Long term difference in oils?

[Bagger_Matt]

I always second quess my oil choise after a change. In the long run do you think there is a better or even different outcome from using dino
like pennzoil or castrol every 3k or amsoil or M1 EP every 10-15k? My Toyota Tacoma V6 in paid off and is the only car Ive had for over a year and didnt think about trading in. I hope to keep this truck untill the body rusts of of it so any opinions on servicing are welcome.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I prefer crawling under my vehicles less -- so I opt for synthetics. I never go beyond 8K thou. It may not need the oil changed then, but I like to see a clean/clear dipstick for at least the first 3K -- then amber for another 2-3K -- then black for the last few thousands.

 

[michaelc80]

Either way will get you a lot of miles The engine will probably outlast other components. I prefer not to have to worry if I'm in a position that I can't do an oil change for a couple weeks. For that reason I prefer a quality synthetic. I know I can always safely run it longer if need be.

 

[CBDFrontier06]

My sister has a 2001 Tacoma Pre-Runner V6 with 90K miles on it. She's a synthetic believer and her truck has yet to darken the door of the service department, except for her timing belt change and brake job a few thousand miles ago. These engines normally reward good maintenance practices with LONG service lives.

 

[Blake Sobiloff]

With today's conventional SM oils you can easily go 5-7K miles. It's pretty hard to find a bad UOA in the UOA forum of any SM oil with 5-7K on it unless there was something mechanically wrong with the engine. In fact, I'd venture that a conventional SM at 5-7K mile OCIs will easily let your engine long outlast the rest of your truck. If you're a high annual mileage person the synthetic will make you get under your truck less frequently and go about twice as long. Either oil will have about a 1-year cap on its service interval, though.